my 21st birthday in vegas

Friday was my 21st birthday. I went to IHOP for breakfast (thank you Ashley for having me sign up for their birthday club a year ago), and the waiter was like: "Woo! You're twenty-one, you should go to Vegassss!"

And I was like: "I am."

I spent my 21st birthday weekend at home in Las Vegas with my family. It got preeeeetttyyy WILD.

Sarah and I drove all afternoon on my birthday and got to our house Friday night and hugged my parents and dog on the driveway and ate dinner and skyped my sister and I blew out my candles on my chocolate cake. I was asleep before midnight.

On Saturday, my mom asked what I wanted to do. I said, "I really want to go to the Clark County Heritage Museum." It was my favorite place ever as a kid. It's pretty much like Disneyland, if Disneyland was a museum that taught you about Southern Nevada and had a bunch of really old, cool houses you could walk through with creepy mannequins in them out in the desert. I LOVED IT AS A CHILD. Even though we'd always go in the summertime when it was a bajillion degrees.

So we hopped in the car and drove down Boulder Highway where the museum still sits! My mom and I wandered through every house, and the memories came a'floodin' back like crazy. I hadn't been there since I was little but I remembered everything. I had crazy flashbacks of being a wee child. Best day ever.

Yup. Still as fun as when I was six. And I'm an adult.I used a slot machine for the first time in my life. An antique slot machine at the museum.
With a penny my mom gave me. Don't worry guys, I'm twenty-one now.

Today, I went to church with my family. Then I took the longest, most beautiful nap, and then ate dinner and my family watched a DVD about Jimmer.

So to sum up, for my 21st birthday in Vegas I: ate a lot of chocolate cake, went to bed early, went to a museum with my mom, went to church, and slept a lot.

Yep. I am a clean-livin' girl all. the. way. It's the best.

It's What Sisters Are For.

When we were little, whenever we would drive by the Excalibur Hotel on the strip, I used to tell my little sister that the King and Queen of Las Vegas lived there.

taken from the car last night

She used to believe me.

Bahaha.

Las Vegas Love Letter

Dear Las Vegas, Nevada,

I didn't realize how much I loved you until I left you behind a few years ago. And now, every time I come back to your sandy desert floors and your bright blue mountains, I fall in love with you more and more.

I thought you were pretty normal growing up, but it turns out that most places aren't like you. In fact, you are one-of-a-kind. I didn't realize how special you really were until I was surrounded by people who didn't understand you, and then I became fiercely proud of you, my hometown glory.

(Some people even say I am annoying with my Las Vegas pride. But I don't care. bahaha)


Thanks for always welcoming me back and making me feel right at home as soon as I see your bright lights over the hill, in the middle of the Mohave desert. Thank you for your wonderful people, thank you for your cactus and palm trees, thank you for your dry air, and most of all, thank you for the bluest skies I’ve ever seen in my life.

Love,
Amy the Nevada Girl

caught some iphone pics driving into Nevada, and when we saw the LV lights

PS. Thank you as well for your 65 degree sunny weather in December. I really enjoy going Christmas shopping wearing short sleeves and flip flops. Splendid.

Post-Thanksgiving Post

You know how sometimes when you are having a conversation, a long awkward pause develops and you have to find a way to break the silence so you can get on with the conversation?

Welcome to this blog. As you might have noticed, I took the entire week of Thanksgiving off. Because I was pretty lazy. And now, to break the awkward silence and get on with all the fun posts that I have collecting in my mind, here is my quick recap of Thanksgiving week.

1. painted nails with Brooke and Sarah- mine were inspired by Pinterest, woo! Then I tried to capture it in photography but only managed to make my hand look like a deranged claw.
2. mom and dad fed us amazing food and nourished me thoroughly all week: HEAVEN.
3. tried to take a sister picture on Thanksgiving but Sarah couldn't stop laughing.
4. put funny things on the dog's head.
5. Sarah collapsed in laughter some more...
6. ate an amazingly delicious turkey, mmhm baby.
7. Sarah laughed even more while we tried to get a decent shot, what a loveable goob.
8. dressed the dog in a Santa outfit- she LOVED it (lies.)
9. ended up with a photo-worthy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com
10. flu shots with my mom! we know how to have a great time.
11. visited the Thomas and Mack for a delightful evening at the Mannheim steamroller christmas concert.
12. we were the only people there who weren't elderly. love hangin' out with our homeskillets.

