Viva Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas!  

Jonathon and I had some unexpected time off of work and decided to make the most of it and go on our first "big kid" vacation since our Honeymoon (almost 5 years ago!) and go to Las Vegas since we'd never REALLY experienced it!

Jonathon researched and found great deals on everything. We learned lots about how to vacation and had SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! We'll definitely go back and visit again someday. 

DAY ONE:

Our first night we stayed at the Las Vegas Hotel (LVH)

This is also where Elvis lived back in the day- in room 3000!

Since we got there pretty late, we were STARVING.  Being inexperienced LV folks, we just ate at the buffet here. It was smokey. And expensive. And the rolls were rock hard. :(

Lesson learned: Never stay or eat at LVH!  Cheap.. but you get what you pay for!  

But that didn't stop us from having a great time anyway....

The 'King' #1 and the 'King' #2!  Cute J!

I won my first dollar in slots! LOL

                                                      Jonathon giving it a go!

 Rubbing my tired, smokey eyes from the buffet/casino at LVH

Jonathon by some pretty decorations at the Wynn

We went for a midnight stroll to burn off some calories and check out the nightlife.  We ended up at the Wynn and were amazed by how many people there were!  The architecture and decorations in LV everywhere are so beautiful.  We walked about 5 miles that night all together by the time we walked our tired feet back to our hotel!

Day Two:

We were so tired from everything that we slept in until about 5 minutes before check out!  We just threw on clothes and booked it so we wouldn't get charged for a second night and decided we'd just get ready at the next hotel, MGM.

Our first stop of the day was to FIREHOUSE SUBS!!!! 

Jonathon served an LDS mission in the south (Alabama/Florida) and he LOVED these subs.  He was excited to get a taste and we bought some of the perfect sauce to take home. 

(He'd also never seen this drink dispenser before. They are pretty new still but they have HUNDREDS of different options and combos to make whatever drink you could imagine.  He LOVED that too!)       

Excited to be in Las Vegas! 

Statue of Liberty 

MGM Grand Lion!
I was sad to see they no longer have the real lions here. :(

We finally checked in at the MGM (the wait was an hour!) and it was awesome! It was about $40 more than LVH but much cleaner and nicer and the bed was awesome! 

The lights in this bathroom made you look like a movie star..
Point in case ---->
My skin looked flawless!
I wish I could just feel like that ALL the time! :)

We got all gussied up for our night on the town! It was sure fun. :)

MODEST IS HOTTEST!  

  I was quite surprised how much attention Jonathon and I received as we were out for our fancy night.  Many men and women were trying so hard to get attention by wearing short dresses and 'trendy' clothes, but if you want to really STICK OUT in the world today, DRESS MODESTLY and be WELL-GROOMED! 

           - I was grateful to not have to worry about 'covering up' from all the eyes while we were out from wearing my long red dress (Thanks to my sis-in-law Jenny for letting me borrow it!) and cardigan.  And men can't go wrong in a classic tuxedo!  We got so many compliments.  It was a fun night! 

Sexy man

Sexy woman

First we went to a mind-reading show called "The Mentalist" and it was pretty cool!

I got to go up as a volunteer and help him get blindfolded.  He asked me to put the duck tape over the coins covering his eyes and press on it so it was on there good.  I poked a little too hard and even felt his eye ball move! Ha ha ha! Everyone started laughing when he commented about my roughness.  

Afterwards, we got to see the HIGHLIGHT of my trip...

MYSTERE by CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!!!

It was AMAZING!!!!!!  It was a combination of acrobats, aerial performance, flipping, drumming... everything cool-ing. The performers were so talented and strong.  It moved us and touched our hearts emotionally, especially to see what our human bodies are capable of. WOW. SO GOOD.

And these were the cheapest Cirque du Soleil tickets but I can't imagine it getting better than that.

 We finished our night off with a fancy, schmancy dinner at......

McDONALD'S!!!!!!!!!  Ha ha ha! Nothing beats a late night Big Mac n fries.

We wandered around and dinked around for a bit until we were ready to hit the hay. 

DAY THREE:

We slept in (again! ...Can you tell how much we needed a vacation from how TIRED we were?!) and then drove/walked around to see a few more sights of LV before heading to The Red Rock Resort.

Venetian Hotel - I'll ride that gondola next time!

The Red Rock Resort:

Check-in 

Fancy Room!

