Viva Las Vegas

Last weekend was what Mike termed my "fantastic birthday weekend".

He surprised me with airline tickets the night before we left

and I couldn't have been more happy about it.

50 minutes by plane versus 6 hours on the road? I'll take flying.

This trip really was Mike's gift to me. He hates Las Vegas. Okay, hate is a little extreme.

He has never cared for it as much as I have. Until this trip.

We had so much fun together. We walked the entire strip 4 times over.

I can't get enough of all the uh-mahzing (said like Penny from Happy Endings) things you can

see (for free!) by just walking around.

 The Bellagio and Wynn had the most beautiful, detailed decor.

Our pictures don't do it justice so you'll have to use a little imagination.

 The glass sculpture on the right was particularly impressive to me. It's a piece by Dale Chuhily,

an incredible American glass sculptor. I've been a long time fan of his work.

The horse is just cool. I have no idea who made it.

The Bellagio gardens weren't finished being set up for Chinese New Year but that didn't stop us from sneaking in and taking pictures of what was already on display. As expected, this hotel blew me away.

Look at this article and the photo gallery to see how the Bellagio is celebrating the Year of the Dragon!

We splurged and saw Le Reve.

Breathtaking! Inspiring! Unforgettable.

Mike and I turned to look at each other every two minutes with faces that maintained

a certain level of shock throughout the show. We will be saving our pennies to be at the next show that Steve Wynn and the creators of Cirque du Soleil team up to do. We were so impressed!

Sights on the strip.

I would hardly call us gamblers. We much prefer to look over the shoulder of others and watch them

lose their own money (I'm sure it makes them feel uncomfortable but who cares?), rather than risk

our own BUT one day I was feeling pretty lucky so asked a cute, old security guard named Jose

at Caesar's Palace to show us the ropes! I told him we were first timers who needed a little direction.

Jose showed us the Wheel of Fortune machine that he won $200,000 on. He bought his first house a few years ago with that money. (Shhh... he told me that was a secret between him and I but I know you don't tell anyone.)

Mike and I gambled with $15 each. Look who won $43 and only $3 into his game?

That's my cute hubby.

While everyone else was either losing thousands or making thousands,

we were happy with our humble winnings.

On Sunday night, after Le Reve, we hung out on the patio at the Wynn. Mike had a great time

"learning how to use our new camera" aka taking stalker photos of me.

This was our view from the patio.

The next day we left the perfect 60 degrees and Utah greeted us with- once again- freezing temperatures.

I'm sitting here at work, wishing I was back in Las Vegas.

Such a fun birthday trip! I'm grateful to experience many memorable travels, just the two of us.