'twas a wonderful, much-needed break from life. And now the awkward silence has ended. Phew.

Happy Nevada Day!

Let me make one thing clear: Nevada Day is a big deal to me.

The Silver State was made a part of the Union on October 31st, 1864, and so, growing up, Halloween always had another dimension. It was also Nevada Day! Yes, I grew up getting Halloween off school because of this lovely fact. :)

Nevada is where my heart will always reside. Growing up in Las Vegas made me who I am, and I think it is the best place to live in the world! I love the people of my home state: so down-to-earth and warm-hearted. I love the spirit of the West which inspires the people there. I firmly believe the desert, with its cactus and sagebrush, bright blue mountains and rocky dirt, is so much prettier than anywhere green.



Whenever I get the chance to drive home for a visit (I'm going home for the first time in 3 months in 22 days!), my heart begins to swell as the green trees fade from view, and the landscape slowly turns to desert. And when I come around that corner and see the Las Vegas Valley unfold into view, I feel like my heart is at peace.

Confession: I always sing the Nevada State song when I cross the border as I drive. It is also my favorite singing-in-the-shower song. It's just so darn catchy! Fellow Nevadan peeps know what I'm talking about. Here's a rendition by the Killers (also Nevada natives):

(disregard the large Harry Reid emblazoned upon the video... he already won. although the awkward hug at the end is priceless. and awkward. so awkward.)

I am truly a Nevada girl.

My ancestors founded several towns in Nevada when there was literally NOTHING. My grandmas on both sides grew up in tiny desert Nevada towns back before very many people lived there.

My grandparents on one side met and fell in love in Las Vegas during the 1940s when it was nothing but a dusty little western town with a few hotels and lots of desert. She was a journalist at the only radio station. He was a gunnery instructor stationed there during the war. They fell in love. He proposed. She said no. But don't worry, he tried again later... ;)

Las Vegas is also where my parents fell in love back when she was a school teacher and he had just moved there because Rebel Basketball was doing really well at the time... I mean to get his masters from UNLV.


Thanks for indulging me in my love for my state. And maybe those of you from Nevada celebrated Nevada day with me! I, for one, hugged a cactus, petted a bighorn sheep, and played in some sagebrush for Nevada day.

Just kidding. I just sang the state song all day for everyone I saw. THEY LOVED IT. No one even made fun of me. (this is a lie)

It's just so darn catchy!

Saturday Night in Vegas.

We sat in traffic on the Strip on Saturday night.

We don't visit the Strip very often--my mom, sisters and I--even as proud Las Vegas natives. We prefer sitting at home watching the Cosby Show and petting our dog and knitting. Okay, not the knitting. Usually.

But Saturday was a special night. It was a special night, because we decided to all get matching skull tattoos and then gamble our life savings.

Okay. I'm kidding.

It was a special night, because a very hot, beautiful and charming man was in town. A man with the voice of a masculine, hunk-of-righteousness angel. And his name rhymes with Mosh Hoban.

Yes, dear readers. Josh Groban. JOSH GROBAN.

Josh Groban is cool, because he sings very well. And he can sing really high and really low, and really loud and other cool singing stuff. And sometimes he sings in other languages. And he has curly hair. And he wears suit coats with jeans. For the above reasons, he is super cool.

So we headed down to the Strip (which, coincidentally, is a surprisingly short drive from our house, and by short, I mean eight minutes), and we passed all the crazy drunk people and drove to the MGM Grand Garden Arena (where, coincidentally, my older sister Jess once saw an N*SYNC concert many years ago, which made me very jealous). And then we walked in and found our seats and got ready to part-ay, surrounded by all the other concert-goers (who were, coincidentally, mostly elderly).

