Pictures

Random car selfie... I take a lot of those when I'm bored. :)

Working on blankets. I'm finally making some headway on my orders. Unfortunately I'm behind on quite a few of them, but I'm just taking it one stitch at a time.

I had to take a screenshot of this game to show Dad, because a friend picked Mercer to upset Duke, and Dad thought he was out of his mind for it. So then of course when Mercer actually did beat Duke I had to point out to Dad that his pick wasn't as crazy as he thought. :D

Hanging out at Grandma's house. My cousin Emily was in town on spring break from college in Florida, and she wanted all of us girls to come so we could have a sleepover. I'm really not sure how Grandma was talked into having 5 girls in the house, but somehow she gave in. I thought my grandpa was going to go crazy. :D

A really messy, not cleaned up manicure. Normally to clean up the edges I use cotton swabs dipped in nail polish remover, but I didn't have any, so I couldn't. Oh well. It looked pretty cool, until the sticker peeled off and I had to redo my ring finger with a glitter French nail. 

Emily got out her laptop, and we took like 30,000 pictures. :D

Today while shopping Danielle fell asleep, and I couldn't stand to wake her up, so Sarah and I just sat in the car eating lunch until she woke up. Ah, the things I do for Short Stuff. :)

These are 2 hooks that I ordered online recently. The one on the right says "Kayla's Corner" on it. I'm so in love with them. Unfortunately, the handle on the mushroom one shattered after a little accident in Las Vegas (long story), which makes me super sad, because it's so cute and I absolutely love it, but it's alright. I'm going to order a new one really soon.  I also want to order some different designs. :)

Ok, that's all for now! 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my dear sister Hannah! She's 13 years old today - a teenager! Wow. :)

Catch up post!

Sorry guys for the lack of posting! Life has been so hectic since I got back I haven't had the time. I tried to do an award post that I got nominated for, and spent most of the day last Thursday working on it on and off, but I didn't realize that the Blogger app doesn't save posts automatically like the web version does..... So, I lost all of it. :( I'll try again maybe tomorrow. Anyway, I thought I'd post the rest of the pictures from my trip. I'll post random pictures tomorrow, because I have so many trip pictures that if I 

posted them too, the post would be way too long. :)

This is a cool picture I got of our hotel. Well, not the actual hotel - that's the tower. You can't really see the building that the rooms are in.

This is right inside the front entrance to the hotel that the arena was in. They had this cool statue, as well as the flags from all the Pac-12 schools, although in the pic you can only see 3. 

This is some guy from Arizona's band that apparently is pretty famous around McKale (the arena that Arizona plays their games in), but I truthfully had no idea who he was. I was just told to pose for a picture, so I did. :D I had to ask Nana later who he was. :D I guess there was articles in the paper about him, and I guess he stands next to the hoop and makes faces and stuff while the other team shoots free throws and stuff like that. I really have no idea. He looked familiar to me, but again, I had to ask Nana who he was. :D

Wilbur! Sorry, the pics are kind of blurry, but that's what happens when you let other people use your phone to take pictures. :D

This is during Arizona's first game against Utah. They got a first-round bye, so they didn't have to play until the second day. They absolutely crushed them. I think the score at the end of the first half was 39-13. It was so awesome, plus there were so many Arizona fans, it may as well have been a home game. It was like that the whole tournament. :)

Final score :)

The first game of the third day wasn't until 6:00, so we went and did stuff around town before that. This is at Circus Circus. I loved this place. :) It's this hotel and casino, but it has this second level, that is literally like a circus. There's a stage for acts, and you have games and stuff you can play everywhere like at Peter Piper Pizza or something like that. I wish I would have gotten pictures, but we were having so much fun I forgot. :) Aunt Suzie and I played ice hockey (or table hockey, I can't remember exactly what it's called), and let me tell you, it is awesome playing with your 78-year-old aunt. Especially when it gets so intense she stands up out of her walker. :D We ended up tying. This is on the third floor, where they pretty much have an amusement park inside. I only went on one ride; the one in the picture. It's one of my favorite rides at the fair, although here it was bigger, which made it even more awesome. :) There was even a roller coaster, and I thought about going on it, until I saw that it went upside down, and then I was like "Nope, not gonna do it, no way no how." :) 

Aunt Suzie got a new hat at Circus Circus. What do you think? It even lights up. During one of the games, Nana and I went to go get an ice cream cone, and when we came back, we could literally see Aunt Suzie's hat from the other side of the arena. :D A lot of people gave her compliments on it. :)

This is blurry too, but this is at M & M's World. Nana and I walked down there before the games the third day. See that in the back? Yeah, that's all m&m's. The lady that worked there told us it was the biggest candy wall in the world. I didn't even get all of it in the picture. Most of them were just different colors, but there were some different flavors, like raspberry, coconut and mint. I didn't get any of those.

