Burgers, Barry, Bellagio, & BYU Football or What Happens in Vegas Gets Posted to my Blog

I recently took a typical mormon Vegas Vacation with my hubby and his family. After dropping off our kids with my family (thank you thank you thank you, and sorry about Lilly's diapers!), we drove straight through and stopped at the quintessential In-N-Out Burgers. For the first time, I tried the protein-style burger (lettuce wrap instead of a bun). It wasn't bad. Not quite as satisfying as a bun burger, but still good. I'd like to say that I went protein-style because I'm health concious, but if you were there and saw me down the chocolate milkshake and animal-style french fries, you'd know better. Then, we went to the strip and headed straight for the Barry Manilow show, which was AWESOME! That man has written the most romantic songs ever created. Here is the man himself in yellow!
After the show, we left the casino without once pulling a slot machine (you'd be proud of me, Mom!) and headed straight for the Bellagio Fountain show. We hung out there for an hour, gawking at some of the passerbys in between shows and cheering when we saw other BYU fans. It was around midnight when we finally got to the car and headed for the hotel. I zonked out within minutes of the car ride. I don't quite have the stamina for late nights that I used to. (Who am I kidding? I've never had stamina for late nights.)

The next morning, we hung out at the luxurious resort hotel, playing a little pig and horse on the basketball court, swimming at the pool, and watching cheesy Adam Sandler movies on cable. We made it to the BYU vs. UNLV game with plenty of time to watch the pre-show. We cheered loud whenever BYU scored one of its dozen touchdowns and when one player ran a 92 yard kick-off return. (I hope I got that term right). Mac ran into his boss from work and a former mission companion. (Typical, right?)

Here am I with Mac, our cheesy grins and all. And Dad, Mom, Shea, and Kent. And here is Mac, Rhett, and Dad again, who is responsible for the great trip. Thanks Dad!

Our wild and crazy trip to Vegas for BYU football was, as always, a hit. We'll see you again, Vegas, in two more years.

The Other Man

I've never been much of a fan of Justin Timberlake. Not that I disliked him or anything, but I just couldn't name any of his songs, let alone sing the lyrics. No, it wasn't from his music, not even his NSYNC days, that I got to know JT; rather, it was his comedic stuff that got my attention: his SNL skit with Beyonce (hilarious) and his hosting of the ESPY awards (impressive). I've even seen the Punk'd episode where JT thinks the IRS is confiscating all of his possessions for back taxes (very funny). But other than that, I didn't really think a lot about him, so I was more than a little surprised when he became the leading man in a dream of mine the other night.

In this dream, JT saw some home movies of me as a kid and thought there was something promising about me. (The home movie just happened to be the one where our family is reenacting the Nativity scene. I think I was wearing an old bathrobe that was too big for me. Believe me, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!) So he approached me and we hit it off. We went on a fun, casual date that lasted the whole day, and at the end of it, he kissed me. Now, it wasn't a french kiss or even a passionate embrace of any kind, but if I had to rate the kiss on a scale of 1 - 10, it would be an 11. It was a soft, slow, warm, kiss, the kind of kiss that makes you feel a little giddy and light headed and tingly all over. I woke up with my lips still tingling. Wow was all I could think as I lay there in bed next to Mac. And then, Oh yeah - MAC! The man I'm married to. What's he going to think if I tell him I had a dream about kissing JT and really liking it? So as I listened to Mac get out of bed and get ready for work, I decided I would just tell him when he got home from work. I didn't want to spoil his day or anything, especially because he had something really important going on that day, and I would hate to cause any kind of distraction for him. (It never crossed my mind not to tell him about the dream because that would make it seem secretive and wrong, and we all know dreams are freebies - you can do all sorts of naughty stuff in your dreams, but you don't have to repent later.)

So I waited until that night to tell him. And you know what? He just chuckled about it. He didn't even care. I guess we have one of those, you know, OPEN relationships, where we're okay with the other kissing another person, as long as it's in a dream of course, not real life. Although I have to say I'm pretty happy that the woman in Mac's dreams, when she isn't me of course, is faceless. At least that's what he tells me. I have to wonder sometimes if he just tells me that to keep me from feeling hurt or jealous. It kind of reminds me of the time Mac told me that he thought Nicole Kidman was attractive. Suddenly, I didn't like Nicole Kidman anymore, but I would always remind Mac, "Oh, but YOU think she's PRETTY." One day, Mac decided he didn't like Nicole Kidman anymore. She was too trashy, he'd decided. (Good man!) But it does make me wonder if that woman in his dreams ever does have a face. Although if she did, I think I'd be okay with it. After my fling with JT, I can be a little more forgiving.

Happy Birthday Mac!

Mac turned 30 yesterday! He woke up on the morning of his birthday, turned to me with a dour expression, and said, "Where did my youth go?"

I'm just kidding. He didn't say that. He wasn't even here! Mac is traveling throughout the southwestern states for work, so we celebrated his birthday on Saturday. His parents were in town, and they treated us to a dinner at Red Robin. My brother Mike, his wife Brandi, and their cute baby Bailey also stopped by for a quick visit. Per Mac's request, I made the same thing I always make for his birthday: a yellow cake with rainbow chip frosting. Pair that with some brownie fudge icecream, and you have a happy man on his birthday. Can you say easy to please?

We love our Mac. He is sweet and funny and smart. Our girls get all their good looks from him. Happy Birthday Mac!

High School Musical Dancing!

We're big High School Musical fans at our house. We just took the girls to see the third movie in the theaters. They are still a little young to have the stamina for a theater movie, but it was still fun. Kate and Avery do a good rendition of "Bop to the Top." I'll have to find the video and post it, but this video was readily accessible, so I hope you enjoy it. (And yes, sadly, my house is usually this messy.)