What Happens in Vegas...

So remember how I told everyone I was so excited that my Dad surprised my Mom for her birthday with a Vegas vacation? Well the other part of that story, and why I was so excited for them, was that Travis and I, as well as my brother and his girlfriend were ALSO in on the surprise...in fact, we WERE the other half of the surprise. We showed up at my parents hotel Friday morning as the "shuttle"they were waiting for and gave my mom the surprise of her life. Needless to say she was shocked and even shed a few happy tears :)

We had a great weekend as a family! We spent lots of time exploring Vegas, walking for miles, eating great food, watching interesting people, and sharing plenty of laughs. The end of the weekend came much to fast, and I was sad to see us all part ways on Sunday morning. The only thing that made it easier was knowing that Travis and I will be back in Iowa for Christmas in a few short weeks. Here are some pictures of all the festivities...


Matthew, Jana, Dad, Mom, Travis and I in front of Ethel's Chocolate factory. We got to watch how the little Dove chocolate hearts were made and even got a few samples...YUM!

Hoover Dam from the parking garage...this was REALLY amazing to see in person. It makes you feel so small! Unfortunately, we did not see any Transformers while we were there :)


The bridge that they are constructing that will be a new route over the dam..it is MASSIVE!

The Wynn and the Encore...VERY classy hotels, some of my brother's favorites. I also think he said that these are where the show "Las Vegas" take place?

Trav and I in front of the Excalibur. I just think this is the NEATEST building all lit up at night...it made me feel like I was in a cartoon or something.

This talking animated tree was part of the conservatory display inside of the Belagio Hotel. I took lots of pictures in this place, none of which does it justice! B-E-A-UTIFUL!

View of the Paris hotel from the stairs at the Belagio.

My mom would have had no idea that this "statue" inside of the Vinitian was a real person if we hadn't pointed it out to her...it is INCREDIBLE how these people can stand so still for so long!

The Stratosphere. We all decided that we would rather NOT fork over $16 a person to take the elevator ride to the top...so we just admired it from the ground :)

The Trump Tower...no significance, other than that I think I took an awesome picture of this building as the sun went down!

Coincidentally, one of my lifelong BFF's and her husband were in Vegas at the same time as we were! Our trips only overlapped by a day, but they were able to join our family for dinner on Saturday night.

Such a fun trip! I have the BEST family and I really wish that we would have had more time to explore, see a show, and spend more quality time together. Love you guys and let's for sure do it again sometime!