Reno

This week Nic had to go to Reno for work, so Sam and I decided to tag-along. We're having a great time. Breakfast buffet in the morning, cable television on a big screen (yay, Disney channel!), a maid who cleans up after us...we could really get used to this life! This is how it works: Nic has to go to work early in the morning and works all afternoon. Meanwhile, Sam and I sleep in (well, I sleep in, Sam plays and chats all morning), then we go down for breakfast and then plan our adventures for the day.
Yesterday, we took a ride on the free hotel shuttle and went to the planetarium at the University of Nevada Reno. It wasn't open yet, so Sam and I ended up exploring and hanging out on campus. Sam actually took a good two hour nap in his stroller while I had fun in the bookstore. It was kind of fun to be on a college campus and pretend to be college kids. The only problem was that I didn't plan well on Sam's outfit. In trying to keep him warm, I dressed Sam in his BYU sweatsuit to go hang out at UNR. Same colors, though, just wolves not cougars. Oops! =)
Finally, the planetarium opened, and we got to watch a video about oceans in the super dome. Sam loved the sardines swimming over our heads! Then Nic was done with work and came to find us. Then we got to hang out with daddy for the rest of the day.


The next day we mostly vegged at the hotel until Nic was done with work. Then we went and explored Carson City a little. It was fun except for it was really chilly. One of the things I love about us is that we can just go somewhere and explore and have fun. It doesn't have to be a theme park or something extravagant (though I don't mind those either). We just enjoy being together and learning about new places. When we left Carson City, Nic drove us by the 'bunny farms' to prove to me that they actually exist. I was very angered, not because Nic drove us by them but because they exist in the first place. I don't know if there are other places in the U.S. where prostitution is legal, but in this one county in Nevada, it is. I guess I just always assumed that prostitution is kind of like slavery and that we all agreed as a nation a long time ago that it is wrong. I guess I thought wrong. It makes me sad that women feel like they have to do those sorts of things to earn money. And it makes me angry that there is enough business out there to keep the industry going.

On our last day in Reno, Sam and I went downtown and hung out at the casinos. Did I mention that the shuttle driver for the hotel was super nice. The shuttle supposedly only went to a couple of places, but he took us wherever we needed to go. He even told me that if we needed to go to the store, he could take us! He was fun to talk to and told us all about Reno and how to get around town. On the first day, he dropped us off at the university campus and then worried all day about us because the weather had suddenly changed to stormy. He was just a nice person. Anyway, Sam and I mainly explored Circus Circus. When Nic finished with work, he met us there and hung out with us. The casino has a little gaming area, so we had a good time playing arcade games, and Nic even won a little lamb for Sam by popping balloons with darts. The sheep's name is Reno and is one of Sam's favorite toys right now. He always sleeps with it and loves to give it hugs and kisses. It's so cute!




After playing around at the casinos, we took a little drive up to the Reno LDS temple. It's a beautiful temple, and I like how it is separated from everything. It is up in the hills and overlooks the Reno valley. It's interesting to feel the difference of the temple up there on a hill and the casinos and everything down below.