A Travel Log: Vegas

The National Carwash Convention was in LasVegas this year. Jason and I decided to turn it into a little vacation. We arrived at our hotel/casino Sunday evening (after going to church with our family in the morning).

We stayed at Harrahs, right in the middle of everything and near the casino that the convention was held. 

This is Buck and Winnie.

They were our landmark to get back to the elevators, that lead us to our room. 

Funny.

Monday- Jason went to classes in the morning. 

We met for lunch, then he went to the convention show floor, while I enjoyed HGTV in our room (we cancelled our Direct TV over a year ago and I've missed HGTV). I ventured out for a little shopping as well.  After the convention floor closed, Jason came back to the room to change and rest. 

That evening, we were invited to a FREE dinner sponsored by the owners of Eerie Brush. We had prime rib, roasted potatoes and rolls. Jason had a good time catching up with his "carwash buddies".

Tuesday- Jason went to class in the morning. Magic Johnson was the keynote speaker. Jason said he was STAR STRUCK (front row seat). He said he was a really nice guy..very personable. At the end, he was even willing to take pictures and sign autographs. Jason was bummed his phone had died..no pictures.

We met for lunch at Subway. After lunch, we went onto the convention floor together. Jason introduced me to more "carwash buddies" and checked out the latest and greatest carwashing equipment.

For dinner, we were invited to another FREE meal sponsored by Tommy Equipment. This time at the "Rockstar Restaurant". The food there was DE.LI.CIOUS! Jason says he still daydreams about the homemade flatbread fajitas. :) They were that good.

We met a father-son couple who were new to the carwash business. They were hilarious..and a little drunk. It was fun for Jason to share his carwash knowledge with them. They exchanged business card info.

That night, we did some touristy stuff. 

We caught the Mirage "volcano"  and watched the show at Treasure Island. 

By the way, if your in Vegas, skip the pirate show at Treasure Island. It was dumb. Hard to understand what they were saying and lots of scantly-clad pirate ladies having uhhh... dance off? ..with the other pirate ship of men. Weird and not worth the time it took to watch it.

We wandered around some of the other casinos and shopped a bit too.

The displays at H&M were eye-catching!

Wednesday- No classes for Jason, so we slept in.

We had lunch at McDonalds and then headed out to sight-see.

We wandered the streets of Paris...sort of. :)

After all the walking, my feet were tired and threatening blisters (even though I had put moleskin on the rubbing places). After seeing the "rainstorm" at Planet Hollywood (Miracle Mile Shops) and browsing some art galleries, we decided to just sit and wait for our show to start. We had probably a 2 hour wait, but my feet and body needed that break.

Jason had found a great deal online (before we left) for dinner and a show. First we saw the "Nathan Burton Comedy Magic Show". Nathan Burton got his start on "America's Got Talent". It was very entertaining and had some variety with 2 other performers in it as well. Jason and I were stunned by the magic...we totally had no idea how he did it. :)

After the show, we went to a buffet. It had a big variety with lots of YUMMY food.

Being rested and refueled, we bought a 24-hour bus pass and rode down to Fremont Street (older downtown Vegas). We met some very interested people where ever we went and the bus did not disappoint. We talked to a self-proclaimed prophet and chatted with a funny couple from back East. They told us about how they had gone to the famous pawn shop from "Pawn Stars" that morning and gave us direction on how to get there if we wanted to visit. (Wish we would have known/thought about it earlier, cuz we probably would have made that a part of our plan.)

The "Fremont Street Experience" was quite the experience. Soon after getting off the bus, we saw the crazy..that topped all crazy. 

--Jason and I played a game each day we were in Vegas, "Who is the craziest person we'll see today?" -- 

A gigantic buxom lady (like bigger than 2 beach balls large) won the prize for over-all CRAZY, that night. Her large chest was impressive, but the glittery pasties are what put her over the top!!! 

We had seen the runner-up the day before...Dominatrix Grandma (60+). She was wearing a leather bustier with dollar bills spilling out of the cleavage area..oh, and a whip! She was just walking down the sidewalk like it was just another normal day in Vegas. Yikes!

At Fremont Street, we saw an Elvis look-alike sing, a wacky DJ lady (with not much on) get the crowd dancing and jamming, a grungy band that screamed their lyrics and a street performer who did up-close magic. 

How DID he get that observer-signed 5 dollar bill inside the lime??? 

Dunno..it's magic!

The coolest thing about Fremont was the canopy that spanned several blocks.

On the big screen canopy they had a light show with music videos. 

Teresa, Can you tell who's singing here?

We ended our Fremont Street Experience with some souvenir shopping and then hopped back on the bus back toward the strip. On the way back, we passed by the "Pawn Star" pawn shop. Silly how excited we were about that. :)

The night was still young, so we decided to walk around more casinos. Jason played one of his favorite arcade games (Ms. PacMan) at New York, New York.

