Vegas!!!

This year was the second year that we had a girl's trip to Vegas, and I can assure you; it didn't disappoint! I found tickets for $23/way through Southwest, and we booked our tickets as quickly as we possibly could!

Day One: We left at 4pm on Saturday afternoon for the airport. Within seconds of checking in for our flight, we were already having fun! The flight down was uneventful, and full of picture taking, as when you take a vacation with photographers, this is bound to happen. When we landed, we met up with Ashley, who I hadn't seen in over a year and a half! We went to pick up our rental car, where we scored with an upgrade to an SUV for only $60 total. It pays to be a group of cute girls who aren't afraid to ask for things!! After we were in the car, we headed over to The Cheesecake Factory at Caesar's where we met up with Michelle Nielson. It had also been years since I had seen her! We stayed at the restaurant and ate for almost 3 hours, but it was so much fun! After dinner, we went to check into our Hotel; the Excrapabur. Oh, I'm sorry, the Excalibur. Did you know that they have done very little to update the hotel since circa 1972? It showed. But, we were grateful for our cheap rate and the great proximity to everything on the strip. Finally, around 2:30 am, we went to sleep, and called it a day.



Day Two: Sunday was our designated shopping day! We got up early- not by choice, but because none of us could sleep, and headed over to the Paris Buffet for brunch. It was delicious, as always. After we ate, we hopped in the car, and headed over to Primm, NV, where some of the best outlet shopping I've ever experienced was. They had a Williams-Sonoma outlet!! It was so wonderful that I almost cried. We shopped for 6 hours straight, and laughed at how much our significant others would have hated it! After shopping, we headed back to the Strip and went to dinner at CPK. The best part of Girl's Trip is that we seriously laugh non-stop the entire time we're there! After CPK, we decided we needed some dessert, and Serendipity was the winner. Never mind that it took us FOREVER to find a Valet close-by. We've learned that when in Vegas, don't bother doing anything other than Valet parking, as it takes WAY too long! We shared a Frozen hot chocolate that really IS as good as everyone says! We also decided that we were going to go see a show the next day. We called it a day, and went to sleep.







Day Three: We got up, and headed straight for the 1/2 price ticket booth, where we bought tickets to Mystere, a Cirque show. We weren't planning on going to a show, but when we found that we could buy tickets for a relatively low price, we decided that we were in! After buying tickets, and choosing our seats, we headed over to Whole Foods for a quick lunch. I sure wish we had a Whole Foods in Utah! Since shopping for clothes for me was such a disappointment the day before, I was really banking on H&M delivering. It also failed me, which left me with literally nothing to wear to the show that night! Luckily Sam overpacked, and clothed me. We got ready for the evening, and went to the MAC store to have our makeup done. I have officially been hooked on MAC, and I made sure to stock up and expand my collection before we left. For dinner, we went to the Bellagio Buffet. It was truly delicious! If you think that all we did on this trip was eat- well, you're right! We stayed and enjoyed every bite of our dinner, and then headed over to Treasure Island for Mystere. We got situated in our seats, and then 2 minutes before the show started, decided to move down to 3rd row seats! It wasn't THAT much closer, but we effectively scored ourselves $200 tickets for our $50 pricetag. WIN! I really enjoyed Mystere. It had a lot of different elements than in other Cirque shows I've seen. I still think that KA is my favorite, but this show did not disappoint! After the show, we headed back to our hotel, and packed up before going to bed. Our flight left early the next day, and we headed back to our homes, exhausted, full, and tired from so much fun. I can't wait until next year! I'm so glad that I have such wonderful best friends that I can always count on for fun!

Makeup?

As any Mom can attest, sometimes finding things to entertain your child while you get ready is a challenge. Lately, Hazen has found himself getting into trouble while I got myself ready for the day. Either that, or he is coming in every 3 seconds saying, "Hey Mommy. Whatcha doing here?" While this is cute, and not annoying, sometimes it takes a little bit longer for me to get ready. SO, when he reached for one of my makeup brushes the other day, I didn't say no. And when he dipped the brush in my eyeshadow palate, I didn't say no, either. And when he placed aforementioned eyeshadow on his face, I still didn't say no.

It's a phase. He's cute.

Haz and Mommy

Just some pictures of me and my boy......

The Plight of the Rib

I have a rib. I have a lot of them, actually, but I have one in particular that doesn't like to stay in alignment. When this rib pops out, it makes it difficult for me to breath, sleep, exist, really. Luckily, I have a fabulous chiropractor who pops it in like no chiropractor I've ever had could. He's also taught Jason how to pop it in, as well, unfortunately, Jason's legs are too long, and it doesn't work super good. Cue: friends at the fondue party. We all had a grand time trying to get my rib back in place. If nothing else, I was able to provide everyone with a good laugh. Thanks, Kirst and Emily for helping a friend out!

Fondue Party!

Every year---ok, for the past 2 years, Aubrey and I have thrown a Fondue party in January. It's something that we always look forward to, it's a ton of fun, and it provides a lot of delicious food!

This year, we had the Krasons, the Brimhalls, Micah and Amanda, and Emily Russon. Emily's Jason was super sick, which was a shame, because we were looking forward to having 3 Jasons at one party! We had 5 different types of Fondue this year, and everyone left stuffed.

I'm so grateful that I have such wonderful friends. After the drama from last weekend, I'm so happy that at the end of the day, I'm surrounded by such great people who can appreciate and love me in spite of my quirks. We have such a fun time together, and I'm always left looking forward to our next adventure!