Day 3: up, down, all around

On Saturday, which was Day 3 of our trip, we woke up to much nicer weather than the previous day. Josh requested that we go see Hoover Dam--so we left the hotel and headed south of Las Vegas that morning. It was fascinating to see the design of the dam as well as the new memorial bridge that was just erected a few years ago. We wandered around both for a couple of hours. 

 

 

 

After looking straight down over the side of the dam, Josh got a little queasy and had to back away from the edge!

 

The parking garage and Visitors Center are both built into the existing rock cliffs, and I found it very interesting that some of the electric wire towers were built on an angle (which are hard to see in this photo)

This is a view of the enormous memorial bridge from the dam.

We walked across the entire bridge on the dam--half of it is in Nevada, and the other half is in Arizona.

 

This would be Josh's idea of a job from hell:

This is a view of the dam from the Memorial Bridge:

We walked to the center of the Memorial Bridge, took some photos, and then we walked back because the swaying movement that Josh was feeling from all the passing vehicles, coupled with the height, was making him weary and sick.

 

When we drove back to Las Vegas, it was early afternoon, and we were hungry. We went to the restaurant Naked City Pizza, another find I researched online. It was featured on the TV show Diners, Dives, and Drive-Ins, and the menu looked good. I was dying to try their stuffed mushrooms with homemade sausage and garlic sauce. They were good, but not as good as my friend Gina's stuffed mushrooms!

 

We ordered a small pizza pie, and I love that their small was pretty large for 2 people to eat! The crust was phenomenal. Mmm Mmm Good!

And for dessert we got fried dough with chocolate drizzles & powdered sugar. Naked City Pizza is inside of a bar, and the vending machine seen here behind Josh was filled with chips, crackers, pretzels, and 3 rows of a variety of cigarettes. I've never seen a vending machine like that before!

After we engorged ourselves with the yummy food, we drove back to the Strip and went walking and shopping for a few hours.

We saw the Bellagio's water fountain show, set to the music "Simple Gifts". It was beautiful!

 

All the different resorts are so large in scale and so unique. I liked seeing all the various attractions they had to offer. Las Vegas is like seeing the entire world in one condensed area. Where else can you see the Statue of Liberty within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower?

 

Being in Las Vegas is like experiencing culture on crack. Everything is so over-the-top. It was hard to fathom the expense of these resorts. We walked by one that was under construction, and we were contemplating the millions and millions of dollars it takes to build one of these grand hotels, and yet we can't even get the support of our local community to build a small K-8 school because of the cost.

 

After our feet were all tired out from walking up one side and down the other of the central section of the Strip, we headed back to our hotel for a break. Obviously Josh and I are getting older, because we've never stopped to take naps on vacations before, and we did both days that we were in Vegas all day!

 

That night, we got all dressed up to head to Caesar's Palace to go see Celine Dion in concert! This was the reason we made the trek to Vegas to begin with, and I was so excited for this moment to finally come! On the way, we encountered an accident, and had difficulty finding a place to park, and then we walked and walked. I was afraid we wouldn't get there in time, but we did!

All over town I'd seen advertisements that looked idental to this, and it wasn't until we got to the Colisseum that night that I finally understood the double-reference: Celine was BACK again performing in Vegas, and this is a photo of Celine's BACK.

Josh and I had seats toward the top (like usual), but we could see pretty well from where we were.

Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed during the performance, so I didn't get any cool shots of what we saw, but it was an amazing concert. I was very impressed with her singing, and all the different effects they had. She sang to a live orchestra & band, and there were instrumental soloists that were fantastic. They had a waterfall for one song, videos of her family, a holographic image where she sang a duet with herself, duets with other singers, and she appeared out of the ground. It was an awesome show and I really enjoyed it! It was worth going to!

After Celine's show ended, we went to another late-night comedy show across the street at the Flamingo and met another couple from Idaho that we got along with. We went to bed after midnight, and fell right to sleep. It was an awesome day--my favorite one of the trip. I loved being outside and walking around Hoover Dam, and seeing Celine Dion in concert was so fulfilling for me!

