Insta Las Vegas

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary by taking a trip to Las Vegas.  We've never left our kids for that long, and I was really nervous.  I thought I'd miss them terribly, but we were gone for the perfect amount of time--4 days and 3 nights.  I was ready to get home, but I was able to enjoy every moment we were gone.  The boys were staying with Mark's parents so I knew they were in good hands.

It truly felt like we were on vacation.  I hadn't felt this carefree in years.  There wasn't a schedule to follow.  We planned the day as it went.  We've had a rough year and really needed a break from our normal routine, and going to Vegas was definitely the place to do that.  We could stay up as late as we wanted and sleep late too!  And, there was no housework--no cooking, cleaning or laundry!

I have so many photos of fun things we did on the trip that I'm not including.  I've already blown up this post with plenty!!!  We ate at Emeril Lagasse's Table 10 restaurant in the Palazzo.  We planned to eat at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill but had a change of plans because we couldn't get a table in time for us to eat and see the show we had tickets for that night.  Instead we ate at P.J. Clarke's because it was close to the show.  We saw two shows while we were in Vegas.  We saw Cirque du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island and the standard Vegas showgirl act called Jubilee at Bally's.  Of the two, Cirque du Soleil was by far my favorite.

As far as instagram goes, this was such a fun vacation because I was constantly posting pics to instagram and getting comments and recommendations from instagram friends.  I'm @redbirdblue if you want to be instagram friends too :)

Here we are in front of the famous Las Vegas welcome sign. 

The Strip at night 

So many lights and so much energy

Las Vegas Boulevard is the Strip 

We stayed at the Encore.  It's connected to the Wynn. 

We ate  so much good food that I've probably gained 5 pounds!  We had breakfast at Serendipity 3.  The frozen hot chocolate is out of this world!  By the way, this is a serving for one!  I can't imagine a serving for two!

Mark ordered the banana cream waffles for breakfast and I had an omelet.  Both were delicious!  We had always planned to eat at Serendipity 3 when we've been in NYC, but it just never worked out.  I don't think we had to settle eating at the one in Vegas.  Our food was delicious and I'm sure just as good as the one in NYC.

Waiting to see the fountains at the Bellagio.  This reminds me of the movie Ocean's Eleven.

The fountains set to music was pretty and very entertaining. 

Part of the fun of Vegas is going into all the different casinos and resorts.  I'm in The Cosmopolitan here.  I think it's the newest casino on the Strip. 

Mark in front of the Mirage 

Mark is a huge fan of Pawn Stars on the History Channel.  We drove through downtown Las Vegas one day and on our way back to the Encore we saw Las Vegas Gold & Silver.  Of course, we had to stop! The line wasn't very long to get inside.  It was pretty crowded once we were in so we didn't stay that long.  We looked around and left.  None of the guys from the show were there.

Here's Mark in front of the gun display. 

The inside of the Encore was gorgeous. 

The decor had a butterfly theme and used the color red.

Even the floors are gorgeous! 

Our room!  It was incredible!  The bed was super comfy and I didn't have to make it!

Fancy bathroom.  There was a TV in the wall to the right of the vanity.  I'd watch the Today Show each morning as I got ready.  Hello, luxury! 

I ate food that I wouldn't normally try.  This is Yorkshire pudding.  We sampled lots of things at the Wynn buffet. 

I usually don't eat sushi but I enjoyed it at the buffet.  I can't eat wasabi without thinking of the scene in Cars 2 with Mater.  You know I'm a boy mom, ha! 

We visited the Hoover Dam since it's a short drive from Las Vegas. 

Lake Mead 

Truly an amazing engineering marvel 

Did you know I'm terrified of heights?  My palms were sweating the whole time, but I didn't freak our or have a panic attack.  My friend Nicolle can sympathize. 

Inside on the tour 

While on the tour the main elevator had issues.  We couldn't use it to go back to the top so we were taken through the old tour route used pre-9/11.  We saw somethings that we wouldn't have normally have seen. 

Mark with the generators in the background 

Generators N1-N8 

The inside had lots of Art Deco detail and design 

No vacation would be complete without a little lounging by the pool.  The Encore and Wynn have amazing pools.  

************************************

Now we're home and it's back to reality.  Doing laundry and unpacking is much less glamorous than my Vegas photos, but it's real life.