Clayton's Corner: November 2009

Ok so this post is a couple of week late but oh well. We took Paul's sister Carla to Vegas for her 21st birthday. Karri came with us. It was a really fun trip. We left Friday afternoon around 2:30, stopped and got Karri then hit the road. We got to Vegas around 8:30 or so and got checked into our room. We stayed at the Tropicana. It was ok. Not too fancy but not gross either. We looked through the information book and saw a special for the buffet at the Tropicana that let us eat there as many times as we could/wanted to within 24 hours for only 24 bucks. So we headed over for dinner. They had some pretty good stuff. We got really full. Right outside of the buffet area there was a karaoke lounge. The guy that was singing over and over during dinner was so horrible. At one point the bartender that was close by said he'd give a free drink for anyone else to sing. After dinner Paul and Carla wanted to go to a haunted house and Karri and I didn't want to so we sat down in the karaoke lounge. We picked out two songs and got up there and did our best. We pretty much rocked the first song and the second song was a little rough. But we were so much better than the guy that had been singing. Then we decided to walk over to the MGM Grand and wandered around. We were looking for our favorite StarWars slot machines. We found a new version that was no good so we wandered around some more. In our wanderings we found some Survivor slots. We played them for a little while and then moved on to find the CBS store. When we got there they had already closed so we wandered back through the casino and headed outside. We thought about heading down the strip but decided that we weren't going to gamble anymore (that night) and all the stores would be closed so we headed back to our room and I pulled out my knitting and Karri busted out her cross-stitch. We worked on that stuff til Paul and Carla got back. They called us when they got back to the Tropicana and I met them for Carla's first (legal) drink. Then we all headed to bed. I love not being woken up by an alarm clock. Karri and I were the first ones up about 9. She jumped in the shower first and I got in after her. When I got out I pulled open the curtains so Paul and Carla would have to wake up. When we were all ready we headed over to the buffet for breakfast. We didn't have to pay this time because of the cool deal we found. So we got stuffed for breakfast and then started walking down the strip. We wanted Carla to see the fountains at the Bellagio. When we got there a lady told us that there was a wedding taking place and that they wouldn't be having shows for a while. We were about to leave when Karri noticed the jets stick out of the water. They did three shows right together and it was awesome. I got some pretty cool pictures with my phone. After the water shows we took her in to see the Bellagio seasonally themed gardens. Paul had never seen them before either. It was really beautiful. We made our way over to Cesears Palace and wandered through the mall. We headed back to the MGM to go to the CBS store. We decided to do a preview screening for a new tv show that might be released soon. They gave us a discount coupon for the store so Karri was able to get a shirt and I got a survivor shot glass. Its so awesome. After that we headed back to the buffet where we didn't have to pay to eat again. (So three meals for 24 bucks. Not bad at all.) Paul and Carla wanted to go to a night club which Karri and I didn't want to do so we bought tickets to see a show. After dinner we went to our show and they headed to the club. After our show we played a few slots before we headed back to our hotel. We wandered back over to the karaoke lounge and I decided to sing a song with out Karri. We had a pretty good time. There were definitely some characters there. One guy was really good. The karaoke lasted til 1:00 AM and afterwards we played a few more slots. We headed back to our room and text Paul to see when they were coming back. Karri and I had both fallen asleep before they got back. The next morning I was the first one up. I wanted to make sure our day got started with enough time to visit the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We got checked out and had some breakfast then headed to the Shark Reef. It really is so cool. There were a lot of people this time. After the shark reef we were on the open road. We stopped in St. George for gas and then we didn't stop again til Nephi because Carla wanted to use the bathroom and we decided to eat. It was a really great trip!!

Yesterday marked 3 months til Kylie is done with her mission. I unfortunately will not get to see her til she gets home a week later with my parents but that's not that much longer. (I can't believe I'm saying that... that week will feel like an eternity!!)

So the entire time that Kylie has been gone I have had dreams about her on a regular basis. When she first left I would dream that I was a missionary again and we were on a mission together. Sometimes we were in Mexico and I was showing her around and sometimes we were other places. Lately I have been having dreams that she is home. Two nights ago I dreamt she was home and we were hanging out. A about a week or so before that I dreamt that I was sitting in church waiting for her to give her homecoming talk. The weirdest part about that dream is that when she walked into the chapel it was the first time I had seen her since she got home. I don't really know how to interpret these dreams other than to say I really miss my sister and I can't wait for her to get home.