What Happens in Vegas...Ends Up in My Camera Roll

The last time Ken and I went with another group of people to Vegas it was back in 2005.  We arrived that year on Ken's birthday, which means he did considerable liver damage that day as everyone kept buying him drinks.  It all started with a champagne tower as soon as the plane touched down.

That was a great trip.  We had so much fun and made memories that will last a lifetime.  We saw a pair of amazing Prince impersonators.  We found out taking the cheapest of the public transportation options could result in being stranded on a bus that had the unfortunate luck to be the victim of beer bottle projectiles; luckily, we had our very own medical professional who professed that someone in our group was having a medical emergency and needed to be let off the bus immediately.  We learned that Terrible's (or was it Horrible's) was not as close as the map made it appear - we should have worn hiking boots for that little excursion!  

Yes, it was fun.  There are so many memories from that trip, memories I treasure not only for their hilarity, but because someone very special had not yet left this earthly plane for a more spiritual existence. 

Having come to terms, as much as anyone really can, with the fact that life is too short and oh, so very fragile, I'm so grateful to have a husband who is eager to create new memories with the friends and family we love so much.  Although, I have to say, I'm just as grateful for the memories we create with just each other.

Most recently, we just spent a week in Las Vegas with a bunch of Ken's high school friends.  I'm not 100% positive that I was the only non-Mayville person in attendance, but if I wasn't, I was certainly in the minority.

Let's see...

My hubby, Laura, Ken B., and Gina were not only from the same school, they were in the same grade.  Jeff, Laura's husband, was a few years older, as was Laura's sister, Chris.  Chris's husband, Mark, is really the only one I'm not certain was a Mayville original.  Like me, he may have married into the community.  (Now I'm going to have to ask...not knowing will bother me to no end!)

I have to say that for being an "outsider", I certainly never felt like one.  This is probably due to the fact that while they may have been Ken's friends first, I've known these people for a long time and consider them just as much my friends as they are his.  

The time we spent together went by much too fast.  This was probably due to jet lag and shenanigans. I took a bunch of pictures but some of them I just can't bring myself to share, not even here on the blog that gets hardly any traffic.  

Those seemed safe enough to share.  I spared you the bared asses, banana hammocks, and barely-there nip covers.  You're welcome.

Now I just wish I could go back in time and tell my inebriated self to avoid the more disturbing brands of crazy populating Freemont Street.  I should have stuck to my geeky kind of fun instead.

Of course, I can't close this post without mentioning the motivating force behind this trip.  In the very early planning stages this wasn't just an excuse to get together and drink too much while losing heavily at the slot machines and tables.  Laura proposed the trip as part of her and Jeff's 25th wedding anniversary celebration.  Early on there was talk about renewing vows.  In the end, Jeff bought her a new ring and did a little proposal on the waters inside the Venetian.

How sweet was that!