Jess, Sarah and I, doing our best Barney impersonation.
(we're not purple in real life. just in Josh Groban concerts. )

And then Josh Groban came on. And he sang for two hours. And it was beautiful. And I screamed out "Josh! You're so hot!" a few times, and he didn't even hear me.

And since then, we've been listening to Josh Groban all over the house, non-stop. I love him. The end.

the boy who lived. and the girl who knew all about it.

"So..... what was that whole thing with the triangle with circle with the line through it about again?"

My little sis Sarah and I were driving to watch Harry Potter 7 last weekend when I was home, and I was, sadly, clueless about the plot. No, I've read the books and seen the movies. I just have a terrible Harry Potter memory. I wish I knew it all better, for reals.

Thankfully, Sarah is a Harry Potter GENIUS. That girl knows everything about everything Harry Potter related.

As we zoomed along the Vegas roads on our way to the theater, Sarah managed to explain the entire plot of the first Harry Potter 7 movie, along with answering all my questions.

"Wait, so Snape's bad right?? Or is he good?? I can't remember!!! bahhh"

"Ok so, remind me what a horcrux is again...."

We enjoyed the movie (Sarah for the THIRD time) and definitely snuggled during the scary parts. Harry Potter was super hot and he and Ginny were totes adorable.

And....

SPOILER ALERT:
Harry Potter won and Voldemort lost.

Crazy, I know!!!! I wouldn't have seen the movie with anyone else.. Thanks for answering my questions all throughout the movie, Sarah!!!

she's a total hottie.

P.S. Was anyone else super nervous at the end, when Harry was standing wayyy too close to the edge with the Elder wand? Because I almost peed my pants. That was, like, the most nerve-wracking part of the entire movie for me. He almost fell to his death guys.

P.P.S. Check back tomorrow for a blog swap. Yes, I found someone to blog-swap with me. Miracles happen, people!!

I'm Glad My Parents Love Me...

.... because sometimes when I come home for a weekend trip, I bring five-weeks worth of dirty laundry in the trunk of my car.

I don't know which is more ridiculous: the fact that I have 5 weeks worth of outfits,
or that I let them all get dirty before I wash them.

Doing laundry at home is infinitely better, because it is free, it doesn't involve any awkward laundry room encounters (think: boy coming in just as all your underwear tumbles out of the basket), and the washer here actually gets my clothes clean.

I'm a happy camper.


P.S. If you want to read a funny story about me and my roommate from the dorms, check out my friend Ashley's blog. And if you want to hear a secret, here it is: not a day goes by that Ashley and I don't text continuously for hours and laugh really hard in the process. (Too bad she's all the way in Maryland!) Every girl should have a friend who knows them this well. :)

You Know You're in Vegas when...

You attend your little sister's high school graduation at a mardi gras themed hotel/ casino....

woot woot go Sarah!

You stand around and take pictures outside even though it is 108 degrees. And then you kind of feel like dying...

this picture is entitled: "guess where Sarah got her height"

Everyone knows that you have to hold your sunglasses in front of the AC for a while before putting them on or else you will burn your face.

my dad is a very wise man.

You drink about 12 glasses of ice water at lunch and then you go home and jump in the pool! And that's pretty refreshing... except that the water is 90 degrees. So you eat a popsicle while you swim.

Congratulations Sarah and the rest of Class of 2011, and thank you Vegas for giving me a blissful day of ridiculous heat before I move to Utah on Friday!

The Mini-Van Adventures.

Coming home has been quite a transition. I decided to come home to Las Vegas for spring term before returning to Provo in June to start summer term and find a job. I love being home and I love my family, but I also miss being up at BYU (A LOT) and I feel like almost all my friends are still in Utah. It's weird because when you first go to college, you spend so much time missing all your high school friends, but once you make college friends, you miss them even worse whenever you come home.

Its a terrible conundrum. Forget world peace, someone solve this situation for us college students!

I have found that being-at-home adventures are much, MUCH different than college adventures, specifically that they involve way less social interaction and much more sketchiness.

I have been home for exactly two weeks today, and so far, my summer adventures include:

• contracting bronchitis.
• watching Hulu in bed for days at a time.
• going to a doctor who was very confusing and told my mom that beating me vigorously on my back would help my cough.
• being beat on the back by said doctor. it. was. hilarious.
  
