My Family Vacation to Arizona- Part 3...plus some extras

Yes...it's been crazy busy...and yes, I haven't blogged in what seems like forever. 

Once you read all that's been going on you'll understand. =)

We celebrated my nephew, Brendon's, birthday...

Father's Day with my Dad...

Father's Day with my husband's Dad & family...

my niece, Jaimee's, graduation...

my nephew, Hunter's, graduation... 

Hunter's graduation party...

Jaimee's graduation party, which I had the privilege to bake and decorate her graduation cake. 

picture from CakePictureGallery

I got my inspiration from CakePictureGallery...and if you want to do the same ruffles that I did for Jaimee's graduation cake you can check out my blog post: Ruffles & Calla Lilies Birthday Cake

I was a little nervous how it would turn out, but everyone loved it...

then in the middle of ALL that we decided to redo the floors on the second floor with laminate flooring that we bought from Lumber Liquidators...super cheap actually, the flooring that we wanted was on sale. I LOVE it. It's so nice! We bought 'Lake Toba Teak' laminate flooring.

We ripped up the carpet in the office, guest room, hallway, & our bedroom.

We're actually almost finished...we just have to install the new baseboards. 

And then we celebrated the 4th of July and I baked another cake and decorated it

Picture from ZoeBakes

I got my inspiration from ZoeBakes the recipe she used is from CookingChannel

So...with all that being said =) I'll try to finish up my family vacation to Arizona. I think I'll have one more Arizona blog post and then finally finished! =) Anyway, Part 3...I guess I'll start off with stopping at the Hoover Dam. That was pretty impressive. It is the world's largest hydroelectric installation. It was constructed in 1931 and ended in 1935, two years ahead of schedule and well under budget. The project itself employed hundreds of men during the depression. So many men came to work on the Hoover Dam that they built an entire town to house all the men.  The dam itself was named after our 31st president, Herbert Hoover, in 1947 when Congress officially changed the name from Boulder Dam to Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam's reservoir, Lake Mead, is America's largest man-made reservoir. It can store 28.5 million acre-feet (9.2 trillion gallons) of water! It was pretty interesting to see. We watched a little documentary video and then took the power plant tour. I believe it was $11 dollars a person.

We are walking down to the visitor center to purchase tickets for the Dam tour.

After you purchase your tickets you gt to watch a 

short informational video about the Hoover Dam.

 We're now inside the Power Plant.

They had really cool art-deco floors. 

The Hoover Dam is one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders. 

To this day it is still a world-renowned structure.

We had to take an elevator down into the ground to get to the rest of the tour.

They crammed a lot of people inside those elevators!

We're now underground! I guess if you're claustrophobic you might want to skip the tour. =)

  

A  monument of a Dam worker.

After the tour we went up to the observation deck.

That was a really neat view...super hot though.

The Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge is behind us. It starts in Nevada and ends in Arizona. 

Panoramic view. =)

I'm so thankful for my parents!! =) Without them we wouldn't have 

been able to have an awesome family vacation together!!

After a little drive we found our way to Las Vegas!! =)

We got our picture taken at the Las Vegas sign...I've always wanted to do that!

My hubby & I =) 

The family...except Dad...he didn't want to get out of the car. =(

We stayed at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon.

The rooms were nice. We were able to unload all of our stuff and walk the strip a little bit.

Branson in front of the Coca-Cola store. 

Everything out there was huge! 

The city of New York...on a smaller scale...they even had the Brooklyn Bridge!

That night we ate that the Rio All-Star Casino's Carnival World Buffet.The food was amazing! 

They had everything you could dream of! Branson was in heaven because they had crab legs. =)

After dinner Branson & I went to see a Cirque du Soleil show called 'KA'. It was amazing to see them perform. We both really enjoyed it...the actors & actresses actually came into the crowd on different occasions. It was neat to feel like you were in the show a little bit. Oh, we took a cab to get to dinner & then one of the locals told us that you can take monorail to any hotel...& it's cheaper then a cab. And since the 'blocks' in Las Vegas aren't like the 'blocks' in New York...the monorail will save your feet & your time. I think 1 block in Las Vegas is equal to 3 blocks in New York.

I really wanted to go to the Bellagio. It's my favorite hotel on the strip. I just think it's really classy.

Inside they have a conservatory that they decorate for each season. It's beautiful!!!

A "painting" made up of real flowers! 

This is definitely a MUST SEE if you ever get to the Bellagio!!

We walked back to our hotel...which in theory was a good idea, but in reality was not. They don't have just regular side walks because of the masses of people. they have overpasses...you can kind of see one in the picture above, but you basically zig-zag back and forth instead of just walking parallel with the street. I think if we would have just changed sides of the street it would have been better. I definitely suggest getting a Las Vegas Strip map..it's SUPER helpful. Whatever hotel you stay in should be able to give you one.

The city is really beautiful at night with all the lights!

By the time we got back to our room we were beat! We went straight to bed! =)

The next morning we had a little time to get some shopping in at Las Vegas. I went to the Sugar Factory...oh my word...they have delicious cupcakes!!! I bought a purple v-neck shirt that says 'I love Sugar' on the front.  We drove over to see where they film Pawn Stars on the History Channel.

It was pretty cool because they were actually filming a show while we were there.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside while they were filming. 

Outside the pawn shop. 

Getting ready to get in line.

You had to stand in line because they only let a few people inside at a time.

Still waiting...

It actually was a lot smaller inside then I imagined.

They had some pretty interesting stuff, but not really the "pawn" prices.

They had some championship rings...going for about $20,000. 

It was pretty interesting to see, but if you wanted to buy something affordable 

in the back of their shop they have t-shirts. =) Gotta get a t-shirt. That's pretty 

much the only thing you'll be able to afford. =)

Well, our next phase of our trip is a lot more relaxed...

stay tuned for the final segment of my Family Vacation to Arizona! =)