Weekend in Vegas...

I have only been to a casino twice. My first time, I begged my parents to take me to a casino that had recently opened near my hometown. My parents never gamble, so it took some major convincing to get them to go. My Mother gave me $5, she said choose my game, and decide how much I wanted to spend. Not knowing how to play any table games, I chose a slot machine, something cheap that would give me the most time for the $5 dollars I was given. I ended up winning about $300 dollars. I was having the time of my life, cheering, celebrating, causing a small group of older ladies to wander over to see what all the celebration was about. I will never forget one of the old ladies turning up her nose at my celebration, and saying "oh, it's only $300, why are you so excited?" Seriously?!?! I didn't want her negativity to ruin my good time, so I cashed out, took my earnings and left. 

The second time I ventured into a casino, I can't remember the exact reason I went, but I remember being given $5 dollars. I sat down at a slot machine. Lost my $5 dollars. Stood up, threatened to burn the place down, and walked out. I have never returned to a casino since. 

One may correlate Vegas to gambling. Ryan and I did not gamble a single penny. I thought I would give the $5 casino adventure another try, but once we were there, I had no desire. The people in the casino did not seem like they were having a good time, everyone looked so serious. The cigarette smoke was a bit overwhelming, so I spent my time passing through the casinos at a swift walk, almost run. I credit my hastiness to the lack of casino machines calling my name. 

Number one reason for visiting Las Vegas, and the starting plan for our trip was Cirque du Soleil's "O" show. Ryan and I are big fans of Cirque. We saw our first two shows in Indianapolis while in college, we saw a show in Moscow, and recently attended a show in New Orleans. The New Orleans show really got our thinking wheels turning, and we knew we had to see the O show. We discussed a trip to Las Vegas while I was pregnant, but considering I do not miss drinking, and nightclubs are not my thing, I had no problems visiting Vegas while preggers. Plus, let's be honest, who in their right mind would take a child to Vegas? Actually, a lot of people, I was surprised by the amount of young children walking around. Maybe my Mommy self was in full force. 

O was everything, and more than we expected. Ryan picked the perfect seats, center stage, 4 rows back. I am thankful we did not have front row seats, I am pretty sure they were splashed a few times. At one point, we felt the water mist, so I know the front row was probably showering. The strength and talent each performer possesses is incredible. I am always in awe during each Cirque performance, and this one was probably the most awe inspiring. If you have a chance to see the show, go. No photos were allowed during the show, but we did take a couple before. 

The dress was a good choice, you can see a bump!

Perfecting the art of the "selfie"

Ceiling

We did this trip on the "cheap." Airlines miles for the tickets, and points for the hotel. We were very fortunate that the Cosmopolitan is affiliated with Marriott. Our room was awesome, as well as the view from our balcony. We were able to watch the Bellagio fountain show from our balcony. We only have about five pictures from Las Vegas, the remaining pictures came from our exploring outside the city. We actually spent more time out of the city than we did in the city, and it was perfect. Ryan and I were glad we saw Vegas, but Vegas is not really our thing. In order to not sound pretentious, I will filter our comments regarding the city, but we can understand why people like the city.

Our first adventure out of the city was to the Hoover Dam. Now that we are back in America, we are trying to see the major landmarks and sights of America. The Hoover Dam is a pretty impressive engineering feat.

The picture does no justice to the actual size. 

Isn't he handsome with his beard? :)

Our second adventure took us to Zion National Park. What an incredible natural wonder. We heard it was a beautiful area, and the reviews were not lying. I am not much of a nature girl, but I could not get enough. I even said, and I am documenting this in writing, "We should come back in the future. We can spend the day hiking, and you (Ryan) can carry Baby Boy Lang in the baby carrier while we hike." Maybe I was delirious from the fresh air, but I was not too delirious to think camping was a good idea. Hiking, but no camping. :)

We have no future travel plans in the works. Ryan is going to be pretty busy with work, and I am going to be pretty busy baby baking. I am so happy I was able to see O, and I look forward to a future trip out west to take our little boy hiking. Seriously, I just typed the word hiking (in a positive tone) multiple times in this blog post. Maybe I will be a good Mom of a little boy. :)

If you wish to see the remaining pictures from our trip, click on the link to our photo album below. I highly recommend you check out the pictures from Zion National Park, and plan a trip to see it in person. 

Las Vegas and Zion National Park Photo Album