Tuesday, September 23, 2014

30 in Sin City

So... He is officially 30. A decade older and all that much better. We celebrated and then some. Dan's 30th birthday will not be forgotten. 

First of all I just have to get all cheesy and all lovey dovey for a sec... I married the best. I did. There is no one that can compare to this man and all that he does, sacrifices, and blesses our lives with. He is genuinely kind. Really cares about the well being of others and truly is my better half. I love this man more than I thought possible and we are only on year 6 of marriage. I can't imagine how much better it's going to get. 

Turning a new decade should not be taken half heartedly... no. It should be over the top celebrated, it should be welcomed with arms wide open and embraced and that my friends is what we did for Dan's 30th birthday. 

It was all planned that we would take a long weekend, fly to Salt Lake, drop the kiddos off with my sister's, and then two hours later catch a flight out to LAS VEGAS!!! I mean where else can you stay awake at all hours of the night and still have things to do?!  

 It was honestly so much fun. But let me start at the beginning of the trip. Dan's Birthday 

Dan had just gotten home the previous night from Waco doing some interviewing for Pioneer at Baylor. So I had a couple of days to finish everything up for his birthday.
We went to bed and woke up the next morning ready to party. 
We both woke up at 5am. It seriously felt like Christmas morning. A vacation without kids... it was like Christmas morning. 
I actually woke up at 4:30 and decorated the kitchen, got everything ready for Dan to walk out and have his birthday start off with a bang. We had to get up and get going since we had to be out the door by 7o'clock in time to drop Ranger off at the kennel and make our flight. 

So for breakfast/ Dan's birthday cake, we had donuts, chocolate milk, and Dr. Pepper. Dan's favorite. 


Dan's main gift was a new guitar. His last guitar was from his mission 10 years ago. I felt it was definitely time for a new one. And it is so beautiful. Playing it compared to our old guitars is like butter on your fingers. I may have played it a lot while Dan was out of town and used it to sing to him... just breaking it in! :)


June woke up and came out just in time to give daddy her and Owen's gift. New shoes and a t-shirt. A periodic table t-shirt which he is wearing in later pictures. June was really excited to be awake and see donuts sitting at the table along with candles to blow out. 




We finished packing up, woke up OD and headed out. Dan walked into the passenger seat, and it was all decorated birthday style. It's dark, so you can't really see... but you get the idea. 


We dropped Ranger off at the kennel and then we were on our way. The flight went well enough. Kids did fantastic as usual, but Dan and I were both so anxious to get going on our trip that it felt so long! I had a few gifts to give Dan along the way.
1st travel gift: I gave this to him before we boarded with the kids. It was all stuff to block out the noise and try to enjoy the first flight with kids. I gave him blue tooth headphones, a bunch of his favorite candies, and some sticky notes... kind of an inside joke. not kind of... it is an inside joke. 

We were so excited to finally land and get the kids settled with my sisters for the weekend. 

This was the first time that I have ever left my children over night, or for any extended period of time. I guess I left June when we went and had Owen, but she was at home with my parents.... So after we landed and started walking out, I suddenly got really nervous and teary eyed. 

We met my sister Brooke and June ran right up to her. She was ready to play with her cousins. We have been talking about it non stop and the day finally arrived so June was thrilled. June didn't even bat an eye. She hopped right into the car, gave me big hugs and kisses and was ready to go. I on the other hand had a harder time. I was trying so hard to not cry and be brave... Oh my gosh, I'm such a whiner! hahaha. 
After they got loaded up, and started driving off, I felt better and I really did know that they were in the best hands, so it was time to get back into birthday mode and celebrate! 

We got checked in, went through security again, and started our vacation just the two of us. 
Our flight to Vegas was delayed by 2 hours, but turns out when you don't have to entertain kids, its kinda nice! We sat down and had lunch, walked around for a while, watched some Netflix. It was great. 

I love my children. But boarding and being on a plane without kiddos was amazing! Oh man it was so nice not having toys everywhere, snacks all over the place. I mean I actually had leg room! Thats huge!! Usually I'm surrounded in bags, and bottles, and the words "I need to go potty" right at take off. It was just so nice! 

I gave Dan his second travel gift which was a new magazine, more of his favorite treats, an I-tunes gift card and a notebook of 50 reasons why he's awesome. 
Our Flight to Vegas was only 45 minutes so it was short, but relaxing. 
We were excited to get started on causing damage in Vegas. 

We took a taxi to downtown. We stayed at the Bellagio. 
Funny Story: 
Our room was just a standard room, nothing crazy... but we heard that if you slip the guest services a tip then they might be able to upgrade you. 
I was like heck yes we are trying this. 
Dan went and sat down and I handled checking us in. I put on my charm... It helped that the guy was from Texas, so we small chatted a bit and then he asked for my I.D. and credit card. So...
I slipped him a $20 and asked him if there were any free upgrades that he could give us. He smiled, and said "let me see what I can do." 
BOOM! Ten minutes later we had ourselves s corner suit called the "Salon Suit"! We couldn't believe that it actually worked!

This room was bigger than our first apartment in TX. We were really excited! 

We Got unpacked and settled in from the flight and then headed out to the strip. 

