Las Vegas

Okay guys.  I know this post is bad timing after my Dave Ramsey post but hey, what can I say??

Anyway, Michael's company won the Carrier "President's Award" and in turn the presentation was in Las Vegas.  So, Michael's parents were so kind to watch the girls for us and we headed that way.  It's so funny because Carrier (the brand of heating & ac equipment the Company primarily sells) absolutely loves to have their stuff either in Las Vegas or Dallas.  So, needless to say, we've made the trip a few times and I can almost hear the hotel workers sigh and think, here comes the duds again.  They don't spend any money or drink any alcohol.  I'm sure we stick out there like a sore thumb but we enjoy the time away without kids nonetheless.  In the past, the events have always been held in hotels on the strip like the MGM or Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood) but this time it was at the Red Rock Resort and Casino and it was about a 20 minute drive from the strip but it was an extremely nice hotel.  I believe it was far nicer then either the MGM or Aladdin and would probably rival the Bellagio (sp?) or the Venetian.  However, I'm sure Carrier got a better rate due to its location.  It had flat screen TVs in the bedroom and above the large bathtub and huge two sink marble vanities.  If you were to stay here though it would be necessary to rent a car which we did.  In the past we've seen the Blue Man Group (okay, but weird), Penn & Teller (not impressed) and Mystere (excellent).  However, this time we were lazy  and skipped the shows and just ate and spent our money at a couple of expensive restaurants.  We ate at Emeril's on Thursday night and we were both disappointed.  We ate there the last time we went to Las Vegas and it was incredible.  However, the two dishes that we loved previously were no longer being served and therefore we got something else and it didn't live up to our expectations.  On Friday night, we had the Carrier awards dinner at the hotel which was nice as well with a gazillion courses so I had to remember all of my etiquette rules and being from Arkansas this takes some work (just kidding).  I just had to remember to use the silverware from outside in.  On Saturday night, our grand dinner finale was Morton's Steakhouse which is probably my all time favorite restaurant of all time but since you have to save your money to go there we only go once a blue moon and it's only located in large cities.  Luckily, Michael is on their e-mail list so we had a bit of a coupon for "surf-n-turf" and got salad, Shrimp Alexander (my absolute favorite), I got a filet and Michael got a ribeye, along with a dessert.  Michael picked the key lime pie and ordered the yummy raspberry souffle.  I've never tried to cook a souffle but it certainly looks like everything would have to go perfect in order for it to turn out.  Have any of you tried to cook one??  

On Saturday, we also headed to the Stratosphere and went to the top and rode rides which we hadn't done before.  Michael and I both rode the swings that swing out above the city and Michael rode the teeter totter thing that hangs off the building.  The heights don't bother me but I was a little worried about getting sick from going in circles on the swing.  I'm sure people below wouldn't appreciate throw up on their heads.  Luckily, all was good on that front though. Here's a picture of Michael on his teeter totter ride I took from the observation deck a level below and a picture of the swings that we rode.  I was obviously not allowed to take my phone or any belongings on the ride with me in case they were to fall.  

On Saturday we also enjoyed shopping at the Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace and on Thursday night we hit the outlet mall which are the shops we would actually buy something at.