This was the text that Dad sent me right before our game against Colorado. :D I still don't think it works quite the way he said, but Arizona did beat them by a lot. It probably was a public embarrassment. :)

I just had to screenshot this. This is Aaron Gordon from AZ blocking one of Xavier Johnson from Colorado's shot. I just found it too awesome not to screenshot it. :D

The morning of the fourth day Nana and I went to the top of the tower that I showed in the first picture. It was 108 stories up. It was amazing. 

These are statues at Ceasar's Palace. We went there after we went to the tower. The statues were awesome, but the rest of it was terrible. It's a long story, and I would go into it, but it would just bore you. Let's just say trying to find things was a nightmare.

And on the way home! Unfortunately, Arizona lost by 4 in the championship to UCLA, but it's alright. It was still an amazing experience even though my team lost. We all had fun, but by the time the trip was over we were all SO tired and ready to be home. Even though we left the hotel at 7, I didn't get home until about 10:00 at night, because they brought me straight to church. I'm afraid I probably wasn't very sociable to everyone that tried to talk to me! :D 

People have asked me what my overall impression of Las Vegas was. And I think I've determined that I would want to go to the tournament every year, but I wouldn't want to go to Las Vegas every year. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but... It was crowded, it was loud, and I saw an awful lot of immodesty. Not that you don't see skimpy dresses other places, but it was just pretty overwhelming. Another thing that bothered me was that there was so much traffic. Our hotel was about 3 to 3 1/2 miles away from the arena, but because of the traffic and all the lights, it took us over a half hour to get back every single night. It wasn't that much fun, especially on those days when we'd already been at the arena for over 8 hours. 

What I did enjoy was getting to watch all the basketball, and especially spending so much time with my aunt and grandma. That's something I'll never forget. Plus, I got to see a lot of really awesome things! This trip is definitely something I'll carry with me the rest of my life. :)

Day 1 of the tournament

Day one is over! And boy was it a long one. There were 4 games, each one being about 2 hours long, plus a half hour in between. We got there at about 11 (the first game started at 12), and left at about 9:45 I think, and that was at halftime of the last game. I didn't get to bed until almost 11 last night. I am so worn out, but it was a fun day. And guess what? We get to do it again today! :)

This is the view from our original seats (we didn't end up sitting here). It looks farther easy than it is and I'm not sure why...

This is the view from where we actually ended up sitting. See, the steps are too hard for Aunt Suzie, so we talked with some people, and they moved us to a handicapped section, where she didn't have to climb any stairs. We're level with the walkway. That was really nice.

This is in between sessions. The sessions were 2 games long, and then you had a break to go get food and stuff before the last 2 games. 

This picture is an interesting story.... This guy did contests and giveaways and stuff during timeouts and halftime, and before the second session started and there were a lot of people, Aut Suzie actually managed to flag him down (he was on court), and let him know that she was sitting there, and that he should bring something around for her. Then she got her picture taken with him. Nana and I were laughing so hard. :D

Also, Aunt Suzie decided that she's getting married. You see, there was this guy there who was telling people where their seats were, and she started talking to him. His name is John, he's 83, he's had cancer twice, and he's from Iowa. She figured she knew enough about him that she should get married. :D Nana and I have been laughing ever since then about Aunt Suzie and her 'boyfriend'. She really is a character. :D

Nana says hi!!!

And this is me at breakfast. Oh! I just noticed! I'm wearing the necklace that I bought the first day. What do you think?

Alright, that's it for today. We have another long day of 4 games (Arizona's playing today!), and then tomorrow we only have 2. The first one tomorrow isn't until 6, so we're going to go and do stuff around town, since we haven't had time since we got here except for Tuesday night. I'm hoping to have more pictures, although I already have a bunch as it is.  :D

More pictures

Right now we're hanging out at the hotel before the first game in a couple hours, so I thought I'd post some more pictures.

Last night we went downtown to get dinner and walk around. This whole street was under an arch, and this arch lit up like a movie screen. There was a light show at 8:00, but I didn't get a video. This basketball thing is just what they had going as it was getting dark. It was really cool.

The lights are all really cool. I was thinking yesterday about how much the electric companies in Las Vegas must make.....

Sorry, it's not a very good picture, but this is a necklace I bought last night. While we were sitting waiting for the light show, I was looking over at this jewelry stand, and it was just calling my name the whole time. I'll try and get a picture do it on me soon. It's only 16 inches, which is pretty short, but that's specifically what I asked for. I've always liked my necklaces short. It was way more than I wanted to pay for it, but I figured it would be my splurge for the week. :)

We went to a 50's style diner here in the hotel for breakfast. Aunt Suzie says hi!

Alright, that's all the pictures for now. We're leaving in about an hour and 20 minutes to go to the games, and will be there all day. I'll try and post tomorrow morning again before we go to the arena.

Bye!

We are here!

