Toy Fest - Las Vegas!

 

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During the ASD show, this Toy Fest show also started and I got to go! Oh my. I enjoyed the Toy Fest a lot more than I thought I would. I really wasn't sure what to expect but we started the day we getting to do crafts. So fun right?!

CES - Las Vegas - Day 2!

 
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Day 2 was Friday and we headed to the main hall in order to catch a bus over to the Venetian which is my favorite hotel probably to go check out new and upcoming brands, tech companies from all over the world, and health, fitness, cooking, and more. There's a downstairs and upstairs and probably more that we just didn't have time to explore it all in a day. Keep reading to see all the cool stuff I got to check out!

CES - Las Vegas - Day 1!

Day 1 at CES started out colder, overcast, and rainier than in years past but that didn't damper my spirits and the day went very well. Keep reading to see what I got to see throughout the day.

Day 1 ~ CES 2020

Another year, another great time being able to attend CES. I drove to Vegas Monday night and stayed with my friend Emily. I picked up my friend Marie at the airport and everything worked out so perfectly with that which I was relieved about. Usually, the Las Vegas airport is pretty lowkey and easy to navigate through compared to other airports I've been to.  We dropped off our belongings at the resort - they were so kind to let us check in early! Summoned a Lyft ride and we were on our way to the Sands hotel to start our day.

CES 2019 - Day 2!!

Here we go, oh-lay, oh-lay...yea, I'm weird. But also super excited to get to Day 2 of CES. There is still SO much left to see and do and we haven't even been to the main convention center yet which is making me slightly anxious but we will be covering that area all day Thursday and Friday.

Seven Magic Mountains Stop!

I debated stopping here on my way back from Utah because I had food in the cooler and a cold bag but the ice was melting, of course, after 10 hours it would! But! I knew I would have regrets if I didn't..especially because the sun was kinda right where I wanted it so I took the exit and there I was!

CES 2018 - Day 2

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Day 2 of CES and I was ready to walk and walk. We decided to explore the Sands Convention Center upstairs first and then catch a shuttle to the main convention center. 

Good Morning from CES 2018!

Hey friends! I know its been a bit since I have posted here but I've been actively blogging on my craft and travel blogs so if you have not been to either of those to see all the fun things I've been doing...you gotta go see.

CES 2017 - Day 1

I can't believe this is my 6th year attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's soo much better when I can blog about it at the end of each day but I was exhausted and out late after the conference, then up early to do it all again so the blogging just didn't happen. Now it feels like a chore to document which sucks because I never want blogging to feel like a chore. However, what I did and saw must be documented so here we go. It also must be noted this is the first year I think that I was actually able to go for 3 full days. I dont stay Sunday since it seems like most companies are dismantling their booths that day but maybe next year I'll go for half of that day or something. 

NYE in Las Vegas

The past 5 years we've lived in Utah, we've never had good plans for New Years Eve. Nothing that is a tradition per say. Once or twice we went out to see a movie and honestly I'd have to look back at my blog to see what else we ended up doing the other years. I think once or maybe twice we went to Idaho but missed the potato dropping in Boise by 10 or 15 minutes. A pro to being in Boise for New Years is that my sister in law & her husband throw a really fun dinner party.  In Utah, I always wished we'd get invited to a party but that never happened and our place wasn't the best for having a lot of people over. So since we still don't have any good traditions for New Year's we decided to give last Las Vegas a try. 

The night was dark and cold. In fact, as we got in to Nevada it was raining some. Was not expecting that!



We finally found parking in a shopping strip and walked and walked to get to the strip. It was probably just a mile or so. If we do this next year, I have some ideas how we will do things differently. 



It was time for dinner (at 8pm!) and I have been wanting to eat at Yard House for a long time and it finally happened! Expensive but really good food. I am not sure where my pictures of the food that night went. I ordered a pasta dish and Tony got a hamburger. 

We walked around on the strip and explored some of the hotels...

It was a little annoying that you could not cross the strip wherever you wanted to. They had the street shut down, no traffic, but big gates set up in the middle and only a few spots to cross to the other side. We walked from about the Linq to the end of the street where this huge bus and lots of patrol cars were blocking the street and we crossed and walked down the opposite side. Kind of interesting. Someone said they blocked it off so that people didnt destroy the landscaping but I'm not so sure. There were quite a lot of police and military people out patrolling the streets. We were in one spot and a bunch of cops were chasing a guy who had ran beneath the building into the parking garage. Men with guns running everywhere, so fast! It was kind of funny but kind of not and we kept walking.

We were ready for the fireworks and countdown at 10 seconds to midnight. Of course we kissed and then you could turn your eyes any direction and see fireworks - all synchronized! It was pretty awesome. Once the show was over we walked back to the car because, what else was there to do?

(soo cold - Tony let me wear his coat)

All in all, it was a fun way to spend New Year's Eve. I procrastinated leaving Utah a bit but next time it would be fun to get a hotel on the strip and not have to worry about finding parking. Maybe we will find friends to split a room with next time and do that. It was nice to break up the drive from Salt Lake to Ridgecrest even though I was a bit sad to miss Tony's family fun dinner. It will be interesting to see how we end up spending next New Year's Eve. Anything is possible!

Vegas Blogger Meetup

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy, who lives in Las Vegas, told me about a blogger meetup going on during CES and she picked me up after I got done at the convention and we headed to a restaurant called Serendipity on the strip.

Consumer Electronics Show Day 3

Headed to CES for the last day! I snapped this as I was driving so it's not the best but you get the idea. This is a long post full of pictures and words so you can scroll and look at pictures or you can read as you go. I just have so much to share from the last day!

