Vegas, Vegas, Vegas

WARNING: THIS POST HAS A LOT OF PICTURES!

When Emma and I were younger we forever used to say that on our 21st birthdays we would go to vegas for our birthdays, meaning I wait until Emma was 21 and we'd celebrate her 21st and my half 21st. It is very typical and cliche I know but we both felt that it was the right thing to do. So, last month was Emma's 21st birthday and once again the topic came up. We had talked about it with my family when we were last home but had not said anything about it in months. The week of Emma's birthday I told my Mom that we'd really like to go and she laughed. No surprise. So I took that as a no. Emma's birthday was on a Friday. On Wednesday I was sitting in my class when I got a text from my Mom. It said "Race you to Vegas. Rooms booked for Friday-Sunday. See you there".......WHAT? immediate joy is what. I ran home and told Emma and we were both full of joy. Well you can imagine that two days later Emma and I were in a car on our way to Fabulous Las Vegas. (there was a lot of stress on Emma's part because of classes and what not (Emma's not mine) but it all just worked out perfect!) Within 24 hours we had figured out classes, callings, assingments and everthing that one would need to so we could leave for a stress free birthday celebration weekend. We spent most of Emma's birthday in the car travelling but some of our best times are during road trips so it did not really matter to us. We did end up beating Mom to Vegas (only by seconds, but it was a victory that I'll take). People on this trip included Rhonda, Robert, Grandma (such a nice surprise), Ashlynn, Deasiya, Mom, Emma, and I. My Dad and the boys stayed home for a guys weekend, sad, but I understood. After settling into our rooms and changing from car apparell the festivities began. It was about 11 p.m but our party was ready to play. We went out onto Freemont street and were delighted to see this Queen light showon the roof above. A little weird but it's Vegas.

Ashlynn was more than happy to see the "Four Queens" where the Rat Pack used to eat. She was a little bit of a creep about this place but we did not mind.

All four our the sisters. This was the frist time we had all been together in like, oh, 6 months. It was beautiful and we could have not been more pleased.

Keeping in mind it was Emma's birthday we got some late night grub at a walk up type of place. When we were on our way out Robert got Emma a birthday cake (brownie) and we then sang to her on the elevator. It was so happy.

We then decided since we were in the city that never sleeps (I don't really know if that's Vegas or not) we would go to the pool at 1 a.m, apparently as a whole we are night owls. The picture below is not that great but Ashlynn makes me laugh because she is such a good picture taker. While we were there we saw "Bobby Ray" from Sweet Home Alabama. We definetly stared until we realized who he was but that no big deal. All picture by pools were taken on Ashlynn's camera so sorry about that. Saturday was nuts! Agenda: breakfast, pool, shopping, eating, sight seeing, learning new stuff, and just having a good time. We woke up. Got dressed. Had breakfast and hit the town. Our first stop was the mall. In my family apparently you can't go on vacation without going shopping, which I don't get but I was not going to complain.
The mall had rougly 600 escalators. Emma looked great on all of them.
Randomly while we shopped, the floor came up from under groud and all of the sudden there were male models for LaCost just strutting their stuff.
Well we shopped and shopped. Truth be told we did a lot of waiting for Grandma and Rhonda to be done shopping. They can go forever! We then headed back to the hotel so we could enjoy some pool time. But, on our way back Mom and Robert realized that we were just blocks away from GOLD & SILVER PAWN SHOP. The shop has been made famous from show on some network called Pawn Stars. What to do in a situation like that? Find the shope and go to the Pawn shop. After a little google search and GPS guidance, we ended up at the shop. We waited in line because apparently EVERYONE loves them too. It was so fun though, ghetto, smelly, but great fun! That is when I realized that I get my random and spontaneous from my mother. Such a proud moment.
I guess my family watches the show because everyone was so happy to be there. Mom and Grandma kept looking for Chumlee. Never spotted though. We were not disappointed though. We were just glad to be there! I would also like to say that since this trip I have watched pawn stars and I do like it as much as one person can. It makes me laugh and every time we watch it I get to say "I've been there" never gets old. We then went back to the hotel and sat pool side for a while. It was so nice and we all had a good time just relaxing and trying to get some color. Deasiya beat us all that's for sure. haha! Just kidding D! We then went back to our room and got ready to go out again. We felt that it was appropriate to look saucy and we really enjoyed this chance. We went to the Mirage for dinner and found this in the lobby. You better believe we fit 5 people in the phone booth. I think everyone was impressed. We couldn't breath when the door was closed but it was well worth it. Not a one person could stop laughing at this. We then went to dinner and finally got to sing to Emma in an appropriate setting with a real cake and candle. The whole group at dinnerAfter dinner we went to the fountains at Bellagio. This was one of the happiest parts for me. I loved them!Then walked the strip a little more and were happy with everything we saw If you ask Emma and Ashlynn, seeind and taking a picture with Darth was the best part of the night. He was not as scary as he looks. Emma loves Pina Colada's (virgin) and was so glad that she got to buy one, they carded her, and she could still get it. Getting carded was just part of what made being 21 so happy to Emma. She was very very sad when it was all gone though.After our night of play we headed back to the hotel and once again hit up the pool and played a bit more. Most of our group went to bed but Ashlynn, Emma, and I stayed up to play until we could no longer. While we were walking back to our room we found this casino chair. Emma had to take a picture. she will forver cherish this. becoming 21 doesn't make you less of a nerd I guess. now I know that I'm going to get in trouble for this one. Ashlynn = not really throwing up in the bushes, but she thought that this picture would be funny. she was right. it makes me laugh every time. Once we got back to our room, Ashlynn and I stayed up and talked until the early morning which I really enjoyed. It was fun to be with Ash in a place that we did not have to worry about anything or have any responsibilities. We're both always so busy and this was a good chance to catch up. I'm very excited for Ashlynn to go to Colorado this next month for the Fall because it will be a good adventure for her. She just all around makes me happy.
On Sunday we lounged around for a while and then headed out. We took a few pictures before leaving. I was sad to see everyone go this time but it was almost perfectly in the middle of the semester so it did not feel like it would be long before I saw them again.

Me & Grams (I really enjoy her leg pop here)
Mom & the girls After saying byes we all got back on the road and headed back to reality. The weekend was so fun. We did everything that Vegas had to offer us and enjoyed all of our time together away from everything that was happening.
Our trip was great and ended just the way it should. Emma sleeping and me driving.
It was the perfect ending to a great weekend. Thanks to Robert and Mom being spontaneous, we had a fabulous time.