Day 2: highs & lows

When we woke up in Las Vegas on Day 2, I immediately got out of bed and opened the blinds from our 21st floor window of the hotel. I saw overcast skies, gloomy weather, and parking lots below. The day didn't look quite as optimistic as I felt it would be when I first woke up! We showered, and got ready for the day's plans despite the depressing weather that was hovering outside.

 

Our first item on the day's agenda was for Josh to golf 18 holes at the Aliante Golf Club which is approx. 15 miles northeast of the strip. We drove down the strip, looking at all the resorts in the day light, before driving back onto the freeway towards the golf club. We had a tee time at 10:00, but we got there way early (Las Vegas time is an hour off ours, and we woke up earlier than we thought we would). Because it was raining when we arrived, there were a few cancellations, and we got in on the 9:00 tee time with two other fellows instead. It worked out really well for us! As Josh was golfing in the dreary weather, I just sat and enjoyed the ride in our cart rental.

 

 

I was delighted to see blossoms on some of the trees, since I wouldn't be seeing any in Salmon for 2 more months.

 

It was the craziest weather--not at all ideal for golfing in, and definitely not what I'd imagined for Las Vegas! But I was so proud of Josh for enduring all 18 holes in blowing wind, downpours of rain, and bouts of snowfall. Thankfully we got lucky and had sunshine for 2 of the holes right in the middle of it all.

 

 

Since the sun didn't seem to be promising an appearance when we arrived at the golf course, Josh didn't bring his sunglasses golfing with him. For those two holes when the sun peeked through and the terrible weather stopped, he was wishing that he had! It's rare for me to see Josh without sunglasses during bright times--the man has different sunglasses stored in each car and multiple in our home; he has quite the collection of them! So I had to capture the rare image of him squinting...

I wished the weather had looked like this all day...

 

Just when we didn't think we could endure the weather anymore, we were on the 18th hole. I can't believe Josh finished it, but he did. Even the guys who golfed with us dropped out before the end, as well as several others on the course at the time.  We took the clubs back to our car, and were soaking wet. We drove back into town, and went to Hash House a Go Go for lunch. I'd done a lot of restaurant research before we began the trip. I did NOT want to spend $50 on a single steak meal, like so many of the resorts on the strip offer, and I was not interested in buffet food, either. I wanted to eat at places that came highly recommended that served good food without a huge price. This particular restaurant was at the top of the list, and it did not disappoint!

My friend Heather lives in Henderson, and I hadn't seen her in over 10 years, so I asked her if she'd like to join us, and she accepted the invitation. She brought along her two cute daughters that I'd never met, and we had an awesome lunch together!

I almost ordered their famous Chicken & Waffles, but instead I ordered a Biscuits & Gravy Benedict. It was different, but very filling and so good. See her youngest daughter eyeing my food? She was sooo cute!

Josh ordered the sage-fried chicken benedict. It was huge! He couldn't even eat it all!

 

I was glad that I'd done my research ahead of time, because lunch was fantastic! And it was worth waiting for...by the time we were done golfing, it was after 2:00 before we arrived at the restaurant to eat. After we consumed all that we could, we said goodbye to my friend Heather and her adorable daughters, and we drove back to our hotel. We changed out of our wet clothes, and headed towards the Stratosphere. It was the only thing on the Strip that was within walking distance to our hotel, and I wanted to go to the top of it so bad! Josh obliged, and we began the trek. On the way, I spotted these beautiful pansies. The color combination is the exact same colors I had for my wedding colors 15 years ago, and since this was our anniversary trip, I thought they were very fitting, so I captured a photo:

 

Josh doesn't like heights, but he let me talk him into coming to the top of the tower with me. AND, when I paid for the tickets to go up to the top, I also purchased tickets for the Big Shot ride...for BOTH of us! We got into the elevator and went up 109 stories. The panoramic views were amazing. Since the weather was yucky, I was slightly disappointed, but the valley is pretty flat, so we could see for miles and miles in all directions as we looked out the viewing windows.