• getting lost on the way to the mall because they CHANGED THE ROADS while I was gone!! Who said that was allowed?
• watching the homeless man who spent the day sitting across the street from my house.
  
• beginning a running routine in the mornings! WOO!!!!!
• ending running routine 3 days later because I could not walk.
• deciding to ease into next running routine once my muscles heal/ allow me to be walk once again.
  
• sewing a baby blanket for my friend!
• running errands for my mom in her minivan!
• laying out in the hot desert sun with my little sister.
  And then getting a sunburn.
  
• cooking scrambled eggs for my dog every day. What??? I don't spoil her....
• attempting to make friends in the singles ward! And failing.

In conclusion, as I drive through the streets of Vegas in my mom's mini-van with the wind blowing through my locks.... I HAVE NEVER FELT COOLER. It's okay if you are jealous, I would be too.

And now I pose a question to my dear readers: What do you wish so badly you could do if only you had endless free time??

Because I do....

and I am totally going to steal your ideas.

:)

The Tale of the Immortal Goldfish

Once upon a time, I was ten years old and a fifth grader at Charlotte Hill Elementary school. We had a harvest festival on an autumn (probably still too hot in Vegas) October day, and I won four goldfish at one of the booths.

My dad took me to Petco and we bought a bowl, some rocks and some fishy food, and I lovingly made a nice home for my little friends.

The days went on, and, as gold fish are known to do, they started dying. Well, three of them did. We had tearful flushing funerals for each one when it was their time to go.

I was left with one, lone goldfish, swimming in a large bowl. And it kept swimming, and swimming and swimming. In fact, it just wouldn't die.

I turned eleven, and then twelve, and then thirteen, and then fourteen and this dang goldfish still kept swimming and swimming around that dang bowl. Every single day. It got bigger and bigger, until it didn't even fit in its little goldfish net!

not my fish, but they all look the same.

It's not that I'm a cruel person, or that I don't value life at every level, but, honestly, goldfish don't provide you with that much joy for having to clean the bowl and drop food pellets in the water every day. We didn't have a very good relationship. In fact, I forgot its name. It didn't even have an official name for most its life! My bad.

I remember going on family trips and leaving the goldfish for a week a time, and coming back to that little survivor, still swimming circles in its bowl. Even starvation could not kill it.

One day, I was cleaning the bowl. I had never gotten around to buying a bigger net, so I scooped up the beast of a fish in the little net to change its bowls. But this day, monster fish had Free Willy on his mind and he flopped out and onto the bathroom floor, flipping and squirming around like.... well... like a fish out of water! (bahaha..ha.. okay sorry)

"Ayyyyeeeeee!!!" I screamed. "Daddddddddd!!!!"

Dad never came. He was outside. I didn't want to touch the slimy thing, so I stood there, paralyzed, as Fishzilla flopped and flopped, and then went still. Looking at the cold, lifeless fish body on the floor, my caring human side took over and I quickly grabbed the fish and threw it into the water.. and watched it float, dead, in the bowl.

Then, like a miracle straight out of the New Testament, Mr. Fishy came to life. And started swimming, and swimming and swimming.

Conclusion: This fish was immortal.

He is still alive today.

Just kidding. He died when I was fifteen. But he lived for five good years! He wasn't immortal, but he had a pretty healthy constitution for a goldfish, wouldn't you say?

R.I.P. Fish with no name. I miss you so much.***

***not really that much.

Holla to My Hometown.

Going home this weekend was blissful. Crazy, but blissful.

Blissful because I got to see my family for my birthday.

Blissful because the weather was sunny and warm.

Crazy because I had a long to-do list that I tried to cram into the 2.5 days I had at home, knowing it would be my last chance until I move back for the summer.

I accomplished this by sleeping as little as possible.... Totally genius, right?

This weekend was full of sister bonding, parental chats, dog-petting, hair-doing, a 20 minute dash to Target, a new workout plan with my sistah, and eating lots and lots of food.

