About Us

We boarded the plane at 1:30. Row 22, Seats B & C. It was the second to last row on the plane.
We had a gentleman in the row behind us that kept making grunting noises. It was a great flight
with only a slight amount of turbulence. At the Las Vegas Airport, as soon as you step in, there
are slot machines waiting for you. We waited for awhile for our bags to come through. After
awhile we didn't see anyone from our flight there. Our bags still weren't there. That sinking
feeling of having lost luggage was about to set in. Not for long, thank goodness. We went over
to the main office near the bag claim, and there were our four lost bags. We must have been
slow getting to the bag claim and they had already moved on to another flight by the time we got
there.

Next we had the adventure of finding our shuttle and boarding it. With much help from people
outside we found our shuttle and headed off out into rush hour traffic at 4:45. From there we
made a stop at the MGM Grand and then to the Tropicana. When we first saw the Tropicana, it
wasn't quite what we expected. The Garden Rooms, which is about a 5 story building that it
painted numerous floral colors, is what we encountered first.

The front lobby of the Tropicana was crowded with others checking in the for the night. We
stood in line and waited with our bags, which Amanda kept just kicking forward with her feet.
Our room has to be one of the furthest places away from the check-in. Down the center of the
casino we went with our bags, to the left, around a corner, up an escalator, walk down a huge
hallway that is filled with vendors, down another hall and around another corner, past more slot
machines and restaurants, then to a bank of elevators that are set to warp speed, up to floor 12,
take a right and then to room 1265.

We ventured forth into the Tropicana world for dinner around 8pm and met with our parents for
dinner. This was the first time our parents had met. We ate at the Garden Cafe... Great food! We
all decided to wander outside of the Tropicana and over to New York, New York. It's like another
miniature city waiting to be explored. We made it down the strip to the Monte Carlo before we
decided to make our way back down the other side of the strip back to our rooms. On the way,
we found 4 floors of the M & M World to explore. It's amazing how many things they put M & M's
on. We finally made it back to the room about 11:45pm. Sleep is good.

24 hours and 15 minutes and counting. We got up at 9am and are getting ready to make our
way to the Courthouse to get our license. We also are going to the Chapel today to make sure
everything else is all in place.

It's a gorgeous, and very bright morning, with a great view of the city from our window. It looks
like an ordinary city during the day almost. The night really is the grander view with all of the
lights. Our room overlooks New York, New York and Excalibur. The airport is also in view.

Well, we have our license from the courthouse! We are all ready to get married. Since we were
downtown, we decided to walk over to Freemont Street. It's pretty cool how it is covered and you
can walk from one casino to another without breaking a sweat. They are all very close to each
other in comparison to the main strip. We stopped a little casino call the Mermaid. From there
we ventured back to the hotel by taxi again, which is about $20 for a one way trip.

We just arrived back at the room after spending some relaxing time down by the pool. Amanda
spent time enjoying a strawberry daquiri while I enjoyed a margarita.

Terry and I came back to the room after a few hours by the pool... the water was very cold! We
went to Hooters with my dad and Audie to eat at the Hooters restaurant. Terry is grinning from
ear to ear in his picture with all those lovely, scantly clad women. Our waitress was from
Wisconsin and couldn't pronounce "Oregon" correctly.

Dad, Audie, Terry and I met up with Doug and Karen a bit later and managed to walk an entire
circle in the MGM Grand. It's like an underground city in there. After our long journey through
exploitation, we walked up to the Bellagio to watch the water show. That is an amazing site to
see. After that, we decided to go to Cesaer's Palace. Again, we managed to find ourselves in an
underground city. They painted the ceiling in there to look like an open blue sky. I kept thinking
the clouds were moving as we were walking. At the end of a very long walk, we waited for the
moving statue show. It was a great combination of pyrotechnics and water. It was about The
Lost City of Atlantis and the king's struggle to choose one of his children as his successor.

About 10:30 we decided to catch a taxi back to the hotel... It was a very, very long line... So we
started walking back down the strip. Everyone's feet hurt. Sandals are not the thing to walk in.
We made it back at about 11:30.

Three and a half hours and counting. We've been up since 6am. Red and blurry eyed. I just
ordered room service - Terry and I are splitting an order of eggs benedict.

I am so excited. It's hard to believe this moment is almost finally here.

Well, it finally came and went. We have officially been married for 12 hours. It feels great! The
wedding couldn't have been any more perfect...

After our wedding, we had drinks with our parents to celebrate. We went back to Old Vegas for
lunch and more exploring. It was a discovery of public transportation and the patience needed
along the way. It took us an hour and 15 minutes to make it from one side of the strip to the
other. (I don't have my contacts or glasses on... Terry keeps correcting my spelling and
grammatical errors.) We had dinner tickets to see the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. It was
great - costumes, pyrotechnics, sword fighting, and dinner all rolled into one fantastic
performance. We were seated in the front row of the Dragon section. Along with our meal came
any dirt that the horses decided to share with us. A huge clump of dirt missed my drink but
landed on my plate of food instead.