Viva Las Vegas!

Awhile back I had mentioned that Benjamin and I had a trip to Vegas on the books.  We had a little hesitation since we knew that Winston would be about five or six weeks old when we were to leave him.  Thanks to my mom's encouragement, we went ahead with the plans and I am so thankful we did!  As much as we loved our new transition into parenthood, it was a refreshing trip for Benjamin and I to have together.  Our daily conversations had become more about Winston's eating, sleeping and pooping schedule with a little bit of updates on Benjamin's day thrown in.  This trip allowed us to catch up with each other and have a special time to share how we were both doing with the whole becoming parents thing!  And more than that, it gave us a second wind to use when loving on Winston Ace!

Now, for those of you who know Benjamin and I, you will get a kick out of hearing that our Vegas experience is not like the Vegas experience most have - we were eating dinner around 5, seeing shows at 6:30 and in jammies no later than 9 o'clock at night!  Still recovering from the C-section, I would tucker out from the short walks during the day and was ready for a fluffy pillow early - no clubbing for this mama!

On the first day we did indeed go to the Neon Museum and it did not disappoint!  Not really knowing a whole lot about Las Vegas or it's history, we heard stories of how Las Vegas came to be, why neon was so important and history on the signs that were now part of this collection.  I highly recommend!  We then headed to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign and crossed that touristy thing off of our list.  Since I had never been to Vegas before, we also decided to do some walking through a few of the casinos and we started at the side of the strip that was to me, places that smelled of sadness and dying dreams.  I was so thankful that we were staying at Aria with all of it's fancy amenities and cleanliness!  We did spend a little bit of time at the 25 cent slot machines and realized just how quickly hitting a button makes money disappear!  We also saw David Copperfield at the MGM Grand that evening and enjoyed it immensely!

Day two found Benjamin participating in the Invisalign Conference while I spent that time leisurely getting ready and catching up with Kala.  We dined that evening with another Houston resident and his special lady and then headed to the new Cirque show at the Aria, Zarkana.  It was my first Cirque show and I was very entertained!  It is the story about a circus master who looses his magic and sets out on a journey to find it and his true love.  Before the curtains open, while guests are filing into their seats, the characters roamed up and down the aisles interacting with anyone who would indulge them.  Since it was still early {translation: we are old people} we headed down to the Bellagio to take in the famous fountains.  I was taken aback at how HUGE they were!  Ocean's Eleven doesn't do them justice!  Haha!  Then we headed back to Aria where we savored delicacies from Jean Philippe Patisserie.

Our third day in Vegas, Kala and I headed to the Bellagio to see the gardens and was met by another significant other, Jamie.  We then did a little shopping, ordered some yummies from Serendipity and sat outside enjoying the great weather chatting about this and that.  The boys joined us when their session was over.  Benjamin and I joined the Bailey's on their adventure to the pawn shop of the TV show Pawn Stars.  Unfortunately, none of the Stars were there, but we did enjoy walking through the store seeing what they had to offer.  Then we headed back to Aria and spent the night eating dinner in the hotel and enjoying a night to be low key.

All in all, we had a nice time enjoying the shows and the hotel while spending time with our dear friends.  The trip became more about Benjamin and I reconnecting after our life changing addition and for that I am thankful.  Most people have a "babymoon" before the baby arrives and I can see how a couple would need that time away together.  However, I would venture to say that planning a trip for after the baby arrives was one of the best things for our us.  I'm not sure that Benjamin and I will venture back to the Vegas strip again - we were glad to visit and we were glad to get home!  I mean, who wouldn't be glad to see this little face again?