Recapitulation. Finally Finished.

This is how my trip went.

FRIDAY 11/17: We (meaning my brother Reed, his wife Amber, his daughters Carly and Jenna and I) left Reed's house around 4:00. I fell asleep almost immediately and woke up in Oklahoma. I completely slept through Arkansas. We stopped for the night in El Reno, Oklahoma, a little town on the west side of Oklahoma City.

Saturday 11/18: We drove. A lot. I slept. A lot. I called a lot of people just to tell them where I was. We drove through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. We did NOT stop at the National Dinosaur Museum in Tucuamcari, New Mexico. We did, however, stop at the McDonald's in Tucuamcari. And believe me, that was a hoot. We had to make two stops because I had to use the bathroom. I found out that I love Oklahoma, hate Texas, love New Mexico, and hate Arizona. We got into Vegas about 10:30 Vegas time. I like driving over Hoover Dam at night. I love being on I-215 and seeing all of the lights of Las Vegas.

Sunday 11/19: We did not go to church, but we decided that after I ironed my Sunday clothes. So I wore my Sunday pants all day anyway. We drove to our old house. The house on Connie Drive that was the first place I've ever lived. It looked different from the last time I saw it. That house is kind of in the ghetto. But just kind of. We ate at a place called Hash House A Go Go. It was a fun experience. Just don't get the scrambled eggs with basil, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. It sucks. We then went to my Aunt Tootsie's to visit and then to my cousin Terri's to dinner. It was a delight.

Monday 11/20 I wrote a paper for government all day. That was stupid. That night we went to Terri's for dinner with a lot of my family. I saw a lot of folks that I haven't seen in a while. I got made fun of, because I am the youngest cousin. But I am capable of dishing it right back out.

Tuesday 11/21 We went to Best Buy so Reed and Amber could buy a camera. The Sufjan Stevens Christmas Album was nowhere to be seen. We then went to get my second cousin Bryant, who is my age, and we went to eat at In-N-Out Burger. I love that place. We got tee shirts then went to the Forum in Caesar's Palace, which is more or less a super fancy mall. Bryant and I went into Louis Vuitton and saw a pair of toddler sneakers that cost $248. I thought that was somewhat overpriced. We then went into Dolce & Gabbana and I tried on a leather jacket that cost $1,095. If I had the money I think I would have bought it. Then we went to Long John Silver's to eat a #5 in remembrance of my dead Grandpa. Apparently that was one of his favorite things. Then we went to the Bellagio to look at the Atrium and the fountains out front. The Bellagio is my favorite casino. Then we went to my Aunt Betty's house for hot chocolate. And the day was over then.

Wednesday 11/22 We went to Tootsie's for lunch, but Reed and Wade (another brother of mine) had to do some stuff for work with their accountant (who happens to be my cousin David) so my sister and sisters-in-law went to the outlet mall. So my brother-in-law J.Paul and I dropped them off and went tot he Venetian because we heard that the mall there was good. Well, friends, it was not. In fact, it was probably the worst mall I've ever been in in my entire life, and I live in Memphis, the Bad Mall Capital of the World. So we went back to Tootsie's for dinner. My cousin Brendan (whom I call Bubby) had gotten in town the night before, so we hung out. We went to Aunt Betty's for soup, and then my cousin David's for desert (it was a progressive sort of thing). At David's there was a ton of family there. I even met some that I've never seen before. That night, Bubby and I picked up a friend of his, got Slurpees and then went up on the side of the mountain behind his house. You can see the whole of everything in Las Vegas up there and it was an AWESOME experience. That night we slept in my Uncle Don and Aunt Kerma's motor coach.

Thursday 11/23: That morning Bubby, Reed, and my brother-in-law J. Paul went to this ratty little hotel on the strip called Tropicana to see the Bodies Exhibition. That was more or less completely rad. We went to my cousin David's for Thanksgiving dinner. We sat around, played with the computer, watched some old episodes of The Office YouTube, and just hung out. It was great fun. That night Bubby, my cousins Eric and Bryant, and I went down town. We watched the fountains at the Bellagio and the Volcano at the Mirage. Then we got a Slurpee and went to Fatburger. It was cool to hang out with cousins who are my age. We didn't get back to Bubby's house until almost 1:30. But we stayed up and talked until 4:00. Looking back, I sort of don't even know what we talked about. But it was fun.

Friday 11/24: I saw Happy Feet with Bubby and his family. Then We went back to his house and chilled for a bit. Then my aunt Kerma took us out to dinner. I met up with Reed and J. Paul and their families (because Bubby, his mom, and Kerma went to see Phantom). We hung out at the MGM and looked at the lion habitat. I eventually met up with Bubby and we went to get his girlfriend. I can appreciate wanting to spend time with your boo when you haven't seen her in a while, so I backed off and was quiet most of the time. We got Slurpees and went up on the mountain again. I sang a song. It was frickin' freezing so we went back to Bubby's and I fell asleep on his couch watching Elf. I woke up around 2:00 delirious and confused. I went upstairs and Bubby was awake and we lingered for a while but eventually fell back asleep.

Saturday 11/25: I left the city of my birth behind once more. It was sad. I hugged Bubby goodbye and said "See you...never?" and it was sad. Hopefully we'll run into each other before we go on our missions. It took forever to cross the Dam on the way out of town. America never looked so sad as when we ventured across her to my real home.

Sunday 11/26: We rolled into town around 9:30. When we got back I realized that there is little here for me. And I longed for something new.

All in all, it was an amazing trip.

I love Las Vegas.
I will spend a lot of time there when I go to BYU.


I love my family.

I look forward to the future.