Viva Las Vegas!!!

I'm not usually this spontaneous, but I decided to join my roommate Jessica for a little weekend spree to Vegas. Jessica has been writing a missionary for the past two years and since he was returning to Las Vegas, we had a great excuse to go to city of lights! 

We started out early Saturday morning equipped with water, peanut m&m's, two granola bars, CDs, and a tape recorder. 

Pit Stop in St. George

As we traveled through Utah, Arizona, and on to Nevada, I marveled at the beautiful red rock and the funny Joshua trees. Jessica and I both screeched a little as we finally saw the Stratosphere tower standing in the distance. When we finally arrived in Vegas, our first stop was the Venetian hotel. It was so much fun walking around the Venetian after I had actually been to the real Venice. It brought back great memories!

We asked a group of ladies to take our picture, and when they found out we were from Utah, they came in really close to us and whispered "Tell us, what are a couple of nice Mormon girls doing in Vegas for the weekend? Did you come to see Donny and Marie?" Is it really that obvious that we are BYU co-eds?

Another plus to coming to Vegas was the opportunity to visit my cousin Devin. We met up with him and he treated to a delicious lunch at the Gran Lux. Then he proceeded to be our fabulous Vegas tour guide around the Venetian. 

If that was not generous enough, he also gave us a free stay at the Gold Coast Hotel for the weekend. THANK YOU DEVIN!!!!! 

Me and Devin - the founder of our fiesta!

After checking into our Hotel and taking a quick stop at Caesar's Palace for H&M shopping, we headed over to meet Zach (the missionary) at his house. His family was nice enough to take us into their home for much of the weekend, sharing food and smiles! Later in the evening, Zach, Jessica, and I decided to go down to the Strip to see the Belagio fountains. It was magical! The water shot what appeared to be hundreds of feet in the air! I suppose dancing fountains are less expensive and more flexible than ballerinas. The song was "Time to say Goodbye"

After the magical show, we headed inside to see the Belagio gardens all decked out for the Halloween season. We also took a look at the world's largest chocolate fountain.

We had a fantastic time being with Zach and his family. He gave a wonderful homecoming address and I certainly enjoyed the seviche, papusus, and Nothing Bundt Cake that followed. YUM!! Sadly, our trip came to a close. To celebrate our last night in Vegas, Jessica and I cruised down the Strip with the sun roof open - the only way to enjoy the fluorescent lights! We topped the night off with a Frozen Hot Chocolate to share from Serendipity! 

The next morning, we grabbed our muffins (a bonus thrown in with the free room) from the Hotel coffee shop and said our final goodbyes to Las Vegas. 

Does this shot remind anyone else of Goya's "Saturn devouring one of his sons"?

"I asked for a muffin, but I think they gave me a small planet!"

It was the perfect mini vacation from school life, and did I mention it was a balmy 80 degrees while we were down there? VIVA LAS VEGAS!! We returned to Provo in time to celebrate Halloween with our roommates. With my new short hair, how could I resist being a Flapper! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My Roommate's younger brother grew this gigantic pumpkin for us! It took 20 mins just to cut the top off! If you didn't know, the little pumpkin is Sally from "Nightmare before Christmas"