There wasn't much time to walk around before we headed back up to our room and got ready for the evening. I had one more gift for Dan. I got him a new shirt and tie, and that's when I also showed him the video that I made for him. 
(Bottom of blog post) 
HE LOVED IT!!! A HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone that helped out with that. It made his birthday and I am so grateful for such good friends and family! Thanks again! 

We had dinner reservations at Craft Steak.

After a delicious birthday dinner, we walked around the strip until it was time for a first show of the weekend. 


The first performance we saw was "Blue Man Group". It was good and funny. Not what I thought the show was, but still it was fun!! 
The Show got out around 11pm which is 1am our time. We were pretty exhausted. But you go to bed early when you're old, and have kids. Vegas was staying up late, sleeping in, and not having a care in the world... except we did think about our kids. 

Dan's birthday was so much fun! A great way to ring in a new decade! The best part was, was that we were just getting started! 

The next morning, Friday, we woke up when we felt like it. We went down to the pool and laid out, played in the pool, and just talked... It's funny because we talk to each other everyday. But with little ones you are constantly interrupted. It felt nice to literally just talk for however long we wanted. 

I took this picture of Dan and told him he's old! He turns 30 and he sits down and reads a newspaper. 


We played and hung out at the pool most of the morning. 

By the time we were ready for the day we realized it was past lunch time and we were starving. So we went and ate at Buddy V's restaurant from the show "Cake Boss" It was home cooking Italian. 

We then went across and had dessert at their bakery. 

We walked around for a while, shopped, and.... yes we played some slots. Nothing big (yet), we won some lost some, but we didn't know it was just the beginning of our 1 cent machine winnings... more on that in a bit. 

My Brother in Law Cam was working in Vegas that same weekend so we popped in to say hello! He had scored us tickets to Jabbawockeez.  A dance crew that were AMAZING! People have such talent! 
It was really fun to see Cam and his work. And super awesome of him to get us tickets! 




After the show is about 9:30 and we decided we better FaceTime at least June before she headed off to bed. She was really excited to see us and asked when we were coming to get her. We explained we would be there in a few days and she said ok, and then instantly ran off to go play with her cousins. She was having too much fun to talk to mom and dad. 


We went and had dinner after talking to June and then walked back to our hotel. We put on our fancy slippers and felt so luxurious!

Saturday was our last full day in Vegas. We woke up got ready and headed out on the strip for so more shopping and to do more of the tourist stuff like the M&M store, Coke and Hershey stores as well. We went and saw the new hotels and...
     yes we gambled and played slots. Judge all you want, because I really don't care. It was so much fun and we totally scored. This picture was taken after our first good size win. It was such a high winning money like that. I kind of became addicted and Dan was my strong hold and cut me off before we lost any money. He also told me it's a good thing that gambling is illegal in Texas! Hahaha it honestly was so much fun!

We walked around some more, and then headed back to our room to get ready for our last night out. 

We went and had dinner in the Paris hotel where you eat in the Eiffel Tower above the city. 


This was our view while we ate. We had a great table that faced the fountains so we were able to have a little show while eating. It was very romantic. It's funny though, that at fancy restaurants I have no clue what half the things on the menu are... I just kind of guess! It usually ends up good but not what I pictured. 

After dinner we had about an hour to kill so we went and gambled some more. Well this penny slot machines did not disappoint and we hit one of their jackpots! I mean it was on the lower end, but still high! Dan and I both just looked at each other wide eyed as the machine was dinging and lights were flashing! We couldn't stop laughing. It was pretty funny. 

Our last show of the night was Cirque Du Soleil. That show is mind blowing! The things they were doing were not human. The way some people can move and bend their bodies are just extraordinary! It seriously was amazing! 

Our show got out about 11pm. We were at Treasure Island and had a bit of a walk back to our hotel. So we just stopped at every hotel and played slots along the way. 
Yes again. We hit another small jackpot. We were just beyond belief at this point and decided to call it quits while we were ahead. I will be honest. It was hard to stop... you think to yourself, well if I can win this much, why not keep going?!? I totally see how people can lose everything from those stupid things! 



Sunday came all to quickly but I was ready to see my babes. My arms like literally ached to hold Owen. It was time to head home. 
We made it Salt Lake just fine and met up with my sisters! June ran into my arms and we hugged so tight! Oh I love that little lady! 
My amazing sisters!! They didn't even hesitate to take the kids and it sounded like they had so much fun! They are so incredible and I am so lucky with the family I have. We are best friends and closer than ever. So thankful for that! 


While we were away my sisters kept us updated with pictures... 


Baseball games that my 15 year old Nephew plays in!


Feeding the ducks which I guess were just crazy! 


They all went swimming one night and had forgotten to grab Owens swimsuit. He rocked his pink speedo well!


June had a blast! She told me all about her fun times with her cousins and what she did. I am so glad it worked out so well and how smoothly everything went. It will make it a lot easier to leave them next time. 


So there you have the birthday extravaganza! 30 looks good on Dan. And he doesn't look 30 so I guess that helps. It was a good birthday celebration and I'm so glad I get to by by Dan's side for the next 30+ years and many more adventures. 


Here is Dan's video I made for him! 





1 comment:

Cisneros Family said...

Happy Birthday Dan!!
Loved the video. You did such a great job with it!! Vegas looked amazing! And how hot are you?! Rockin body!