The sun still shines in January. Just not in Provo.

I know, it's been forever since I have posted. Not at all as far as this semester, and I will come back and post about my new classes and clinicals and things (its all about babies!), but now I will just talk about my latest adventure. It is freezing in Provo. It just is. And I don't like it all that much. So...my roommate Shayla and I decided that we needed to go somewhere and warm up. We had a three day weekend because of Martin Luther King day, so it was the perfect time to take off. It was Shayla, me and our friend Michael Barney. So we decided to drive out to St. George and stay with her sister and her husband. It was so fantastic. We drove down early Saturday morning and dropped off our things at Shayla's sister's house and then went straight to Vegas! I have never been there, and it was a fun time...quite the experience. I don't really feel any need to ever go back, unless I get rich someday and go see some cool shows. But we had a great time.

We got into vegas around noon, ate lunch and then walked around. We saw a lot of the casinos and the hotels. We even went on a roller coaster at Circus Circus. Then...we may or may not have gone to "Slots of Fun" and lost 75 cents...I would never gamble...Actually, I just took pictures, since Shayla wouldn't let someone underage do it... So then we wandered around for a few more hours (8 hours walking around does a number on your feet). We went into the M&M factory store and watched a 3-D movie. Then we went to the MGM and saw the lions, got some food and by the time we went outside it was dark! We saw the strip in all its glory. Walked around some more, watched the Bellagio Fountains and the Mirage Volcano and then decided that we had had enough and left. We drove back to St. George that night and didn't get back too late.

Sunday, we took a stroll (in short sleeves and skirts, I will add), went to church with Alicia and Kyle (Shayla's sister and brother-in-law), and then went to the temple. After a marathon photo shoot, we went to the visitor's center and saw the Gordon B. Hinckley movie and the Stonecutter movie. Both were amazing! The difference between the two nights was a 360* turn around. Vegas was all about the world. I knew that it was ridiculous, but I could not have imagined how much. Everything was about fulfilling any sort of worldy desire. Lust was everywhere, and the basis of the entire strip. Then mixed with the gambling everywhere and the really tacky, gaudy decorations everywhere, it was just ridiculous. My favorite was the slot machines placed in the bar, where the servers were very scantily clad. Just mixes all of them together in one. Lovely. Then, on Sunday night when we went to the temple, it was all about spiritual. How much more refreshing it was. The movies that we watched were so great. Focusing on keeping Chirst in the center of our lives and sacrifice in the name of the Gospel, and not giving in to whatever pressures there are in our lives. The Spirit was able to attend and testify, where it simply could not dwell in Vegas. There is no way. But anyway, I would highly recommend the Hinckley movie. It was just an hour long and so great to learn a little more about his growing up life. That night we played some fun games with each other and just enjoyed each other's company.

Monday we got up, packed and decided to go "hiking". We had no clue where we could go, so we went up this hill to the "D" in St. George. We got in trouble for trespassing, which we didn't know we were, and so that hike got cut short. Instead of hiking, we went shopping and then got In and Out for lunch. It was delicious, and we sat on the curb in our t-shirts, short and sandals, loving lunch and loving life. We took off after lunch and had a fairly uneventful ride home. It was fun, but nothing special. UNTIL...10 miles out of Provo, we are driving along, and then out of nowhere, a dog runs out onto the freeway, and luckily, no one hit each other with their cars, but the dog was not so lucky. It was the car right in front of us that hit the dog full on and he flew. It was awful! I can't forget what it looked like. I am just grateful it wasn't our car that hit him because then it would be right in front of me. The dog was so dead and its owner was in the field just off the freeway and saw the whole thing. I felt pretty awful, but its the lady's fault because the dog was off its leash. But still horrible.

Getting back to provo was hard, mostly because of the temperature. We easily dropped 40-50 degrees from St. George to Provo. So sad. Wow, this is a lot of writing, sorry. Ill just show the pictures now for those that just go straight to them :) I tried to pick just my favorites, but there were just so many to choose from, so there are kind of a lot. Have fun!

We got to Vegas and we were starving...so we went to Wendy's. Kind of anti-climatic I know, but it was so good.Revolving doors are always a good time. Especially the huge ones that go to all the casinos...revolving door etiquette gets a little tricky.

The roller coaster at Circus Circus. I was a little nervous.

Taking a break from all the walking in front of Caesars.

Gambling??Slots of fun, wasn't so fun.

Cool mirror at Encore.Only one picture from the hundreds to choose from in front of the temple. So pretty!Cute roommate picture in front of the doorsShayla has awesome panoramic picture taking skills.

We shared a half-inflated air mattress for two days...sorry Shayla for taking up all of it.Getting a quick picture in before the trespassing Nazi called the cops...Grabbing some In-n-Out in the sun before going back to cold Provo.