Anniversary 2014

 On the 26th of December we got up early packed our bags and hit the road for Las Vegas. It seems to be our "go to" place when we need time away as a couple, but we've gone there for so many years we know our way around and can usually find a reasonable rate to stay!

 The drive down was interesting! It was the first time in a LONG time that we hit weather on the way down. We had snow in several spots and it slowed us down a bit, but we stopped in St George to say hello to Tammy before heading down to The Palms to check into our room.

 The view was awesome! The lights at night were cool, but honestly the sunrise was even more amazing! The entire sky looked orange! It was stunning! I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but I only had my phone camera and I am sure it wouldn't have done it justice anyway!

 We stayed in this room for one night before switching to another the next day. We hadn't planned on doing that but when we discovered this room didn't have a bath tub we HAD to move! A tub was one thing I HAD to have! Since I don't have a big tub in my own home it's something I REALLY look forward to when I stay in a nice hotel!

 Once we got there we got comfortable, ordered in food and watched a movie! It was heavenly! We actually spent a lot of time in our hotel room. It was wonderful to just spend time together alone and have chats and laugh. It's exactly what we need once a year to remind us why we got together in the first place! :) And a nap here and there was great too.. with NO interruptions! Yay!

 One of the days we took some Christmas money and hit the mall on the strip! This one is AMAZING! We've been here many times. It is HUGE and has pretty much every store imaginable! I was proud of myself for making a big purchase... a Michael Kors purse! I LOVE it!

 We also went to a few spots we hadn't been a quite a while- like Paris hotel and casino...

 we had thought about eating there, but it was INSANELY busy so we left and walked a bit until we found the perfect spot.

 This is where we ended up eating at and it was perfect! It was outside (with heaters) in front of Planet Hollywood Casino which is right across from the Bellagio fountains! It was fantastic food and the perfect spot to people watch which is a favorite thing to do there!

 I am sure we ordered WAY too much food, but when your out on your own and at a great food place you want to try a lot of things! This guacamole was FANTASTIC!

 I snapped this picture of Chan while we were eating there wearing his new shirt he had purchased! Doesn't he look great! I am one lucky gal! :)

 After we ate we walked around for a while. We had filled our tummies so full we needed to walk it off a bit! The walkways over the strip make for good picture opportunities! :)

 The next day we decided we wanted to go to a movie. Our hotel had a movie theater in it so we went to see the Night at the Museum 3! Our kids had gone to see it with their Gamma and Papa and gave it rave reviews so we knew it would be good! And it WAS!

 After the movie we went out again and hit a few spots we hadn't been to yet. The first one was the gardens at Bellagio. Every year they do amazing displays for Christmas. This years was BY FAR the most remarkable I have ever seen. There was a snow tunnel, polar bears made out of flowers and penguins popping up out of igloos! It was really neat!

 The only drawback was that is was insanely crowded! You'd never guess that by the pictures I took, but I could barely walk through to get them! And I didn't post them all... don't want to bore you!

 You can see the crowd in the background of this picture! It's the huge black blob in the center there! Haha! But seriously if your in Las Vegas around this time it is totally worth going to see and it doesn't cost anything!

 This was our last night in Vegas so we wanted to have a special Anniversary dinner. We didn't think we'd have a hard time choosing a place, but oh boy, we were wrong! It was a Sunday evening and everywhere we went was SLAMMED! It was relatively early (for Vegas time) and most places there wasn't openings until 9pm! Yikes! So we just kept walking around until we found this place in Ceasers Palace. We have walked by this place a million times and never thought to check it out, but we were glad we did this time! It was very yummy! And it was pretty busy too, so it was a slow service, but we liked that. It gave us time to really enjoy it!

 All of the casinos had lovely Christmas decor! I can't imagine how long it must take for them to put that up and take it down! Wow! Once we got our dinner we went back to the hotel because we planned to leave early Monday to get home to our kiddos!

When we arrived home there was a gift from my friend Jennie to help us celebrate our big day! It was such a sweet thing to do!

It's hard for me to believe I have been married for 20 years! Over that weekend we talked about our time in college, having our babies, moving homes and all else we've been through and there's not anything we would change. In fact, we love each other more now than ever! We are looking forward to more memories with our kids and many more anniversary trips to fun places! We are truly blessed!
I love you Chan! Here's to 20 more!