After about 3 months of planning/scheming, the day finally came! I really can't believe I pulled it off--a surprise trip to Vegas for his (our) BIG 30th BIRTHDAY!
Thursday morning Brett's staff at work gave him this poster (that I dropped off the day before) after his first patient of the morning and told him to go home....and that his Thursday/Friday schedule was fake! He was so confused...
He called me and said I better be lying! He was stunned! My mom arrived at our house after he left for work that morning....I gave her the run-down of the daily routine and the kids were so happy to have grandma coming for THREE sleepovers! Here we are....off to the airport (he still doesn't know where we're headed until checking in).
Once in Vegas I had it planned to have our great friends from Ohio (the Williams) surprise Brett at the airport...our flights were supposed to land at the same time...but there was a little glitch and that didn't work out as smoothly as planned, so I just had to tell him they were meeting us there. He was still surprised---and still confused! haha! Dallin and Amanda both just celebrated birthdays last month, so it was a big bash! :)
Thursday afternoon we spent wandering the Vegas strip, seeing some sights. Here we are at the best smelling spot in all of Vegas (in my mind), the Conservatory at Bellagio. Ahhh, the one place that isn't tainted with smoke!
Dallin, Bumblebee, and Amanda... this is something that is new to me about Vegas. It's probably been 8 years since I was there last. Now about every 30 feet there are random people in costume (Mickey, Elmo, Elvis, Hello Kitty, Spiderman, Homer Simpson), expecting you to tip them for their looks/having your picture taken with them. Most of the people underneath were nasty, drunk, and dirty. A few of the costumes were cool and homemade. But for the most part they were just kind of ridiculous.
That night we enjoyed dinner at Serendipity 3....and tried their famous Frozen Hot Chocolate for the first time. DELISH!
Dallin and Brett got a 10 minute massage (that "kicked their butts") outside some shops at the Miracle Mile Mall.
We stayed at the Tropicana Hotel just kiddie corner to the New York-New York. Such a cool looking hotel!
The Paris was also impressive!
Each night we walked until our legs were about to fall off, then went back to the room for some late-night "Settlers!" Geeky huh?!
Friday morning we ventured to "Hash House a Go-Go" for brunch. Brett got the dish they are known for--fRiEd ChIcKeN & WaFfLeS! It was pretty darn good....and there were strips of bacon in the waffles too! Fun place to eat!
That afternoon we relaxed by the pool for a few hours. It was a little piece of heaven to lay in the sun! This was the only pic I got....I obviously had more important things to do. Like NAP!
Friday night we got gussied up for a show....
We ate dinner at Maggiano's. SO, SO GOOD!
We saw "Le Reve--The Dream," at the Wynn Hotel. It was really, really good! Amanda and I were totally entertained. The boys said they were confused at the story, but impressed by the talent. It was full of acrobatics and a touch of ballroom dancing. Here's me and my hot date! 
The stage....it was covered in water.
Saturday we drove down to Fremont Street in "old" Las Vegas. I guess this used to be the happenin place....the old strip. Now the street is shut down to cars, and is for walking only. We wandered through the shops and listened to a couple country "wannabe stars." The ACM awards were that weekend...which we were unaware of till we were there. Too bad there were no famous people sightings :)
Dorks! They just miss eachother so much :)
After another long day of lots of walking, we went back to our rooms to watch the (SAD) Buckeye game and relax a little. After the disappointing loss we had a late buffet dinner at The Excalibur. Not the greatest food on the trip, but still memorable!
Our last day, Dallin & Amanda had to leave early. Brett and I hit up the Coke Store for a cold beverage...
...and the M&M Factory for some treats, then headed back to the airport. We had SUCH a great time with awesome friends (that now live way too far away from us)! Thanks Dal & Amanda for helping me make this happen!
The kids had a fabulous time with Momma Max (as always)! It was good to get home and see them! Emri was thrilled to see us! Jet smiled, came to me for a kiss, then reached back for Grandma to hold him again! Little stinker!
Now after 3 months of almost spilling the beans to Brett at least once everyday I can finally relax! That took a lot to pull it off! He still swears he didn't know! Happy (almost) Birthday to my best friend!