We found our hotel through one of the windows, too. Here's most of the giant Circus, Circus that we could see (it's not as tall as some of the other buildings on the Strip, but it seriously is huge in acreage):

 

After walking around, we went up another floor to the very top of the Stratosphere, and went outside to ride the Big Shot. On the platform next to the ride, we noticed this sign, and had to document the moment!

 

 

At 921 feet above the Strip, Big Shot is the world's highest thrill ride. It shoots you straight up the needle on top of the Stratosphere 160 feet in the air at 45 miles an hour. Then it drops you back down, at a slightly slower rate, and you float up out of your chair so that you feel like you're free-falling back to earth. Because Josh and I were the only riders, we had to sit on opposite sides of the ride to equally balance it.

I was sad that I couldn't sit next to him. Josh was NOT impressed with it at all. In fact, he hated it. I, on the other hand, felt like it was very exhilerating and thrilling! I screamed the whole way up, and laughed hysterically the entire time we dropped. I loved it, and could've done it again! This was a photo the machine took of me. Hilarious!

 

When we were leaving, it was just getting dark, and I could see the strip all illuminated. It was just lovely! I was sooo glad that we went there, although Josh says he'll never do it again!

On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a souvenir shop along the street to get some items for the boys. And as we walked through the huge hotel to get to the elevators that took us to our room floor, we saw a circus act perform. We took a break from walking, and rested our feet for a while on the hotel bed before heading back out in the car to go the Luxor, where we had tickets to a comedy show that night. We parked and walked a little ways to get to the pyramid-shaped building, and we passed by the beautiful Excalibur on our jaunt.

The show was good, and we got back to our hotel room late that night and just crashed. It had been a very fulfilling day for me, but had been a long one for Josh with the low temperatures that he golfed in and the height fears that he experienced!

Day 1: old memories anew

From the time I was in high school, I've wanted to go to a Celine Dion concert; I've been a big fan of hers for over 20 years. I put that wish on my Bucket List so that I would make an effort of making that dream come true. And this year, I finally convinced Josh to let me purchase the tickets and take the trip with me to Las Vegas where she is currently a resident performer. I bought the tickets in January, and immediately started making plans for our trip to Las Vegas in March. Originally, we were going to fly directly there from Idaho Falls, but during the ordering process, several fees were tacked on that I was not expecting, and it made our plane tickets cost over $500 total for both of us round-trip. We did the math and estimated the cost of driving, and we would save over $200 if we drove instead, so that's just what we did. Once I knew we were driving, our itinerary changed, too. We would be gone longer--but we would also have more freedom to do what we wanted now that we had our own transportation.

 

I like to go out of town alone with Josh at least once a year; I enjoy traveling with him and being alone with him, it's so good for our marriage. We usually go on a couple's trip in late winter (that's when Josh can get off work) to celebrate our Anniversary which is in April. We made plans for the boys to be taken care of by friends & family in our absence. We left the three older boys at home, where they would care for themselves, spend one day & night at friends' houses, and spend time with family for the rest of the time. We left after school on Wednesday, March 6 and took Kanyon with us to Tremonton, Utah. We spent the night there at my mom & dad's house, and my mom watched Kanyon for us after we left the next morning bound for Vegas.

 

Our first official day of the vacation was Thursday, March 7. We really had no plans except to drive, so we took our time. At mid-morning, we made our first stop in Pleasant Grove to visit my Grandma Rose at her home. The last time I saw her was a year and a half ago.

She has a disease in her eyes now that makes it really hard for her to see well. She was laying on her couch when we came in, and I just sat on the floor right next to her so that she could see me as we visited. She didn't know we were coming, and we only stayed about a half hour, but I'm so glad that we stopped by. I talked to her about our boys and my family, and told her all the wonderful memories I had being in her & grandpa's home when I was a child. And she replied "Well, all good things must come to an end". It was very sad for me, and after we left, I cried for a while. She lost her desire to live after Grandpa passed away over 10 years ago, but since her health is deteriorating, it's even worse now. 
 

