What happens in Vegas

Doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas.

Our last day in Vegas was bittersweet. We woke up around 9 and had breakfast at the Grand Cafe in Red Rock, where I had the best veggie omelette and hash browns. BF and Mom were eager to hit the slots so we gambled on penny slots until literally the last minute.

BF and I slot-machine-hopped. He was particularly lucky, hitting on every machine he got on. He was doing pretty well on the MIB machine, when he cashed out about $100. Some old lurker sat down and about 20 minutes later, that dude hit a huge bonus and won $250!! I held my breath about how that coulda been BF. Later, later, BF reclaimed the machine and was doing just fine. I was playing a monkey machine (BF thinks that I do better on animal-related slots) and down $5 since I sat down when he called my name really loud.

BF hit an even huger bonus of $340 on the same machine!! I went to get his Mom and when we got back, he was playing another bonus round. BF's Dad was supposed to pick us up at 2 to be safe, but at 2:15ish, BF hit another bonus and just couldn't get away. Mom practically pulled him away kicking and screaming at 2:32 so that we wouldn't miss our flight.

At the airport, I got a tiny bout of claustrophobia as we waited in dense lines to pass through security. Once we got through, it was all good. We trammed it to the other side of the airport. We had about 10 minutes to spare before we had to arrive at our gate so as BF hit the claustrophobia-inducing smoking lounge, I sprinted to the nearest gift store. I found my post-card winner (finally)! One that had 4 scenes of Vegas. :) I think BF was really happy for me that I finally found a post card b/c he was smiling, too. The nerd that I am had "drafted" a little message for Grama Dub, but I only got to write half of it, since I was pressed for time and post-card space. Luckily, there was a mail drop a few yards away so I slapped on 40 cents for good measure and dropped it off. Who knew that my post-card quest would end at the airport, literally minutes before I boarded the plane? I hope Grama Dub receives it. :)

Bro and FBIL picked us up from LAX and we had a grand time swapping juicy details about each other's weekends. (We missed FBIL's Mommy's huge 60th birthday bash, but we sent her a scrapbook starter kit as a gift.) Uncles Bren filled us in on how their niece, Lil F, was while Mommy and Daddy were away. She was a good girl.

As our Vegas saga comes to a bittersweet end, I close with an extremely happy thought. It was soOOoooOOoo wonderful and exhilirating to see FILs so content with retirement. In less than two months, they've found their niche. They have regular social outings. FFIL is on a bowling team. They have visiting family and friends just about every week. They go on dates!! My bro summed it up best when he commented, "It's like they're on their second honeymoon." And it's true. They're happily living their lives together in the happy retired state that we dream of. :) Cheers to FILs!