what happens in vegas II

the continuation of brett and alyssa's grand vegas adventure.....

during our stay in vegas we wanted to go attend a session in the Las Vegas Temple. going to the Temple helped us to see a much PRETTIER side of vegas. the temple was SOOOO beautiful.

after going to the temple we went to the famous filipino restaurant that everyone (my parents and my aunt) told me about.

the food was bangin!!!

on our last day we went to mandalay bay and saw the shark reef aquarium...

this aquarium tunnel was way cool, sharks and all kinds of fishies swam above you! oooo

they had a sting ray "petting area" that grossed me out, they felt so slimy and i was scared they were gonna bite my fingers off, but the workers assured me they were perfectly harmless. freaky.

after the aquarium we decided to spend our last moments in vegas SHOPPING!! window shopping that is. we went to caesar's palace and WHOAAAAA. holy expensive!!! they had the uppity uppest stores ever. just some stores i dream of being able to shop when brett's makin the big bucks.

but there was one store i've been DYING to go to. and that was christian louboutin at the palazzo. its been my dream to even try on those famous red soles.

and it was heavenly. and one day, i shall have them, just one day.

seriously, one of the greatest vacations brett and i have ever taken. especially having our friends steve and gwen with us. i don't think i've ever laughed as hard as i did with them. i sure hope we get to go again!!

the end.

i swear.

what happens in vegas....

gets put on the blog.........

going to vegas was one of the most exciting things we've ever done. we never thought we would get to do so much i have to write about our adventures in 2 separate posts. so here we go!!

we left on our trip on saturday with our besties steve and gwen. the trip takes about 10hrs from rexburg to vegas so we took a pit stop at my grandma's in spanish fork and loaded ourselves up on filipino food.

this is our hotel on fremont street, a few blocks from the actual strip. we found it to be a little ghetto but hey, we paid $39 for the room, so we couldn't complain too much.

the pool though, was really sweet

they had this shark and fish tank in the middle of the pool and you see that tube thing in the middle? that's the slide! going through it knowing there are sharks a few inches away freaked me out.

we spent a few night walking the strip and it was eccentric. it felt like daytime and there were just SOOOO many people out there! what i didn't like were the the gross people handing horribly inappropriate flyers and and the INTENSE cigarette smells. but nonetheless, the lights were amazing.

okay, so we REALLY wanted to see some kind of show while in vegas but tickets were through the roof! the concierge people at the hotel roped us into going on this 2-3hr "tour" of some new hotel so we could get tickets for a cirque du soleil show half off. we agreed and ended up getting tortured about timeshares for 6 HOURS! 2-3 hours my butt. no one told us it was a promo to buy timeshares. that had to be one of the most annoying things EVER. we are freakin college kids, as if we're gonna buy one. i got really snarky at the end of the torture, esp. after politely telling them no, we shall not be buying one. they pretty much held our tix hostage till they were done annoying us. we were thinking the show better be freakin worth it!

and it sure was.

we got to see mystere by cirque du soleil and it was AMAZING. so worth the torture.

uhhh yeah we just tried on some cirque garb before the show

seriously next time we go to vegas we plan on just spending money on a lot of shows, esp cirque du soleil. its SO worth the full price too.

next day we went to hoover dam! here's some dam pictures

we took a tour and got to go through the dam and through the power plant inside too. pretty cool.

well i think i'll end it here for now and let you soak all that in.

to be continued.....

peepin

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

psych, i meant HAPPY EASTER!

seriously? i. hate. snow.

again, you just have to expect snow at complete random times till july.
brett and i had a quiet Easter this year, we just got to snuggle in bed watching general conference. on saturday i had to work but it was way fun. the girls who worked in the morning hid 80 eggs all over the store. armed with my bunny ears and a pink basket i found about 25ish. the egg hunt kept me happy and content throughout my whole shift.

rachel and i were wascally wabbits

after work i rushed home to go to ailinh's apt for some egg dyeing madness. she had some of the girls over whose husbands went to the Priesthood conference. ailinh found some awesome and really creative ideas online so we tested some of 'em.

(photos stolen courtesy of ailinh)

my absolute fav idea was using rubber cement glue. thats how i got this sweet effect on my blue egg.

and then this was the ole crayon and dye, which never ceases to amaze me.
ohhh the sweet childhood memories and fun that i miss. thats why i need a few kids so i can enjoy it all over again! through them of course.
we bought some strawberries and found one with a tumor/middle finger stickin out of it. we're scared to eat it.

ok i've realized that i started my own tradition every Easter. and brett refuses to participate. i pretty much binge on peeps. i love their bright colors, the soft feel of the marshmallows, and the sugary taste to my mouth. this Easter i've eaten about 3 packages. brett is SO disgusted with peeps as is everybody i've asked if they liked peeps...more for me i guess! so yeah i eat as much as i can till i get sick of them, i end up not wanting anymore till next Easter rolls around.

a sick tradition i know.

you're my witness, i'm workin on my fitness

i've been working out.

like a villain.

anyone who knows me, knows how lazy i can be. i LOVE hangin out, watching movies and junking out. but lately i've been feeling blehhhhh. so having vegas as a goal to get in shape, knowing i'll probably eat my weight at all those buffets, i decided to go to the gym. and often. brett's been the best motivator and the best fitness trainer. also i have a few friends that are great workout buddies too, when brett can't come with me. i think it's been fun learning all those contraptions at the gym and how good i feel after a good workout. i have more energy throughout the day and i'm just happier. also working out helps me to eat healthier. we'll see how long this all lasts...

