this is us july 2006-june 2008

We had a fun time in Las Vegas. Bensons picked us up and we headed to Bahama Breeze for lunch and then to check in at our hotel. We met the rest of the group at Fashion Show Mall before we went to get ready for dinner and the main event. Celine can really sing. I'm glad we got to go before she calls it quits in Dec. We met the Bensons, Dahls and Parkers. Elaine planned the get together. That is a group shot of all of us. I left the guy on the right in the pic cause I am too lazy to edit my pics and I thought it was funny. I don't know why I feel the need to lean down in the photos either, but I did.

We ate at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. It was tasty! We had Sophie's chopped salad with Sophie's special dressing. It tasted like Dorthy Lynch. We also had ribeye and shrimp tamales. We had the sampler dessert which had a chocolate cake, macadamia ice cream, coconut cake, berry rhubarb cobbler, strawberry parfait, chocolate/raspberry/peanut butter souffle, flan. Of course they all had fancier names but I can't remember them but there were 12 different ones.

We watched the Bellagio fountains after the show,standing in the rain, eating gelato.

Friday we went to exercise at the gym but wanted to look at the pool first. There was a sign that said "showers and bathrooms" so I figured it went through a locker room and to the gym so Todd said he'd meet me at the gym and took off. Well there was no connecting door to a locker room, so I went to leave the pool area but the doors wouldn't open. Todd was gone. I pushed, I pulled. No go. I found one door that said "EXIT" so I went there, only it wasn't a normal exit. I propped the door open with a rolling beverage cart so it wouldn't trap me there and proceeded down the hall. I passes some rolling carts of spa robes, signs that said, "quiet, spa session in progress" etc. Next thing I knew I was in the spa kitchen, then a huge laundry room with like 50 washer/dryer sets. (My dream). I walked by some offices and utility rooms and finally out a set of double doors into a hallway by the banquet rooms. I finally found the gym. Turns out there was a red button by the pool door that you just push and it lets you out. It looked like an alarm so I didn't think I was allowed to push it.

We went to the buffet at the Paris Hotel around 10:30 am. We ate omelets, crepes, hash browns, orange juice. While we were sitting there, they changed over to lunch so then we had prime rib, shrimp, corn on the cob, smoked fish with capers and cream cheese and more crepes. From there, the rest of the group headed home.

We shopped at Miracle Mile Shops and found some deals for Todd at Ben Sherman. We went to ESPN zone and bowled, shot baskets, threw football passes, drove ski boats, and skied. We went to Fashion Show Mall, checked out the apple store, picked up a few things for the kids and ate at Maggiano's for dinner-we've been missing that place since Houston. While we were at the mall there was a huge storm. The electricity went out at the mall and the alarm was going off all through dinner. We got some hot chocolate at the Wynn and headed home.

Todd picked out these little (Red) outfits for the girls. Sophie has the little silver clogs that she doesn't want to take off. The wood on the bottom makes a nice sound on the tile that I think she likes.

Thanks Mom and Liz! The kids had a fun time and we did too. Thanks too to Bensons, Dahls & Parkers for a fun time. And to Shannon for your travel tips!