we finally made it down there Friday night at about 7pm. We grabbed some Jack in the Box on the way home and got to sit and visit with Beth and Doug till it was time for bed. The next day we got up and went out for a YUMMY breakfast buffet at one of the casinos near their house. 
They had every breakfast food that you could imagine, and I definitely ate enough breakfast for about a week :) That night we were wanting to go see Phantom of the Opera so we headed over to the Venetian Hotel and bought our tickets! Because Doug and I still had our BYU ID's, we were able to get student discounted tickets for only $35! What a steal! I had been wanting to see that show for YEARS, so I was very excited to see it, as was Chris. When we got back to the house, Chris and I decided to check out the city of Henderson. We are wanting to move somewhere new, so we wanted to feel it out and see if Henderson was for us. We stopped by an Auto Body shop for Chris to check out a job there. He loved the boss and the feel of the shop. It made him happy to know that there are happy work environments out there unlike his current job. We then went and looked at a house. It was a decent size, lots of light and space. It definitely needed some work done, and we could make it super cute, but it was a short sale, and those are always really risky. But it's a fun town, lots of salons, and things to do, so we will see.
We rested for a little bit when we got back to the house (and Ryder is always there to entertain :), 
and then we got ready for PHANTOM! I couldn't believe I was finally going to see the show! I have loved Phantom of the Opera since I was really little. We all went out for Chinese food before dropping the boys off at some friends of Beth and Doug, and then went to the Venetian. 
We got some pictures taken before climbing a million stairs and getting to our seats which were at the very top! Which I thought was perfect cause we were able to see everything that was happening. Their set is amazing, and as soon as the lights went out and the music started, I got chills all the way up my spine. :)If you ever get the chance to go see it, TAKE IT! It's well worth the money.
and then we got ready for PHANTOM! I couldn't believe I was finally going to see the show! I have loved Phantom of the Opera since I was really little. We all went out for Chinese food before dropping the boys off at some friends of Beth and Doug, and then went to the Venetian. We got some pictures taken before climbing a million stairs and getting to our seats which were at the very top! Which I thought was perfect cause we were able to see everything that was happening. Their set is amazing, and as soon as the lights went out and the music started, I got chills all the way up my spine. :)If you ever get the chance to go see it, TAKE IT! It's well worth the money. Sunday morning we woke up and Beth made a very delicious breakfast for us, and then we got to lounge around and take our time getting ready for the day. I love lazy sundays :) While the boys took their naps, the four of us played Ticket to Ride. I LOVE that game! And it was fun to teach Chris and then get beat badly by Doug. haha We then piled in the car and drove to North Las Vegas to Stephanie and Lyndon's new house! I have missed them a lot since they have moved, so it was so nice to see them. Their house is beautiful and they are so happy in their new place. We ate a very yummy meal of ribs and potatoes and salad and got all caught up in each other's lives. Bethany made some amazing peanut butter cup cupcakes that were to die for (yes I ate 2!) and had some good laughs together. It was then time to get the babies to bed, and Chris and I had an early flight the next morning so we needed to get some sleep as well.
Thank you Bethany and Doug for letting us crash your house and visit! Can't wait to come to Vegas again!
They were nice enough to let us stay the night, and it was fun to catch up. We went and ate at a very yummy pizza place (where I ate half of our medium pizza!), chatted for a while, and watched a movie (I can't remember the name....maybe Transporter?) The bed we slept on was a little different then we were used to. It was a memory foam bed and we could tell that it would take more than one night to get used to that thing. haha but it was a lot of fun and my first time seeing Logan! Chris and Brandon had a little male bonding time by playing some Xbox while I browsed the internet, and then we got on the road to Salt Lake around 11am! 
This place was so nice! They had a nice old man to help with bags, a glass elevator, a warm pool and a gym, the bathrooms had granite counters, 
and the bed was SO COMFY! 
Chris still talks about that bed and how he wants to go back to it. :) After we got all of our stuff in our room, we went and ate lunch at Cafe Rio, and then we headed down to Eagle Mountain to visit my friends Carrie and Chris Carlton. I hadn't seen their new place and it had been so long since I had seen them, I was so happy when she asked if we could come down! But, once we got into town, we noticed that our battery light was on, so Chris wanted to get that checked out. We stopped at O'Rileys and had them test it.....he told us that our battery wasn't getting enough juice, and our car was probably going to break down in the next hour! We were kind of freaking out since it would take 40 minutes to get back to our hotel. We went to Carrie's and told them what was wrong. Thankfully, they had one of their family members visiting who knew a lot about cars, so him, and both Chris's went out to look at the car, decided it was the alternator, went and bought one, and switched it our themselves! I was very impressed with the men, and I got to chat with Carrie and play with her girls which was super fun! Hopefully we will get to see them again soon and be able to relax and enjoy our visit rather than having to worry about our car. Thanks for all your help Carrie and Chris!