maybe i'll look like this one day!?

hahaha. hot.

hurry it up summer!

last week's weather has been a beaut and a tease. here in idaho there is no fall or spring, so there's no transition from heavy winter coat to short sleeves and capris...and last week we got a glimpse into the beautiful summer that's to come to rexburg. (and hopefully soon!) the high for the week was a whopping 55 degrees. WOWWWWWW

and then the trusty idaho weather slapped me with something like this...

i was at work and i looked out the window and what did i see? big chunks of snow and rain coming down from the sky. seriously? i'm SOOO sick of the cold and crap. so thats why i never get my hopes up when its nice out for once. i have learned while living in rexburg to never get my hopes up when we get nice weather. call it pessimism if you want but when the weather is really good for a little while, you can expect snow soon. but you can expect it to stay hot and nice in...august. then its all over in september. blah blah blah

but i can't wait for summer!!!!! i'm ready for it.

here's some exciting news for brett and i though...

WE'RE GOIN TO VEGAS!!!
in april. with our friends steve and gwen!

we've never been and i know for sure it'll be hot and sunny there. (at least it freakin better be!)

we decided to go cuz we live relatively close and we know if we're living somewhere like the great state of Texas we're not gonna make a huge trip out of going to a place like las vegas...so we're taking advantage of living out west and gonna see what the big deal is.

does anyone have any recommendations for the city of sin? besides drinking, gambling, naughty shows. etc. no bad stuff for these mormons. i've already found some stuff we can do and see. anything else out there?

sweet.

sister act

brett and i got to make a quick trip this past weekend to UT to attend my sister kyla's endowment. she asked me to be her escort through the Manti temple just a few weeks ago and i couldn't say no! it's just that brett and i had to quickly plan out hotels and get off work. but it all worked out in the end. poor brett though, he caught a nasty cold/flu the day before so i knocked him out with nyquil. he was still congested throughout the trip but he was able to stick it out, that tuff boy.

anywhoz, i am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go through the temple with kyla. especially for her first time. it was just so special. i was "representing" our mom who would've loved to come but she just wasn't able to. i get excited thinking that hopefully the next time we get together we can do a session. going to the temple has brought so many blessings to me and my marriage and i know that it will bless kyla's. the Manti temple was so beautiful and is one of the oldest. the inside was so ornate and delicate. Manti is one of only 2 temples that still do live sessions besides the Salt Lake temple. such a beautiful experience.
i love my sis. she and i get so giddy when we're together.

now whenever brett and i go to SLC we must always go to our fav spot for one of our must-haves. Braza Grill. (brasilian food) i know i'm always talking about food esp. brasilian but i seriously get excited when we get to go to a restaurant we couldn't get here, which is everything.
3 little sample desserts
leche flan
brigadeiros cake
passion fruit mousse
guarana anyone?

the ring

today marks the 2nd year anniversary of that fateful day when brett proposed. i remember the night before the proposal i was a bit pouty about something (it was probably about homework) and brett told me, "don't worry, i'll make it up to you tomorrow night." for all i know we were just going on a date. i was so excited about going on a date with brett that cold and icy friday night. he took me to the fabulous city, idaho falls and we went to dinner at the italian restaurant, johnny carino's. after dinner brett said we were going to the mall to get me a belt, he hates the fact that i didn't wear belts very often or that i didn't have a good one either. but the direction he was driving towards was the complete opposite of the mall. uh oh, is he gonna take me to a deserted wooded area and kill me? i kept asking where we are going and he kept saying, "ehhh well actually, my roommate told me of a good place to take a walk." and i was like, "are you kidding me? its freaking cold!" this is in the beginning of march where most of idaho is still covered in snow and ice and its a good 10-20 degrees out. he also said that this place has a lot of birds that you can get close to. and i said, "seriously? we can come back in the summertime and look at all the freaking birds you want!" but i went along with it and convinced myself that it would be romantic to take a walk...we ended up driving to the temple, well, across the river thats by the temple.

we got out of the car and walked around a little. then when it got to be really icy and watery on the sidewalk brett decided it was time to turn around and head back to the car. i actually wanted to run back to the car it was so cold. but he wanted to just take a moment and go to this ledge that overlooks the falls in front of the temple. brett was beside me and i looked over into the frozen falls where parts of the water bursted through. i was entranced. then all of a sudden i felt a tap on my back and brett was on one knee holding an opened ring box with a beautiful diamond ring. my mouth gaped open while he said, "will you marry me?" and for a long while my mouth still hung open. i was in shock, i couldn't believe this was happening and so fast too. then brett patiently asked, "well, is it yes or no?" i immediately said yes and then the water works turned on. he slipped the ring on my finger and i couldn't stop huggin and kissin him. i was crying and sobbing so hard i couldn't breathe. when we decided it was actually time to head back to the car i realized that i definitely wasn't cold anymore. i kept crying the whole ride home. seriously it shocked me that i was going to be married cuz seriously i never thought i would be...especially to such a cute boy.

this was taken the night of the sweet proposal.

my heart gets so warm thinking about these once in a lifetime moments. when i think about them i realize how even more in love i am with my man. especially when i look over at brett while writing this and i can't believe he chose me and how much i absolutely LOVE my life.