Lucky in Las Vegas

(I've been slowly but surely turning my blog into a book before our 1 year anniversary. It is my goal to blog and print books every year. I want my book to be like a journal so I am going to start writing more in each post. Sorry they are so dang lengthy .)

We headed to Las Vegas for a few days with my parents to celebrate Jordan completing the DAT and applications. Months ago my mom and I were trying to think of something we could do to celebrate Jordan and force him to relax. Vegas it was. 

My mom and I have been going to vegas at least once a year since I was 8. It was fun to bring the boys this time (and not spend 90% of the trip in a theatre dancing).

Here are some highlights of our trip:

BEATLES LOVE.

I'm putting this under highlights, but if i'm being honest I really didn't like the show. 

I've seen quite a few cirque shows and this was easily my least favorite. 

It was more of a dance show, but the dancers weren't spectacular. 

I wish there were more stunts.

When we were deciding on which to show to see my parents and I didn't want to see this one but Jordan did. It was "his" weekend so we went with it. He loves the beatles and loved the show (this was his first cirque show though). 

Long story short, next time we aren't going to go with Jordan's pick haha.

 THE FOOD.

OMG the food was amazing! We ate so much. One night Jordan and I were dying for some good mexican food. We ate the most amazing fish tacos with mango salsa.

The next night we did a vegas buffet. 

I had been craving a good a seafood buffet so my dad did lots of research and found out that the "best vegas buffet" was in our hotel. We spent the small fortune and literally ate until we were sick. No seriously, I was sick. 

My other favorite food stop was SHAKE SHACK!

Everyone always talks about shake shack so the last time I was in NYC I had to stop. It is SO good! When I found out that the New York, New York Hotel opened one I was so excited. My dad was kind of bugged that we had to drive all the way across the strip for a "burger", but by the time he was done eating he admitted that it was dang good. 

THE SHOPPING

Gotta love vegas shopping. 

My mom and I swear that there is magic at the H&M in the forum shops because every time we go there we end up finding the best stuff. 

I personally love shopping with my dad ... ;)

He sits down while my mom and do our jobs and then he comes for the finale.

Thanks again daddio!

The $.

My dad is a black jack lover.

Every time we go to vegas he will bring a little fun money to play his favorite game.

My mom and I prefer to spend our fun money in the malls ;)

My mom does like to put a little money in the penny slots and play though.

This trip Jordan and I wanted in on the fun so we brought along $20 to play. We figured if we lost it, oh well, and if we won it then lucky us! 

We sat at the slot machines with my mom and we ended up winning $170.

It was SO fun and we were feeling so lucky!

My dad was playing black jack so we went over to watch him.

Being my father's daughter, I have a love for black jack but I am not willing to bet so high. I'm too poor. $20 won't take you very far (hence the slot machines).

 My dad wanted us to join in on the fun so he slid us a few chips and let us play.

We sat there for an hour laughing and bantering with the dealer.

Jordan and I must have used up every ounce of luck on the slot machines because we lost at black jack. Thankfully, my dad was doing well so he still came out on top. 

Call me a sinner but gambling our tiny bit of money was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

Especially since we went home richer than when we got there.

THE MOVIES.

Us Mautzs love to see movies. I can't remember a vacation where we didn't go see a movie. 

This trip we say SPY (hilarious) first, then the girls saw Aloha (terrible) and the boys saw Mad Max.

(side story: in the middle of the movie I spilt a cherry coke all over the side (read: butt) of my brand new white dress. you better believe I wore in the rest of the day. Who has time to change?)

THE POOL.

It was dang hot so it was nice to lounge by the pool.

People watching was pretty awesome too. 

(we haven't stopped laughing at this picture. The way the water hits makes me look 6 months pregnant. Pinky promise i'm not. )

AND SO MUCH MORE!

It was seriously the best trip!

Jordan deserved a weekend away after all the work he had put into dental school preparations!

I defiantly didn't deserve it, but I was happy to spend a few days with my favorite people. 

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU mom and dad for "taking care of" EVERY SINGLE THING! It was so generous and something we won't forget. 

We love you ...

THIS MUCH!

Can't wait until the mautzs' party again in vegas. How many more days until adam turns 21....? ;)

THE DAT

I have to blog about Jordan’s huge test (the dental admissions test). It is too big of an accomplishment to ignore.

I’m so very proud of Jordan so this might get braggy. I promise its not intentional. Don’t hate me. I just really want to document this on my little corner of the internet and eventually blog book. 

So back in January Jordan got his study materials and dipped his toes in the study pond.

He didn’t stress about it, but if he had a spare moment he would have his nose in a book.

As May 21st got a closer he really started studying. For the last month and a half I have barely seen my husband and if I did he was focused on his test.

I truly have never seen anything like it. He woke up well before me to study and stayed up well after me. It was so impressive watching someone be so focused. 

The night before the DAT my uncles gave Jordan a blessing. I feel so lucky to have so many priesthood holders near us. 

That night neither of us slept. The nerves were out of control. Somehow Jordan managed to wake up with energy.

A good hardy breakfast and he was off...

I paced all morning. I was so happy to be working so I wasn’t obsessing over the test.

I have always known that Jordan would do amazing and well above average. He had taken many practice tests and passed them with flying colors. My worry was that Jordan wouldn’t be happy with his scores. He is so hard on himself. This isn’t the kind of test you take more than once so he had one shot to kill it.

 And if i’m being really honest, this test will be a major deciding factor in where we live for the next 4-10 years so yeah I was nervous. 

I decided to surprise Jordan outside the testing center with balloons and sushi. I really didn’t have any clue what time he was going to be done so I got there early. Like REALLY early. I sat there for almost two hours. (thank you to friends who kept me busy by chatting on the phone.)

I was so nervous that I ended up drinking Jordan’s diet coke too. (DC is my form of medication)

But finally Jordy boy came out grinning!

His score was INCREDIBLE. I don’t know many dental students, but his score was higher than anything I had ever heard of. 

All of his hard work paid off.

Our stress lessened so much when he got his score because it is higher than every school’s average.

It is such a good feeling knowing that he can be able to apply anywhere he wants and be a good competitor. 

I’m SO proud of Jordan. Now his application is in and its waiting time. I have no doubt that he will get into a great school and eventually be an amazing dentist. Gosh I love him. 

I just want to “publicly” thank my family and friends for being so supportive during this crazy time.

It made me so happy that they genuinely wanted to know how Jordan’s studying was going in the last few months. My grandparents called countless times wondering how he was feeling. My grandpa could talk dental school all day because he has taken the time to learn about different schools. I can’t even tell you what my phone looked like while he was testing. I had so many “well...?” texts haha! My cute cousins called and sang “congratulations to you” as soon as he was out of the test. Our “roomies” have been Jordan’s biggest cheerleaders. Its been the biggest blessing living with them during this time because they are the most supportive pople we know. Of course my parents have been amazing. My mom said she wouldn’t know what to fast and pray for once the test was over haha. They even took us to vegas as a “congratulations” gift for Jordan. 

 I love that my family loves and supports Jordan as much as I do. I will always remember the love they gave Jordan during this time. I know he needed it and appreciated it so much. 

So thanks fam!