Vegas Baby!

Day 1 - we drove from Lewiston straight through to Corvallis - roughly 9 hours of travel. 

Day 2 - Lincoln, Oliver and I followed Riley and his roommate to the OSU vs. USC game with $10 tickets! It was my first college football game as a college student, very exciting albeit freezing cold. 

 Day 3 - We drove back to Vancouver and stayed with Kristi, Carrie and Lily. We made multi-colored sugar cookies, and read children's stories. It was lots of fun. 

Day 4 - Flew out successfully from PDX, arriving in Las Vegas Nevada at 11 a.m. The shuttle was full so Oliver and I rode in a limo to The Mirage where we met the rest of our group. There was 12 of us!

Day 5 - The strip at night was crazy! Lights everywhere, people everywhere, smoke everywhere. We walked between Mirage, Harrah's, O'Shea's and Caesar's Palace almost 3 times every day. 

 Day 6 - The Stratosphere Tower was intense. I don't have any pictures to upload yet, but you could see the whole strip from the top of the tower, and the boys went on the roller-coasters! I couldn't even look at the roller-coasters without feeling a tingle in the back of my legs, and a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Day 7 - we left Vegas, arriving in PDX at 2 pm. It was smooth sailing back to TD via I-84. We arrived just in time to prepare Lori's garlic mashed potatoes. Sara, Pat, Will, Kelly, and Mamie joined us for Thanksgiving which was a great treat. We all stuffed ourselves to the max, and laid on the floor for a bit. Lincoln contributed sparkling cider to the cheers of all the youth present. After all, what is T-day without some cider? 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Day 8 - Post-Thanksgiving stretching in the morning followed by a trip to Uncle Steve's house to watch the Duck game. Ducks prevailed. Almost all Strouds present, probably the most people ever to grace Steve's house with their presence. Of course, some of us made time for the Starlight Parade to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus and his missus. Sadly, the parade is growing smaller every year. Signs of a poor economy? or just lackluster and disbelief about the magic of Santa and Christmas time? Regardless, we did our part and cheered loudly at the Claus sleigh. Alas, no candy was thrown our way despite our efforts. Later, some of us went to Harry Potter #7. Much disappointment for those of us who are avid book-readers, but I still hold that it was better than most of the previous movies. 

Day 9 - Dad and I played some tennis at good old TDFCC, and lifted some weights. After our calorie burning we headed straight home for some food! Delicious home-made meals, something I'd really missed up at school. Dad, Mom, Oliver and I visited the Norths (Carrie has new baby) for a bit, and then headed home to meet up with Riley, Lincoln, and Sarah for game night. We laughed our way past midnight playing Bohnanza which involves imaginary bean fields, and a plethora of beans. 

Day 10 - Farewell to TD and a lengthy drive back to Lewiston. Thankfully Mom sent some food along with us so we had some grub for dinner upon arrival. Only 3 more weeks of school until Christmas Break and Cookie Camp! 

Happy holidays to all!