Archive for January, 2010

We have done a lot this last month so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

December 1st-16th- School, work,and everyday life.

December 17th-18th- The weekend after finals ended we drove down to Arizona for a wedding. We caravan-ed up with Jared’s sister, Nicia, her husband Joe, their daughter Alyssa, and Jared’s step sister Caitlin. On the way there we stopped in Vegas. We found a room at Circus Circus for less than $30 a night! Once we checked in we hit the strip. The first place we stopped was Ross, much to the boys annoyance. (For reals, we have a Ross in Orem!) What can I say it was one of the only stores that we could actually afford and they have a bigger selection then the one that is close to my house. Well, as all Ross shoppers know it takes a little bit of time to shop at Ross. So the boys ditched us and started walking to M&M World. If any of you have been to the strip, that is over 2 miles away and they took my 2 year old niece, Alyssa, with them.  Well, when our shopping was complete we called them up to see where they were only to find they had been walking for almost an hour. So, we were advised to take the Monorail so that we’d get there about the same time.

We met the boys who only had to wait for us 10 minutes or so. While in M&M World we went to a 3-D movie, entitled “I Lost My M in Vegas” or something similar. (Nicia and Jared both thought the movie was out of focus and you had to cross your eyes so much to get it in focus. We left with headaches…)

Dinner was the next item on the agenda. We ended up going to the Cheesecake Factory at Caesar’s Place. At dinner we meet up with Dave (Jared’s Dad), Kathy (Jared’s step mom), Emily (Sister), and Justin (Step brother who would be married in a few days and the reason for the trip in the first place) Here is us at Caesar’s Place.

After dinner we all walked over to watch the water show at the Bellagio. It was a Christmas theme this time. By then we were all wiped out and our feet and taken enough so we went back to our hotel and ended the night.  Here are more pictures of us on the strip.

In the morning I was still set on exploring so I dragged Jared around with me and we explored Circus Circus while everyone else had a nice relaxing morning. But unfortunately for us there isn’t that much to do in the morning in Vegas. So we did what we did the one activity you can do at 24 hours a day in Las Vegas. We gambled. We put a dollar in the penny slots (I know we are high rollers, but they wouldn’t take anything less). When we got to around 90 cents we won some pretty good odds and got back to $1.33.

Then we continued playing the slots until we were back at $1 and then we got our voucher for the dollar. So we made out even with our Vegas Gambling Spree. It was actually pretty fun. What was not so fun was the drive ahead of us. We actually took the wrong way and added 2 hours to our trip. When we got there it was dinner time and we stopped at Peter Piper Pizza for dinner. Jared’s first job was at Peter Piper Pizza and so he was supper excited.

We stayed the night with a old family friend, Ashley. (Thanks Ashley)

Wedding December 19th- Justin and Stephanie were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple on December 19th for time and all eternity. The Sealer had some great words of advice. One thing that stood out to me was when you look at your wedding rings they are made out of precious metal and stone. So, when you look at your wedding rings you should remember how much more precious your spouse is. He also talked a lot about cherishing and treasuring your spouse. It was a nice sealing.

After that we had a nice luncheon. We decided we wanted to go see a movie, so we used our phones to find out the times and a theater close by. When we got to the theater, Nicia went first and found out they were going to charge them $6.75 for Alyssa! So they said “forget it” and so Joe, Nicia, Caitlin, Jared, and I just hung out, ate ice cream, and walked around stores until the reception started.

The reception was of course really nice and wonderful. On the way home from the reception we stopped at Joe’s Uncle’s house to pick up Caitlin’s luggage, since she was coming home with us so we could get an early start on our way back to Utah. There Jared got to ride in this car.

It is an Ariel Atom. It is the fastest accelerating street legal car ever. Jared recognized it from his racing games on his Xbox 360. Needless to say, he experienced the acceleration first hand. He thought it was awesome….

December 20th- Drove back to Utah. The biggest event was driving over the Hoover dam  

December 21st --We attended the reception of Kevin Wiest, Jared’s best friend’s (Scott) little brother.

December 22nd- We babysat for my brother David. He only asks us to baby sit once a year so we try to help out. His kids are amazing to baby sit because they love to watch movies and can watch movie after movie. A babysitter’s dream. (And we like movies too, so it’s easy to watch it with them)

December 23- We drove to Washington. The roads were okay. When we arrived Jared and I had dinner with my parents and then went and played games with my cousins. We learned how to play Bang! My brother Justin and his family (wife: Beth and four children: Nathan, Hailey, Brooke, and Ryan) and my brother Mark and his wife Emily all arrived later that night.

December 24th Christmas Eve- We had a relaxing morning and then ate our traditional Christmas turkey dinner. My mom always outdoes herself. We had turkey, homemade rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, jello cake, and too many pies. It was delicious, THANKS MOM!

Then we had our Christmas program. Justin read the Christmas story with his kids acting it out. Hailey and Nathan both played Christmas songs on the piano and all the kids opened a present.

Christmas December 25th- We started out the day opening presents. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, chatting, and eating. Hailey, Brooke, and I played “Pretty, Pretty, Princess.” This was a favorite of mine growing up. You get to put on jewelry as part of the game. I never won though. Brooke won and then Hailey won.  

Jared and I also went over to my Uncle Phil’s where we played a bunch of games with Brittani, Taun, Tim, Aunt Meg, and Jessica. Uncle Phil even made us his delicious wheat scones (Thanks Uncle Phil)

December 26th- Emily had her baby shower. Emily (my sister-in-law) is expecting twins, a boy and a girl. Her sister’s planned it and did an amazing job. They really outdid themselves as you can see from the pictures.

December 27th-Went to sacrament meeting and then drove back to Utah. Jared drove the whole way. What a man! (This made our trip driving for this month around 2850 miles). When we arrive in Orem we stopped at Jared’s Mom’s house and opened our presents there.

December 28th- Andrew (Jared’s brother) and Starrie welcomed their beautiful baby girl into the world. She is truly a beautiful baby, we only hope that we will be so lucky.

After that we went to Jared’s Dad’s house and opened our presents there. Sorry, no pictures

December 29 and 30 were spent going to work and relaxing at home.

Decemver 31st Jared’s Birthday. Jared and I both worked in the morning/afternoon. After work we went to Jared’s Mom’s home for pizza and chocolate cupcakes. We were able to chat with his parents and Andrew and Starrie. We also stopped my Jared’s Grandparent Robin’s. We celebrated midnight on the freeway driving back. The romantic part about it was that we could see the fireworks going off in a few different places.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. Thanks for staying with us for that marathon post. We hope you had a wonderful 2009 and will have an even better 2010!