Chad's big 40th birthday was October 19, and I had been trying to figure out for a while what we should do to celebrate. I had a brainstorming session with my parents and Matt, and the idea to kidnap Chad and take him to the Vegas was born! With sitters for children lined up (thanks Granna and Grandpa), I booked the tickets the next day. In addition to the surprise of Vegas, my dad had a few other suggestions to make the weekend special: a limo from the airport, some car racing, and some machine gun shooting. If anyone ever needs to celebrate an occasion with class, see Leighton Wier.
I kept the secret right up until two days before our departure date. Chad had planned to go fishing with some work consultants the same day we were supposed to leave...and I generally started to freak out that surprising him hours before our plane left might not be a good idea. So I got the girls to help me make a poster to reveal his birthday surprise, and we decorated the back door for him.
He was confused when he walked in...mainly because it was not his birthday yet and there clearly wasn't a surprise party being held, so he didn't know why were were all decked out.
It took several minutes for him to digest what was going on...and I ended up being glad I gave him a couple of days. Chad doesn't take to surprises well!
I was excited the whole plan ride, knowing that we were being picked up by a limo at the airport! It was pretty cool to have a guy standing with a sign for us when we got to the baggage claim!
We stayed at the Cosmopolitan hotel, and our suite was super swanky and huge!
I was most excited about the Japanese soaking tub, although it did take me several tries to get the drain to work properly. Our view was awesome...we looked right down on the Bellagio fountains!
Not too shabby, out on our balcony!
I loved our hotel...the only challenge in the mornings was the long trek to get a cup of coffee! But I enjoyed the fancy surroundings!
Friday, we didn't have any plans until 3 in the afternoon, so we decided to go by the M&M store (suggested by Granna) to get the girls some souvenirs. It IS a pretty cool store...four stories of M&M products.
We also enjoyed some good Vegas people watching!
We are lunch at MGM and it was delicious! I have been not eating dairy, gluten, or meat since the end of July, and this place had plenty to choose from to stay within those guidelines. But I did go ahead and get a delicious burger. When in Vegas...do as the vegans don't do! Ha.
I did not tell Chad where we were heading that afternoon. I wouldn't let him hear where I told the taxi driver to take us, but we were headed to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Chad was signed up to drive a race car around the track. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and when we got really close, Chad started seeing signs for Dream Racing at the Motor Speedway, and he figured out what I was up to. And he was truly THRILLED! It was so cool to see him so excited. He could not stand it he was so pumped.
He had to watch a training video first, and then he did a little practicing with an instructor before he actually drove the car.
I guess I didn't realize he would get to get all dressed like a race-car driver! It was awesome!
I think Chad's dreams came true that day. He has always told me his dream job would be race-car driving. So there you go...he loved it!
I did get nervous right before he went on the track. I asked if anyone had ever crashed and all the instructors told me no, no one had crashed a car there. So that made me feel better. (I stress, a LITTLE better.) Chad did awesome...and I took a ton of pictures of his big moment.
It was cute...when he was done driving, he just stood there and watched the other cars with a huge smile on his face. It was a happy, happy day!
That night, we ate at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak in MGM. I chose it because I watch Top Chef and love Tom Colicchio, but also because it was a steak house, and Chad loves steak. I didn't get any pictures there, but our food was AMAZINGLY delicious! I highly recommend!!
This high heel was in our hotel...there were a couple of other ones throughout, but I took a picture because I thought the girls would enjoy it.
Saturday morning (Chad's actual birthday), I had my final surprise for Chad: shooting machine guns. Again, I didn't tell him until we arrived at the gun range, and he freaked out again. I think he got even more excited once they placed him in his own private room and he saw the list of guns he was going to get to shoot.
He thought it was awesome...it totally freaked me out! But his instructor was super awesome and knowledgeable, and he made it a great experience.
We ate dinner at the Eiffel Tower, and again, we looked out over the Bellagio Fountains. It was a very fun atmosphere to celebrate a birthday! I think I can say Chad's 40th celebration was a huge success, and he checked off a couple of items from his bucket list!
