Only in Vegas

I know my blog is a little on the shabby side right now.  Seriously, what is UP with that white bar on top?  *Sigh*.  Oh well.  Until I have time to fix some of my blogger issues, I at least need to write a regular post, because I am getting so far behind that I can feel myself settling into blog avoidance (Shan, you should look into that...maybe we can have "blog escapism" added into the DSM as an official disorder?).

This weekend we went to Vegas for my mom's 55th birthday.  We left after I got off of work on Thursday, and we returned on Sunday.  There was a big group of us who went:  Me and Clint, my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, Shannon, Jeremy, Amber and Jessika (my step-sisters), Jessika's husband Jeff, and Sarah.  With the exception of Sarah, we all stayed at the Rio.  In fact, all of us managed to get rooms on the same floor.  All of the rooms in the Rio are suites, so in addition to the bedroom, they have a living area with a sectional couch, coffee table, etc.  Our room in particular had one wall that was entirely glass, with a gorgeous view of the city.  We also had a small glass window which allowed you to see in from the bedroom into the shower--a funny (and potentially entertaining) little quirk.  None of our rooms were as big as my parents though--my dad sprang for a huge 1600 square feet corner suite.  That's only about 200 square feet smaller than my house.  This room was ridiculous.

It would be impossible for me to talk about the whole trip, so I'll just hit some of the highlights.  On Friday Clint and I went and shot machine guns.

I always close my eyes during pictures.  I don't get it.  Anyway, that's an M4.  We shot other stuff too, but that one was my favorite.  It was crazy, because the range officer (pictured above) grew up in the High Desert too, and had only lived in Vegas for the past few years.  Small world.   

Friday evening we ate at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.  Because the cost was so dang expensive, I refused to put anything on my plate except for crab legs and sushi.  It was quite the plate, with all of these crustaceans' appendages jutting out in all directions in a giant heap.  Sarah had no intentions of eating with us since it was so expensive, but she still wanted to sit with us, so we tried to sneak her in (it was a pay first establishment).  Shannon finally managed to smuggle Sarah in, and for a little while she blended right in with the rest of us.  But then Sarah started taking a few nibbles here and there, and started drinking some soda, so finally the waiter asked to see her meal receipt.  After going back and forth a few times with "I lost it" and such, Shan finally snuck Sarah back out while the cashier was looking up her info, and the two just "disappeared".  The whole thing was a dismal fail, but really funny.  

Friday night was busy, but the three things that stand out the most were the fake mustaches, zip-lining down Fremont Street, and our squashed limo ride.  And yes, I realize how random those things sound, but we are talking about Vegas here.  

So Amber showed up at the bar with a package of cheap fake mustaches, and when my dad saw them, he loudly proclaimed, "Yeah!  Tonight's Mustache Night!"  Being a little tipsy, ALL of us girls put one on and sauntered around the Rio donning our 'staches.  It was beyond hilarious.  

Oops, it looks like Sarah's fell off her face.

Later, we went to Fremont Street on the Old Strip.  This has always been my favorite part of Vegas.  It is so pretty and cheery.  Even though there are some questionable people in this part of town, it's impossible for me to walk down Fremont Street without a big goofy grin plastered on my face.  Plus I love the casinos on the old strip.  They're less posh and more my speed.  

But our real reason for going to the Old Strip was to go zip-lining.  Have you ever done this before?  BEST $20 bucks I've ever spent.  It was pure exhilaration.  My dad took a video of all of us zip-lining, so as soon as I have that clip, I'll post it on my blog.      

When we left Fremont Street, we decided on a whim to take a limo back to the Rio, since the cost was only about $15 more than the cost of two cabs.  Our limo was a joke.  Despite how large it looked on the outside, the inside was designed to hold only about seven people.  We were nothing but a tangle of limbs and body parts.  I don't think my ass touched the seat itself even once.  We spent the entire limo ride bouncing around and crying with laughter.

Later that night, after doing a little gambling (I got a four of a kind TWICE!  But only on minimum bets, so my winnings totaled only $65 or so), we reunited at the bar to break in my Mom's 55th birthday.  At exactly midnight, we all sang happy birthday to her, and the bartender gave her a Blow Job.  The DRINK.  ;-)  I'm not sure what's in it, but it was too strong for anyone in our group.  Clint tried to take one tiny sip, and he just about gagged.  I ended up downing the entire shot just to show him up, to which I smiled calmly and stated in a pleasant voice, "I don't see what the big deal is."  But internally I was burning.  I think there's a more mild version of the drink, but this one was basically the fires of hell with some whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Saturday was more low-key.  That morning we went to my mom's room for birthday cupcakes and gift- opening.  Here's how her painting came out:

I'm going to try to touch up the necklace some more, but I'll eventually write more about all of that on my art blog.  We spent the rest of the day on the strip, meandering through the different casinos.  Clint and I separated from the group for awhile to check out the art exhibit at the Bellagio, and to explore the shops at Planet Hollywood.  

That's one of the walkways in the Bellagio.  Everything about the place is so elegant.  I love it, but at the same time, hillbilly-me always feels a little out of place.

That night we played some video poker, played Bingo, and hung out at the bar.  The bar was fun and crazy, what with all the beads falling from the sky (they do a mini-Mardi Gras every hour), music, and juggling bartenders.  Here's all of us girls:

From left to right, that's Amber, Sarah, Shan, me, and Jessika.  This picture is blurry, but I love it because it captured how happy we were that night.

Sunday morning we woke up earlier than we wanted to, checked out of our hotel, said goodbye to everyone, and headed home.  On our way home we stopped at Peggy Sues for lunch, which is a really cool fifties-themed diner.

Well that was LONG.  I had other things I wanted to talk about, like Valentine's Day, my Twitter account being compromised, Cori B (Snoop Dog's daughter) visiting our campus yesterday, my kids breaking out into the Macarena during 7th period today, etc., but I'll have to save those for future entries.

Oh wait--one more thing!  Somehow I ended up not getting a single picture with me and Clint together.  Not ONE.  So here's one of me and Jeremy instead.

I think we look very intelligent.