Wrapping it up. Packing it up.

I know I said this before, but our time in Vegas is REALLY winding down now. One week from today we'll pack it up and hit the road. That is... pack up what's left.

Remember the aforementioned car troubles? Well, since we lack confidence in the Subaru's ability to go the "extra mile," we hired a guy to haul it home, with 70% of our things inside of it. It leaves today, so we had to pick and choose what we could and couldn't live without for a week.

Here you can see that while we CAN live without a desk, we CAN'T live without our computer/TV.

And while I'm packing it up at home, Evan's wrapping it up at work.

Today he gives his final presentation (a review of his internship) to his superiors. He left this morning looking very handsome and professional and I know he will do an awesome job!

I helped him design his power point, and it reminded me... We are in this together! And we really do make a great team. His successes are my successes, his failures my failures, and vice versa. Marriage is the best! Especially when you have a husband who is as wonderful as mine. I'm super proud of him for all his hard work this summer. He really made a positive impact on the company, and I know they would love to have him come back and work for them after graduation. This internship really was a huge blessing. The experience Evan had, and the relationships/connections he made will benefit him long after this Summer is over.

So, Vegas. I really hate you. But I kind of love you. And I know I'll never forget you. Thanks for a happy, hot, successful summer, filled with good friends and lots of fun :)

A glimpse into the life of poor, newly-wed students

I was making bread the other day, and when I pulled out our "rolling pin" (aka: plastic wrap) to roll out the dough, I had to laugh a little bit about the way our apartment bears witness of our poor, newly-wed lifestyle. I have gotten used to the ways things are around here, and sometimes I forget that some of these things aren't necessarily "normal." But hey, whatever works, works.

We'll never forget the summer we spent in Vegas, and the 140 nights we slept on the little air-mattress that hugged our bedroom floor...

(Don't worry! We DO have sheets and pillowcases. They were in the wash.) 

Or that nasty wooden box I used for my bedside table...

And lets not forget that classy dining table that doubled as heather's desk!

...There's more...but I think you get the idea.

You know, I'm glad that Ev and I are a low-maintenance kind of couple. We don't need fancy things to be happy. We have so much love for each other and are continually amazed by the blessings we receive each day. We seriously have an ENDLESS list of things to be grateful for...

...including a saran-wrap rolling pin, a card table in the dinning room, a bed to sleep in, and even our ugly wooden box.

Rita, my love

Rita's Italian Ice (primarily found on the East coast) came to Las Vegas this summer! And I must say, it came just in time! Last summer, in PA, Rita's was one of my favorite treats! You might remember me mentioning this when I wrote about my fun-filled birthday. It's a little pricey, and more than a 40 minute drive from where we live, so I assumed that this birthday treat was a one-time deal. But on Saturday, after spending some time at the Family History Center in down-town Vegas,  Evan suggested that we make a day of it and head on down to Rita's!

Yay!

The manager was there (both time's we've been) and he is the friendliest little man! You can tell he loves his job! We asked him about the franchising process and he said it took three years to bring Rita's to Las Vegas. He explained "out here, their version of real ice is a snow cone or shaved ice, and I just got fed up with it!" Haha. I don't know how they do it, but there's nothing "icy" about Rita's Italian Ice. It's sooo smooth and creamy and PERFECT! And they always have fabulous flavors like Swedish fish, black raspberry, or my personal favorite, coconut cream! YUM!

Thanks to you, Rita... and thanks to you, "friendly man who got fed up with snow cones"...

...Now I have one less reason to hate Vegas!

Dear Jenny...

...Sorry you didn't make it to Paris...

I did!

Oh, and Rome too!

For those of you who don't know... my sister, Jenny, is living in France right now, working as a nanny. My mom, grandma, aunt and cousin all took a trip to France a couple weeks ago to visit her. When I saw her blog, showcasing pictures of all the beautiful, charming places they visited, I may have been a bit jealous. And that may be an understatement, especially because I'm spending my summer in the ugliest and least-charming of all places. Lucky for me, my parents came to visit this week for a business trip and my mom and I spent a day shopping at the outlets and touring "Paris" and Caesars Palace. Next best thing, right? Ha...ha....I'm being sarcastic, but I really did have a lovely time. My parents treated Evan and I to a delicious buffet at the Rio, and afterwards I had a sleepover with them at the Mirage! So even though I have never been to Europe, I still have to admit, I'm a pretty fortunate girl.

22 on the 22nd

We celebrated my golden birthday this weekend :) It was absolutely perfect, all thanks to my amazing hubby!

We spent Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel, lounging by their beach-themed pools. 

Mmm... lovely...

Saturday morning we enjoyed a giant, mouith-watering breakfast at "The Egg & I." I'm sure I've never enjoyed biscuits and gravy quite so much as I did that morning. YUM!

