Las Vegas

We just got home from Las Vegas. Boy, did we have a blast! I took tons of pictures! Enjoy!

Jared and Douglas in the car on the way to Vegas on Monday (the 3 of us were crammed in the backseat of a sedan and Jared is in a carseat. Fun.)

Snow on the mountains

This was our view for most of the trip. Exciting, isn't it?

I thought this was great

Gas food? No, thanks. (Notice the temperature is 46 degrees during the day - that's the way it was pretty much the whole vacation)

We arrived at the Excalibur hotel at around 3:30 and checked in. We had a suite! Mom, Dad and Jared were in one room and Douglas and I were in the other. It was really nice and very inexpensive.

Of course Douglas had to pose

Big comfy chair!

They upgraded us to the rooms with the flat screen tvs since they processed our order wrong

Plus a bathroom with granite counter tops

One of the pictures in the room

Our view of the pools from the room during the day

And the view at night - not as spectacular as some views, but when you get the cheapest room, that's what you get :)

I love the casino atmosphere - the sights and sounds, just not the smoke

The chandalier in the restaurant

Pease wa The Hoste Will Direct Yo

These were the "assorted pastries" at the buffet

Relaxing after dinner (on our king-size bed - what a luxury!)

The view of the castle from the hallway window

We actually figured out which room was ours by having Mom mess with the lights and curtains while we watched from the parking lot

A cute little hobbit hole in the front

The castle at night is spectacular. I wanted a really good picture and made the sacrifice of finding the perfect spot at night for this last one in 30-degree weather, which I am NOT used to. My only protection over my t-shirt was a thin jacket. My ears were burning by the time I was done. But it was all worth it.

It looks really cool inside the castle, too

Mom, Jared and Douglas went on the SpongeBob 4-D ride at the Excalibur. (Mom and Jared also went on Polar Express)

And you can't pass up a giant SpongeBob without posing next to it

Monday after dinner, we decided to walk over to Luxor and Mandalay Bay to explore since they are all connected.

The Luxor is a giant pyramid and you can tell by the walls. Very cool!

Inside Mandalay Bay - Jared thought it was so cool that the Christmas trees were made entirely of bulbs

Douglas posing at the Sphinx's foot with the pyramid in the background

View of the strip as we were waiting for the tram to take us back to Excalibur

Tuesday was our day to find free shows across the strip. We visited MGM Grand, Circus Circus, The Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn and a sliver of Encore. We also decided to try out the buffet at Luxor since the Excalibur wasn't all that fabulous after trying out their dinner and breakfast buffets. The Luxor dinner buffet was awesome!

We saw the lion exhibit at the MGM Grand

Have you ever wondered what the underside of a lion looks like?

This place is so old

What's Las Vegas without some Circus Circus acts?

This clown was very talented

The Venetian was incredible. The ceiling was painted to look like a sky so you felt like you were outside. There were shops and restaurants to make you feel like you really were in Venice - complete with the Grand Canal and opera-singing gondoliers.

The ceiling as you walk towards the casino

And of course a free show (there were also people dressed up as statues periodically as you walked through the square)

Costumes in one of the shops (they were only $5,000)

At night, we went to the water show in front of the Bellagio (that's Caesar's Palace on the right)

And we went to another water show at the Wynn

Inside the Wynn, there were Christmas trees

The ceiling, tile and carpet in the walkway to the Encore

A diamond-encrusted mirror in one of the shops - we didn't ask how much it was

The brand new hotel

A view of Wynn and Encore through the car window

These next hotels I spotted throughout the day and thought they looked cool, even though we didn't go in them.

I liked the look of New York New York

I didn't even know there was a Paris hotel

The Palazzo looked amazing

On Wednesday, we checked out of the hotel and went to eat breakfast at Denny's (woo-hoo!) We had received a message on our answering machines the day before telling us that the 15 was closed at Primm (the border of California and Nevada) from 10am to 2pm for "blasting." That meant we either had to leave at 9 or stay until 1:30. So, we chose to find some more free stuff to do and stay longer in Las Vegas. We visited Caesar's Palace, the Flamingo and a lodge located 3 miles south of the strip called the Silverton.

Caesar's Palace was another incredible hotel. The art was awesome.

