Vegas/Zoo/Jed's Birthday/Disneyland

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**

Pictures From the Trip!

**BEWARE: The following post contains LOTS of pictures!**

Vegas

Welcome to Vegas!

Las Vegas LDS Temple

Jed got in a fight with a nun. She won.

IN N OUT!!

Downtown Vegas (not the strip)

San Diego Zoo - Wild Animal Kingdom

On the tour of the animals in their more "natural" habitats

Petting Zoo While we were in the petting zoo, Eli was going up to all of the deer and telling them that they were "handsome". After he told one of the deer it was handsome I asked him "What if it's a girl deer?" and he went back to it, got 2 inches from its face, looked it right in the eye, and said "You're a handsome girl, aren't you? YOU'RE A HANDSOME GIRL, AREN'T YOU??" It was hilarious!!

Jed tamed a rhino

Flamingo Yoga - can you see its leg?

Natherfly and Elifly

Eliworm and Jediworm

Eli wanted to hunt for ivory

Just chillin with my rhino

Jed's Birthday/Disneyland

Can we say "just woke up"?

We made it!

The button they made Jed wear all day!

The button they made me wear all day!

Tiki Room Birds

Why ride the ride when you can just get a picture? :)

Not as strong as we thought he was...

I Heart Space Mountain!

It's a Small World After All

Princess Castle!!

Mark Twain Steamboat

DUMBO

Eli and Laurel made a cake for Jed while we were at the park! :)
Thanks, Laur!

On the drive home...

I burned (I'm pretty sure 2nd degree) my arm on a hot AC adapter in the car :(

Jed realized that he got a little sunburned at Disneyland...but only on this tiny triangle spot where his shirt was open. Haha.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that Jed has a full-time job.
I am thankful that I get to see Laurel and her family tonight.
I am thankful that Jed is super smart with computers and was able to fix our computer after it crashed!
I am thankful that all of my pictures and files weren't lost forever.
I am thankful that I was able to take Jed on a surprise date and he had no idea what we were doing.
I am thankful that we are going to be able to go on a SWEET vacation this weekend!
I am thankful that we were able to get a good deal on a hotel in Vegas.
I am thankful that Jed got the time off.
I am thankful that Laurel is letting us stay with her.
I am thankful that we are going to DISNEYLAND!I am thankful that we have a good, working camera.
I am thankful that we have two good, working cars.
I am thankful that Jed is patient and kind.
I am thankful for a great home teacher.
I am thankful that we never go hungry.
I am thankful that we have a roof over our heads.
I am thankful for the Gospel and the joy that it brings to our lives.
I am thankful for the Atonement.

What Happens in Vegas...

...gets posted on our blog, of course! ;)

SATURDAY: Jed and I got kind of a later start than we hoped, but we made it to Vegas by evening. After we checked in to the hotel, I called my friend, Becky Webb, to see if she wanted to go out to dinner. We went to Buca di Beppo. Yum! I even made a conscious effort to bring my camera to dinner, and then I forgot to take a picture! I was so mad when we pulled out of the parking lot to leave and I realized that.

SUNDAY: This was our "tourist" day. We stayed at the Riviera Hotel, which is on the North end of the strip, and we spent most of the day just walking from our hotel to the other end of the strip and back. We stopped at almost every major hotel on the way down, finding neat things at each one. By the time we got back to our hotel (18 miles, and almost 6 hours later), I had blisters on (the bottom of) my feet because I chose to wear my warm, fluffy boots and apparently they weren't made for day-long excursions... Anyways, here are some highlights from our walk:

Ever seen the movie Big? I wished that I could go to Italy.

Next thing I knew, I was in Italy, watching the gondolas drift by. It was either Italy, or The Venetian Hotel. They're very similar.

This is my better half, Jed. He loves me. And he was so impressed with all the planning I did for our trip. He's easily amused. Probably why he married me.

This was Jed's favorite part, a huge aquarium in the Mirage. They had tons of fish (including some Doris and a whole bunch of Nemos)!

