Chris has the opportunity to earn trips every 6 months. They call them diversification trips because as a financial advisor, if he has his clients properly diversified in their best interest, he is making good decisions for them and also for him which, by extension means, its good for them. The trips are a welcome break twice a year. Chris had earned three (our first to St. Thomas, our second to Captiva Island over Spring Break as a family, and our third to Valencia, Spain) The only flaw with this trip incentive is that when the market is bad and therefore business is bad, you don't earn trips.
Let me translate that for you.
When the market is bad and you feel like flinging yourself off the nearest 5 story building and you would do anything for just 12 hours outside of the office and not thinking about anything work related, you can't earn that chance.
Perfect plan, right?
Well, anyway...Chris had been VERY stressed for about the last 9 months since the market has been down and we've been having a rough time financially. In September, we talked and decided we needed a trip. But...with what money? We decided we would not be able to afford it and so talks stopped. A few weeks later, Chris called me with a brilliant (ha) idea! If I could work 60 hours at my Medical Transcription job in the month of September, we could make enough to take a trip to Las Vegas (where trips are generally cheaper) Now, let's put this in perspective. I usually work about 20 hours in a good month. Sometimes it is even less than that depending on what is going on.
So, I agreed. I figured out that if I worked 3 hours every single weekday, that would be 15 hours a week which would be 60 hours in the whole month. When I agreed to do that, I did not realize that my children would ALL THREE get pneumonia in that month and be home sick from school a combined 10 days!
Anyway, I'm rambling. I worked exactly 60 hours in September. We priced all of our options and found 2 round trip tickets to Las Vegas and 3 nights of lodging at the Luxor for within our budget. So we worked out the details with Abby (Chris' cousin...who I also claim as my own) and my mom to watch the kids and we headed out bright and early on Wednesday the 21st.
Here we are landing in Vegas!
When we arrived, we decided it was a perfect time for some lunch and then the pool!!! Here is our view of the Luxor from our pool chairs!
Here is our view from our room on the 19th floor.
And a view of our room (notice the slanted windows)
Our view from our room into the Luxor's inside....casino, atrium, shops, food court, etc.
Waiting for the inclinator. They aren't elevators because you go up at an incline. It feels very odd.
Our first night out on the town going to downtown and out for dinner. We took this to tell the kids good night
The overhead view at Fremont Street during the light show. It was Halloween themed which was a little annoying, but just because I don't like Halloween!
We've had our picture taken here all 3 times we've been to Vegas together. I'll try to find the other 2 and put them here too.
The light on top of the Luxor. We read that not only can it be seen from space, it is bright enough to read a newspaper by 10 miles into space.
Chris walking!
The next day we went to breakfast and then to the Let's Make a Deal show. It was a loooong day...but very fun. We stood in line starting at about 12:40 and got name tags and then stood in a new line to fill out release forms. Then stood in a new line to go to have an interview with producers (who actually pick who gets on the show) Then stood in a new line to go through security. Then stood in a new line to get into the theatre. The show finally started at about 5pm. By the time we got back our cell phones afterwards it was about 7pm. LONG DAY! But fun. Watch for the crazy couple dressed as an electrical outlet sitting in the middle of the front row of the back section on Wednesday, Nov 4 at 10am on CBS!!
After that long day, we decided that Friday would be all relaxing, all the time! We headed right out for the pool.
Looking the other way.
Our poolside drinks were delicious!
We decided to head down the strip for a while and saw the M&M World and took these pictures for the girls to see. We knew they'd be in heaven at M&M World!
After that, we went down to the Riveria to try to find Chris' Grandma and Grandpa Campbell who were in Vegas for an AARP convention. We actually did find them and spent a couple of hours hanging out with them and playing blackjack and watching Grandma play penny slots.
We caught the red eye home which left Vegas at about 11pm (2 am at home) and arrived at home at about 7:20am. We slept for 2 hours and then got up and tried to take on the day.
Here we are getting on the plane in Vegas.
It was an awesome trip. Very relaxing and very worth having some alone time together to remember what our lives were like before kids. Except that we really missed the kids! It was worth it though and now maybe we can get back to real life and manage for a while longer!
