Sin City

For Christmas, Brandon and all the other brothers-in-law got their wives a trip to Las Vegas. Now, frankly, this city is beyond gross in my opinion. Read my sister, Melanie's commentary on the place and that pretty much sums it up for me.

However, I could be ANYWHERE with my sisters and have a good time AND they had a darn good reason for sending us there. So I put up with the porn-slappers, (those irritating people who slap stacks of porn cards together trying to get your attention so they can invite you to a sick show)cigarette & cigar smoke (my clothes and hair were saturated with that stuff) endless noise, no free seating...anywhere, and all for...

Celine Dion.

She was so worth it...more on that in a minute though.

We spent the majority of the day just being silly. I mean, most of the people there were drunk and acting ridiculous, so we followed suite...only sober.

We decided on a limo for our transportation from the airport. Several of us had NEVER been in one and it was just three bucks more than the shuttle to have a limo for an hour. Sold. Three of the bros-in-law were lucky enough to find sitters for the kiddos, so they got to come along - Eric, Brian and Jade. Brandon and Arthur were not so fortunate and stayed behind watching the little-ones. Thanks boys!

A couple of things we spotted on our drive to the hotel. I love that mini statue of liberty. Very cool. And, of course the sign of Celine got me all excited.


Out on the strip. I have to say, it was CRAZY windy there that day...so here's the best outdoor shot...

And here's the worst.

We opted for mainly indoor photos after that. I can't even remember which hotel we were in here, but they had an impressive indoor garden. Side note - I think we saw at least 10 brides there that day...it made me so sad for them. "I got married in Vegas" - that just sounds depressing. I should have taken pictures of all of them and put a collage of them on here. I guess I was too busy gawking and wondering what possessed them to get married in this smoky, noisy hole.

Moving on.

This indoor mall was pretty impressive. They had every shop known to man inside. We ate lunch there at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum.

Inside the forum shops. Cool ceiling.

This Greek looking fountain reminded us of the old ladies in "The Music Man" and their Grecian Urns...we couldn't resist - being surround by drunk people and all their ridiculousness. ;)

And then we squished ourselves into this cool phone booth. I know, I look like a dork on the phone. Whatever.

After wondering around for several hours looking for something to do, we decided to head back to our hotel and take naps before getting ready for THE SHOW.

We had hoped to see the water show outside the Belagio on our way to the show, but again, the wind was so crazy, they canceled the show. Big bummer. We opted to take some photos to fill up our time and hunt for a place to get ice cream that didn't have an hour wait. Never did get the ice cream. But we did get some pictures. :)

Kiss face. Mine stinks. The rest of my sisters have great kiss faces.
Left to right: Me, Jewel, Melanie, Sharee and Natalie.

Tis the year of the Dragon, so in honor of the Chinese New Year, we did dragon faces.
I told you we were silly.

Cool glittery horse inside the Belagio.

Sharee took this picture, and it totally sums up the craziness of the day and (more accurately) the place. BLURRRRR.
During our hunt for ice, we found the ONLY free seating in the whole city on the edge of that Greek fountain. Our feet were KILLING us...and Natalie wasn't about to face a smile.

And finally, the reason we went to Vegas; the CELINE DION SHOW. Despite my utter dislike for the place, I would go there again just to see her perform. I'm certainly not a professional musician, but I am musician/performer picky. Especially when it comes to LIVE performances and I was in complete awe from start to finish with Celine. She is a classy, well rounded, power-house with an unmatched range - the MOST talented female artist EVER in my humble opinion. I have never been a die hard fan - but now, after witnessing her abilities LIVE, I don't think there ever has been or ever will be another Celine Dion. She sang several of her own classics, but also performed two Michael Jackson numbers in honor of his contributions to the world of pop - and nailed them. She sang a French song that, despite my inability to understand the words, moved me to tears - she sang it with such raw emotion. And she also sang an Ella Fitzgerald song and can scat like it's nobodies business. Ya, well rounded phenomenal artist.

Here's a link to her opening number:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MROotmz8a-U&feature=player_embedded

I'm a retard and can't figure out how to get a youtube video on here...

Thanks again for the Christmas gift Brandon. It was AmAzInG!