September Days Part 1

The month of September was a fun and quick one! Our September actually started on August 31st...I know that doesn't make sense but oh well.
We left for our 2 week vacation on Monday August 31st because we did not want to be traveling on the 1st. September 1st is our wedding anniversary! This year was a special anniversary due to it being our 10th (don't get me wrong, all our anniversaries are special).
We left Rapid City on Monday around 10am and arrived in Las Vegas around 2:30pm where we spent the next 8 nights. Well you may ask, what did we do for that long in Vegas...A WHOLE LOT!

Mon. Aug 31st - Arrive in Vegas, get rental car, go to Timeshare and check into our condo, go grocery shopping so we don't eat out every meal, come back to condo, eat dinner, go swimming and relax.

Tues. Sept 1st - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! Started the day out at the Las Vegas Temple where we did a session and sealings. What a great way to start off our anniversary, being reminded of the promises and covenants we made with each other and the Lord 10 years ago. We stopped at In and Out Burgers for lunch...YUMMY!
That evening started off by having dinner at Kahunaville located in Treasure Island. The main event of our anniversary was seeing "Mystere" Cirque Du Soleil also at Treasure Island. AMAZING...well worth the money!

Wed. Sept 2nd - We left the condo at 5:30am since Pat had a 6:57am tee time at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City. I of course went along and drove the cart. Pat got lucky in the fact that the golf course scheduled him to tee off with two laid back, retired gentlemen that just go to relax instead of being there to perfect their game. Bob and Rick were so kind in giving Pat hints about the course and in helping him find his ball.
We ate lunch in the clubhouse afterwards and then headed to Hoover Dam. WOW...so MASSIVE and HOT! The temperature at Hoover Dam was 116!! I think only one day of our time in Vegas did it get below 101 during the day. At the Dam we took the Dam Tour which was slightly spendy but well worth the money. We were able to go down inside the dam and look out vents to see the Colorado River the dam holds back.
After heading back to the condo to relax for a bit we went back to Treasure Island and watched the free show "The Sirens of TI" in front of the hotel...definitely not a "family" show although I saw several families there.

Thurs. Sept 3 - We ate breakfast at the condo and then headed to Las Vegas Outlet Center. Way too much money spent there but the amount of things we got for the money spent was wonderful. Oh yeah, we had to stop into the Travel 2000 store to buy some travel "vacuum bags" so we would have room in our luggage!
Now any of you that really know Pat and I, you know that we are baseball fans. Yep, we went to a Las Vegas 51's game! It was their last home game of the season. Although the game was enjoyed and we had good conversation with those sitting around us, it was again HOT! To have ice put in your cup they charged a dollar!! As crazy as that sounds that was one time it was worth paying a dollar for a 32 oz glass of ice, not once but twice! By the end of the game there was a slight breeze and the temperature had dropped about 7 degrees. I never thought I'd be grateful for 100 degree weather at 9:45pm what a difference it makes!!

Fri. Sept 4 - We went to Exaclibur where we walked around the shops, had lunch, went on the Spongebob 4-D ride and then walked to a couple other hotels on that end of the "Strip". We had tickets for "Tournament of Kings" dinner show that night so we headed back to the Excalibur. While eating dinner with no utensils we were privileged to see a jousting and fireworks show which told a story of King Arthur. Dinner was delicious, we had tomato soup to start and then a full Cornish hen, potato wedges and broccoli for the main course and apple tarts for dessert.

Sat. Sept 5 - The Adventuredome at Circus Circus was OK. We rode the rides, looked at vendors and had lunch but we were done with that within a couple of hours. We actually watched one of the side shows and played the carnival games that were separated from the Adventuredome and had quite a bit of fun doing it.
After spending time in Circus Circus we headed to Fremont Street (which is considered old Las Vegas)...that was cool. We walked in and out of the several casinos and shops and were able to watch a concert and then the light show they do on the ceiling that they put across the street.

Sun. Sept 6 - Pat actually studied a bit; this vacation was causing him to miss 4 - 5 hour classes and two mid-term tests. That evening we went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner where Jeff, Pat's step-brother, works. We also went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum that night. It is breathtaking how life like the wax figures are. That was extremely fun and we took tons of pictures.

