March Madness

So far the month has come in like a lion for our family. I'm hoping it's promised: goes out like a lamb, comes true! 

There's most definitely a grain of truth to the coined March Madness around here... Can you guess where we just got back from?

Not a skyline buff?

Try again...

Perhaps Paris?

Not this year anyways...

Another clue.

This place was erupting with Volcanoes ...

And bursting with fountains at the Bellagio...

Ok well, by now if you've ever been before...you've guessed it!

We just got back from Las Vegas!  With a gate announcement that our departing plane couldn't land in the freezing fog, the morning we left threatened to put a big damper on our vaca plans. But after they circled around a few times, there were finally able to land...and a huge crowd of fans were big-time relieved that they could all get on with their trip!

This wasn't just any 'ol trip to Vegas. We don't gamble or have a night life :)  

With 4 kids I think that's a little to be expected....

We went to watch the ZAGS play in the WCC Tournament!

 And if you can't tell by the pics...we had a blast. It was the perfect mini get-a-way for us.

No electricity or running water days before we left made for every excuse to just want "out" of the madness for a few days...and that we did! Our trip spanned 4 days, and that was the perfect amt of time to be gone for a little recreational b-ball watching! By day four we felt like we had seen and done it all! Well, all that we wanted to see and do that is :) There is SO much to do in this city...but b-ball is the perfect excuse for us to come here, otherwise I'm not sure what we'd venture to Vegas for!

Some of our highlights:

The book was right! This place - Ronald's Donuts - was quaint and part of a tiny strip mall...but is known for the best donuts! Most options are vegan, making it even easier to be swayed to try them out. We went right before closing, and still plenty of options, including the gigantic bear claw Luke went with...check out the size of that thing!

Being 1 for 1, we decided to try out another recommendation for our little companion book all about Vegas...and we scored with this one as well! The place is called Jason's Deli. If you're visiting Vegas and looking for healthy, but YUMMY, food options...look no further.  I took no pics, but their Ciabatta Bing! was A-m-a-z-i-n-g. They are a full scale deli, most noted for their sandwiches, but also have pasta dishes and more including vegan, and gluten-free options. Why can't one of their franchises open up here in the NW?

We also did Cheesecake Factory inside Caesar's Palace:

The ceilings inside the forum shops are a work of art, and all enclosed

This was the view from our dinner table, it's a large aquarium of fish & sharks.

Lots of statues inside Caesar's Palace

Again...why isn't there a Cheescake Factory in the NW well..with these temptations, maybe I'm glad there isn't.

 You can almost feel good about all the dining out we did, seeing as that each hotel is approx. 1 square mile...if you walk the entire Strip you've walked about 12 miles. To top that off we not only walked the 2 outlet malls but we also did a 3rd mall in the U-District called the Boulevard. Since Vegas {obviously} becomes alive at night, we also thought the sights and sounds of some of the touristy type things to do were more fun when the whole place was lit up.

 

Cirque du Soleil La Reve was the only show we were semi-interested in, but with our entertainment budget well spent on b-ball, we weren't ponying up for more entertainment...and La Rev wasn't even playing while we were there. The free stuff that Vegas had to offer was more than entertaining for us! Our mutual degree of prudery probably showed, but if we weren't careful, the place can become toxic on some levels. All in all we had a great time and enjoyed the fact that we were on vacation, and the Zags played some good ball!

 

GO ZAGS!!!!!