AWESOME BED!!!  Sooo fluffy and comfy
I wanted to take this baby home.
(Nice glowing eyes, Jonno! Thanks iPhone for all our glows- lol)

By the pool

Ahhh...... Relaxing on a lounger IN the water!

My favorite part of this hotel was their BUFFET:

Breakfast was only $5! And dinner was $10!!

It was SO GOOD.  I loved loved loved the dessert plates...

 

Woot!

Blackjack 21

Crater Lake

Sooo excited to be back in Portland with CLEAN, CRISP, FRESH AIR!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, it was an awesome, much needed vacation.  

Exploring Vancouver, WA

We recently decided we want to spend our weekends exploring local attractions around Vancouver.  We've LOVED it! We love working during the week so we can count down the days to EARN our Saturday and have FUN! 

Here was our day today exploring Fort Vancouver:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

-Wake up 7:30 ('sleeping in' yet not too long that you feel gross)

-take Cosmo out for walk down by the lake where he chased as many birds, squirrels, and bunnies as his heart desired (Even had a one on one battle with one bunny that resembled a cartoon weaving in and out of bushes and climbing stairs till the bunny won)

Jonno wearing the BYU shirt my Mom bought him and Cosmo on the prowl for bunnies

-PERFECT, sunshine-y beautiful Northwest gorgeous day 75 degrees today!!

-Nancy goes to fill-in for an afternoon shift at Cascade New Horizons and Jonno studies for school

-Finished with our busy work, Nancy picked up Jonno for an awesome VANCOUVER ADVENTURE!

Vancouver Adventure:

-Jonathon, Nancy, and Cosmo went to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site- awesome.

Jonno, Nancy, and Cosmo at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

Some of the old barracks at Fort Vancouver

       

 At the visitors center - we loved this sunny field!

Running through the field!

This huge anchor they found a long time ago in the Columbia River  near the Fort

 Cosmo in the field- such a little cutie

In the pretty replica garden

Jonno and Cosmo in the fort

The teeny little door into the fort

The fields surrounding the fort and watch tower

Pearson Field Air Museum- right down the street from Ft. Vancouver

Nancy and Cosmo checking out the planes
(The museum closed at 2:00 so we couldn't go inside this section,
but we made do!)

Hot man!

Little mini plane!!

Okay, is he not the cutest dog ever??

Cosmo is going to run for dog president and this is is new campaign ad:
FOLLOW ME

Plane motor.. ca-razy stuff.
Jonathon can appreciate this from working on our car back in 2009- ugh.

  

Playing with the toys inside the museum- Nancy was making the ball float with the air!
"I did ot!" -Nancy

Did I mention yet how much we loved the field?

All tuckered out on our drive home-
(He loves to stand on his back legs and rest his body and front legs
on the center console between us while we drive)

-Stopped by the visitor's center and bought some stickers and post cards for Elder Huckvale (Jonathon's youngest brother who is serving a mission in Florida)

-Got to the actual FORT just as they were closing AND they didn't allow dogs- we'll go back again soon!  

-Walked around the park and old buildings 

-Stopped by the Pearson Air Field Museum

-Discoverd the Wintler Park and Waterfront and little beach when we got lost looking for a place to eat. There were plenty of people soaking in the sunshine - we'll make a future visit to this spot! 

-Took our worn out baby Cosmo home to rest

-Went to Washougal to eat at a place Jonathon remembered from high school "Cupboard Corner" and had delicious sandwiches- YUM!!!!

-Bought a book at the cafe called "Historical Camas" filled with a bunch of antique photos of our cute town of Camas- I love Camas!

-Stopped by the old Camas bowling alley "Riverside Bowl" that just got torn down :(

Remnants of Riverside Bowl 

-Stopped by Jonathon's old high school to bring back memories :

Old Camas High (Now Liberty Middle School)

-Stopped by Dairy Queen for some HUMUNGO dipped cones (they were like "King Gauntlets")

-Drove home to pull into the most beautiful neighborhood in spring.

Can you believe we drive into view THIS!?!?  Lake, red barn, fields, trees.. stunning. We feel so lucky.

BEAUTIFUL Mt. Hood- I see this almost every day while driving home from work

What a DAY! Someday these photos will all make it into an awesome photo book. :)

The temple and my ancestors

This is the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple:

It is so beautiful, inside and out.  It is 30 seconds off the freeway but hidden by huge green trees. You drive up a little street and it appears out of nowhere! 

It also happens to be the place where my sweetheart and I were married almost 5 years ago!! 

