Viva Las Vegas!

After a great visit with Brent and Carolyn we boarded a plane Sunday night with our friends Bruce and Jackie and we headed for Las Vegas. Our flight was delayed due to thunder storms in Vegas so we got in pretty late. We stayed our first night at Planet Hollywood. Our room key wouldn't work because there was something wrong with the lock so they gave us a different room. Higher up.....and we had a beautiful view of the eifell tower right below us at the Paris casino.

Although we were tired and it was in the wee hours of the morning.....getting moved to a different room was great. We got the "Officer and a Gentleman" room. There was this huge picture of Richard Gere right above the bathtub.

Oh my gosh....is that me getting ready to kiss Richard Gere? Heck yes it is.....and I do believe he is going to kiss me back.....ha ha.

If soaking in a tub of hot water with Richard Gere looking on isn't enough....we even had his underwear and socks that he wore in the movie. Had to get a picture of that. Funny thing....I seemed much more excited about that room than Scott did....ha ha.

We spent the next morning sight seeing. Walking up and down the strip. It was so stinking hot. We saw a lot of things though. Saw an amazing artist make these beautiful pictures out of spray paint in a matter of minutes. Wish I would have had a picture of that.

It has been a few years since Scott and I were in Vegas and the strip has grown so much since we were there last. We really liked the new casino the Palazo. This was in the entry way.

Loved the displays at the Bellagio. It was just beautiful.

Saw this ladybug made of flowers at the Bellagio and had to take a picture for Carolyn. Love you bug!

We had tickets to the Lion King as part of our package deal. It was spectacular. I think it is probably the best show I've seen. The costumes and music was amazing and the puppets were something I'd never seen before. We really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Jackie knows how to get great deals. We stood in line tues morning and got half off at the top of the stratosphere for lunch. We ate at the Top of the World in the revolving restaurant. It was an amazing view. I'm scared to death of heights though so my heart was pounding when we went out on the observation deck. I did not stand to close to the edge....would have been a better picture but I wasn't moving.

Grant had been teasing Scott about learning some pole dancing moves while we were in Vegas. So while we were on the tram and Scott was hanging on to this pole I said "Hey....let me snap a picture for Grant." Jackie put a dollar in his belt and I was laughing so hard I almost cried. The others on the tram were cracking up as well. Some guy said "Nice moves big guy" It was dang funny.

We went to Mac King's comedy magic show. Bruce got called up on stage. Oh my gosh. The look on his face when he thought his fifty dollar bill had gone up in smoke was hilarious. We were all laughing so hard. Stopped for ice cream at the luxor on the way home.

We drove down to Freemont street....the old strip...and I remember this old cowboy waving when I was a young girl and had driven down the strip. They had an amazing light show. A saxophone player was playing and we stopped to listen to him for awhile.

At freemont street is was a throw back to the 60's all summer. They had this billboard you could sit and take a picture in the woodstock crowd. Can you find me?

We splurged on our last evening and ate dinner at the Bellagio buffet. Prime rib, the biggest shrimp I've ever seen and Alaskan King crab legs with drawn butter that melted in your mouth. It was delicious. Jackie got me to try creme brule for the first time. Oh my gosh....it was divine. I can't believe i ate three of them. The guys kept stacking their empty cups on my plate and it looked like I ate a ton of them....I wasn't quite that bad.

Waiting for the fountain show

The last time we were in Vegas the fountains were being worked on...so I was so happy that we got to see the show in front of the Bellagio. It was beautiful. Jackie said the music is usually classical....this time we got Elvis singing Viva Las Vegas. We had such a great trip. Had a wonderful time in the wave pool in our hotel at the Mandaly Bay. Scott did some body surfing while Bruce worried he was going to drown. The whole trip was a great get away. It has been such a stressful past six months with dad getting bad and passing away and then getting the house ready to rent. It was so nice to get away from it all and just have fun with our friends in the city that never sleeps. Can't wait to go again!

Drive safe

Carolyn and Brent are headed to Moses Lake today! I won't see them until after they have breakfast with Brent's dad in the morning. Hope they eat fast!!! I have missed them. It is just a quick weekend trip but it will be so nice to have my girl home with her hubby. We love you Carolyn and Brent. Have a safe trip. See you in the morning.

