Randall's cousin chose to get sealed in the Las Vegas Temple to her hubby. This event just happened to coincide with the NFR (that's National Finals Rodeo for all you non-rodeo fans). When we realized we could attend both, Randall immediately declared, "We're going!"
Randall's parents were generous and came to our house to stay with the 3 older kids. Ashlin was lucky enough to take a trip with mom and dad---- she's still nursing. I think she really enjoyed her one-on-one time!
While we were in Vegas we met up with some of Randall's co-workers for a steak dinner at Circus Circus' award-winning The Steakhouse.
And what would a trip to Vegas be without stopping at In 'n Out be? I don't do burger joints very often, but man does In n' Out have a good burger!
The NFR was really fun! We got in on one of the Finals Nights. We were too cheap to pay for regular tickets (over $100 a piece!) so we did what they call the "Mad Dash." You buy a ticket for $49 and then you go find an empty seat. If someone comes and has a ticket for that seat you have to move. We had Lettie and Wayne with us and managed to find 4 seats together, and we didn't have to move a single time! Plus, 2 other guys who had already moved twice came and sat buy us as well- that means there were 6 empty seats together! It was a little nerve-racking everytime someone came up looking for their seat, but all-in-all, it was fun and we saved ourselves a ton of money! Ashlin fell asleep about 40 minutes into the rodeo and stayed asleep the rest of the night. She was such a good traveler the whole trip. I think she enjoyed not having any of her siblings around to pick on her for a few days!
The Vegas temple is beautiful, and I'm so glad we were able to share that special day with Lettie and Wayne. We couldn't be happier for the two of them!
We took a drive up to Hoover Dam to see the bypass bridge (officially called the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge). The last time we were in Vegas the bridge was still under construction. Wow! That thing is amazing!!!
I really wanted to go see a Cirque du Soleil show or The Lion King. Unfortunately, most of the shows were sold out and they also excluded infants- since we had Ashlin with us that automatically counted us out. So, we went to see Jabbawockeez. It was fun, and definitely kid-friendly, but it wasn't an amazing show by any means. Randall just reminded me that next time we are leaving ALL the kids home so we can be foot-loose and fancy free!
Finally- you cannot visit Las Vegas and not go see the Fountains at Bellagio! My favorite! They also had a really neat winter display up inside the Bellagio. These polar bears were made out of thousands of white carnations. Pretty cool, right!?
