veggassssss!

 on friday, jon and i packed up the car and headed to LV for a weekend of FUN!

 the first stop we made when we got there was obviously cafe rio. there are a few of them in southern california, but i think the closest one to me is an hour and a half away? or something. but we all know that it tastes better the closer you get to utah, anyway. 

this is jon in the middle of saying "Vegassss!!" hahahah

he really loves vegas. more than anyone i know. 

we decided to stay with our friends at the Rio for the first night. thats where we had reservations for saturday night and it was cheaper to split the room with them. the hotel lobby was very questionable, but the rooms were really nice! they were big and updated. 

we hung out with jeno and lynn for a bit while they got ready to go out. then we took the shuttle to the strip and went to the coke factory!

 it's definitely not as cool as it was when we were little. i remember going with my dad and seeing that big machine pouring the coke into the glass bottles on the conveyer belt...that was so cool. we were really disappointed when we went last year and didn't see anything like that. we did, however, start the tradition of tasting all the different drinks from around the world!

flashback; August 2010:

 its only been a year, but jon looks so cute and young. 

we looked at this cup this weekend too. i didn't know it liked it last year! that means i really want it!

back to 2011:

we sat at the same table that we sat at last year to try our drinks. some are very very yummy! some....so gross!

 that night we went out with a few of jon's marine buddies. one of them basically lives in vegas, so he took us to a fun off the strip place. it was called 'insert coins'. an arcade/dance place. there was a dance floor where peeps were breakdancing and impressing everybody. then they opened the floor up for everyone to dance. it was house music, though, and i'm just not into that. so we left and stopped at carls jr. before going to the Venetian to see the canals. 

 

carl's jr was the only place open at this time of night, so we had to stop there. i would never eat there in normal circumstances. i got fries and this ice cream sandwich and i HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!!! the ice cream tasted exactly like the cream inside the oreo. it was soo good and only $1.50.

saturday morning we woke up and ordered room service. it was such a fun sleepover with our friends! i have to also say this. we got back to the room at 3:30 am. they had left a light on for us so we could get ready and get into bed. we looked and them and they were cuddling and sleeping so cute! his arms were around her. i didn't think people really slept like that.

anyway, after we had breakfast which was really lunch, lynn and i had a hairdresser come to the room to get us dolled up! she was so cute and sweet. if you are looking for someone to do your hair or makeup in vegas, let me know and i'll give you her information. 

after she did our hair, we followed her over to the new hotel Aria so that she could do our make up at the Laura Mercier counter. 

(best tinted moisturizer ever)

i had to take this photo before i used it. i've never seen such beautiful lipstick.

and then we were off!! here is jeno walking through the casino to the ball room with his NCO sword hanging from his belt. he kept saying "I'm carrying a sword around." 

and here we are dolled up.

me and jon, lynn and jeno, paige and kyle.

 

lynn and i! we had so much fun getting ready together!

 the boys. 

i told them to do something funny and jon was the only one who heard me. 

turned around!! yes, that is funny!

 our official ball photo.

the ball was so amazing. the ceremony was really cool. they played the national anthem when they brought the american flag in, and they played the navy's song "anchors away" and "the marine corps hymn". you should take the time to read the lyrics. 

they also had a table set up with a black table cloth and a single flame to honor the killed in action and the prisoners of war. the commandant of the marine corps (the head honcho...the guy directly below president obama) made a video that was shown at all the marine corps balls around the world, even in afghanistan. it was mostly about Pearl Harbor and 9/11, seeing as how 2011 was the 60th anniversary of Pearly Harbor and the 10th of 9/11. it was a touching speech.

after all of that...we danced. it was really fun, and worth the two year wait to go to the ball. last year, jon was in afghanistan. he celebrated it there, but it obviously wasn't like this. 

we came home to change and went to the club on the roof of our hotel.  

funnest night! when the clock struck midnight, it was officially lynn's birthday! so her husband bought her a birthday shot, haha. and we danced until we could no longer.  

jon is the cutest little dancer. he didn't stop until we left the club.

 this was the view from the top; the entire strip.

did i mention that we got in free? we showed up to the entrance with five other people. one of the younger marines was talking to the bouncer and told him that we had our ball here tonight and they told us we could come up here for free. the bouncer wasn't buying it. the next thing we know, jon's navy chief (not EXACTLY sure what that means. all i know is that he's in the navy and he's kind of old. so i think he's really high ranking.) walks up and puts a spell on the bouncer and all 8 of us are walking in for free and didn't have to wait in line. it was an awesome night all around. it was so much fun to be celebrating 236 years of the marine corps (america is 235 years old. did you know america had a marine corps before they had an america?). and i loved seeing all of jon's work buddies just dancing the night away.

 here we are around 2 am in our hotel lobby. we were so drained at this point. 

which leads us to this:

normally, i'm very against energy drinks. but in this case, jon can do whatever it takes to stay awake on the drive home while i'm asleep next to him. good guy.