Happy Birthday Brother

Today is my little brother's 39th birthday. Happy Birthday Ted! Can't wait to see you this weekend and we will celebrate....there better be cake left. It has been wonderful having Ted and his family live so close. Just takes a couple of hours and we are there. Growing up brothers and sisters can drive each other crazy, and constantly tease and pick on each other. Now that we are adults I don't just have a brother....but I have a great and trusted friend. I can talk to Ted about anything. He has been such a huge support to me throughout my life. I love being able to vent to him whenever I need to. He is a great listener. I'm thankful for the relationship he has with my children. They are crazy about their uncle sach. I think Kevin was as excited to see Ted when he got home from Brazil than just about anyone else. I love you Ted. Thanks for always being there for me. Hope you have an awesome birthday. The big 40 next year. Enjoy this last year before you hit middle age....although from the looks of that hairline....you hit it quite awhile ago.....ha ha. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Unconditional Love

In the midst of tragedy I had the opportunity to see Christianity in its truest form. We often ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?" Well, I believe that the following is exactly what He would do.

I was awakened by a member of the bishopric a couple weeks ago. He told me that our dear friends had just lost their only child in a car accident. I woke up Scott and we headed directly to our friends house. My heart ached for them as we drove. I can't even imagine the amount of grief they were going through. We hadn't seen our friends for awhile....but when we arrived and embraced it was as though we had always been right there. There was great love in the room in the midst of tremendous grief.

There was another young man involved in the accident. He was driving. He had been drinking and the car rolled. He survived. I wondered how you would face someone after that kind of accident. We went over to our friends a couple days later and the other young man was there. Our friends had asked him to come over. They told him that they forgave him....and that alone is an amazing thing considering the circumstances. Our friends went even further than that. They told this young man that they didn't want this to ruin his life. They would stand up in court and ask for a light sentence....hopefully community service. Okay.....so now this would be complete love and forgiveness but the story isn't over. When we arrived the morning of the funeral our friend pointed out this young man to us and asked Scott to go speak to him. He was concerned that some of the others might give him a hard time. It was quickly apparent how visibily shaken this young man was. He had lost a dear friend and nothing he could do could bring him back. The funeral was full of people from all walks of life. It was obvious that our friends son was a person that loved everyone....and celebrated their differences. He was accepting of all. No wonder he had parents that were so loving and forgiving. They had raised this young man to love everyone. I have never seen our chapel look so wonderful. I believe it was just as the Savior would have wanted. Instead of a sea of white shirts and ties....the pews were filled to capacity with those who loved this young man. Some wore shirts with pictures of our friends son on them. The service was beautiful and emotional. When I thought my heart was full and I couldn't witness more love we went in to watch a slide show and have the family dinner....and they other young man in the accident sat right there at the table with our friends. What a remarkable lesson this was for me. I think we can all learn something from the life our friend's son led....and from our friends. I'm blessed to have them in our lives and I'm forever grateful for the example they taught me of unconditional love and forgiveness. I'm grateful for the son they raised and for his compassion and love for everyone....not just for those that were like him. I hope that I have raised my children like this.

A new "Candy Man"

Scott has decided to take over his dad's roll as the "Candy Man" of our ward. Well, he has the gray hair....and a pocket full of tootsie rolls so I guess he is the best man for the job. Tonight we were at a stake fireside and Scott had tootsie rolls in his pocket. He went up to my friend Melanie's kids and gave them a tootsie roll. Her son Nathan said "Wow Scott....you are getting old." I got a great laugh out of that. Not sure Scott appreciated the humor as much as I did. I told him he needs to work on his technique a bit though. He just hands them the candy. Half the fun for the kids was when grandpa would try and snatch it back. Carolyn said she would give him a few lessons when she comes home next week. I'm sure the tootsie roll company is very happy that someone is taking over Grandpa Jackson's job. I'm sure stocks have been dropping since he has been gone. Here's to the new "Candy Man" May all the dentists in Moses Lake thank you for their business.