Viva Las Vegas...Baby!

January was quite a crazy month for me... because of guys... so the first weekend of February I went with a group of friends to Vegas and had a much needed break from it all. Brian and Heather's birthdays are the end of January and we had originally planned on going out the previous weekend, but things didn't happen then so we went out when we did. It was kind of overcast and drizzly when we were there, but nobody minded a bit. There was a group of 8 or 9 of us, but I primarily just hung out with Heather, Brian, and Spencer. We had such a blast! When we got there we changed and primped a bit and ate...and of course took pictures... then we went to this pub at the Monte Carlo where there was a girl and guy show called Zowie Bowie that sang covers all night. It was kinda funny cuz they would change their clothes based on the singer... like, when it was a Fergie song, the girl (Marley Taylor) would wear a hat, and when it was a Britney song, she'd take the hat off and dance like Britney, and the guy would do the same, with hats and bling and whatnot. Pretty early on Chris Phillips (the guy singer) pointed me out and was singing lyrics to me and whatnot, and after a while when he sang Sexy Back he pulled me up on stage and was like "She's bringing sexy back" as the lyrics. It was fun dancing in front of all those people. I didn't stay up there the whole song though... cuz really... it's not my show :o) It was such a blast dancing all night. I got up on stage again for the very last song, and waved goodnight to everyone with them. :o) It was so much fun. When the show ended I danced a bit more with this guy we met on the balcony earlier, and then as we were leaving we chatted with Zowie Bowie and took some more pictures. Oh, and when he hugged me, as he was pulling back, he kissed my mouth! Hahaha... I had to laugh. It was kinda awkward! Anyway, it was a total blast, and for what 5 or ten bucks, it was Totally worth it! Then Brian and I went and played in the street... hmm... I should point out that it was very very late at night and there weren't many cars around :o) I think we got home around 5am that night. We stayed at the Encore hotel, right next to the Wynn. It was so nice inside, and we were on the 21st floor, so we had a great view down the strip. We slept a few too little hours and got up to start the day. We went to breakfast and then decided to just wander. We ended up going first to the Bellagio where we first took pictures by this big horse made of mirrors. The boys' picture was hilarious, and it was so funny to see the expressions of the people around when they posed for it. Then we went to the garden where they decorate it according to the season or the holiday. Apparently, it was near Chinese New Year, and apparently this year is the year of the Tiger. Actually, much of Vegas was decorated for Chinese New Year. Oh, Chinese New Year is apparently a different day every year, and the Year of the Tiger starts on February 14th. Wow... I totally missed celebrating that holiday! We went out to the fountains, and played as we waited for the next song and fountain show. We met these ladies who were taking pictures of us and with us and we took pictures and gawked at the sights all around. It was lots of fun! After the show, we headed down towards Ceasar's Palace. We wandered around there just enjoying the hotel, and did some window shopping. I found some cute clothes and a really amazing art shoppe that was having it's going out of business sale. It really was amazing, and if I'd had gobs of cash I would have loved to buy some of it. It was right across from the statue of David, which is 18feet high and, did you know, an exact replica of the original? We went and saw this show Spencer had told us about where the statues talk! ...well, it's probably a much more entertaining show for kids. But, it was next to a really cool fish tank! We wandered a bit and took pictures of lots of things, and can I just say, I love the statues in that hotel. Everyone was like, "Chelyse, what are you going to do with pictures of statues?" and "You need to go see the real statues." I agree... that is a fabulous idea, and I will... but for now, I want to take pictures of these. We stayed there quite a while, until Spencer had to leave. So, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Heather didn't end up going, and we got all dressed up and went to... wait for it... Claim Jumper. I know, nothing exclusively Vegas, but I was outnumbered. I had the filet though so I was quite happy. It was like Christmas. Actually, all the food was very good. When we were deciding what to do after that, I wanted to go do something active... I mean it was after all Saturday night! Most of the group wanted to go gamble, but I have Zero interest in that, so we all went back to the hotel room to decide and regroup. I lay down on the bed as everyone is lazily doing this and that and nobody seemed in much of a hurry to do anything. Well, enough laying down and I fell asleep. Then Brian woke me up and told me they were going to the Hard Rock to gamble, so I just let them go without me, and changed into my jammies and went to sleep. Oh, also, let me mention that all through out the day I had been getting texts from my Mom. My sister Tish's baby was coming that day and I was being notified of Every event preceding it. It was funny, the texts she sent. So, late late at night, but before everyone got back, I got a text saying the baby had come. A few days later they named her Mia Jade, and she was born January 7th, at 2:34am, weighing 7lbs 2oz, and is 20.5 inches. This was the first picture I got of her. She is just beautiful, and I was so happy she's finally here. She is much anticipated... and Mom sent me a little sound clip of her crying. Awww... such a brand new little cry. I listened to it and promptly fell back asleep. The next, and last, day Brian and I decided to go off on our own because I wasn't really wanting to spend the day watching people gamble when there's so much else to do, so after eating, we went down to the Madame Tussauds wax museum and had such blast playing and taking pictures with the figures. I was a little disappointed that the two hottest guys... in my opinion, were the least like themselves... I guess you just can't duplicate perfection. Who you ask? :o) Obviously, Brad Pitt and (my personal favorite) Matthew McConaughey. But there were many other celebs that were great likenesses and we spent quite some time there just playing and having such a ball. Here's some pictures of them, and then actually there.








So, we eventually got all the way through, and then spent some time browsing the Venetian, and then went over to Treasure Island. That was fun, and I found the most unique ring there I almost got. I've never seen anything quite like it, but I don't have a picture of it, so it's probably useless to mention. We played with all the fun stuff in the gift shop, bought some eye patches, then promptly returned them, and eventually made our way over to the mall for some window shopping. We hadn't been there long when we happened upon the Betsey Johnson store. Now, I love her style, I think she is Such the Fabulous designer and I'd buy one of her dresses for Sure if I thought I'd wear it more than twice. They are so girlie and lovely, like something out of a book, but simultaneously modernized. I tried on 5 or 6 dresses I think, and was really torn about buying this one. It is perfection sewn. It's so cute and feminine and so much fun to wear! If it was more wearable than pink allows I may have bought it, however, the pink was rather perfect... hmm, anyway, I tried it on twice, oooooh and ahhhhhed over the piles of lace, and decided I'd better think on it a bit before just buying it. Good thing too, because since, I've found it on ebay for over $200 cheaper! Anyway, shortly thereafter it was time to head for home. It was a long and snowy drive and we got home very very late/early, but it was Absolutely worth the lack of sleep. Viva Las Vegas :o)