Vegas, Baby!

In March I went with my sister, Jana, to Las Vegas for a wild-n-crazy girls outing.... AKA photography conference. It was fun to get away and spend time with Jana for 4 days, but truthfully, neither of us like Vegas all that much.
 Our favorite part of the trip was getting to see the Las Vegas LDS temple. It was a funny trip getting there though..... I put the trip into my GPS and we followed the directions completely. Suddenly it said our destination was on the right. However, on our direct right was a car dealership! Somehow my GPS had gotten rerouted to a Fiat dealership and NOT the temple. We were in fact in the complete opposite direction of where we intended. So we rerouted and found ourselves there eventually. 

It was worth the trip! So peaceful after the chaos and smut of 4 days on the Vegas Strip. 

After our temple outing we went to the Cheesecake Factory for one of the best meals I may have EVER had. 

The Temple may have been our favorite, but we still had tons of fun being together seeing the sights, going to a show, and of course attending the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photography International) classes and expo.  I learned tons about photography and really enjoyed learning tips and tricks. the Expo was a bit boring for me, but Jana loved it for her businesses. So it was worth it. 

I even won a free t-shirt during one of the classes because I looked like I was falling asleep so the teacher chucked a shirt at me! It's one of my favorite shirts now! :) Funny thing is, I fell asleep in plenty of them (we were on the go constantly so I was exhausted!) but the time the instructor called me out on it, I really wasn't even asleep.
Anyway,
We walked the strip and of course, made our way to see the Belagio at night...

 and in the day. 

SOMEDAY I WILL STAY HERE! (of all the casinos, this is the least dirty feeling. Loved it here. 

 At the WPPI conference we got our pics taken with a Peacock clad Elvis

One night we checked out Freemont Street (not as fam friendly as I remember from 10 years ago!)

A different time we had a splurge night where we ate at the Rainforest Cafe (no pics turned out due to bad lighting)and then saw the Cirque Du Soleil show, "Ka." It was amazing!

Throughout the week we walked through shops where we choked on the price tags (window shopping of course!)
We taste tested Gelato (meh. it's not as good as Red Barn Icecream from Santaquin! haha)
We saw lots and lots and lots of nakedness walking around, walked through lots of casinos, inhaled tons of second hand smoke, Bleh, and walked till our feet nearly fell off. 

The best parts of the week were when we were just being silly and making up names for all the people we met.  Oh, and taking lots and lots of selfies! 

As much fun as a get-away can be, the reuniting with family is always the best! 

 

These 2 cuties stayed with Grandma Belinda and Grandpa Bert while Tianna stayed home with Dad so she could go to school while he was at work.
They had their share of fun too! 

 They had some great daddy-daughter bonding time. Especially on their "date night" to the pool and Texas Roadhouse.

Before returning home, I spent one extra day making a big cake for the auction at Tianna's schools Literacy Festival. Luke's sister, Monica helped me--She even baked the cakes before I got there!
The cake was based off the book, "The Day the Crayons Quit." I'd say it turned out quite delightfully!

 

 After baking all day we made it home just in time for the Literacy Festival to begin. Tianna's class performed a little number and she proudly did her favorite dance move, the "round-a-rounds" aka Coffee grinder

 Left the heat and sun of Vegas and quickly met some more snowy days. 

 Which meant it was the perfect time to accessorize Daddy. Did I mention how great it was to be home? :)

 Somewhere between the sun and the snow our tulips bloomed. Gotta love spring in Utah!

Belated Valentines Date-- Canyoneering style!

On February 16th Luke and I met up with some friends and headed off to Moab for my first Canyoneering experience. It was SUUUPER FUN! But holy cow, SCARY TOO!
My experience with rappelling has been very very limited and it's been a whole decade since the last time I was on a rope.
We began our adventure way before the sunrise, then started our hike on the "Rock of Ages" canyon, and everything was going fine....just enjoying the beautiful scenery and the thrill of hiking...











 BUT THEN.............





THEY MADE ME RAPPEL OFF a (nearly) 200 foot cliff!!!!  I definitely needed a warm up or two before this big one...and Luke had assumed the smaller rappels were before the big one.  As I started the ascent I was petrified. I had to physically and mentally force myself to breathe, let alone take steps down the rock face.
After I got on the bottom I made this direct quote, "The last time I was that scared I was getting an epidural for my first childbirth" and I sincerely  meant it.
But look! This is me!

 
Luke is a seasoned pro by now. He thought it was a cake walk compared to some he's done.


After recovering from the trauma I was able to successfully get down another 100 foot and a 50ish foot rappel.


When we were finished with Rock of Ages we went into Arches National Park and climbed "Elephant Butte" which is the highest point on Arches.  It had a lot of uphill scrambling and some tricky climbs up the slick rock, then it topped off at the summit for a breathtaking view......... followed by more rappels.







It was definitely a Valentines day date to remember!