It's Vegas Baby!!

I think I am FINALLY recovered from the excitement of Vegas and the first TpT conference ever last weekend! Whew! What a whirlwind of a few days! One of my BBB's, Deirdre from A Burst of First, is hosting a linky party all about the conference in Vegas. Fun!

I had fun shopping before heading to Vegas and bought these wedges to match my Stitch Fix top. My bestie (and Vegas roomie!) Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching inspired me!

Of course, I had to buy some snacks for the five hour flight and hotel room! I am such a sweets junkie! It's a good thing I had these because Joanne can attest that I ate Twix for breakfast two mornings before leaving our room. :) Everything in Vegas was super expensive (to be expected) but I couldn't afford much more than one "real" meal a day! Lol.

I've never flown solo before, but my favorite part was the people watching at the airport. OMG! Anyone with me?!? It is especially interesting when I sat there with headphones in. Haha! As soon as I stepped off the plane in Vegas, the airport had slot machines right there! Wow! I've only ever gambled in a casino once in my life and spent a whooping $20. So, guess what I spent on the slots in Vegas? Yep...a grand $20!! I didn't win anything besides a dollar here or there and then gave up quickly. Also, the smell of smoke in the casinos gives me a headache. What a culture shock though!

 We stayed in the Bella Suite at the Venetian. Can you say Holy WOW?! Here is a picture of the lobby.

Joanne and I coordinated our flights to arrive in Vegas about the same time (I was coming nonstop from NY and she was coming nonstop from FL). I arrived at 7:30 Vegas time (10:30pm NY time) and her flight was delayed until about 9:00pm Vegas time due to thunderstorms. So, I had more people watching time! We took a taxi from the airport to the Venetian. I recommend that after a long day of travel. It was only $30 and we split the cost. I guess the shuttle takes a LOT longer. The funny thing is, the taxi ride from the hotel to the airport on our way to go home was only $17! What a deal for the two of us! 

After checking in, we went to the food court and met up with another BBB, Jessica from Ideas by Jivey! I LOVE her and it was amazing to meet in person finally!! Her top selling mentor sentences literally changed the way I teach grammar completely! So, we finally went to bed about 1:30 am Vegas time. I left my house at 1pm NY time to head to the airport and got to bed at 4:30am NY time. LOOONG day for this girl!

The next morning, we were up bright and early to register for the conference and have breakfast at 7am. They provided a nice spread for us and I ate up! :)

 I was THRILLED to meet so many of my BBB's that I have formed relationships with in the blogging world! Not only are they passionate teachers, but they are just wonderful women!! I hope I get to meet more BBB's in the near future! :)

In the picture front row left to right: Jessica from Joy in the Journey, Molly from Lucky to Be in First, Deirdre from A Burst of First, Rose from Rosie's Rambles

Back row left to right: Michele from Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans, Me, Christy from Teaching Tales Along the Yellow Brick Road, Amanda from Collaboration Cuties, Diane from Fifth in the Middle, Erin from I'm Lovin Lit, Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, Jessica from Ideas by Jivey

Throughout the day, I attended four conference sessions on topics such as copyright, improving TpT seller success, and data interpretation. It was so informative. I loved the session where my BBB Erin from I'm Lovin Lit was the presenter! I am so disappointed that I didn't get a picture with her. She was amazing to hang out with and is so down to earth even after all her quick success on TpT. I love her INB and have blogged about them HERE.

I was also so impressed with the session I attended by Rachel Lynette. I have followed her for a long time and have so many of her products. I have blogged about using her task cards in my classroom many times such as HERE. It was surreal meeting her in person!

I also met Laura Candler and had to get a picture with her! I love her Book Clubs and have blogged about using them in my classroom many times including HERE and HERE!

Friday night we hung out at an 80's bar right at the Venetian. Isn't this guy hysterical in this picture?

The Venetian hotel was like a city!! Joanne and I are both self confessed women with no sense of direction and I am still laughing thinking about us trying to navigate this hotel for three days! It never got easier and we would go from fits of laughter and to being super annoyed that we seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. Even the workers would steer us wrong! These are all pictures from the hotel below!

 Shops everywhere...

On Saturday we celebrated with a bachelorette party for our BBB, Jivey in our hotel room. Check out the decorative signs made by Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching!

Saturday night I went to see Shania perform with Joanne and Michele! WOW!! It was so amazing!

On Sunday it was time to head back to Buffalo and look who happened to sit right next to me on the plane! What are the chances of that?!? This is Karen from Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten and Everything Primary! We both had our lap tops open working on TpT products and realized we had both been at the conference. She is a top seller and well-known in the TpT world so I felt like I had just met someone famous! :)

Check out all the other fun adventure in TpT at A Burst in First! I am already looking forward to the next time I can hang out with my BBB's!