Since moving to Vegas, I've discovered quite a few wonderful places.

But I think one of my all time favorites has to be the Library.

I know what you are thinking.

"Katie... You live in Las Vegas. There is entertainment everywhere! Why is the Library even on the list?"

Well, this library is just cool.

You stack the books you want to check out and the scanner instantly knows which books they are!

This library is one of many branches in the area. So if they don't have a book I want, they send it from somewhere else!

And it's got little snack bar too!

Coming from a small town, I'm not used to such technology or selection!

Without this wonderful place, I would have been very bored this summer.

What do you love about YOUR library?

There are a few things that I don't enjoy about living in Las Vegas.

The heat.

The lack of green things.

But most of all, the mountains.

Yes. There are mountains in Vegas. But they are brown and ugly.

Growing up in Utah, I was always surrounded by lovely mountains covered with green and snow. It's been rough living in the presence of these brown monstrosities. 

This past weekend I was in Salt Lake visiting my cousins (more pictures to come soon), and I ran around feeling giddy about how gorgeous the mountains were.

I don't miss how cold it is in Utah, even in May.

But I do miss these mountains.

The morning was spent kissing and cuddling but was dampened for a moment when Kevin broke the news that he would have to leave a day early.

His parents came to Vegas with him, and his mom found out that she had to work on Thursday or risk losing a much desired day off in a few weeks.

It was so hard to hear that I had to say goodbye to him a bit earlier than I had anticipated. I knew it would be so hard for him to leave on Thursday, it broke my heart a little knowing he'd leave in less than 24 hours.

But we made the best of the day. 

We found a pass under the interstate that was covered in graffiti and took some of the most amazing pictures together. The lighting was perfect and they look so good!

After a few hours of taking pictures together, smiling, kissing and laughing, we went back to my place to begin making dinner.

We both invited his parents and my sister for a wonderful dinner of lasagna, garlic bread and salad. BIG hit, if I do say so myself. It was so yummy.

I like cooking okay, but cooking with Kevin is one of the best things. I've decided. It's so much fun being in the kitchen with him, both of us working on creating something delicious to eat while we sing Disney songs and take a few kissing breaks. It's one of my all time favorite things and I can't wait until we get to do it again.

After dinner, Kevin's parents took us to the strip where we strolled around the Palazzo, the Venetian and the Wynn. I can now add these three casinos to the list of casinos I've been in. It's incredible how much detail goes into the interior of these casinos. It's beautiful. 

We dropped off his parents after a while and went back to walk around a bit more. It's so crazy how empty the casinos are at 11pm on a Wednesday. Planet Hollywood looked like it was closed. I've never seen it so abandoned. 

The night was wonderful. The perfect ending to a perfect three days.

I can't wait until he's here again. It's going to be amazing. I already know it.

I've come to realize that Vegas is a really beautiful place. It's a different kind of beautiful than I'm used to, but the plants and architecture is quite lovely in some places!

And so I've made it my goal to explore this wonderful city a lot more.

For my first excursion, I explored a really fun outdoor eating area with a decorated square surrounding it.

I love the clocks and lamps that they had placed at the entrance.

It was a great day of exploring and I can't wait to do it again!

I had so much to talk about in this post, I thought it would be so much easier to do it via vlog!

Thanks for curling up under the covers with me last night when I was scared of the random bumpity noises. I don't know if I could have slept without your fuzzy body next to mine. 

I'm so glad you moved to Vegas with me. 

Saturday was my sister, Alyson's birthday and we had some good times!

One of her old friends is here visiting for the weekend, and Jamey, Aly and I all went out to lunch and to the strip to explore.

Then it was back to the house for some German Chocolate Cake (made by me!) and a shower of balloons from the balcony. It was awesome!

Happy Birthday Aly! I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!

Okay... so I failed miserably at Blog Everyday in April. Oh well. I tried.

Happiest Moment: Watching Empire Records with Natalie.

Saddest Moment: It was pretty crushing to get cast in the role I did. 

