Days 6 & 7 - 12/30 & 12/31

Sorry for the delay. The past couple of days in Vegas have sort of been a blur. On the 30th we decided to visit Hoover Dam since we were unable to experience it on our way in due to security checkpoint related traffic. We took Aunt Barbie & Uncle Jack with us on our little trek. We were all pretty stoked to see, and possibly tour the dam (well, 3 of us were anyway). Once we got about 5 miles out, just like the other day, we started to hit traffic. It wasn't as much of a standstill as it had been, but we decided to ditch the Dam idea. Luckily, we turned around right by the Lake Mead Marina. We were able to check that out, which was pretty cool. After a couple of drinks at the marina bar, we headed back to Vegas. We took a nap and then got gussied up for Bette Midler!!!!!!! Jolene was so excited she could hardly stand it. Rick was just hoping Bette would surprise him as the only reason he was attending was his "Best Husband of 2009" status. When Bette came onto the stage, Jolene got all choked up. Seeing the Divine Miss M. live has been a dream of hers (which she shared with her mom) for about 20 years. All she could think about was how much she wished her mom was able to be there with her to share this fantastic experience. The show was fab, Bette was glorious, and when she closed the show with "Wind Beneath My Wings", Jolene cried just a little. It is a memory that will always be cherished (by Jolene that is). Rick didn't hate it and he gets to keep his "Best Husband of 2009" status. After Miss M. concluded, we met up with John & Sarah again for a bite to eat at a French restaurant. The company was grand and the food was delicious. Unfortunately, Jolene ended up with a little bout of food poisoning when we got back to the hotel.
By the morning, she was pretty much better. We knew Thursday, New Year's Eve, would be a lazy day since Liz & Casey's wedding was that evening. We took a walk to New York, New York and had pizza in their food court which looks like a NYC block. Very cool. Oh, and the pizza was phenomenal. We then went back to the room for a nap (can you tell we like, and need, our naps?) before the big shindig. Liz & Casey were wed at approximately 5pm in The Wedding Chapel at Mandalay Bay. It was a short & sweet ceremony. In between this and the reception, we hung out with our entourage (Barbie, Jack, John, & Sarah) in the casino. After a couple of hours of that, we made our way to the designated reception area. It was a wide open space with a gorgeous view of the strip. We ate, drank, and danced the night away. At midnight, we shared a toast to the New Year while watching fireworks over the city. It was magical. Oh, and F-U-N!