We found some Roman artwork at Caesar's Palace. Maybe I'll get one for the living room. We could put it right next to our Indian-print rental couch.

We couldn't find any sirens at Treasure Island, so we got a picture with the rocks. A close second.

Paris was next on the tour. Someone threw a penny off the top and it sliced this guy in half. Well, maybe not, but it would have been a good story. Je me souviens de Paris.

This is the entrance to the Bellagio Garden. You can kind of see the streams of water that spray overhead as you walk under them.

These snowmen were the best part of the elaborate Bellagio Garden. They are made entirely of flowers. The white on them is white carnations. (I love snowmen)

This picture is for my mom. It's a ginormous slot machine. She loves eBay.

Back to America with Lady Liberty.

I love castles. This is Excalibur. They have jousting shows, like in the medieval period, that you can watch while you eat dinner. We didn't get to do this this time, but I'd like to eventually.

The New York skyline at the New York New York Hotel. Do you think they changed the building after 9/11? I never saw it before. Jed and I didn't ride the roller coaster this time because we rode it last time we were in Vegas, and we've got a wicked picture to prove it.

Man, pictures look way darker on here... The boat says "New York, New York, FDNY". God bless those men and women. Fire fighters are awesome.

I thought this was a cool old Pepsi wall, so I took a picture. And I knew you'd like it too, so I'm sharing with ya. "Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi"

The M&M World store on the strip. For some reason this store makes me think of New York. And now I want to go to New York. I love that city!

Once we were rested up from our excursion and I had put on three pairs of socks to cushion my poor feet, Jed and I went to the buffet at the Circus Circus Hotel (right across the street from the Riviera). Not worth $13.50 - the food was just a tad bit better than high school cafeteria food. The good news is that after dinner, we were walking around Circus Circus, letting our food digest when we came across a circus act that was about to begin. It was a unicycle rider, and he was incredible. I didn't have my camera with me, so no picture.
When we crossed the street to go back to our hotel, I ran to beat the light and popped one of my blisters (on the bottom of my foot). It hurt so bad! Jed went off to find band-aids while I hobbled up to our room. That was the worst part of the trip, hands down.

MONDAY: Before we left, we wanted to go to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden. So we did. :) The "botanical" cactus garden was decorated pretty cute for Christmas. It's too bad we weren't there at night to see the cacti all lit up.

We ended up at the North Pole. Lots of cacti there...

Tasty.

Cute little snowmen among the cacti. :) I love snowmen, in the desert or not.

We went on the self-guided tour of the factory and saw lots and lots of chocolate and cream and butter and cellulite... Of course we got samples, too! :D
These sculptures were made entirely out of chocolate. We thought that was pretty cool.

On the way out of town, we stopped by the Las Vegas LDS Temple. It's a beautiful building.

After a stop at In-N-Out for lunch (we couldn't leave without that fix), we were on the road home!
Jed had to take a picture when his car hit 200,000 miles on the trip. Silly boy. :)

We stopped in St. George on the way home to see the St. George Tabernacle. It's a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building that was built as sort of a community center when the Mormons settled in St. George. Neither of us had ever been (I don't think I'd even heard of it until about a month ago...) but it was a really neat experience.

This original, free-standing, two-story circular staircase was built by Miles Romney, my great-great grandfather. He was the building superintendent and played a large role in the construction of this great building.

The inside of this building is so beautifully constructed. And sturdy. All of the architecture is original. It's just amazing to me.

This is the view from the pulpit. Our tour guide let us sit there, and then told us that every single prophet, except Joseph Smith, had sat in that exact spot. It was so neat. We could really feel the Spirit there.
When I told our guide that I was a descendant of Miles Romney, he teared up and we had a great, spiritual moment with him. I was thankful that Jed humored me by stopping there.

Brigham Young's house was closed by the time we got there, but it looks cute from the outside. :)

We made it home late because we had to drive like 40mph on the highway because the conditions were bad. It is good to be home, even though that hotel bed was so BIG and comfy compared to ours.

Tomorrow we get on a plane headed for TEXAS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!