My Future Mother-In-Law

I apologize for my recent hiatus, but I will defend myself by saying that I wasn't just ignoring you; I was spending lots of quality time with my future mother-in-law. She lives is New Jersey and had never traveled further west than Ohio. Plus, she hadn't been on an airplane in about ten years, so she got to learn all sorts of new rules and regulations! Anyway, it was a blast having her stay with us for almost a week and I hope that this becomes an annual trip because I loved seeing Jersey and her mom so happy. Actually, we're hoping that once Jersey's sister graduates from her East Coast University, we can convince both mom and sister to move out here. :)

FMIL (hmm, she needs a better name than that) arrived last Wednesday night and, with the time difference, it was late for her and definitely bedtime. We did, however, get to introduce her to Max, give her a tour of our home, and show off Jersey's ring.

I had to work on Thursday, at least for most of the day, so Jersey took FMIL to see the Hoover Dam (and they went into Arizona, so that FMIL got to "visit" two states on this trip!). They also drove past the juvenile detention center so that she could see where Jersey works, even though they couldn't actually go inside for security reasons. I left work a little bit early and the three of us went to a bar for happy hour and the Browns/Broncos game.

Fortunately, on Friday I didn't have a ton of work to do, so I wrapped everything up in a couple of hours while Jersey and FMIL took Max to his first vet appointment (well, first with us anyway). He was exceptionally well-behaved and they even brought him into my office for a quick visit with my coworkers. Oh, and they brought three dozen Krispy Kremes. Mmmm. After leaving work, we drove down to the Strip and walked. A lot. No, really, a LOT. It was awesome doing that with someone who hadn't ever been to the Strip...I get pretty blah about the whole thing, just because it's so accessible to me. Jersey and I also took FMIL to the restaurant at which we used to work (where we met...awwww) and found out some personally funny news...my ex, Goodfella (yes, he's male...I will do a past relationship blog post at some point to clarify a few things), has a new baby. Very interesting timing given when we broke up. Anyway, he has no idea that I know about the baby, though he's an idiot for telling so many people and thinking that I wouldn't find out. Tonight, Jersey and I are having drinks with him because he wants to toast our engagement. I plan to surprise him with a toast to his child. The look on his face will be priceless. Yes, I'm a tiny bit evil.

Saturday, Jersey had to work at her other job (at a local bar), so I spent the day with FMIL. I was admittedly nervous, worried about the possibility of staring at each other for hours with nothing to say. Everything went great, though! I took her on a drive through Red Rock Canyon and then we went out to Lake Las Vegas, which is a man-made oasis with a small village of shops and restaurants around it. The weather was warm for November, so we really enjoyed walking around outside and getting to know more about each other. Eventually, we headed home to rest up before Jersey got back from work.

Later that evening, the three of us met up with my mom at a new(ish) place that has become quite a Vegas hotspot. It's an outdoor shopping center with a huge movie theater and lots of phenomenal restaurants and it has become our "go-to" place to take visitors. Jersey and I were both a little scared about having our moms bond over dinner, but that went as well as everything else. Seriously, if our families get along (and, really, there's no reason they shouldn't) it just makes things so much more pleasant.

Sunday I wasn't feeling too great, so I took it pretty easy. We did go look at some model homes in one of the huge new-home communities here, which I always love to do. I give the sales agents my business card and talk shop...then they leave me alone so we can tour ourselves. Perk of my job, I suppose. Anyway, FMIL fell in love with one home and took the brochures back to Jersey with her; Jersey and I revisited the home we hope to purchase a few years down the road, once it becomes a resale. After we got home, I rested in bed and did some work on my laptop while they went back to the Strip to see a few things that we had missed on Friday.

Monday was FMIL's last full day in town, but we took it pretty easy. I went to work, they went back to Red Rock Canyon and then briefly checked out Downtown, and then we did one last yummy dinner together. We were all pretty worn out by then, so it was an early night.

Tuesday morning, we got up and took FMIL to the airport. She was sad to leave, but Jersey will be going back east next month to visit before the holidays. Oh, and FMIL said that she got lots of pictures of Max and just a couple of us, which I figure is a good indicator of what it will be like when we have children! Anyway, she had a safe flight home, we settled down in the quiet, and everything is back to our normal routine.