Vegas

When Luis' parents were here for his graduation, we both had the weekend off and so we had nothing to do but play! Luis' mom was kind enough to book a condo for the weekend just 20 minutes away from the Vegas strip so we could celebrate Luis' (and my future) gradution. I was very surprised at just how many attractions came up when we were looking into what there was to do there besides gambling! I was hoping we could get it all done in the day and a half that we had. But it turns out, that was probably the best amount of time. We did feel a bit rushed trying to get to everything, but I think we got to do it all. Isabel treated us to everything...including tickets to see the Blue Man Group. I was pretty impressed with the music they made and the cool colors they used. Oh, and in every single building there is a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, and a bar. And the casinos had no exit signs (tricky, tricky)...

The first sign...

 When we first got there, we went to the stratosphere which is the tallest building in Vegas. It was so cool to be so high and see the entire city before we did anything else.

We went to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef. It was a big aquarium we got to walk through and see sharks, jelly fish, turtles, and other cool sea creatures. One my my best pictures...a stingray that was smiling at us!!

 And the weather was just about as good as it could get...80s with well conditioned buildings in between...

 They have EVERYTHING in Vegas...like an M&M world.

 And really cool shows...

 And the eifle tower...

 And the Statue of Liberty...

 And bathroom signs that say "Dolls" instead of "Womens"

I am so glad we had the opportunity to be splurged on (haha). It was so fun to do all the touristy things that Luis and I would not have done had we gone, just the two of us. Lots of memories were made that will not be forgotten. Thank you Isabel and Dorbi fora great vacation!!

Luis gradutes, again!

Luis is officially gruaduated from his masters program!!!!!

He has a Masters of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. Sounds smart, huh?! I am so proud of him in all that he has accomplished. He has such a strong work ethic and I am so fortunate that I married a man who wants to do everything he can to provide for his family. What's next? Well...stay tuned...we should have everything figured out in the next week or so...

Here we are...



 My parents, his mom and step dad were all able to come and support Luis and I in this ending of a chapter. We were able to show his parents around Temple Square for the first time. I knew his mom would love the flowers there, and she did! She kept commenting on how they were arranged so beautifully. I am so happy we live so close to such a beautiful place that even non-members can enjoy.

This picture for some reason really brings out how small my parents are...just look at them! So cute!

 I loved how proud his mom was of him. Someday I hope to know just how amazing it feels to go through so much sacrifice for your children and then be able to see them accomplish such a great thing.

Through all of the long days (and nights...) of studying, the many headaches, the pages and pages of typing, the canceled fun things planned, the joyful moments of getting an A, the sacrifice of giving up "the finer things in life", the monotanous "quick and easy" "dinners", the no-fun allowed weekends, the joy of finishing another semester, the inflexibility of being able to get away, the difficulty it is to see family, the missed workouts together, the canceled sunday evening walks, the sunny days spent inside with no windows, and the mirage of a light at the end of a tunnel...makes me so proud of US for getting though this together.

 And we still like each other (I think).