Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Viva Las Vegas!


Earlier this month I traveled to Las Vegas for my lovely niece Nikki's wedding. It was a short trip, but it was packed with fun, sun, and time with family. I shared a tiny hotel room with my parents. They slept in a king-sized bed, and I slept in a roll-away (with the obligatory sunken mattress) pushed up against the wall on one side and a had a 4-inch space between my parents' bed on the other side. There wasn't much time for sleep anyway.


I have a tradition of making quilts for my nieces and nephews when they get married. I'm rethinking this "good idea" since 3 nieces are getting married before mid-August. Here is a photo of new bride Nikki's quilt.


We spent a few hours on "The Strip." I'm glad we went during the day because the pimps don't appear to be too active then. Plus, M&M World is very family-friendly. The casinos not so much. It had been a long time since I had smelled much cigarette smoke.


Let me just say (in case you couldn't tell), that I'm not very good at arranging the layout on my blog. That is why you see the photos all clumped together and the text all clumped together. I'll try to improve the layout some time in the next 5 years, but for now, you'll have to settle for the way it is.


I even managed to get a photo of Donald Trump's campaign headquarters. Our hotel was a hop, skip and a jump from there. I didn't see The Donald, though.


As you can see, Elvis is still in the building. Or should I say "Elvises?" They were out in full force on the strip.


I'm not a Madonna fan, but I wanted to include the photo of her bizarre and unique bustier. I hope you can read the description included on the picture.


Try to use your imagination and picture me flanked by two Michael Jacksons. They looked incredibly like the real Michael Jackson, although I had never seen him in person. Their voices even sounded like MJ. My sister took a very gory picture of me getting my head cut off by Jason. (At least my nephews tell me that's his name.) If you must see the photo, go to my Facebook page and look at my photos.


Fortunately, the Las Vegas Temple is not on "The Strip." It's next to some very brown, dirt-covered mountains. The temple is beautiful inside and out, and the grounds are lovely, too. We attended a temple session with Nikki Thursday night and her wedding Friday.


My mom and dad will be so happy (?) that I posted a photo of them, too. My siblings (2 brothers and 1 sister) will be overjoyed with their photo as well. The only spouse missing was Lance. He had to stay home and hold down the fort here. Sometimes he gets to take a vacation. We even take occasional trips together. (Those are the fun ones.)


The lovely bride, Nikki, and her groom, Tyler, pose with Karen, Nikki's mom, and Scott, Nikki's step-dad. Then they pose with Nikki's dad, Blake (my brother) and step-mom, Lanette.


Then, of course, there is the obligatory photo of the grandparents with the grandchildren. Some of the grandchildren. Why are my kids always missing? (They didn't go on the trip.) Niece, Hannah, was missing, too. She was preparing for her college finals. Her wedding day is in August.


A trip to Vegas wouldn't be complete without a photo of double cousin Janet and her adorable, precocious children.












YOU ARE NOT BLIND. THERE ARE NO PHOTOS WITH THIS POST. THERE WERE PHOTOS WITH THIS POST, but I couldn't post them. Just use your imagination. I'll try to redo the photos if my computer will cooperate.

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