Mon. Sept 7 - Pat was able to do some more homework and studying. The night before, Jeff had invited us to come to his place the next day and visit so around 11:45am we followed his map and headed to his place. Jeff bought pizza and we visited for about 3 1/2 hours before he had to go to work. We were able to meet his 5...yes 5 ferrets! Seeing them made me miss my sweet little kitty Maio even more.
After we left there we headed back to the strip and went to the Coca Cola store and M&M World where we bought even more souvenirs. At the Coke store you can purchase for $7.50 samples of 16 sodas from around the world...not quite sure I would drink soda if I lived in some of those places. There were some wonderful tasting ones and then some uugghhhh, I need to run to the bathroom and get sick tasting ones. It was still fun and interesting, don't regret doing it at all.
We went to MGM Grand and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before heading back to the condo and packing so we could leave bright and early the next morning.

Tues. Sept 8 - Return rental car, take shuttle to airport, catch plane to Utah, arrive in Utah, get yet another car rental, drive to my mom's house, go to Lowe's with mom to order her new kitchen cabinets, go get dinner at Maple Express (a must when we go home) and finally...relax!

Wed. Sept 9 - I was lucky to be able to meet up with some of my past co-workers from Washington High School for lunch. They are all retired except for Judy who only works until noon on Wednesdays. We had a blast, it was fun catching up with Edna, Ann, Joyce and Judy. Unfortunately Mozelle forgot, Dottie lives out of state and Steve, well he probably wouldn't of come because he would have been the only guy there!
That evening Pat went golfing with my brother Jayson while mom and I babysat Helen, Dorothy and Jase for Jayson and Lori and also Natasha and Patricia for Justin and Lisa.

Thurs. Sept 10 - Pat did more homework and studying in the morning while I did laundry. That evening we went to a Raptors baseball game with mom!

Fri. Sept 11 - We drove to Leamington/Delta, Utah area for Pat's brother Mike and Nissa's wedding festivities. We helped finish setting things up in the chapel, had a rehearsal, went and checked into our hotel, cleaned up and went to the rehearsal dinner.

Sat. Sept 12 - Checked out of our hotel room, went and waited in Tiff and George's room, got ready for the wedding and headed to the chapel in Leamington. Once at the chapel I helped Tami finish up the bridal party's hair and helped Nissa's mom and maid of honor get Nissa into her dress. The wedding only started 10 minutes later than planned and turned out very nice.
The reception was my favorite considering I was actually able to spend some time with Pat since he had been pretty much occupied as best man. Pat, who is not one to dance in public, made sure he twirled me all over the dance floor that night...I felt like a high school girl with butterflies in my stomach as we danced and stared into each others eyes.
As soon as the reception was over we made the 3 hour drive back to Ogden.

Sun. Sept 13 - I went to church with mom while Pat stayed home and studied some more. Around 2:30 we were able to meet up with Annie and Sean (Mike's ex and son) at her sister's house in North Ogden for a couple of hours to visit. We have not had the opportunity to spend much time with Sean considering they live in Idaho. I sure appreciate Annie being willing to let us have a relationship with Sean. We had a great time talking and playing with Sean although it broke our hearts when we left cause Sean told us we couldn't go. Annie said that was good cause if Sean doesn't like someone he practically pushes them out the door when they say they are leaving. We really love that little one!!
Once back at mom's house we had a delicious homemade meal and then my brother's families showed up for dessert...brownie sundaes, YUM!

Mon. Sept 14 - Go to Post Office to mail ourselves a package since we purchased too much, go to Newgate Mall and eat Chick-fil-A for lunch (also a must when home), go to See's Candies (some is on the way Suzy!), return rental vehicle, catch plane to come home...oh wait, layover in Denver where we ate at Mesa Verde (best place to eat in Denver Airport) and finally home! WHEW!!

All in all we had a great and very busy two week vacation. It was very nice to spend some quality time alone and then to be able to see our family and some friends. Wish we had more time to see other friends and family but there is always next time. I will post some pics through slide shows and there will be another post to finish out September. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as we did doing it!

Just a quick thanks to all those who helped make our vacation possible. Mom for allowing us to pay her a little to use her timeshare, the Nielson family for getting us to and from the Rapid City Airport and the Armstrong family for taking care of Maio, our house and yard.