Thursday – We go to go to dinner at Smokehouse with Laurel and Nathan and their boys. They were in town for Nathan’s sister’s graduation.
Friday – Jed’s boss picked him out of all of the employees to go to a big meeting in SLC with him. I think that’s a good sign – they really like Jed at the office. :) That night, we packed and got ready for our trip – nothing too exciting…
Saturday – We drove from Provo to Las Vegas! Our first stop was the LDS temple, where we got to do some things for the first time. It’s a really neat temple and it was fun to go to a different one than Provo.
We checked in to our hotel (Four Queens – which I do not recommend) and then we went to Chipotle for dinner (Yum!). After that we went to Circus Circus to see if we could catch a circus act, but they weren’t running. We left and went to a souvenir shop and I got a new Vegas charm! :)
We went back to our hotel (in old downtown Vegas – Fremont Street) and walked around downstairs. They had live bands and there were tons of people – it felt like Mardi Gras or Fiesta or something. Way fun! I recommend old downtown for a change of pace from the Las Vegas strip. There’s even a huge canopy over the “party area” and they had light shows and movie clips playing on it.
We finally got to bed around 12:30, after the booming music stopped and our windows stopped shaking (literally). If you come to Fremont Street, I wouldn’t recommend getting a hotel there unless you plan on staying out past 1.
Sunday (Mother's Day) – We woke up and watched Catch Me If You Can on TV while we waited for the pool (which is in another casino – yeah) to open up. The pool was pretty neat because it was on the roof, but that made it kind of windy too. We lounged around there for about an hour, went back to the hotel, showered, packed, and headed to In N Out for lunch. I got to talk to Tom on the phone for a bit before lunch. It was great to hear from him!
We drove down the strip and “sight-saw” and played the “tourist” role for a bit and then we went to Circus Circus and watched some circus acts while we waited for Laurel and Nathan to get there with their boys. We met up with the Lakeys and started caravanning to California. Traffic was awful and added a ton of time to our trip, but then we got to stop at Chili's and have dinner, so it was all good. :)
Monday – We spent the day at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. It was really fun – we got to go on a tour where we saw lots of animals in their “natural habitat”. The park was huge and we had such a great time! Even though Jed and I put on sunscreen before we went to the park, we still both got a little bit sunburned. A had a wicked farmers’ tan, but just on my right arm – I think it was mostly from driving, on top of the time we spent at the zoo.
That night, Jed and I tended Eli and West while Laurel and Nathan got to go out to a movie together. We had a really fun time “playing house” and taking care of the boys. But don’t worry, it doesn’t make me that baby-hungry. :)
Tuesday - We spent the whole day at Disneyland!! Jed got in for free because it was his birthday, and they made him wear this huge pin that told everyone it was his birthday. Employees were wishing him "Happy Birthday" all day. It was pretty funny. Especially since I was given an equally large pin that said I was there celebrating Jed's birthday.
The weather was fabulous, it was a Tuesday, and most schools were not out yet, so we had a perfect day! The longest we waited in line for any ride was less than 30 minutes, which is unheard of at Disneyland. We even walked right on a few rides. We got to ride Space Mountain twice, which was one of our favorites. Along with Indiana Jones, The Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain.
When we got back to Laurel's house, we found out that she and Eli had made Jed a cake for his birthday, so we sang and had cake. Then, once the kids were asleep, we talked and had some 'adult time'. Unfortunately we totally spaced it on playing games. :\
Wednesday - We spent most of the day in the car, driving home.
We had a GREAT time in Vegas and California!! Thanks for everything, Laurel (&Nathan)!! :D
**See next post for pictures**
