Viva Las Vegas

My girls just got back from living it up in Vegas with some friends.  Well, not too much living since no one in their crew is drinking or gambling age (and even if they were are remarkably responsible...and poor).  I'm a little jealous, but I got to go visit my friends in Vegas back in November so I can't complain too much.

The closest we got to the strip was the highway.  No complaints. There was also a car racing event downtown, so we just avoided the whole thing.

I've been to Vegas a couple of times in my life.  I'm largely not a fan.  It's desert, it's hot, and it's the number one destination for people who aren't great at holding their liquor, their money, or their clothes.  It takes a compelling reason to make the trip.  This time, it was the wedding of one of Rick's friends that prompted Rick, the number 2 kid, and I to make the 12-hour drive west.  The wedding itself was wonderful.  It didn't start out that way--it turns out someone (Rick) forgot to RSVP for both of us, but luckily someone else had canceled so I had a seat.  The bride and groom had a lovely ceremony out in a rose-trellised gazebo, then a reception that combined traditions from their Vietnamese and Korean heritages (including lion dancers).  It was awesome, and it was a privilege to share the evening with them. 

We went for the wedding, but the friends and family were the jewel of the trip.  We stayed with some of my very favorite people in the world.  Years ago we met up in Alaska; we both have six girls, both homeschool, and we hit it off pretty quickly.  There are very few people whose home I could comfortably invade, but these folks are on that elect list.

We picked right up where we'd left off.  Despite her swearing she's not the tour guide kind of host, she still chauffeured us out to Red Rocks for some hiking one day.  Despite the heat we did a couple of short hikes and also found some of the local burros.  Obviously, we chased them down for a picture.  

The next few adventures were much smaller--a bird rescue and a farmer's market down the street.  The bird rescue was wild.  It was full of rescued farm animals as well as two houses full of parrots, including some psychotic cockatoos who climbed down the walls of their cages to flirt with the girls and scream at the rest of us.  The farmer's market was overrun with barn cats and the occasional chicken.  We all made some furry friends.  Add in some yummy Greek food and some late-night gabbing, and it was a pretty good day.

Another highlight of the weekend was visiting Rick's fabulous cousin and her family.  (Apparently Vegas is where all the cool people live.)  His cousin and her husband are brilliant, hilarious, and know all the best food joints in town.  We had dinner at an Asian fusion joint and dessert at a coffee house, with a side of political discussion and medical provider anecdotes.

After a couple of whirlwind days without nearly enough sleep, it was time to go home. Courtesy of my number 2 kid being obsessed with musicals, we listened to Epic and discussed Greek mythology. We also read through a chunk of Let's Pretend This Never Happened by The Bloggess (Jenny Lawson). I love road trips with my crew.  Even if we don't get crazy (like I said before, we're unfortunately rather responsible and not big drinkers despite being legally old enough and then some) we always have a pretty good time.

A giant freaking stuffed rabbit at the farmer's market.  There's a cat underneath it.

And a pic from the girls' trip.  She thought she was funny.