Favorite Food: Anything Mexican. I had such a craving for Mexican food this month. Mmm hmm! So good.

Overall: It was a roller coaster month. My heart was soaring at moment and broken at others. I've been stressed and relaxed and stressed again. I'm glad I'm past it. I'm glad I experienced it.

I've never been a big fan of Mexican food until recently. We went to three different Mexican food restaurants while we were in Vegas. One was a first for me. I've always heard that Chiplotle was good, so my dad and I decided to give it a try. Those burritos were HUGE! It was a wonder I could get my mouth around it all. Mmm. Good stuff. Very tasty. 

The guy who made my burrito also hit on me. I was very flattered even though he was short, had braces, and was probably 16 years old. 

Now I'm watching "The Great Mouse Detective" with my sister while my dad snoozes on the couch. I'll be heading home tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to the drive home. I can't complain about sleeping in my own bed, though. 

It's been a hard weekend, but I'm glad I came.

On The Border. It's a Mexican restaurant. I LOVE it. They have them elsewhere, but the only one I know of is in Vegas. So, whenever I'm in Sin City, I always request going there. 

OH the fajitas. Yum yum yum yum yum! Habanero Fire Sauce is amazing! So spicy! Mmm.

On the painting front, we finished except for a 2nd coat on one wall. I've been very sore and hurty, mostly for reasons unrelated to the work we've been doing; and so I've been getting steadily more grumpy at time went on. So, while we had an extra pair of arms (Alyson's ex-husband, Mike came to help us paint) we moved all of the furniture over to the house. I stayed behind and loafed. It was great. 

"Hey Katie!" "What?" "Want to start a paint contracting business with me?" "Ummm... no." - Conversation with my dad after 6 straight hours of painting.

We painted nearly all day today. From about 11:30am to 7:30pm. I realize that's only 8 hours, but that's a LOT of painting time. And we're not even finished yet. There's only a bit more trim work left, and then mostly roller work, which should go pretty quickly. And then we still have to move all of Alyson's stuff from her apartment to her new house. Alyson has a LOT of stuff. I sound like I'm complaining. Well... I am kinda. This has been a lot more work that I anticipated. I knew it would be quite a bit of work, but this is a LOT of work. It doesn't help that I'm PMS-ing right now. Too much info? Sorry. It's the truth.

I other news, it looks fabulous. That's good. It's a beautiful house and the colors she picked are pretty. I'm just tired of the tedious work that is painting. 

Also, we'll be sleeping at the house tomorrow night. At least... that's the plan. So... I might not be able to post for two days because Alyson won't be able to hook up the wireless. I'm praying that I can steal some from one of her neighbors. If not... I apologize for breaking my 'Blog Everyday in April" quota. Oh well. 

Isn't it pleasant when a drive that takes 9 hours feels like it only takes 6? I have to say how much I love traveling with my dad. He's a great travel companion. Mostly because he drives the whole way, and doesn't mind if I choose the music. I do try to pick stuff I know he'd enjoy. He's great.

I'm in Vegas now. We got here about 3.5 hours ago. Stopped at my sister's new house to see it. It's awesome. And it's going to be a trick to paint it. Insanely tricky. We're getting a scaffolding. It's going to be legit. 

We then went out to eat at Red Robin (Yum!) Tip: Guacamole Bacon Burger = fabulous. 

I'm going to Vegas tomorrow for five days. I can hear your groans of jealousy. But before you get too excited, I'm not going to Viva Las Vegas to party it up in the city of sin. 

My sister is moving into her new house. My dad and I are driving the eight to ten hours it's going to take to get us there so we can help her paint her new place and move all of her stuff from her apartment into her big girl house. It's going to be a lot of work.

But I get to spend time with my wonderful dad (He's a great road trip companion. Kinda love traveling with him.) and my sister, Alyson. I lived with Aly for 6 months and got used to seeing her every day. Once every three or four months just isn't cutting it. Nope. So five days with her is going to be amazing! (Even if she is making me paint her house.)

Things I am excited for: