What happens in Vegas...

So last week we went to Vegas with my family. The drive there was long, but beautiful. We stayed at Mandalay Bay which is at the very south end of the strip. We arrived on Tuesday evening and just spent the first night walking the strip and looking around at all the cool hotels and places like M&M world and the Coke store. Wednesday we spent the morning out at the lazy river and in the wave pool. Then we went indoor skydiving. Probably one of the coolest experiences of my life! We had to put on these ridiculous looking suits and go into a wind tunnel with padded walls and floors (no they were not white and the suit was not a straight jacket). We had to jump superman-style over the fan and the instructor helped us stay in the wind current. The first time I jumped I was not prepared for how HOT it was going to be...I was expecting some nice cool breeze coming from the fan...but no...it was all hot air! We each got three jumps and by the time we were done we were all sweaty but very happy. I highly recommend this to everyone!
Wednesday night we went and saw the Blue Man Group. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Everything they did was absolutely hilarious. It is a show that I would love to see again and again!
Thursday we again spent the morning at the river and pool. Mike and I left around lunch time but my parents and brother stayed all day. We went out and explored some of the exhibits. We went to the Bodies exhibit where they had a bunch of rooms full of human organs and muscles and bones and skins. In each room they also had a whole human body (minus the skin). Each of these bodies were positioned in different athletic poses. They were so cool to look at and learn about. One of the coolest rooms was the blood room. They had injected the bodies with some type of fluid that traveled through all the veins and capillaries and then hardened in different colors. The bodies were then dissolved away so all that was remaining were the colorful forms of every vein in the body. They were crazy!! There was also a fetus room that was very sad but it was really cool to see how much babies grow each week!
My parents and brother joined us for the shark aquarium. We got to see lots of sharks and other animals like a golden alligator and a komodo dragon!! We also got to touch some small sting rays and horseshoe crabs. Then we went and rode the roller coaster at New York New York. Possibly the best roller coaster I have ever ridden! At night we walked the strip and saw the water show at the Bellagio. It was very pretty. We tried to see the pirate show at Treasure Island but we got there just after one ended and the next wasn't going to start for another 45 minutes so we just went home.

Friday morning we went to the CSI Experience exhibit. We started out by picking one of the three crimes to solve. Then we took our clip boards and went to examine the crime scene. After we had taken all the notes we wanted and drawn a picture of it we went to the labs to do some research. we had to go match fingerprints and DNA samples, identify tire tracks, do a toxicology screening on the victim's blood, research her cell phone usage, study different stages of bug life in her body to determine time of death and then report all our findings and solve the case. It was very fun! Then we checked out of our hotel and drove back home. All in all, a great vacation!

Saturday was my Great Grandma's 100th birthday party. We went up to the North Hampton House in American Fork to celebrate this huge milestone with her. She had friends come from about 6 different states to celebrate with her! Mike and I were in charge of manning the guest book and taking pictures of everyone when they came in. We also made a slideshow of pictures from throughout her life, and were also responsible for all of the party favors...Twinkies...her favorite treat!! It was a beautiful party. The decorations were gorgeous, the food was great, and the entertainment was fantastic! Randy Booth is the director of the Young Ambassadors at BYU. He and his family played the piano and sang several songs during the program. There was also a special tribute song from some of my Great Grandma's nieces and a special guest from the Lawrence Welk Show, Sandy! She came and sang a song for my Great Grandma who is one of the show's biggest fans!! She seemed to have a great time seeing all of her friends and family in one place and wished us all a life of 100 years too! Love you Great Grandma Dorothy!!!

Day 18,253. Well honey, that's 50 years yeah here's to you and me...

So this weekend was spent mostly in the car. But between driving to Boise and then over to Oregon and back to Boise and down to Provo we had the delightful opportunity to celebrate Mike's grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary with a family reunion! This was the first time I met most of that side of his family and I was warned ahead of time how crazy they all were...and boy is that true! Highlights of the weekend...running around the house with a balloon up my shirt and a hand on my back like a waddling prego lady, angering a territorial rattle snake, catching some rocks with a fishing pole, and watching a chihuahua try to seduce a dog five times its size.

I'm on a horse

It was actually a very fun weekend. The first day we picked blackberries and made cobbler in dutch ovens, watched a movie on a projector at night, and camped next to the horses. Saturday morning the girls had a baby-shower for one of Mike's cousins while the boys picked up rocks in a field. They did a real good job...Mike picked up a hornet nest and one of the other guys broke his finger...can't ever leave those men without female supervision! I learned how to make cool necklaces out of scrabble tiles and scrapbook paper...I went a little overboard and made about six...but they were just so cute!!  I also got to ride my first horse! I learned how to steer it and everything! We even trotted! I spent a lot of time with the horses this weekend. We became close friends :).  Also that day we took family pictures in our matching t-shirts. Our family had forest green ones. We looked good. Then some yummy steaks and chicken for dinner and another movie on the projector. Sunday we packed up and drove all the way back to Provo. We left oregon around 9:30 and got back to Provo around 10. Too much time in the car!!!! Surprisingly Mike drove the whole way!!! It's a miracle!! Usually I have to drive on long trips! Thanks Mike :)

look at those perfectly rolled up rolls!

We let my dear friend April house-sit for us while we were away (and since she is semi-homeless at the moment) and we came home to a clean house and a bag of the most delicious rolls ever! Today I made her teach me how to make them and we have a counter full of beautiful rolls! We had to wear garbage bags for aprons so we didn't flip butter all over ourselves. We also went to the Draper temple today and raced at MarioKart. I love April!!

We Have Arrived...

So we have finally decided to join the blogging community. Mostly because I need some sort of hobby and because after 6 months of marriage, we're finally doing somethings worth blogging about. We have been living together in Provo, UT for the past six months, getting settled into married life. We have both been busy with work this summer but have managed to have a few fun days.
Earlier this month we took a trip up to Seattle (where I am originally from) to visit my family. We spent two days boating, wakeboarding, wakesurfing and tubing. It was a blast even though I was terrible. Give me a break though...I hadn't been on the water in a year! It was definitely a good time despite the sunburn after. Funny story about that...Mike was wearing a wet suit both days and came home with sunburn lines straight across his forearm and they didn't go away for a few weeks!
We also explored the city of Seattle on a duck. Allow me to explain. Seattle bought some old WWII trucks that could drive on land and then straight into the water like a boat. They call them ducks. The tour guide was quite entertaining and made quick friends with my little brother Dylan when he let him drive the boat! We also went to a Mariners game vs. the Yankees. We lost. Badly. But it was fun! A great weekend all in all until our flight home was delayed...like six hours! Thankfully Mike had just won an iPad from work so we kept ourselves entertained with games and movies!
In other news, Mike has taken up the hobby of photography. We shopped around for an entire day looking for a good deal on a camera and came home with a Nikon D3000. He has had a lot of fun walking around parks and downtown Provo taking pictures of everything. We have plans to drive the Nebo loop (a windy road through the mountains from Nephi to Payson) but we will have to go get some Dramamine first :)
That about sums up our summer so far! This is the first of many blogs to come!