Air Force Ball at the Bellagio

When I was a little girl, I loved reading historical fiction books--particularly those about the Revolutionary War. I had an oft-revisited fantasy in which I was a Loyalist's daughter in Boston who attended all of the fancy balls with British officers, yet was secretly a "rebel" in love with an American soldier. To this day, I still think it sounds awfully romantic! I'm not sure why that childhood fantasy never equated to modern-day time for me, but I never once even thought about dating a service member until Matt came along. Then suddenly, I was going to Air Force Academy balls with my would-be officer and laughing at the blatant foreshadowing I had missed in my own life. Needless to say, I now feel like these fancy affairs are a major perk of being a military spouse.

Every September, airmen around the world celebrate the Air Force's birthday with a formal military ball. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I learned that our base only hosts a ball every few years and this was not our year. Thankfully, our good friends Talon and Carolyn came to the rescue by inviting us to the Nellis - Creech Ball with them. It was held at the Bellagio and really, you'd be hard pressed to find a more beautiful place to commemorate the Air Force's birthday. We had such a wonderful time!

Before I go any further in this post, you must be informed that all of the credit for my gown goes to my incredible Mom. I flew home to Utah, we designed it, and then she sewed it and made it even more beautiful than I imagined. I am sort of in love with it. (Thanks again, Mom! I love you!) That said, let's continue on with our story, shall we?

The four of us stayed at the Bellagio that night and were thus able to get ready in our 24th-floor room and then just head downstairs for the big event. We found that the elevator's mirror came in handy for some last-minute touch-ups before our pre-ball pictures.

The word "ball" is perhaps misleading, as the event is much more than just dancing. It begins with a fancy dinner and a program steeped in military traditions. The National Anthem is first on the agenda, followed by an invocation and then the toasts: to the President, each branch of the Armed Forces, our brothers and sisters deployed overseas, our families, and--most poignantly--to those who have gone before us. The typical response with each toast (aside from the President's, who which we respond "To the Commander in Chief!") is saying "Here, here!" with glasses raised and then taking a sip. For those who have gone before, however, there is a moment of silence with glasses of water raised.

This ball took that toast even further with a touching video tribute to the airmen stationed at Nellis or Creech who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. The video was set to patriotic music and featured pictures of the heroes in and out of uniform, being airmen and just doing things they loved, alone and with their families. You know, we live in a nation that forgets it's at war; that tunes out a war report but turns up celebrity news; that forgets there are actual people with actual families still sacrificing their very lives for our freedom. I wish everyone could be in that room, celebrating our Armed Forces, giving thanks for those men and women who made and still make us free. Hearing a ten-second report about an airmen killed in action is one thing. Seeing pictures of that airman with his wife and his children, in a room full of people who knew and loved him, is entirely different and so incredibly humbling. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as we all stood there humbled, grateful and proud of their sacrifice.

The program continued with dinner and an address from General (ret) Gregory S. Martin, the cake cutting ceremony, and benediction. Then Terry Fator, a ventriliquist who won America's Got Talent and now has his own hit show in Vegas, performed. He's good at the ventriloquism thing but had far too many innuendos in his jokes for us to enjoy it. We were happy when his act ended early and was replaced by a cover band for dancing.

During the dancing portion, we slipped out of the ballroom to take a break along with a few pictures with the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, for those of you who don't know). We were very impressed they were able to get it inside the hotel.

Then it was almost midnight, so we rushed outside to try to get a picture with the fountains. We got there halfway through the last song of the night and quickly handed our camera to the most sober-looking man we saw on Vegas Boulevard. This is what he delivered:

Thanks, dude. Luckily for us, the Bellagio looks lovely even without the fountains going so we were still able to get a few pictures once Talon and Carolyn arrived.

By the way, did I mention that Carolyn is pregnant? As in, third trimester pregnant? Yes, she is still so skinny and as stunning as ever. Their little girl is going to be so pretty.

Before heading back inside, we went on a little search for fountains of our own.

And then we lived happily ever after.

Of course, there's more to the story, though :-) I wouldn't stay at a 5-diamond hotel without sharing some of that goodness, now would I? Be sure to stay tuned for more!