Over Christmas, we decided we were going to take a family vacation. Butch is an avid outdoorsman, so he suggested we venture out west. We divided the planning responsibilities up among us, and before we knew it, we were on a plane for Las Vegas, NV.
Actually, first my mom, Maggie, and I went to see Wicked in Durham. I gave them tickets to see it for Christmas. It was really fantastic!
Billy and I were the last ones to arrive in Vegas, and by the time we met up with Butch, Mom, Chelsea, Maggie, and Seth, not only were we five Bloody Marys deep, but they had already had quite an adventure with the rental cars. After noting I will not travel without compression socks or while indulging in alcoholic beverages again (my ankles were the size of my knee), we took off for the
Hoover Dam. So impressive.
From there we continued the drive to the Grand Canyon and woke up the next morning in time to enjoy the sunrise over the canyon before setting off on our hike.
Hiking the Grand Canyon
Billz looking out into the canyon
After the Grand Canyon we continued our journey up to
Zion National Park where we had rented a home for the next four days. Unfortunately, the rain that Spring had flooded the
narrows, so we had to replan our next couple of days. Luckily we were able to still get in the hike to
Angel's Landing. Angel's landing is and most likely will always be one of the greatest things I have ever done. I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into that morning when Butch told us it was on the agenda. We started the hike just as we had any other day, gradually making our way up a beautiful path in an incredible canyon. We hiked for about an hour when Butch said, "Christi, you should stop here." Still, I thought nothing of it because my mom gets out of breath easily and she has an extreme fear of heights. We started climbing around rock, and all of the sudden I looked down and realized I was on the side of a 500 ft. cliff! I have never really been scared in my life, but at that moment fear hit me out of nowhere and there was no way in hell I was looking down again. A few people turned around at this point. After about 45 minutes more of climbing, we thankfully hit a plateau. I honestly thought we had reached the top until Butch pointed up and asked if we were ready to go. After getting smacked in the face with extreme vertigo, this is what Butch was pointing at:
Yes, we were going to continuing climbing to the very top.... and we did... and it was the most amazing thing I have ever done.
Angel's Landing from afar 
Angel's Landing - WE DID IT! - My Billz almost died.
Angel's Landing
Angel's Landing
I forgot to mention that our home that we rented was SUPER. We all had our own bedroom, and there was a firepit and hot tub! Naturally, no hard hiking day is complete without a night cap in the hot tub.
Hottubbing it
Hoodoos in Bryce
Following a day in Bryce, we woke up the next morning to about 4-5 inches of SNOW on the ground! This is two days after we sweated ourselves to death climbing Angel's landing. As typical North Carolinians, we pulled out the board games and cards and prepared for a day indoors, when lo and behold the sun came out and melted all of the snow. So, we hit the road to northern Utah for a day with my cousins (the Oldhams) in Payson. When you don't see your family for so long (it had been almost ten years since I had seen most of them), you forget how great it is to be with them. We didn't get to see Jed or Spencer, but vivacious Katie was still just as full of authenticity and energy and FUN as I remembered her. Although she is married and has a little baby of her own now. Audrey, who I am pretty sure could easily be my sister instead of cousin, had every bit of beauty and laughter as she had before. Will was no longer the sweet, skinny boy, that I thought I had to look out for, but he had grown into a strong, handsome man that could do things on a motorbike that I thought only the professionals did. Harrison and Burke were practically babies when I had seen them last, and yet now Harrison proudly showed Billy his guns and was a true cowboy. Despite growing a foot, Burke had probably changed the least. He was still just as rambunctious as ever, and I absolutely adore it. We got to catch up with Meghan briefly in Las Vegas a few days later, and despite two young children, she really had not changed much. We got to go horseback riding with them (almost as scary as Angel's Landing... there was no walking or trotting going on here), motorbiking, four wheeling, horse and cow feeding, and more. We ended the day with a big dinner with most of the food coming directly from their farm... even the butter we helped make out of goat's milk!
Horseback Riding (with the Oldhams!) 
Billy - with cast - motorbiking
Eating an AMAZING meal with the Oldhams
The final leg of this tour took us back to Las Vegas! We stayed in NY, NY, and went to see Ka (cirque du soleil) in MGM. Overall, best vacation EVER!
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
Vegas