We also wandered around MGM Grand and then headed back to the hotel.

Thursday- We leisurely packed up and checked out of the hotel. On the way to the airport, we shared a shuttle with another interesting Southern couple. The woman noticed Jason's BSU attire and struck up a conversation. She told us a crazy story about on their way to Vegas, she had a heart-attack and they had to ground the airplane in Texas. She recuperated for 2 days, then got back on the airplane and continued onto Vegas. While in Vegas, they had several other weird things happen to them.. a fight/arrest in front of them as well as lost luggage, mixed up hotel rooms and more. Whew.

We arrived back in Boise with no incident..thank goodness.

And as I said to my weight-loss challenge group.. It's a lie! What happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay in Vegas. I gained 4 pounds!!!

I'd say we got the FULL Vegas experience... minus the gambling and alcohol.

PS- Thank you to Grandpa Waite for hanging out with our kids, while we were gone.

Game Day

Each season, Dan (a carwash chemical vendor friend) treats Jason to a BSU game of his choice.

Dad (Jesse)-Jason-J.C.-Jared

Jeff

When Jeff expressed interest in coming from Texas to Boise, to see BSU play, Jason chose the BSU vs. BYU game. Dan generously paid for 4 tickets (allowing Jason to invite Jeff and J.C.).

Another generous carwash customer, Ron Leise, provided 2 more tickets. Then Jason was able to invite Dad and Jared to come too. Along with the extra tickets, Ron invited them to tailgate at the game...stuffing them full of bounteous Mexican food. :)

Normally when BSU plays, Dad and Jared are interested and will root for them. BUT when BSU is playing against BYU..that's another story. Dad and Jared wore BYU t-shirts under their BSU sweatshirts, interchanging as the situation suited them. Like when BSU tailgating (eating BSU fan food) they wore BSU, but in the stands they peeled off their sweatshirts and rooted for BYU.

Dan ended up not being able to come, so Jason had another ticket. When my Dad didn't answer his phone, Dean became the lucky recipient of the ticket...as long as Candice wasn't having a baby that day.

Short story, long... BSU was victorious. Not a pretty game I am told, but still a WIN.

Mom, Teresa and Lynley tagged along for the weekend too. It was fun to hang out with them and go shopping.

Everyone left Saturday morning, to start heading back to Utah, but not without detouring at Dietrich to visit J.C. and Julia's newest arrival, Savannah Nicole (sp?).

Jeff came back Sunday evening to spend one more night, before flying back to Texas.

Fun week end!

Water skiing with the Hodges

For our family vacation this year, we went North...Post Falls, ID. We stayed with Krissi and Steve Goodmansen, and their family, in their brand new home. They had just moved in on a Tuesday and we were there on that Saturday!

When Bob and Karen Hodge found out that we would be in the area, they invited us out to their home in Medical Lake, WA, for some lunch and water skiing.

The Hodge's home on their private lake.

Abree modeling her brand new swimsuit.

Are we ready for some FUN?!

Bob Hodge

Jason was first up..or should I say down. 

On his second or third try, he did the splits and pulled his hamstring. Later it turned black and blue and he had a big knot on the back of his thigh. It's been weeks and it still bothers him occasionally. He hurt himself good.

Bob showing us how it's done.

Taylee was next up.

She struggled to keep her skis straight up, so Bob got in the water to try and help. After many tries without success, it was someone else's turn.

Rylee tried to get up on the wake board.

She was determined, but didn't have success that day.

Bobby, Bob's oldest son, was a patient, kind teacher and boat driver.

Bob thought he had a solution to Taylee's problem. He duct taped rocks to the back of the skis so that they would stay down in the water. Taylee got a second chance. The skis stayed down... but so did Taylee. Lots of close calls, but no success at getting up.

Treyson decided he would try it too. After several attempts he called it quits.

He said, "Mom... I'm a quitter."

I said, "I don't think you're a quitter. I'm proud of you for trying."

Funny kid.

Our family didn't actually get up that day, but I appreciated their determination and was glad they had the opportunity.

Thank you to the Hodge Family for your kindness and generosity.

Happy Father's Day!

Most years we spend Father's Day away from home. It's the weekend of our annual cousin party. This year was no exception.

We found a quiet spot in JC and Julia's house and had Jason open gifts from us.

The kids gave him all sorts of his favorite goodies.

My gift to him was a Lego Star Wars wall hanging.

I saw this on Pinterest (shocked aren't you?!). My version was a little different, but I was satisfied with it. That is until he unwrapped it. Poor Luke Skywalker and Obi wan had taken a fall. 

Happy Father's Day Jason... our kids are lucky to have you as their dad!!!