Ike's Visit to Vegas

One of Gavin's good friends, Ike Thurston, came out to visit Vegas for his spring vacation the week after we went to San Diego. We took him out to Red Rocks to hike around and show him where Gavin spends a lot of his time. It was really windy and cold that day. Here are some pictures of them goofing around!

Really windy.

High-five!

Ikeman!

Discussing something important!

Gambling

On the night Ike flew in, we went directly to the strip, The Luxor to be exact, to gamble a few dollars. We all stared off with $5. At the slot machine, I turned $5 into $12. From there, Gavin convinced me to go to the Craps Table and bet $10 on red. We won. So, now I am excited and ready to leave, but they convince me to do it "one more time." We won on red three times in a row before I was able to pry them away from all of the excitement of "easy" money. Believe me, all it takes is one night of winning to understand how people get addicted to gambling... it was such a rush!

This was actually the next night. The boys had had time to discuss the best odds at the craps table and we ready to try their luck again. They also decided to dress like high-rollers. It was so much fun!

You know... high rollin'

Shades at the table... thats how it's done! We all lost that night. Gavin even tried to get $20 out of the casino ATM, but the service charge was $7.50. Vegas will ruin you... haha! We discussed no our way back home how quickly your money can disappear once you turn it into a tiny chip!

Brainhead, Utah

We woke up around 4 a.m. and made the drive to Brainhead, UT to get in a full day of skiing. It was so much fun, and it had been a long time since I had been on the slopes. We skied all day, from 9-4. We even got some sun!

Eager to get to the top!

On the lift... the only picture I have of the three of us.

This is actually a really funny scene here. The three of us were pulling out in front of the lift for it to pick us up. Ike was snowboarding, and his board caught my pole. He bent over to pick it up, and the lift hit him on the butt. He then fell on one of my skis. I was already committed to this particular lift chair and had to just go with it... slalom style. Gavin looks over and sees Ike on the ground, and he bails on the chair. Ike reagins his composure and another chair passes over him while he is still on the ground (getting kind of confusing, but stay with me). The guy working the lift abruptly stops the lift, and as Ike is standing up, the chair in front of him swings back and hits him in the head, leveling him back down to the ground. The guy working the lift says, "REALLY? Are you alright man?" He was just laughing at Ike's bad luck! It was really very funny, but poor Ike. He got taken out twice in a matter of seconds!

This picture doesn't do the damage justice! It actually looked worse the next day, I think he had a non-stop headache from there on out. He was a trooper though!

Red Rock Hiking/Climbing

I think he was tired of me taking pictures...

I just wanted to be in a picture. That's all I have to say about this face.

Another man chat. Discussing the execution of a climbing route.

Gav, our fearless lead-climber.

Ike made it to the top.

And, I did too!

Precious face, and beautiful baby blues!

Boys on the strip. Ike's last night.

In front of the Belagio Fountain. I hope Ike had a good time. I know that we did... two vacations in two weeks. My life is not real!