Going to Vegas

When we lived in Clovis, NM we became good friends with a family who lived down the street. The Fullers had two children who were the same ages as two of my children, Rebecca and Jake. Evan, their oldest, and Rebecca had birthdays that were only a week apart and so for three years they would celebrate together. After Rebecca turned 8 Jason was transferred to Canada.

In May of this last year we found out that the Fuller's new assignment was in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rebecca was instantly determined to visit. We decided that October break would be the perfect time and so we went.

While in Vegas we went to the M&M factory and the coke factory. Imagine 4 stories of M&M's and shirts that smell like your favorite soda. It was way cool. We also went over to Mandalay Bay where they had a really neat aquarium. There were sharks and komodo dragons. Jake was in heaven.






A day later we went to the Hoover Dam. I haven't ever taken a tour of the dam, but I now know what it feels like to suffer from claustrophobia and serious anxiety. As part of the tour they crammed 50 of us into one elevator and down we went. It was neat walking through the caves, but I'm not sure that being underground is my thing. I asked Joey what he thought of the tour and he said it was "YUCKY." I asked him why he thought it was yucky. He said that the caves we were walking in were dirty and the snow had melted all over the rocks making them Yucky. There was a lot of acid rock, so I guess I can understand his snow hypothesis.

At the end of our tour we stood out on an observation deck and that was when the anxiety kicked in. When Jake and Joey started climbing the railings to get a better look that's when I decided that it was time to go back inside.



We all had a great time with our friends. The kids enjoyed seeing each other again and it was really fun to visit so many exciting new places. Thanks Keiko and Jason for a great week. We miss you guys already.