My family attended the open house when I was just a 9 month old little baby. 

My mom said I was fast asleep and quiet until we got in the temple- then I started babbling and pointing and fussing. As soon as we left the temple, I was quiet again.

She thinks it is because I knew that I would be married there someday!  I agree! Pretty cool.

I love this temple, for many reasons.

******************************************************************

This is a neat experience I had this week:

I went by myself a couple days ago to have some 'alone' time while seeking direction. There is a point in the temple where the topic of family is talked about- both your posterity and your ancestors and what blessings they are.  

While sitting in the  Celestial Room (which is where you are closest to God and heaven), I thought about my Grandpa Richards who passed away last year. Not being sure if I can 'pray' to my grandpa or not, I prayed to Heavenly Father to say Hi for me and let him know I miss him and how much he impacted my life.  

At that moment, I felt like I was being given a big hug and I felt my grandpa's arms wrap around me and a smile on his face. I then thought of Jonathon's grandma Carolan Sessions who also passed away last year and felt her arms wrap around me as well.  Next was her husband Ken, who I never got the chance to meet because he died about 10 years ago. I saw in my mind his warm smile and friendly eyes as he hugged me and a feeling of "I am so proud of you and Jonathon and all your hard work to get to this point. I am happy my grandson has married someone who makes him so happy. Thank you for loving him. I love you."  

Next, 4-5 women who were all sisters joined the group hug. These women were my ancestors, the Loader sisters, who were part of the Mormon Pioneer trek to Utah in the Martin Handcart company. I knew it right when I saw them, though I don't think I've ever seen a picture of them.  They were the first in my family to join the LDS church.  Many others came and joined the group hug who I didn't recognize.    

I felt like I was physically being 'lifted up' by these people in a way of "stay strong- you have so many people and angels who love you and are supporting and rooting for you. You have an important work to do here on Earth."  

I just started crying. It's hard to explain this-- It wasn't a physical sensation, it was just as I was sitting there with my eyes closed and praying. But it was very real and vivid. And very emotional.  

I thought of how my ancestors worked so hard in the past for ME to be here today. And they want to see me succeed! And I have a responsibility to do the same and be strong for my future family as well. We have angels supporting us even when we can't see them.

I am grateful for this experience and for all the sacrifices of my ancestors. I'm grateful for all the blessings I have today. Too many to try to list right now!  And I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation so I can be with all my family again someday.

I trust that Heavenly Father is in charge and He knows what is best for me. Even when it is hard, I'll allow Him to guide me along and remember the feeling I felt this night that it'll all be okay and it's not in my hands. 

These are a few of my favorite things...

I have many things in my life that I LOVE and think "I wish I could share this with more people so they can be this happy too." Well, today is your lucky day!  Here are a few of my "favorite things:"

 My light alarm clock:  

 Starts getting bright 30 minutes before the alarm goes off so it is like daylight in my room when I need to get up.

 My warm, cute, Black Friday Coat

 My brown boots (prown poots) and sailor shoes

Thanks Grandma Richards- awesome birthday present!!

My running shoes:

These puppies helped me run my marathon

Jewelry:

-polar bear earrings 

(from my dad when we went to Yellowstone 6 years ago)

-classic pearl earrings

-My Lucky necklace 

(A 'Jasper' rock- got it at Martin's Cove with Grandpa and Grandma Roush.. it represents strength, courage, and power to hold on when times are tough)

-"Choose Happiness" necklace

(My sister Shirley gave it to me for Christmas-

I LOVE IT!!!!)

My "50s Cat Eye" fire red glasses

:::BEAUTY SECTION:::

HAIR SUPPLIES:

(From left to right:)

Purple shampoo-  brightens up blonde hair in a snap!  (Generic Brand)

-Texturizing spray (Beyond the Zone)

-Dry shampoo (BedHead.. but I have TONS- all brands work great!)

**I cannot express how much I LOVE dry shampoo and every woman should own some!!!!**

-"Surf Spray" (Bumble and Bumble)

-Volumizing Hair powder (Got2B)

-Boar bristle teasing brush (from Sally's)

Remington Pearl Curling Wand

AWESOME!! Spritz with hair spray and it makes perfect waves or curls:

-Diamond Clean Sonicare toothbrush

and Reach Gum Care floss

I LOVE this tb and this is honestly the BEST floss to help with sensitive, bleeding gums

Daily disposable contact lenses

Bausch and Lombe

I used to have really dry, itchy eyes until I tried these four years ago.  