My weekend in Vegas wouldn't have been complete without BYU basketball watching, going to the best ward ever for church, getting my mind blown by watching Inception and staying up all hours of the night to take advantage of being back in the 702.

My momma loves me.


My feeble attempt at an up-do... Sorry Sar.


the biggest basketball fans in the west.

my soul-sistah


dinnertime maturity at its finest.

At church, more than one person expressed regret that the weather wasn't warmer for our visit.

Vegas, I love you.

The Day I Met David Archuleta: THE SEQUEL

Oh hey.

Yeah. I met David Archuleta today!!!! Again. So I guess my plan is to just go get his autograph as many times as it takes to get him to fall in love with me. Great plan, huh?

Proof.

The CD signing was at this little store in the mall and it wasn't even crowded, but the security people were CRAZY. They wouldn't let anyone stand within like a 20 foot perimeter of the store. They told me I couldn't even take a picture of David. But I did anyways. Gotta be a rebel sometimes!

Those ladies around him meant business...

Had to take a pic with the sign because I didn't get one with him. LAME.

Thanks to my friend Marci for inviting me to go along with her!!!!

I wasn't even nervous this time. It was like I was just talking to some boy I knew. He's a really chill person. But I didn't really say anything that interesting in the 10 seconds I had to talk to him.

How exactly is a girl to convey in a few sentences that "Hey! I'm a fan of yours and I think you're really cute and humble and we are actually the same age and have a lot in common, and I'm a fairly normal person and not a 12 year old fan like these other crazies and I think we should hang out sometime and possibly get married for all eternity" ??

What I really said:

Hey how are you? Good? Cool. Thanks so much, have a good one!


This marrying David Archuleta thing is harder than I thought.

My Christmas Wasn't White and I liked it that way!

Sorry to leave you hanging on a depressed note there folks! My little sister said all week she's been opening my blog and it was depressing her to see the same, unhappy post. I feel bad. As if anyone else was checking my blog this week instead of hanging ornaments and sipping cocoa...

Ha. Ha. Ho Ho Ho.

But seriously, things have been going A-OK with me these days. Being home is the best. I think it takes being away for a long time to appreciate the little things:

Free food. And LOTs of it. Ohhhhhhh yeah, HAPPY Amy!!

Free laundry. Excellent. No quarters required. No dragging laundry baskets down icy steps.

No school. My brain appreciates this. It is still recuperating from the tragedy of finals week.

Old friends. Who knows you better than the people you grew up with? And you can make them help you wrap Christmas presents! Its a great arrangement.

NO SNOW. I think that says it all. No wait. Also: SHORT SLEEVES. Yup. Be jellz..

And most of all: FAMILY!!! Being around family is pretty entertaining because they have to love you no matter how many sugar cookies you eat and no matter how many giggling fits you get into once the sugar kicks in. Fantastic.

My mom decided to kick off an annual Christmas Eve nativity play this year with our family. Its gonna be really special years down the road when there are grandkids to dress up and a big family gathered together. This year, it was..... humble..

..And... we don't have enough men to pull off a nativity yet..

My dad already had a wise man costume he was pretty proud of from a nativity play at the church. He was set on wearing it.

My mom decided Jess would be the angel since shes the oldest.

Sarah was going to be Mary.

"Who do I get to be?" I asked innocently.

"Joseph."

I knew it.

The dog was the shepard. I'm not kidding.

Its okay, I know my family still loves me. Even though they didn't choose me to be a beautiful, glowing angel in a long white dress, I'm cool with it. Even though I didn't get to hold a doll wrapped in swaddling clothes and act as the holy virgin mother, I know I'm still appreciated. Even though I had to put my hair back and dress like a man, my feelings are not hurt.....


*sob*



I'm kidding. Who wouldn't want to cross-dress on Christmas Eve? It is hilarious! And so much more memorable.

Best Joseph EVER.

In short:

I love my hilarious family, and...

MERRY CHRISTMAS GANGSTAS!!!

Thanks for the Backup Hometown!

I really hate the cold. And now it is DANG cold here.