THEN we made our way to Henderson, to partake of the heavenly deliciousness that is Rita's Italian Ice (my favorite treat when we lived in PA)

We made several shopping stops (just to pass the time) on our way to the Venetian...

...where my tedious quest to find some Shock Tarts finally came to an end! This shop is basically like a miniature, pink Willy Wonka factory.

I savored each bite of said candy, while I sat in a state of complete bliss, watching The Phantom of The Opera! 

I'm pretty stinkin' blessed to have such a good life, filled with people that I love. All 22 years have been something worth celebrating, and I suspect that my 23rd year of life may just be my best year yet!

Fun at Tahiti Village

Remember back when this little babe came to visit? Well while she was here, my sister invited us to come float in the lazy river at the resort where they were staying! We had a lovely time, and they were excited to spend some time with their baby, after two whole days apart. Afterwards we all went out to Chili's for dinner and free Oreo molten cake! Yum! It was pretty much the perfect evening.

Those Rainy Nights

It was way past our bedtime, but we couldn't resist. We slipped into some sandals and stepped out onto the balcony, watching the lightning set the sky on fire, reminiscing about those rainy nights in Pennsylvania... I shivered as I felt the mist blow in from the waterfall that poured down from an unseen rooftop. Evan wrapped his arms around me and I wished for the rain to never end. I needed some time to soak it all in.

A Little Piece of Heaven

This weekend, Jon and Ashlee introduced us to Mt. Charleston...

...a little piece of heaven, right next to a big chunk of "Hades" (aka Vegas).

The 30 degree temperature drop and the smell of pines and campfire dinners was well worth the 45 minute drive. I am already planning our next trip to this new found haven of ours. Can't wait!

Something Good

Evan took me out to see this lovely little park he discovered.

Hmm...maybe it isn't impossible to find something good in Vegas, after all.

Rainy 4th

It rained in Vegas! It was the first rain we've seen since we moved here in April. And of course, it just happened to be on the fourth of July.

Before the rain, we all went to the Summerlin Parade. 

During the rain, we went to Cafe Rio for lunch, played games, watched a movie, and took a couple of naps. 

After the rain, we went on base to see the fireworks, and Jon showed us the F16!

Unfortunately I only brought a camera along for the after-rain-festivities. 

It really wasn't bad, overall. I mean, it definitely seemed bizarre to spend the majority of the fourth indoors, but how can you complain about rain in a place like Vegas?

Home = Heavan

I can't believe how quickly my time in Utah flew by. Ten days felt like two, and I found myself on an airplane, glaring down at Vegas, willing the plane to turn around and take me back home again. But when Evan picked me up at the airport, I had to admit that being with him feels more like home than anything else. And I was content.

As a side note, the flight from SLC to Vegas was saaaweet! We were only in the air for 45 minutes, I got pretzels and a drink, AND my whole row was empty, so I moved from my assigned aisle seat to the window seat to enjoy the view :) Not bad. Not bad at all.

Valley of Fire

Evan and I have laughed more than once about how making friends when you're married is pretty much the equivalent of dating when you're single. We try to find other couples who are somewhat compatible with us (in our case that means they're married without kids) and then we ask them to hang out with us and hope that they like us enough to keep hanging out with us! So basically... dating ;)

We met Jon and Ashlee in our ward, and they are a ton of fun. We decided to hang out on Memorial Day and Jon suggested that we go to the Valley of Fire. We had a picnic, climbed on rocks, and the boys chased lizards and saved an old man from dehydration! What an exciting day! I think we made some friends :)

Viva Las Vegas!

Evan found an internship, and guess where it is...

Yep that's right. We're heading to sin city and things have been changing pretty quickly around here.


Thursday: Evan got the offer to work for SouthWest Gas in Las Vegas, NV.


Friday: We accepted the internship and sold our apartment contract.


Saturday: We sold our furniture, cleaned out our apartment and hit the road!


Saturday-Sunday-Monday: We spent the weekend with my super cool family in Northern Utah.


Monday: We drove to St. George, UT where we spent the night with my sisters in-laws.


Tuesday: We drove to North Las Vegas and started shopping for apartments. 


Tuesday @ 3:00: We signed a lease and started moving in!




We are excited! Our complex has a super nice pool and fitness center! Observe:

Our apartment complex is new, and it's in a great location. South of us is EVERYTHING, and North of us is NOTHING. I prefer the nothingness to the everything-ness, but having the option is good. And it's a huge bonus that we're right by the highway that takes Evan straight to work in less than ten minutes!


In other news... 

Yesterday was our anniversary! One year of bliss! ;) We ate at Olive Garden on Saturday night to celebrate :)


Evan officially started work today. He works 7-3:30, Monday thru Friday. Which is pretty much the perfect schedule. I can't complain about that!

Wish us luck!