I like this pose from Douglas

You know a bathroom is incredible if you feel the need to take pictures of it

The bar

All this was where the shops were. We felt underdressed and inadequate to enter the shops since they were so fancy

Relaxing on a bench (which was more like a couch)

Our one and only group shot with Pegasus in the background

Minutes away and worlds apart was the Flamingo. Of course they had to have some real flamingos

It would be cool if I could remember the name of this bird

Black swans

Japanese Koi Fish

Ducks!

Pheasants - I got to touch one

The Silverton had a neat aquarium

We got to watch the stingrays being fed

And the sharks, too!

Here is the leftover dust from the blasting. It was pretty messy.

With traffic, it took us 6 hours instead of 4 1/2 to get home. Since we didn't leave until 2, we didn't arrive home until 8. It sure felt good to get out of the car. I'm just not the road-trip kind of girl. But, the Vegas part was so fun! I narrowed down my favorite hotels (besides Excalibur) to Wynn, Venetian and Caesar's Palace. They were all so beautiful! I'm glad we went!

Art by David Bowman

I wanted to share these beautiful pictures and what the artist has to say about each one of them! You can ALL win a FREE signed 8x10 print of your choice (out of the three prints), by copying and posting to your blog or website this whole post! After you post then send an e-mail to David (contact@bowman-art.com) with your website or blog address telling him you posted it and that you read about this offer on my blog. Also send him your name and mailing address and he will send your signed 8x10 print of your choice :) Hurry because...
*This offer expires Monday Jan. 5th at noon!!*

David Bowman: has had a passion for art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He loves creating images of the Savior that inspire and uplift. Along with his Christian fine art, David has also written and illustrated a series of scripture storybooks for children titled "Who's Your Hero". Check out his website at www.bowman-art.com to see more of his precious art.



"Innocence"
The Savior tells us we need to become as little children to inherit the kingdom of God. I've often wondered what it is about little children Jesus loves most, and I think its their innocence. They are clean slates, seeing the world and others through untarnished eyes. Their hearts are pure, without the baggage of cynicism and self-doubt. In this piece, I've tried to imagine how a child would act upon meeting the Master for the first time. Without reservation or inhibition, I think he would simply want to play with Him. He would be at complete ease, allowing his pure little heart to soak in the love and laughter of His pure, infinite heart. Its no wonder Christ delights in these little ones and sets them up to be our examples.



"Security"
One of the greatest human needs is a sense of security. In all aspects of life, we naturally gravitate towards anything that makes us feel safe. In this piece, I wanted to convey a sense of complete peace and calm like only the Savior can provide. It's a security that allows us to rest assured, without fear or worry, when we put ourselves trustingly in His arms. Little children have that inherent kind of trust in their parents, so it's fitting that the man and girl who modeled for "Security" are actually father and daughter. They generated
the exact feel I was looking for.



"My Child"
This piece conveys an intimate, up-close-and-personal feeling of the Savior's love. Notice how all the lines draw your attention and point towards Jesus' face in the center. I chose the name "My Child" because the only thing that could compare (even remotely) to Christ's compassion for us is the love of a parent for his/her child. This image is also intended to put things in perspective. Above all, we are God's children first. He allows us the privelege of experiencing parenthood for ourselves and we are entrusted to be the mothers and fathers of His children here on earth.

New Year's Day

Our family tradition on New Year's Day is to go to lunch at Souplantation and see a movie. This year we chose "The Tale of Despereaux." It was an awesome movie! Very well done with a wonderful message. I wish they had more movies out there like this. I have heard it is not like the book, but since I have never read the book, I have nothing to compare it to. So, judging on seeing the movie for the first time, I loved it! And being a rodent-lover, I, of course, LOVED Despereaux, the mouse. What a cute, wholesome movie!




(P.S. This is my 100th post!)

Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve, we dressed up in garb, went to the park and took a bunch of pictures for fun and then we went to Trevor's house for a party. We ate a yummy spaghetti dinner (thanks a bunch to Trevor for making food for all of us!), played video games and then watched Princess Bride. I fell asleep in the middle because my pregnant body always demands sleep. Then as half the group enjoyed the jacuzzi, I decided to take another power nap so I could stay up until midnight (yes, I really had to.) We watched the ball drop and then played a rousing game of Cloodle until 3am! (My team won, by the way.)

I didn't take very many pictures, but Lorraine took a BUNCH and as soon as she decides to give us the pictures, I can post them

My silly husband

Relaxing at Trevor's