Viva Las Vegas!

Last Friday morning Jodi showed up at my house, grabbed my suitcase, and ran! It was the only way I was getting out the door without staying home to comfort Darcy who was in hysterics at the thought of mom leaving her for 3 days. I almost didn't get out of there, and my eyes were glistening a bit as I left. This would be the first vacation I had ever taken away from my entire family. Well, I did spend one night in Seattle years ago when I tried out for Jeopardy, but I only had Drew then so it wasn't so bad. This trip would require us to be apart for 3 days and 2 nights and I didn't know how any of us would survive! And . . . we almost didn't. But let me back up. Last year I decided I wanted to go to Las Vegas with the 4 good friends I met at BYU as a freshman 20 years ago this August. Paul didn't understand why we couldn't just meet back in good ol' Provo, UT, but since none of the 5 of us stuck around good ol' Provo to graduate, I didn't think any of us wanted to go back! And besides, I had never been to Las Vegas and I was looking for some fun! So Vegas it was! I few months ago I contacted my 4 friends and we were all for a girls' weekend in Las Vegas! I was so excited I don't know how I made it through those months between buying the ticket and actually getting on the plane. Natalee, Jen, Annette, and I were actual roommates in Snow Hall 135, and Jodi was our next-door neighbor, but we considered her an honorary roommate since she got along much better with us than with her own roomies. Kind of funny how Jodi and I ended up in the same small town and the same ward 15 years later.

So anyway, Jodi and I found ourselves descending into Las Vegas through HORRIBLE turbulence. Supposedly that is a given when flying into Vegas but even seasoned veterans on the plane said it was really bad. As we were just about to land we started to go up again. The pilots never said a word the entire time so this is just speculation on everyone's part, but we all thought the landing gear wasn't working since we could hear the gears grinding over and over to get the parts to work right. We were circling the city for a long time, fighting the horrible turbulence, not knowing what the heck was going on. Jodi didn't like my comment about having lots of soft sand around in case we needed to make a belly landing, and truth be told, at one point I was thinking "please don't make Paul come down here and claim my body." I have never been scared for my life before but I caught glimpses of it on that flight. Scary stuff. We were finally able to land and I have never been so happy to get off an airplane in my life! We got our bags and headed to the parking garage to meet our friends who had all arrived before us. We stepped off the elevator and there they were! It was as if we had never left each other and we were 5 BYU freshmen who escaped for a weekend in Vegas. Of course, once we heard each other's life stories, which we told over 3 hours sitting at a buffet of course, we realized that a lot of time had passed and a lot of crap had happened. I sat there and listened, amazed at the trials my friends had been through, and amazed at how strong they had all been in order to come through them and be able to sit there and smile. What great examples they all are to me! My love and respect for each of them grew by leaps and bounds over dinner. Though I hated every minute of BYU when I was there, I came away with 4 amazing friends for life. If I had to go back and do it all over I would, just so I could have these women in my life forever. And I might try to change my attitude a bit too if I went back ;) That night we looked at old pictures, laughed hysterically, and had a great time reminiscing. We also realized that we have now know each other longer than we haven't! Pretty cool, but that means we are old. Sorry Snow Sisters!

Saturday morning we hit the Strip with stops at the Bellagio, where we had another buffet lunch, which was amazing I might add, and where I won $3 on the slot machine! Had I redeemed my ticket I would have broken even since I only played $3 but I wanted to keep my ticket as a souvenir so I never cashed it out. When it comes to gambling I am a chicken!

We walked around so much, and saw so many places its hard for me to even remember them all. We stopped to get souvenirs for our kids and took pictures with the crazies on the sidewalks in their different costumes in the 95 degree heat looking to make some tips, we spent way too much for bottles of water (just ask Jodi), and saw way too many pictures of mostly naked women. For some reason in Vegas I was told that naked women wanted to call me. That doesn't seem to happen in Oregon. Its unfortunate that the pictures are everywhere because I think my kids would love to see the Excalibur castle, the water fountain show outside the Bellagio, or go to the top of the Stratoshpere, but there is no way I would ever take my kids to Las Vegas and expose them to that junk. There was a line for Holly Madison (ex porn star and Hugh Heffner girlfriend) who was doing a book signing. I was appalled at how many women were actually in line, and the kicker was the dad with his 2 daughters, probably around 8 and 10. What an example! At times I just wanted to crawl back to the forests in Oregon and continue hiding from the world. But other times I was impressed. The streets were amazingly empty of trash and there were very few people on the streets dressed outrageously or inappropriately. I thought I would feel like a country bumpkin there but it really wasn't so bad. I laughed when my mother-in-law gave me this advice before I left: "Don't take anything from anyone and keep your eyes down." It turned out to be great advice!

Saturday night we saw Recycled Percussion at the Tropicana. It wasn't a huge, glamorous Vegas show but it was still pretty good. They are some talented guys. We waited too long to get tickets for anything else and most shows were sold out. Something to remember for next time. Oh yah, there probably won't be a next time! We ended up at the Stratosphere around midnight and Jodi, Annette, Natalee, and I were crazy enough to ride the Big Shot. The highest amusement park ride in the world, you shoot up at 45 mph at 4g's and then immediately drop back down. The view of the Strip was amazing and so was the adrenaline rush! Had the bungee jump off the side of the building been right there I swear I would have done that too, I was so high on adrenaline. Luckily I regained my senses by the time we got down to the bungee jump place and I skipped it. The Big Shot was a CRAZY ride and I am so proud of us for doing it! Later that night I got a little snippy due to lack of sleep but hopefully its all good.

Sunday we went back on the Strip to see the Venetian and we finished off the trip with the roller coaster ride at New York, New York. I was ready to get back to my family and reality, but I was also so sad to leave my friends again! We have plans now for reunions every 5 years. Not sure how husbands and kids feel about that but that's our plan! My family picked us up at the airport and we all talked at once about our weekend. I came home to clean kids, a clean house, and a welcome home sign from Drew. My expectation for the family was just survival but they had a good time without me, I think. Makes me feel better about leaving them, knowing they will more than survive. I am so grateful that Paul was totally supportive of me taking a trip and for holding down the fort while I was gone. It was a much needed and appreciated vacation. I was Tiffiny again instead of Mom for 3 days. What a luxury! I can't wait to do it again!