I didn't take a photo of Grandma this time, because I want to remember her for how she's always looked to me, not how she looks now in her final stages of life. This photo is from 2 years ago on my last surprise visit to her house when Josh & I were on a couple's vacation to southern Utah. I love my Grandma so much, and I'm so blessed to know her and be related to her!

 

We drove for a few hours, but I knew we'd need to stop to eat somewhere. Since we were driving, and we had extra room in the car, we packed our own food to save some money. I made plans to eat out twice while we were in Vegas, but the rest of the meals we brought with us. I suggested that we stop and have a picnic at Cove Fort, a historical LDS fort close to the freeway in south central Utah (right by the I-70 interchange). Josh had never been there before, so he agreed. When we arrived, we got out, ate lunch on some outdoor picnic tables, then used the bathroom by the visitors center facility. A missionary couple asked if we wanted to go for a tour of the fort, and since we had nowhere to be, we accepted. It was a nice day, and it was neat to learn more about the fort that was built during the time of Brigham Young, by an ancestor of Gordon Hinckley.

I liked the symmetry of the fort, and Josh liked all the rock work. They had historical items in all the different rooms that we got to see, and then we got to look out on the watch tower. Josh and I both really enjoyed going there! It was the perfect pit stop!

 

We were there about an hour and half before continuing back on the road. Our next stop along the way was St. George. It's been 15 years since we've been in St. George. I went to college at SUU in Cedar City, and while I was living there, Josh came down to visit me. During two of those weekend visits, we went to St. George: once on a day trip to Las Vegas, and once to pick out my engagement ring. Even though I've seen the St. George temple from the outside before, I've never been inside of it. I remember thinking 15 years ago that I couldn't wait to come back and go inside. So we stopped to do a session in the temple there, to make that long-ago desire become a reality.

But after we changed into dress clothes in the car, got our temple clothes ready, and started walking towards the entrance door, a construction worker came out and said the temple was closed until the following Monday for cleaning. I was SOOO disappointed! It felt like deja vu--going to see that temple, but not being allowed inside.

January 1998:

March 2013:

So back in the car we went, for our final road stretch to Las Vegas. As we were approaching the city, I asked Josh if we could please go to that temple instead. Neither one of us had ever been there before, and I wanted to do SOMETHING that night since we had nothing to do, and we got into Las Vegas earlier than planned. He was such a nice travel companion, and he agreed to my idea once again. We headed east, and on the very outskirts of town was the temple. It's similar in style to the Boise, Idaho temple.

 

I was amazed at the green grass and flowers on the temple grounds. When we left Salmon, there was still snow covering the ground, and I really wanted to see blue skies and palm trees and green grass. After seeing blue skies at Cove Fort and green grass, flowers, & palm trees at the Las Vegas temple, I felt sunshine in my soul!

 

 

After Josh and I did some temple work, we walked around the outdoor courtyard that's inside the temple. I've never seen a temple with that in its floorplan, and I just loved the beauty and peace I felt inside the temple! When we left, it was dusk, and the big-city lights were on. We drove west through town, and headed down the strip.

We stayed at the hotel Circus, Circus, because it had a cheaper rate. And even though it's at the north end of the strip (within walking distance to the Stratosphere), and not super close to all the activities we had planned, we felt like it was a good place to stay since we had our car and could drive where needed.

I don't remember Circus, Circus being so big--but it had been over 20 years since I was last there (the summer after 5th grade, my family went to Disneyland, and we stopped to eat there at the buffet on the way). We finally figured out which entrance to go to for check-in, where to park, and where our room was. It had been a nice day, but also a long one, and when we got to our room, we went right to bed!

Liebster Blog

I received the Liebster Blog Award!

 

Definition: Liebster is a German word meaning favorite, dearest or beloved. The Liebster Blog Award is awarded by bloggers to other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to help spread the word about their blogs and to help them gain wider recognition.