After 10 very long hours of driving, we are finally in Las Vegas! I am so tired, and feel ready to go to bed already. :D 

I got some pictures from the way down. The scenery was so beautiful! Well, not like Montana beautiful, but definitely Arizona beautiful. :) 

They had the strangest looking trees towards northern Arizona. I think they're called Joshua trees maybe? It looks like it'd hurt if you touched one...

This was the restaurant we ate at for lunch. It was good, although right inside the door there's a statue of an Indian guy sitting, and it's creepily disturbing. They had a gift shop with gorgeous turquoise jewelry (I love turquoise), but I have way too much jewelry as it is. :) 

I really wish we could have gotten out of the car to take some pictures, but oh well. This canyon was absolutely gorgeous, and went on for miles. Oh my word. It's one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time.

This lake was just on the other side of the Nevada border. It was so beautiful, and so big, it took my breath away. I never see lakes like this in southern Arizona.

Las Vegas, here we come! 

This is the hotel we're staying at. It has a casino on the bottom floor, and obviously I will be avoiding that area as much as possible. I guess I'm allowed to walk through the casino (I have to to get to the elevators), but I can't stop. I have to keep moving. Fine with me!

The view outside the window. Our room is on the 18th floor.

Alright, there you have it! My pics from the day so far! Tomorrow and Thursday I might post in the morning, but both days the games start at noon and end about 10:30- 11:00. So, I definitely won't be posting after we get back. :)

Random happenings

Hey everyone!! Sorry for the lack of posting... I have been busier business-wise than I ever have before, and I'm still trying to learn to balance my time.

A lot has been going on lately! I'm really, really excited for my trip to Las Vegas. We leave next Tuesday! I can't believe how quickly time has flown. It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was going. :) My aunt has been trying to get me to pack for a month now. :D I keep trying to explain to her that if I pack, I won't have any of that stuff until we leave, but she's still been trying. :) I'm a little bummed about having to miss my voice lesson, since we're leaving on Tuesday, but I'm only missing one, so it's not that bad. The most stressful part has been figuring out the business aspect of it. I'm definitely going to have to work on blankets while I'm there, but I've been trying to figure out what yarn I need to bring with me, and what ones I should work on. If you all would pray for travel safety, I would really appreciate it. It's just me, my 76 year old grandma, and my 78 year old aunt, and while they both get around pretty well (my grandma more so than my aunt), it's still going to be a long trip. It's 6 1/2 hours to Las Vegas, not counting stopping for gas or food or anything like that. So anyway, I would definitely appreciate prayers. :)

The other day Dad and us kids went to see The Lego Movie. A bunch of the kids had wanted to go see it, and since it was ending in our theatre the next day, we figured we'd better get in and see it. :) I can't say it was my favorite movie ever (I'm totally not into Legos), but it was pretty good. There was a lot of good, clean humor, and overall it was just a cute movie. :) Also, I don't know how many of you have seen The Hunger Games, but the actor who plays Effie in that series voiced the main character's love interest in The Lego Movie. I was telling Hannah on the way home, that I personally think that Elizabeth Banks (the actor) should have totally done Wyldstyle (the Lego)'s character with a Capitol accent....

I have seriously been loving the soundtrack from the movie Frozen. Like, seriously. I have not seen the movie yet (much to my shagrin!), but I have heard quite a bit of the music, and I'm so in love. "Let It Go" is just plain amazing, and I love "Love is an Open Door" too. :) 

Yesterday I had a rather interesting experience at my violin lesson. I got there, and there were people taking lessons that I didn't know (the same people have had lessons before me the whole year), and my teacher wasn't the one teaching. I was really confused, like "Is today Thursday?" Apparently I just had a substitute, and I didn't know it. My sub was actually Miss Anna's son, which made me feel better. I've never met him before, and only seen him once. It wasn't as bad as I thought, although it was certainly different. He focuses on a lot of things that Miss Anna doesn't, like phrasing, crescendos and  decrescendos, while Miss Anna's a lot more technical, but overall it wasn't bad. The thing that really messed me up was that we actually switched violins during the lesson. I really need a better quality violin, and the one that I have is really bad at getting louder and softer and stuff like that without getting squeaky, so we switched so I could practice it. His violin was a lot heavier, and I've had my violin for almost 4 years now, and never played any others, so it was really weird. I did alright though. Miss Anna's been my teacher ever since I started playing (with help from friends occasionally), so it was interesting to see someone else's teaching style. I will definitely be happy to have Miss Anna back, although her son was really nice. He used all these analogies, which is something that Miss Anna doesn't do. That was nice. :) 

Alright, I'm done with my rambling right now. My next post will probably be from Las Vegas. Tomorrow we'll be gone all day, Sunday we have a rodeo to help at (a 4-H thing) plus church, and then Monday we have friends coming over. So I probably won't have a chance to post until Tuesday night, after we get to Las Vegas. I'm planning on taking a million pictures over the course of the trip, so I'll have lots to share!!! Look forward to that. :)

Kayla