I seriously feel like curling up into a little ball and sleeping all day under 18 fuzzy blankets when it is freezing cold outside. I want to cry a million tears when my face is numb from walking home. A little part of my soul dies with every snowflake that falls.

What do my friends at school say when I whine and complain?


"Oh, its not that bad."

"You're just being dramatic!"

"Its beautiful, you just have to appreciate it!"

"Cry baby."


What do all the people in my home ward say about the cold when I visit Las Vegas?


"Oh you poor thing going to school up in the cold!"

"Snow is the worst! I hope you're keeping warm!"

"I bet its so nice to come home away from that awful cold weather!"

"You're so brave, I don't know how you do it!"


I always knew I loved Las Vegas people the most. Thanks for keeping it real hometown peeps!

Top Ten Reasons Why Las Vegas is Cooler than Your Hometown

I’m a Vegas girl and proud of it!

Today I am returning to Las Vegas after three months of being away at college, and so I am very excited!! I present to you my Top Ten Reasons Why Las Vegas is Cooler than Your Hometown!

1. Nothing ever closes. Do you want to go grocery shopping at 4 am? Go for it! Want a hamburger at 2 am? Heck yeah ! Want to do anything at any hour of the day? You’re in luck! In Las Vegas, almost everything is open 24 hours a day because so many people work graveyard shifts!

Growing up in Las Vegas, I just assumed everywhere was like this. Until my family would go out of town and things were closed at night and us kids were shocked. Like the time we flew to upstate New York and, with the time change, were hungry for dinner at 11 pm. And all the restaurants were CLOSED. We forgot we weren’t in Vegas. So we ate hot dogs from 7-11. Good times, good times.

2. There are so many random things in your life when you grow up in Las Vegas. Like the pirates from the Treasure Island show coming to your elementary school. And seeing Elvis impersonators in the car next to you at a red light. And spending your prom walking the Strip.

3. Unique job opportunities. Like how I worked at a wedding chapel on the Strip over the summer! Holller!

4. SUNSHINE. It is always sunny! And the weather is so nice all the time, even in the winter time. I am 100% solar-powered!!!! Please pray that I make it through another dark Utah winter this year.

5. Las Vegas is high class and old west all at once. We have high class shopping and fancy restaurants and elaborate hotels and night clubs and a huge gathering of celebrities any given day. But we also have lots of open desert land, horses, country music and cowboys galore too. And I love both vibes.

6. Locals Discounts on Awesome Shows. Las Vegas has AWESOME family friendly shows. And they almost all offer special locals discounts. This is how I have seen amazing shows like the Lion King, the Phantom of the Opera, the Blue Man Group, and Lance Burton, and other cool shows!

7. It just sounds cool. At college, everyone always asks where you are from. It’s okay if you say some small town that no one’s heard of. I will still like you.

But I feel pretty intense when I tell people I’m from VEGAS. And we have a cool sign. (And we are super defensive of our sign when people graffiti it.)

8. Best sunsets ever.



9. Our mayor never makes public appearances without showgirls. Not sure where I’m going with this, except that Las Vegas doesn’t take itself too seriously. Not that I am a supporter of the “sin” part of “Sin City” (because I’m not, sorry) but some other places you go feel really judge-y. Las Vegas people are the best in my opinion!! They take you for who you are and are friendlier than you’d think!

And no one from Vegas has ever tried to shank me, believe it or not.


10. Stay-cations. Most people don’t actually go to the Strip very often. In fact, unless they work there, most people avoid it because it’s where the tourists are. In the end, Las Vegas really is mostly a very normal town to grow up in. When I think of Las Vegas, I think of my house, my old schools, my church, the mountains, the palm trees, and the desert, not the Strip. But the Strip is a fun get-away for special occasions! You almost feel like you’re on vacation within your own town when you go out to eat or to a show down on the Strip!

Aaaand that is my top ten list. Feel free to agree/ disagree/ pass judgment/add to/ discuss any of these points in the comments!

Next stop: Vegas! AKA HOME.

PS "Oh my gosh it’s like Viva Las Vegas over there!" You know who you are and you better comment on my blog or I will hunt you down. Hugs!