 

So, here's the RULES for the Liebster blog award:

1. Link back to the person who awarded it to you. 

2. Post the award to your blog...(you can steal the button from above)

3. List 11 random facts that people don't know about you.

4. Answer 11 questions provided for you by the person who nominated you.

5. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

6. Ask 11 new questions for the 5 bloggers that you've just nominated to answer.

7. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know that they've been offered this award.
 

My awesome friend Eve from allaboutevey nominated me. Thanks, Eve! I've known Eve since high school; we were in theater together. She was one year my senior in school, and I looked up to her so much! She is extremely talented, and I was so excited when I saw her appear in movies years later! I got to catch up with her in person last year after watching a fantastic play in SLC that she directed, and I still look up to her for her skills and I'm jealous that she is still involved in theater!

 I remember doing this same thing last year in March except it was called the #11 tag.    THIS is the 11 TAG from last year--where I stated 11 random facts about myself, answered 11 questions, and posed 11 new questions to those who I tagged. I looked up other blogs online that have recieved the Liebster Award, and some of them didn't incorporate 11 facts or 11 questions in their award blog post at all, and some of them just had 5 facts and no questions, so I'm going to change up a little bit what's been requested of me with this Liebster because I don't want to do the exact same thing again. I'm going to answer Eve's 11 questions, but then I'm only going to put out 5 questions for the new nominees, and I'm only going to say 5 random things about me. (If you want to read more random things about me, just click on the link to last year's #11 tag)

5 RANDOM things about me:

1. I'm attracted to bald men. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, because I don't remember finding bald men attractive when I was younger. But I also don't think the bald look appeals to every man, either. I think that Josh is a very handsome man with thick, luscious locks.

2. I don't like dancing to fast songs. I feel awkward, and I know that I must look awkward doing fast moves on the dance floor--my body jiggles and wiggles and moves in all the wrong places.

3. I've always wished that I had talent in art. I can't even draw stick figures.  My elementary students tease me for how terrible I draw when I try to create pictures on the board during music lessons. I'm truly that bad.

4. I cannot turn away a half-done puzzle. I like seeing a project finished, and if I'm at a house with a puzzle being put together, it's impossible for me to NOT start picking up pieces and putting it together.

5. Symmetry is my friend. Everything I create--whether a set for a school play, or a wall of pictures in our home, or a flower garden--has to be symmetrical. I like everything to appear exactly straight and balanced.

11 Questions from Eve:
1. If you could change your name for a day--what would you change it to and why?
I would change my name to Kala. My real name is Michaela--it's hard for people to pronounce and spell, and it feels weird when people call me that. I like the name Kala. I feel like Kala is more simple and it suits me.

2. If you were Oprah Winfrey--what awesome gift would you bestow on everyone you know?
Well, if I was Oprah, instead of gifting my entire audience lavish gifts, I would spend the money on a new K-8 school building in Salmon to bless all the children that live here.

3. If you could live anywhere for 3 months--all expenses paid--where would you live?
This is a no-brainer for me: Scotland. I wish it could happen that Josh and I could seasonally live there every year! 3 months sounds like the perfect amount of time!

4. What is the bravest thing you've ever done?
Most of the brave things that I've done are actually borderline stupidity...but one that wasn't stupid, and was one of the biggest decisions of my life, was the choice I had to make to deliver my twins at 31 weeks gestation. The Dr. had wanted me to do it at least a week earlier, but I held out, wanting my babies to grow stronger before delivering them. I regretted that I didn't hold out even longer, but Micah was slowly dying inside of me due to his umbilical cord that was knotted with Jonah's, and the blood supply to his heart was blocked causing harmful effects. I never would've forgiven myself if he'd died inside of me because I wanted to wait longer for their birth. But for months after delivering them, I blamed myself for all the problems they were experiencing. I knew that if I'd kept them incubated in my womb longer that they would've had a better start at life. It was a tough decision, that I finally felt confident about five years after they were born.

