The 4th of JULY!

This week has been a fantastic one! Jason and I have been able to do a lot of incredible things, and we even had separate adventures this time (not my favorite, but glad that we were both able to have fun away from each other). My incredible hubby bought a plane ticket for me to be with my family for the weekend. Although I wasn't very happy to leave him at first, I was thankful for the opportunity and especially turning a 15+ hour trip into a 2 hours instead :)

First, let's start off with the awesome holiday of Independence Day! We had so much fun together, and the best part was that Jason was able to spend 2 whole days with me in the middle of the week! I loved every second of it! The 3rd (of July) was pretty much preparation for all the things we wanted to do on the 4th and I kinda had a melt down, so we'll skip that part... but the 4th was so stinkin fun! We were able to explore more of Vegas, and met some stars (well, their pictures lol).

The day started out with my run in the morning, and when I walked out the door at 5:00 am it was dark! I thought it was really strange and continued to go on my merry little way. I finally put my finger on it when I headed toward the mountains and noticed that it was very cloudy. The weirdest thing ever too, was that as I got closer to the mountains, it started raining! Raining in the desert is more like sprinkling, but the ground gets pretty wet and the air feels very muggy. I couldn't believe it was raining! I have missed the rain.... I ran home and dragged Jason on a bike ride. He couldn't believe the rain either, and after getting a little wet we rode to the gym. Two hours later (and the best leg work out of my life) it was still raining outside! I love the smell of the rain and how everything seems to be so much cleaner. To my delight too, it rained all day!

After our wet morning, we got ready for the day and headed to the Pawn Stars pawn shop. We were super surprised when we got to this tiny pawn shop with a line of people leading out the door and down the street. A guard stood at the door and made sure only a certain number of people went in to the store at one time. Jason and I were kind of freaking, because we thought that maybe today was a day they were filming. When our turn finally came however, we only saw tons of memorabilia and no stars.... but it was a neat experience :)

After hittin up the pawn shop we made our way to Freemont St. Freemont St. actually used to be the strip way back in the day, and it was pretty neat. Not a whole lot to do, but so much to see. We had a little fun people watching too, because there are some really interesting people from all walks of life that spend their time there. The reason we decided to go there.... the zip line that goes from one end of the street to the other, and a FREE concert to 3 Doors Down!!! We didn't actually ride the zip line, but it was pretty neat to watch all the people riding on it. Maybe someday when Jason is making the millions, we'll make our way back and try the Freemont St. experience.

We got to Freemont St. around 4:00 and had a whopping 5 hours before the concert started at 9. We walked around, explored the Golden Nugget (it has a super awesome water slide where you slide through an aquarium of fish!!), talked to some guys about balance bracelets, almost weighed ourselves at a restaurant that let  people weighing 350lbs + for free, had a picnic, got ice cream, and made some friends with a couple on their honeymoon from Pennsylvania. When the time for the concert came, it was incredible! 3 Doors Down was AMAZING, and the drunk people were really funny to watch. I'm so glad I've never had a drink and acted like such an idiot in front of so many people. I'm sure about half the crowd didn't remember anything from that night. Why not take care of your bodies, and have fun the good way with signing along at the top of your lungs sober! It's the best!

Freemont Street has a ceiling over it, and during the concert we found out that it is actually the largest screen in the world. The entire thing lit up and showed the band performing. They also had a tribute to the 4th and all the men and women giving their lives to serve our country. There are so many things in life that make it wonderful. One of them is being able to live in a country that surpasses all the rest. I am so thankful for the freedoms and joys that we are able to have here in the USA. Ever since my brother joined the army and left to serve in Afghanistan, his example has made my love for this country grow. I'm so glad that people recognize their sacrifice, but I wish they realized more often then just on holidays.

The Vegas Sign

Standing in line to go inside the pawn shop

At the concert rockin out!

3 Doors Down... So GOOD!!

Our night ended about 11:00pm and I felt for my Jason when he had to get up for work at 3:00am. It would have been an even earlier morning for the both of us if I didn't get a ride to the airport. I'm so thankful for a wonderful lady in our ward who dropped everything just to take me (and help me find my way) to the airport. People who live in Vegas are awesome!

My Washington trip was awesome, but I will save that for another post. Until then... how was your fourth? I hope you made some memories!