About 1/2 way through December we realized we were a couple hundred points short of earning our Southwest companion pass for next year.  We called to ask what our options were and they told us the only thing we could do was get on a plane.  So, that’s what we did!  Rusty had a voucher from a cancelled flight and we had a free night at hotels.com.  We wanted somewhere relatively cheap, easy to get to and warm.  Vegas fit the bill.  I actually wasn’t super excited about this trip because 1.  I hate Vegas.  2. It wasn’t going to be that warm. 3. It seemed like a hassle during a busy Christmas season.

We left the kids in Utah and headed out.  We stayed at the Aria, which is an awesome hotel.  We loved it.  We were bound and determined to get in the pool, even though it was only about 56 degrees outside.  All the lifeguards were in warm up pants, jackets, hats and gloves and we were swimming.  The water was heated so it felt pretty good.  We sat in the hot tub for awhile and then bundled up in a ton of towels to stay warm while we read on the poolside lounge chairs.  It was actually quite nice!

When the sun started to dip down we headed back to our room to get ready for the evening.  1st stop: The High Roller.  The largest observation wheel in the world.  It was a fun little ride and all the glitz and lights of Las Vegas make for a pretty cool view from above.

We went to dinner at a Mexican place in Caesar’s Palace. The scope and scale of the themed hotels is pretty incredible.  Just about when we finished dinner we realized we had misjudged the time of our Criss Angel show.  We thought it started at 7:30, but it really started at 7.  We booked it as fast as we could to the Luxor.  We arrived in our seats about 7:20.  Lucky for us, the show had started late and I think we only missed about 3 minutes.  We weren’t exactly sure if the show was going to be up our alley–it started out pretty dark and intense.  And it stayed that way most of the show, but Criss did perform some really cool illusions.  We enjoyed it for the most part, but probably wouldn’t endorse it to friends.

Back at our hotel room we cozied up and turned on “My name is Ove.”  I had been looking forward to seeing this movie because I loved the book so much.  But it true Tara fashion I was asleep within 15 min 🙂

The next day began as all days in Vegas should begin:  A breakfast buffet.  After perusing Yelp reviews we settled on the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan.  And it was delicious!  So many choices!  We hung out there until we were sure we could never eat another bite as long as we lived.

We needed to check out of our room, but we still wanted to hang out by the pool and whatnot.  We opted to get the spa day pass so we could use the showers, steam rooms, hot tubs, and roof top pool.  Today felt like a much warmer day.  It was still on 60 degrees, but it was enough for us!  The sun felt so wonderful!  The day flew by too quickly and before we knew it, we were on a plane headed back to Utah.  I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun we had on this trip!  I don’t want to come back to Vegas anytime soon, but this quick little get away was just what the dr ordered.

We also really enjoyed the fountains and winter wonderland botanical garden at the Bellagio.