5. What song would describe your life this past year?
"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend"

6. What is your greatest strength?
My organizational abilities

7. What three values best define you?
Honesty, Passion, Hope

8. What was the last movie you saw and what did you think of it?
The last movie I saw in the theater was "Safe Haven", and I loved the inspirational modern-day love story. The last movie I saw on TV was "Pride and Prejudice" and I enjoyed the classic love story. I cried while watching both.

9. Who is your favorite fictional character and why?
I've always loved Winnie the Pooh and his buddies Tigger, Piglet, Eyeore, and Rabbit. I like how each personality of the animals is so different, and yet they are all friends. I often consider myself like each of these characters at different points of my life, and I can relate to all of them. Sometimes I think about which of these characters that my friends are most like, and how even though we are so different, that we are able to get along with one another. 

10. What living person inspires you today?
Dieter Uchtdorf

11. If you as your adult self could go back in time and have a conversation with your 11 year old self--what would you tell her?
At the age of 11, I was in the 6th grade. I loved 6th grade--I was so happy at finally being in the junior high, and being surrounded by a large and diverse group of teenagers, and I totally loved switching teachers and class subjects and classmates every hour. I wouldn't want to ruin her naive self by telling her anything about the future--7th & 8th grade were awful years and I wouldn't want her thinking ahead when she was so happy where she was currently at. I'd like to go talk to myself when I was a sophomore instead--after the crappy junior high years, before the final years of high school, during some life-changing times, and give myself some good advice (like: it's okay to kiss boys if you really like them, and: don't fret over what other classmates think of you because in a few years you'll never see them again)!  

I nominate these 5 bloggers for this award who's blogs I love following and reading:

1. ddporterfam Darcy has been my friend since my senior year in high school, and I like that she's still a regular blogger. She has a similar writing style to mine, and she loves taking lots of pictures of her family, so I feel so involved in their family's life as I read her blog posts. She is super crafty and always takes photos of her projects and I'm glad that I don't have to go on Pinterest to get good ideas, because she freely posts all of hers!

2. sunnysideupsidedown Holly is married to one of my long-time school friends Nate. Holly is a hilarious writer, and I enjoy her perspective and opinion. I've read her blog for a couple of years now, and even though we've never met in person, I feel like I know and love her! They have a super cute son, and they are currently living in Italy. I love seeing all the photos and reading about all the fun and exciting adventures they have!

3. happyhobbsfamily D'Neill was raised in Salmon, and went to school with Josh. When I met her several years ago, I felt an instant connection. She also has identical twin sons, so we had a lot to chat about. She is such an optimistic person, and I enjoy being around her and reading about her cute family.

4. leishmanclan Jackie is my younger sister's age, but she has been my friend since I was a young teenager. I sincerely love reading Jackie's blog; she is completely honest and sincere and is so compassionate and kind. She has 4 sons like me, and her heartfelt tales of their family's happenings make me laugh and cry.

5. family4us2008 Marsha is married to another of my high school classmates. I actually met her after following her blog for a while. I really like how she documents so accurately the raising of her 3 sons. I feel that her style is so beneficial as a journal, and I appreciate that she not only writes about her sons, but that she talks about herself and items that interest her. I have benefited from information that she has posted on her blog!

And here's my 5 Questions for the Nominees:
1. What's one word that describes the way you were raised?
2. What was one of your first memorable experiences you had after moving out of your parents' house? Why does it stand out to you?
3. How did your husband propose to you?
4. What do you like to do for yourself that brings you happiness and is separate from your marriage and family life? And when do you find time to do it?
5. What's one word that describes the way you raise your family now?

So, ladies that I've nominated...you can either use the rules I used for the Liebster Blog Award (with 11's), or the shortened version I'm passing along (with 5's). Either way, I 'm looking forward to reading all about you!

{shortened version of the Liebster:
1. Link back to the person who awarded it to you.
2. Post the award to your blog.
3. List 5 random facts that people don't know about you.
4. Answer 5 questions provided for you by the person who nominated you.
5. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
6. Ask 5 new questions for the 5 bloggers that you've just nominated to answer.
7. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know that they've been offered this award.}