Andy's Birthday part I

Andy turned 30 on Saturday. I know he probably doesn't want the world to know this, but it's true.

I decided that since your 30th birthday can be a bit of a downer, I would try my best to make this one special for him.

It started on Thursday night with me allowing Andy to open his gift from me. Now I know his birthday wasn't until Saturday, but since we were heading out of town (and the gift was a bit too large to take with us), I let him open it early.

He's smiling pretty big:

Here is what he got! A 3-in-1 electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker, along with some grains and cookbooks by one of his favorite chefs.

Now you might not think this is an exciting gift, but Andy was elated! (Traci did good!)

The next day Andy and I headed down to Las Vegas. We were heading down for the blessing of Andy's sister's newest addition (more on that later) and decided that we would head down a day early and celebrate Andy's birth in the "Bright Light City".

We got checked into our hotel and then got all "gussied" up to go out:

Andy chose to go out to eat at Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace. This is a restaurant by Bobby Flay.

Wow! Was it a great meal! It was so fun and yummy that I just had to take pictures of the food!

Appetizer: Goat Cheese Queso Fundido

Traci's Entree: Sixteen Spice Chicken w/ Jicama Slaw

Andy's Entree: New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin w/ Sweet Potato Tamale

Dessert: Apple Pie Sundae

Again, the meal was FABULOUS! We especially loved the Queso Fundido and the Nutmeg Ice Cream that was in the sundae. As Andy put it: "That was probably the best meal I've ever eaten."

After eating all that glorious food, we headed out to roam the ginormous mall at Caesar's Palace. We stayed and wandered that one mall until almost midnight. Andy found some great deals on a pair of pants and a shirt. I also found some cute earrings.

After all that fun we went back to the hotel and crashed. We had another big day planned for Andy's actual birthday.....