Our Vegas Vacation

We had so much fun in Las Vegas last weekend! It was our very first road trip as a married couple, which was a lot of fun for us! We left Friday morning, Dec. 19, and we enjoyed driving and our time together. Wil and I even tried out some old car games we knew from when we were kids. They kept us awake and laughing most of the way home.

Wil and I met my college roommate Nancy and her husband Bryce and son Derek in Las Vegas and hung out with them most of the time we were there. Derek was fun to be around. He's walking and running and its fun to see his personality - he was determined to do things on his own and did not want help!

We stayed at South Point, which was a GREAT hotel that I would highly recommend to anyone going to Las Vegas. It had the CLEANEST showers I have ever seen!

Derek, Bryce and Nancy at the Las Vegas Pioneer Bowl

Friday night, we went to ESPN Zone, Bryce's favorite restaurant, for dinner and then explored the strip for a little while. We all had fun watching the Bellagio fountains.

Wil in front of the Bellagio fountains

Saturday morning, we went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was a nice aquarium, but a little smaller than we were expecting it to be. They had tunnels that you could walk through to see the sharks, fish and turtles swimming above you and all around you. There was even one place with a glass floor where they would swim under you. Wil seemed to be the only one not totally creeped out by walking on the clear floor. Even Derek wasn't sure he liked the idea - he kept pulling up his legs when Bryce would try to put him down on the floor.

In one tunnel, they were feeding the fish what looked like zucchini. It was cool to see the fish swim up and feed. They would take a quick bite, swim away and then come back for more.

Wil and me in front of the feeding fish

They also had a place where you could touch the stingrays, which was fun! Wil and I couldn't figure out how to explain how the stingrays felt - gushy keeps coming to mind, but it's not quite the right word.

Wil touching a stingray

I think Wil liked the jelly fish the best, and I really liked the turtles...and these weird striped fish that looked like they had mohawks.

Just me and a fish

After the aquarium, we walked around the strip some more and toured M&M world which is always entertaining - It still amazes me that they make so much M&M merchandise... I mean, who buys an M&M tire cover for the back of their car?

We had fun everywhere we went, but the Las Vegas Pioneer Bowl football game was definitely the highlight of our trip (which is good, since that's why we went to Las Vegas in the first place)!!! My college roommate Alison's husband Travis plays on the offensive line for BYU. It's always been fun to watch him play and to know someone on the team. This is Travis's senior year, so the Pioneer Bowl was his last football game as a Cougar.

Travis helped us get the tickets, so we got to sit on the eighth row at the goal line!!! They were AMAZING seats!!

Wil at the Las Vegas Pioneer Bowl

Me in our seats at the Las Vegas Pioneer Bowl

Bode and me

This is me with Bode - Alison and Travis's little boy. He was SO cute. I hadn't seen him since our wedding and at that point, he was just a little guy - so it was fun to see him a bit bigger. Nancy said he's as tall as Derek, who is about a year older. He's going to be a giant when he grows up!

Wil and me at the game

Travis waving from the field - he's number 74

A win was not in the cards for us at the bowl game, but the score was close enough through most of the game that we had a blast anyway! I even thought we were getting ready to stage an impressive come from behind, against all odds win...but not so much!

Derek, Bryce, Nancy, Alison, Me and Wil after the game

My roommate Angela and her boyfriend Phil were at the game, too. We met them for breakfast Sunday morning. It was great to see her and she seemed SO happy! Phil is a very lucky man!

Derek, Bryce, Wil, Phil, Nancy, me and Angela after breakfast Sunday morning

I had so much fun in Las Vegas and it was WONDERFUL to see everyone! I miss them more than I realize sometimes. Wil was great, too. It would definitely be hard to go on vacation and hang out with a bunch of your wife's friends that you don't know very well. Luckily, he had fun!

We did a bit more sightseeing before heading home Sunday afternoon. We even looked for a buffet to go to...but alas, we were too cheap to pay $23 per person for a buffet (I mean isn't the point of a buffet to be cheap?).

We were especially amazed by the bridge going up at Hoover Dam - we were able to admire the bridge for a long time on our way home Sunday evening, as the traffic moving over Hoover Dam could barely be considered moving! I forgot to take a picture, but it looked like they've still got a long way to go before it's done. I'll just have to take a picture on our next trip...