Las Vegas/Diamond Jam

Jeremy attended the Diamond Jam in Las Vegas. The Diamond Jam is a convention for balloon twisters. Since it was several days long, we decided to make a family trip out of it. We took the freeway down through Southern Utah, through part of Arizona, and into Nevada.

The last time I was in Nevada was when I was an infant and I'd never been to Arizona before, so this was so exciting. It was also my first trip to Las Vegas.

Arizona felt very welcoming.

Nevada didn't feel as welcoming.

It was kind of nerve-racking driving into Las Vegas. I kept telling Jeremy, "It's just like Salt Lake. It's just like Salt Lake, only brighter." Then I realized that a better word choice is, "It's just like Salt Lake. It's just like Salt Lake, only more colorful."

So, Jeremy went to his convention and we stayed in the motel most of the time. I did not want to go out in Las Vegas with two little kids by myself. With Jeremy, we went out for a walk one day in over 100 degree weather. We walked around the block to see the Tuscany where Jeremy's convention was being held and by the time we got back to our motel, we were having a hard time. Thank goodness we brought water bottles with us.

Another night we walked the block to the strip. It was late enough and the kids were tired enough that we didn't stay out very late. We watched a couple of shows at the Bellagio fountains. Those things shoot up really high.

The Eiffel Tower was across the street.

We walked indoors around some shops. Nichole really wanted to go into the Georgio Armani store, but we thought that might not be the best idea (not in our budget for this trip), especially since as we were walking by, the men in the store escorted two young gentlemen out. That store doesn't have well dressed shopkeepers waiting to welcome you in and help you with your clothing decisions. It has well dressed bouncers waiting to escort you out if you aren't the right clientele.

I thought this would be the perfect time to give a shout out to a store in the mall here, also specializing in suits (not Armani): Mr. Mac. We've only been treated with kindness and helpfulness in that store, whether buying or not.

It's funny. Ever since I turned 21, I've been wanting to go to Las Vegas just because I can't get kicked out of anywhere. I wouldn't gamble, I wouldn't drink alcohol, but if they carded me, I'd be old enough to not get kicked out. Now that I finally made it to Las Vegas, guess what? I can get kicked out of places since I brought two little kids with me.

Jeremy had a good experience at the DJ. It was definitely worth it. He learned some new ideas and new twists to help him in the future with his twisting and his business.
He made an impression on some of the people who were there. He got to meet Larry Moss, who said he'd be interested in working with Jeremy and took his business card. Woo hoo. And if you don't know who Larry Moss is, check out this link:

http://airigami.com/large-scale-projects/world-record-feat/
Jeremy competed in a few competitions and won third place in the Diamond Seeker (a busking competition). The contestants were one by one supposed to take 5 minutes in front of an audience who were encouraged to heckle them (but not too much) and see how they could handle it. Yay for Jeremy doing well. His prize was a bag of some Betallatex balloons, a check for $50, and a crystal award. They're going to put his name on it and mail it to him, so I haven't seen it yet.

I'm glad it was a worthwhile experience. I'm so pleased with Jeremy's talents and what he's using them for. I absolutely support him going to these conventions. It was so fun to listen to him tell me about the things that went on each day when he'd come back to the motel.

We made good time coming back home. We stopped once in St. George, Utah, for gas (and a shout out to my cousins who live in that area), and stopped once at a rest area because the kids were getting a bit cranky. While at the rest area, there was a group of people who had three little dogs- a black dog, a white dog, and a green dog.

I had to do a large picture so you can see that the dog is in fact green.

Good family trip.