First up: the reason we were there in the first place! Well, the reason Derek was there. He's the guy in the white shirt, studiously preparing for his presentation on the panel. I must say, though, I was the very epitome of a helpful spouse that day at the conference; I did important things like take this photo and trail after him as we walked around all the different vendors, and while he talked about [insert technical jargon here] and [insert even more technical jargon] and [insert absurdly complicated technical jargon], I contributed by walking into stalls and saying, "Oh, this company's carpet is really squishy. Very pleasantly springy. Yes, I like this one."
I really don't know how he would have survived without me.
I took this picture in the Aria. It was a good-sized flower bed, and even though there were signs that asked you not to touch, I gently touched them anyway. How can you not touch flowers? Plus I had to confirm they were real. So much of Vegas is fake (I'll just say I'm talking about the grass and leave it at that). Oh, but those two enormous flowers in the middle aren't real. Neither is the monstrous stone hummingbird. Just so we're clear.
You may also notice that the store in the background reads "Dior." All of the stores in the Aria were ridiculously high-class (read: expensive), and most of the people walking around looked like they were headed for the Kentucky Derby, heels, hats and all. I walked around in my comfy sneakers and ponytail and quietly sang to myself, "One of these things is not like the other..."
Derek and me in front of the Venetian. Excuse me, Derek and Troy and me in front of the Venetian.
These signs were in every public bathroom I had the privilege of frequenting.
It's a depressingly accurate summary of the city.
And this is about an hour after our return.
I have no idea when Atticus got so huge. It must have been during the three days we were gone. I'm sure that's it.
