30ish

The 14th was a busy day. For awhile I didn't want it to be, and then I decided busy was perfect. I had taken the day off because of my birthday stance from a few years ago and it turned out to be the only, therefore perfect, day for Nathan's swearing in. I got up that morning around the same time as Nate (he had to work most of the day) and snuck off to the gym for a solo workout before breakfast was needed. I loved it. It felt good to workout in the morning again, it felt good to not have anywhere to go on a mid-week morning, and it amused me that a lot of retired men work out around 7:45am. After my time at the gym, I joined my parents and in-laws for breakfast-it was the first time in a long while that I actually had family around right on my birthday and it made me feel positively spoiled.

We got ready for the swearing in, and made our way to the courthouse. Clark county decided to give me a birthday present in the form of a still paid for parking meter and I took it as a sign we are where we're supposed to be. After the ceremony, we took a tour of the courtroom and the offices and headed for lunch at Bahama Breeze. A co-worker recommended this place, and I went only because of an appetizer she described. It's turned out to be one of my favorite places so it was a fun birthday choice.

After lunch, Nate had to go back to work for a couple of hours, so we dropped him off, split up a little and I went shopping with my mom. We went to Kohl's and found ridiculous Christmas candles that will never sell, and a couple of necklaces that we proved would sell. After Kohl's, it was off to Von's to find a particular laundry detergent mom has been looking for---and we had success! This part of the day was the most low key by far, but again, it had been a while since I've been able to just hang around and shop with mom, so it was perfect.

For dinner, we all met at our place and had a little party. It was odd to actually have to be the hostess; I'm so used to living in a too small space that won't allow visitors, so it was fun actually having enough room to have a proper party:

Liz before embarrassing herself (yet again) with her complete inability to blow out birthday candles. I'd say it's an age thing, but I remember being about 10 at my grandma's house when I experienced the same issue.

Thanks to Jack for taking a few pictures of my parents; Dad's real smile is sometimes hard to catch, so one must be tricksy.

Mom's cute profile.

Clearly we are both very excited about our "new" VHS copy of "Lord of the Dance". Somewhere in Saratoga Springs, Matt is breathing a sigh of relief.

The next night after birthday fun, Nate and I went down to the Strip with Jessica and Woody. They ended up being better tour guides than us by far; Woody found the perfect parking spot for one who wants to avoid the "authentic" Strip feel.

By the Bellagio fountain with my too prominent ghost head.

In the lobby of the Bellagio...Nate really did try to wait for her to stop holding the horse up, but she kept it up, so I feel like she earned her spot on this post. Go USA.

Turning 30 was a lot more enjoyable than I expected! Mal enjoyed it so much that she decided to try (and like) corn chips. Here's to getting older and enjoying salty snacks!

Nathan Swears

Nate is such a cuss face. To celebrate the occasion (and the whole "becoming an attorney" thing), his parents, my parents, Jessica, Woody, and Ivie all came for a visit. We all met at the courthouse at noon, and enjoyed our private swearing in ceremony with Nate's new found connection with his very own judge.

Swearing with the judge.

Look how much happier he looks now that he's official!

With the proud parents.

With the proud Terrys. (aren't they stylish?)

Stylish people can also be criminals. Don't be deceived.

Nathan at his post.

Nathan with an older and proud Liz. I've typed Nate's praises before, but he worked very hard while always keeping me in mind during the process of law school and beyond and all that it has entailed. To say I'm proud is an understatement, but Nate doesn't like to be braggy, so I'll try not to be as well. He's done an amazing job and continues to work hard to be successful. His humility is enviable, but sometimes frustrating. Recently I asked him now when people ask him what he does if he will say "an attorney" or "a lawyer". His answer: "I work for a judge". :)

Anniversary Trip

Because my trip to Jamaica was over our anniversary, our celebration had to be delayed a few weeks. And because our surroundings are still new, and we both didn't have any vacation time with our jobs, we figured we'd stay in town. I got an offer with The Golden Nugget to stay for two nights free. Later on we were offered an upgrade they weren't supposed to, so hooray for hotel errors.

Las Vegas branch of the Cleveland Clinic in downtown LV; we loved the Ohio shout out and the cool, albeit crazy architecture.

Inside the Aria hotel (I think)

In the lobby of the Bellagio.

Inside Crystals (shopping area on the strip)

Tiny Liz with a big Christmas tree. We ate at the Firefly, then attempted to walk off what we'd consumed at the Fremont street experience.

Kitty Glitter! I referenced Kitty Glitter in this post, so I thought a picture was due. Once again, we found out how popular this slot machine is with...men. Mostly Asian men, but men all the same.

Tank pool at The Golden Nugget. The sharks didn't show up in these pictures, but they were there. And creepy.

The only part of the pool area we were able to use. We were willing to take a trip down a cold waterslide just to see all the fishies (the waterslide goes through the tank), but it was closed. Boo.

Me in the lobby, but noticed mostly the lobby; there was yet another cool aquarium behind the reception desk.

View of The Golden Nugget from the outside.

It was a lot of fun taking the role of tourist for the weekend; it was also a lot of fun being able to drive back home within a few minutes. :)

Christmas

This year, instead of flying from Detroit, Nathan and I decided to drive to Utah (separately, just to make things exciting-really, he just had to work an extra day) for Christmas.

One of the views I was favored with on my drive. Because of all the rain in St. George and the surrounding area, makeshift waterfalls were all over the place. I get nervous driving this canyon by myself, but it's mostly because it's so beautiful it can be distracting.

My first day was sans Nate, so I spent some time at Ruth's house. Hearing Vince's little voice ask if Ruth had a good sleep and announcing pancakes were ready and getting lots of smiles from Bella was a nice early Christmas present. :)

Speaking of smiley, I got this picture all on my own of my newest nephew Braedon.

The wee Ivie. I'm also proud of this one, but mostly proud of her cute fluffy hair.

Do we look tired? We were, but it was so nice to be home.

Harrison Christmas chaos. I like that Nate looks like he's about to punch something...to be clear he wasn't and didn't. :)

Steve with Shaelynn and Bella.

Slumbering Nathan. A similar picture could've been taken of Steve and Matt also, I just figured it was my right to take one of my Nate. He'd had a long week and my parents' couch was too much for him to resist (again).

Vince and Grey. It so fun to watch these two together. Grey will mimic just about anything Vince does and they just follow each other around. It was fun hearing Grey tell "Bince" to come up the stairs. :)

Ruth and the kiddies.

A post-Christmas treat. We made a quick stop over at Jim's shortly after they were home from church and we found these two.

Merry Christmas!