Viva Las Vegas (and Cafe Rio!)

We decided to take the weekend off- and head up to Las Vegas! We left Addie with my parents and took the boys with us. We had such a great trip! We left Saturday around noon and it only took us less than 4 hours to get there. We stayed with my dear friend Emily. She used to live in San Juan Capistrano and we went to H.S. together and then roomed together at Ricks. She lives in Las Vegas now with her sweet husband, Ryan and their darling boys Thomas (6) and Matthew (2). They were so sweet to let us stay with them! We got there just in time to get the boys settled in and then Emily went to pick up 2 young women from her ward to babysit so the adults could go on a date. We grabbed some quick dinner at Cafe Rio. Is there anything more delicious than their chicken salad? It tasted so good and made me miss good ol' Provo! Then we left for the BYU/UNLV game. It was a great game and even better that BYU won! Plus, it was the perfect chance for Emily and I to sit for 3 hours and catch up- with no interruptions from kids!

Aaron was in heaven! As he was enjoying his salad he said "I think I might make a quick trip to Vegas next week for lunch to hit Cafe Rio, again. It's worth the 3 1/2 hour drive!"

Emily and Danielle- BFF!


The next morning Emily made us some yummy waffles and then we headed to the strip for some sightseeing. We hit the Bellagio- we saw their amazing gardens and took a visit to the candy store- which has amazing chocolate fountains and the most tasty homemade chocolate covered marshmallows. Then we walked over to Paris and saw the fountain and took some pictures. We had some time to burn before the next show at the Foutains of Bellagio, so we ended up at this fun mall right on the strip! They had a little lake in the middle of the mall that had real rain and thunderstorms every half hour. The kids thought it was amazing. The best part of the strip was the Bellagio fountain show. Wow- really amazing! Aaron and I were just as amazed as the kids. After that it was time to head home and pick up little Addie. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the tourists had the same plan because it took us just under 6 hours to get home. We finally made it and were sure excited to see our Addison. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching her! It sure made our trip easier, traveling with an 18 month old is always something I can do without!

The boys: Matthew, Thomas, Jake and Tyler.

Gardens at Bellagio


Chocolate Fountain
In front of the Fountain show.
The Fountains- they were absolutely amazing. It was a whole show- he water went as high as the hotel and was set to really great music.
Thanks to our friends, the Ellsworth's, for being so hospitable and fun to be with. We love you guys and can't wait to see you- hopefully soon! Next December- Polar Express!! Put it on the calendar!