Since then, I've tried "newer, better (aka more expensive)" contacts but they didn't compare to these.

:::MAKE UP:::

I don't use all of these EVERYDAY, but they are all awesome in certain times. 

I just discovered most of these pretty recently- 

Jonathon gave me a "go to the mall and have your make up done and then buy whatever they suggest" present for Christmas (I know, he is the greatest!!!!)  I've always bought the cheap drugstore stuff so I was excited and bought a bunch of fancy make up. I couldn't believe how it was SO EXPENSIVE, yet didn't seem to work much better than what I was using before. So, I went on a quest to find the best make up. It's not PERFECT, but I've made some great finds!! 


What I discovered about make up:
Spending more MONEY does NOT always mean you're getting a better product.
I actually found I don't like Mac much but LOVE LOVE LOVE the Hard Candy brand from Walmart and save SO MUCH $$MONEY$$, yet most of the stuff works just as good or even BETTER than the expensive brand! 

From left to right:

-Mac Fix powder foundation 

(great for on-the-go quick fixes and pretty good coverage) 9/10

-Hard Candy "welcome Home Matte" powder

(I use it for shine in my T-zone to set my foundation for the day) 8/10

-Hard Candy "Undercover" under eye concealer 

(I love this! It brightens and conceals well without settling in the lines) 9/10

-Laura Mercier smooth foundation

(Perfect "dewy" look- not too much, not too little coverage BUT smells weird! Jonno hates that) 9/10

-Hard Candy tinted moisturizer 

(I use this most everyday- perfect coverage for just everyday looks) 8/10

-CoverGirl NatureLuxe foundation

(This is the BEST drugstore foundation- comparable to Laura Mercier-- but $40 cheaper!!) 8/10

-Hard Candy Glamoflouge concealer

(Great for covering blemishes and scars- pretty thick texture so not good for under eyes)  7/10

Eye make up:

From left to right:

-Mac Creme shimmer highlighter

(I use it on the brow bone, bridge of the nose, and cheek bones to highlight.. 7/10

It is 'OK' but I wouldn't spend the money for this again- I'd rather buy the cheaper Hard Candy brand)

-Mac finisher gel

(I apply it lightly after my foundation to help with oil control between my eye brows doing Dental Hygiene each day

-It works 'OK' but again, not well enough for the cost of $25)   5/10

-Mac face primer

(Wouldn't buy again.. works OK but not any better than one from Walmart!)  5/10

-Wet n' Wild MegaGlo

(LOVE this blush!!!  Perfect amount of color with a sheer dewy glow.. not sparkly, but shimmers lightly) 9/10

-Mac Bronzing powder

(I do like this- it is not too dark, not too light- looks very natural) 9/10

(Back to front)

-Wet n' Wild eye wand (eye shadow and liner combo) 

(love the quick, easy color for on the go!) 7/10

-Maybelline eyebrow pencil

(basic ol' brow pencil... great!) 8/10

-Wet n wild dark brown eyeliner

(basic ol' liner.. great!) 9/10

Hard Candy baked eye shadow

LOVE this..  awesome dewy pretty color! 10/10

-Double Extend mascara 

(Works AWESOME - looks almost like false lashes.  I use it only when I wanna get more dressed up because it is struggily to remove- warm water to remove the lil tubules)  9/10

HEAT AND WARMTH:


My PERFECT comfy red cuddly, snugly blanket my Mom gave me many years ago
....
AND my most favorite of alllllllllll
JONNO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love him!

My floor heater!

I LOVE instant heat!!  This thing is my best friend in the winter. 

Favorites.. Honorable Mentions (but no pictures right now...) 

-My blue robe:

Keeps me warm and comfy- a D.I. special for $3 last year!

-My PLUM nail polish

-Tace Bell Double Decker Supremes

-Watermelon

-Mexican food 

-Anne of Green Gables book

-Soma muscle relaxer

-Jonno

-Cosmo

-My wedding ring

-Taylor Swift "The Best Day" song

-Candy

-Kroger Popcorn

WELL, I hope you all enjoyed a peek at my favorite things!  I recommend most all of them so let me know if you have any questions about it!  My blogging posts decrease significantly when I don't have a camera...  or my own laptop.  

-My laptop broke and we haven't got it fixed yet :( 

I'll try to get a camera and some updated pictures sooner than later. Bye!