This is a picture of our stuffed elevator :) 
There was a ballroom with dancing and an awesome DJ, food from all over the world, a huge dessert bar,
a movie room to watch a movie with a candy buffet, a gaming room to play video games, mashed potato bar served in martini glasses,
and a great jazz band. The theme was "An Affair to Remember" which is a movie that came out in the 50's, so they had a few employees dressed up as some famous people during that time, including Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, and Charlie Chaplin.
It was so fun! Chris and I had a great time tasting all the foods, dancing our butts off,
meeting some really great people (couldn't tell your their names though ;), 
and not worrying about any trashiness that could sometimes come with certain New Years parties. After our midnight countdown and kiss, we headed up to our room and crashed. It was such a good night! 
We grabbed some Del Taco on our way back to the hotel, where we ate, went swimming and sat in the hot tub, and then headed for bed. We did a lot of things, yet it was still a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend. 
Chris's cousins Melissa and Brandon and their 2 cute babies came over as well as his grandparents.
We ate food, sang christmas songs, played a gift exchange game, and watched their old home videos. We went to bed early cause we were so excited for Christmas to come!!
So we got everybody up and started opening gifts! We drew names this year, and I got Steve. Which by the way, is someone who is EXTREMELY difficult to buy for cause he has everything he ever wants or needs. But he loved the Michael Jordan socks I had gotten him earlier in the year, so I got him some more of those, an iTunes gift card for his iPhone, and the movie The Warrior. Steve also drew MY name, and he went way overboard. He made me feel bad for just getting him a movie. :) He gave me a $200 gift card to Hollister, and a $50 card to Wet Seal. Guess I am going to have to go shopping! 
My honey gave a gift certificate to get an hour massage (I have been wanting one for so long!), an arm band for my iPod Touch for when I workout, and an awesome camera! My mother in law gave me a super cute new purse, and I also received lotion, and candy, and warm socks! 
I gave Chris some new dress shirts in black and maroon with a nice tie to match them, a kit of everything he needs to wash his car, new dress shoes, and shoe polish. He also got some new shirts and Fast Five from his parents. His mom drew his name and she gave him a $60 gift card to the movie theater (which we used up the very first week! We saw War Horse, Mission Impossible, and Darkest Hour) hahaha we love our movies!! :) 
Friday, Sarah and I slept in a little bit, and then I got to take her and baby to their doctor's appointment! Lyla had to get checked to make sure she was developing okay, and she passed with flying colors :) We then got some lunch from Wendy's and made our way over to Laura's (sarah's sister) house to visit her new baby she had a couple months before. Lyla is pretty much the same size as her cousin even though they are 3 months apart. It's so cute. I hadn't seen Laura and Joseph for over a year so it was good to see them even for just a minute. They are such a cute family and their house is really nice! Sarah and I stopped and picked up some pizza and ice cream and Captain America to entertain us when we got home. It was a great night in just vegging with my favorite friends. 
Saturday, Cuyler didn't have to work so we got spend the day all together. Cuyler made us omlettes for breakfast, we lounged around and watched their Simpson DVDs, played with the baby, got some Jimmy Johns, played LOTS of card games and ate LOTS of Blue Bell Ice Cream. We stayed up till 2am, and I had to get up at 4am to get ready to go to the airport, so I was living on 2 hours sleep! Cuyler and Sarah drove me to the airport, and I was so sad to leave them! My flight was supposed to leave at 7am for Idaho Falls, but during the night we had gotten a hail storm so there was ice on the wings so we had to wait for the SUN to melt the ice! I couldn't believe it! They told us it was going to take a half hour, but it ended up taking almost 2 hours, so I was 2 hours late getting into Idaho Falls. It felt so good to get off that plane. I was sad to leave the warm weather, but I had missed my husband so much so it was good to go back to him. :) Thank you for the awesome weekend Sarah and Cuyler! 
(found the recipe on Pinterest!) cause if there aren't sweet potatoes, then its not a real holiday! :) We ate lots of food and visited for a while, then went home and played Fat Dog. If you don't know what Fat Dog is, then just ask. My family l
There werent' many left so I was so excited to get my name on one of those boxes! After we paid for it, we went to go look at their cheap movies, but I didn't feel like it was worth standing in the huge line again to pay $2 for a movie. So we left. It was almost 1am and I was ready for bed! 
.jpg)