Consumer Electronics Show Day 2

I spent my second day at CES wandering around the main halls again. There is SO much to see and do. Things to stand in line for and make something or try to win something. Huge boothes with tons to see. Tiny booths. It's just a lot to take in. Here's some of what I saw on Thursday! It's a LOT of pictures but enjoy.

Consumer Electronics Show Day 1

 I arrived in Las Vegas Tuesday evening around 10pm. It only took me 5 hours to get here which was nice, no bad weather to deal with! I am staying with my friend Kylee in NLV so it's a perfect arrangement! Downtown is not too far and I am staying in a comfy bed with a great friend hosting me!

A Trip To Vegas

This is obviously a 'later-post' for those who know me personally know that I took this trip in September. Shame on me for never blogging about it until now. But! Here are some pictures from part of the trip.

Backstreet Boys were coming to Las Vegas and since they were not coming to Salt Lake City I knew I had to take a little roadtrip to see them. My friend Aimee came too which made it even more fun. I would have gone by myself but its always better to roadtrip with a friend. I picked her up Friday evening and off we went. We got to Las Vegas pretty late but my friend Kylee who we were staying with, was still up so I got to talk to her a little when we got to her house and Aimee got to meet her too.

It was mostly overcast on Saturday when we headed out to the strip from Kylee's house. She is about 20 minutes or so away from this part of Las Vegas.

The Rest of Vegas...

Saturday morning in Vegas started out with crepes made by my friend Kylee who I have not seen for about 7 years!

Homemade crepes are bomb dot com! I put Nutella , strawberries and whipped cream on mine. So so tasty!

She also made bacon and potatoes.  BEST breakfast I've had this year!

 We were going to go ice skating on the roof of the Cosmopolitan hotel on the strip but after some discussion we decided Red Rock Canyon was a better idea due to the fact the ice rink is pretty small and a radion station was there doing an event plus there was a birthday party. Kylee had the National Parks pass so we were able to get in for free to Red Rock Canyon!

After visiting Kylee I met up with one of my favorite mission companions, Lindsay! Got to meet her husband for the first time and little girl who is so freekin adorable. Had a great time catching up with her and I hope to meet up with her again next time I'm in Vegas!

That pretty much sums up my Saturday. Headed out around 530pm, got a couple trash tacos at Jack in the Box (there is not one in SLC, sad) and picked up a guy who was riding from St George to Lehi with me. I dropped him off at his sister's house.

Stopped to get gas in Beaver. Recognized this chair from a picture a guy posted on Instagram so I was excited to see we stopped at the same gas station! It was literally freezing outside, sitting on that chair felt like ice.

Picture of our church building Sunday morning. Deadly icicles. I was NOT excited to come back to the extreme cold and snow and ice. Vegas was cold but not as cold as UT is right now with it's single digit/below freezing temperatures!

Got home about 130am in the morning safe and sound. Cant wait to take another roadtrip already!

Red Rock Canyon National Park

Saturday was the most fun day!

There are a few things I did that I want to post about but this post will focus on one place I got to go to in Las Vegas called Red Rock Canyon. It is a National Park, was sad Tony was not with me and my friend Kylee to check it out but it is now on my list of places that we must do this year (as in, Tony coming on a trip with me to Vegas to go to this National Park!) Get ready for a post with tons of pictures courtesy of my cell phone.

I was beyond excited as we were arriving, so weird but I was just unusually happy to finally be out, at a National Park (even though it was pretty cold!) and ready to hike around (even though I am so out of shape!)

Interesting how the rock were so bright red along the bottom then the tip was so much lighter!

We decided to check out this hiking area first. There were 4 hikes but we just did some exploring because there was a 13 mile scenic drive to do and other places we wanted to stop as well.

My friend Kylee climbing higher than me

People across from where we were, they looked far away but really we had not gone super far. I like how the rock on the left looks like it just got sliced down the middle pretty much.

very awesome view!

an arch is being formed here

The scenery was so so pretty

Looking down from a rock we had climbed up on

The place on the left was where we had just come from. This picture was taken after we had gone a bit on the scenic drive and we stopped at a parking lot to take some pictures and look through binoculars that were set up

Saw some birds with blue on them so we got out and tried to get a picture but my zoom wasnt super great, not sure if you can see a bird or not in this picture somewhere

Cactus reminded me of hiking in Arizona

The 13 miles went fast and we went to the Visitors Center to check out what was in there

I could tell it was going to be pretty cool

Oh owl :)

These displays were set up inside to the right when you walk through the front doors to the visitors center

HUGE glass window and this was the view that the park ranger sitting at a desk nearby said that he just loved seeing every day. I'd love it too

Owl stuff at the gift shop. I wanted it all but instead I just took pictures

Cool flip book, $4.99

Owl hand painted on a tile

Next time I go I want to look at that book!
The glass owls in front were adorable

2 owl magnets to choose from that said Red Rock Canyon on them. Next time we WILL bring one home for our fridge. These were $4.50 I think but they had other magnets for around $2

Took some time to go out on the back patio area which was actually quite large and walk around , checked out all the exhibits and information out there.

Not sure what this was but it looked cool

This is supposed to be a bird. These types of things were found all over outside, different animals that are supposed to be native to the area

Red rocks!

Another owl in this picture here

posing with a snake. dont worry, it wasnt real

Thanks for checking out all my pictures. If you are ever in Las Vegas you should find the time to check this place out. There are about 20 hikes to do in the park , easy, moderate and hard. Even a cool hike for kids that has petroglyphs. 

More info here