At the beginning of the week I went with Zach and some members of his family to Las Vegas for the NBAA Convention.  We flew there Thursday morning and while the men looked at jets all day – we explored the shops all day.  We hit up the Miracle Mile and then the Forum Shops at Caesar’s.  We didn’t meet up with the men until later for dinner at STK.

After dinner we walked the strip for a bit before heading back to our hotel to play a little 21.

Ironically the cheapest tables were in “The Pleasure Pit”:  a lovely little area of our hotel’s casino with live professional dancers.  How fortunate for Zach that the cheapest tables were located right in that central area?  We both had a pretty good time…until we started loosing.

We decided to quit while we were ahead [technically not ahead, but who’s counting?] and we walked to the Sugar Factory to get some ice cream cookie sandwiches.

The next morning all of the ladies let the men return to the expo while we slept in.  We met up for lunch and then went shopping at Fashion Show Mall.

Our last stop was the Venetian.  Rachael wanted to pick up some of her favorite bath bombs and I convinced her we couldn’t leave without some macarons.  The pumpkin flavor was my favorite.

Later we met up with everyone for our dinner reservation at the Cosmopolitan.  We shopped a bit before it was time to eat.  Zach and I were particularly fond of the giant ice cream sandwich pillow.

We ate dinner at Milos – a Greek restaurant that was popular for it’s fresh fish.  Before you order from the menu you get to view the menu.  Our waiter took us on a tour of their fish market.

When you decide on the fish you will have cooked for you meal, you get to see the fish.  For your approval, I guess?  We felt a little guilty about the whole thing.  Meeting your main course before you eat it seemed a little barbaric.  So Zach and I gave him a name:  Peter.  The most delicious fish I’ve ever eaten…and known.

After dinner we had to rush over to the Belagio for our show.  We saw the Cirque du Soleil show, “O”.  It was the very first show I have ever seen is Las Vegas.  Since the entire production is preformed in [and above] a pool, it gave me a whole new respect for those who can dance, dive, and swim whilst performing.  It was pretty incredible.

After we decided to explore the Belagio a bit.  They had put up all of their fall decor and the entire placed looked really festive.

We were only there for two days and had to return home early Thursday morning.  We loved spending time with Zach’s family and to experience the warmer weather for a bit.

The flight there and back was the perfect time for me to catch up on my reading.  I finished “THE FAULT IN OUR STARS” later that night after we had unpacked and settled in.  Definitely on my top 5 favorite books of all time.  Warning:  It’s a tear jerker.  

Friday we had a double date at Tona with Zach’s sister and brother-in-law.  Afterwards we went to see a movie at the Megaplex.

Saturday morning I went shopping with my mom, aunt, and cousin.  We were on a mission to find some new boots, but spent the majority of our time at Ulta.  Later that night we attended two Halloween parties.  I am pathetic and didn’t even manage to get one photo.  We had a fabulous time, though, and enjoyed seeing some of our friends!

After church on Sunday we had our annual Henderson Halloween party.  We all met up at Classic Skating to eat breadsticks and soup and carve pumpkins.

Most of the littles were more entertained by playing with baby Clark than finishing their pumpkin projects.

And some were more fascinated with the fact that their pajamas could glow in the dark…

After the carving had concluded Papa gave each grandchild a “ghost finder” aka finger flashlight to find the spook.  This year it wasn’t a friendly ghost.  They were assigned to find SKELETOR, a family-friendly skeleton who lives and haunts the rink.

Mimi and Papa led them on an expedition to find SKELETOR [stalling, mostly] and when they had searched the whole rink they decided to turn off all the lights and hope SKELETOR would find them.

SKELETOR emerged from the mini bowling alley with a bag full of treats!

The rules were that you had to dance [or skate] out to SKELETOR to Thriller to get your treat.  All of the younger kids were timid…with the exception of Georgia.  Nothing can phase those skillz…

Georgia and Skeletor

Sunday was also pretty exciting due to the fact that our ward was split.  I have mixed emotions.  Some of my closest friends will no longer be in the 7th Ward.  I am trying not to get too down about it, because I know that I will still see them considering we all live so close.  Also, Zach received a new calling:  Assistant Ward Clerk.  I haven’t officially been released yet, but I will miss being a ward missionary with Zach.  We can’t wait to see what happens with this little switch!

Only three days left until Halloween!