VEGAAAAS!

So when Abigail flew in on Friday from Phoenix

(Dad and I drove Thursday)

she said there were these guys on the plane who would echo a round of:

"VEGGAAAAASSS!"

whenever anyone from the flight staff would mention Las Vegas. 

"Ladies and gentlemen we are making our ascent into Las Vegas now-"

"VEGGAAAAASSS!"

"The current temperature in Las Vegas is-"

"VEGGAAAAASSS!"

It made for a great welcome to this silly town. 

We came for the USA venue of the International Rugby Sevens Tournament. 

It was brilliant.

We had great seats and got to see South Africa, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Wales, England, Brazil, Kenya, Canada, Uruguay, France, Australia, Scotland, and the United States duke it out in rough-n-tumble 7 on 7 rugby madness. 

That guy is Samoa's Uale Mai. He's a beast. 

Samoa won the USA leg. 

Next the boys are off to Hong Kong. 

Love rugby. 

We also saw BYU....

It was like going home. 

Being on the sidelines at the BYU game was hilarious. 

There were babies, young moms talking about raising boys and feeding rugby husbands, and a wave of cougar blue. 

Here's a quick Vegas photo recap. 

 New York- New York! 

Lady Liberty is made completely out of Jelly Beans.

Dad and I also rode the roller coaster! 

The fountains at the Bellagio. 

Breathtaking little dancers, hey?

My favorite spot for... anything. Proposal, dancing, thinking. 

 

The Eiffel Tower! Or the little one in from of Paris, Las Vegas. 

We enjoyed a gorgeous moon every night! 

 

 

This beautiful shrine was in the gardens at Caesars' Palace. 

 

Meet my gigantic little brother Gabriel. 

We're all Irish'd out even though Ireland wasn't in the tournament.

 Gabe, Dad, Abigail, and I in the Bellagio after gorging on Treasure Island buffet and Cirque du Soleil. 

Did I mention we were one of the acts of Mystere? 

We walked in and were greeted by an oddly made-up usher. He led us in circles around the theater. 

Really, we were walking across everyone's laps, knocking knees and frantically apologizing as we chased after the usher, who had nabbed our tickets.

Gabe caught on early. There was a spotlight following us and people started randomly laughing when we darted past. 

Took me forever to figure out he was an act. 

After crossing a row of good-humored people he threw our tickets in the air and went off to terrorize some other poor audience members. 

It was hilarious. 

Abigail said it best - 

"I like Vegas, but it would be okay if I didn't come back again."

It's a good thing to see once.

But it is a bit... rough around the edges. 

 Take the good from it

(a TON of sushi!)

and then head back to work.

Cheers!

Sushi no ko

Sushi and I have a fabulous relationship. 

I even got a job at a sushi bar here in Scottsdale. 

I thought all my sushi dreams were coming true. 

Chat up the chefs, get tips on making sushi, eat sushi, meet other sushi lovers, and have them tip me really well for my perhaps over enthusiastic approach to the menu. 

 (That's dessert sushi. Intriguing.)

But, alas, a week in I called it quits. 

Which was a big deal for me. 

In just a thought: the workplace just wasn't good. 

The company, the employees, the bar, the atmosphere. 

Just not Brenna. 

In the least. 

To pull the religious card - it really wasn't a comfortable place for me to be. 

And I'm all about keeping that comfort with me. 

Slight battle, quick resolution. I quit. 

It couldn't have gone better - the manager was understanding 

(sounded like someone had quit for these reasons before)

and I felt like a million bucks walking out of there. 

I felt so rich in fact, that I went shopping. 

Oops. 

Two skirts later,

and I'm looking for another job.

K-pho.

No, CBS 5 isn't gangster with their call letters.

But they could be.

Easily.

Check out how cool CBS 5 Mornings are. 

This was on National Bubble Wrap Day. 

A gift to the station?

Three wheels of perfectly poppable plastic packaging.

That's Paul Horton in the bubble wrap and our meteorologist Katie Baker holding the end. 

Aren't they fab?

If you didn't know, I'm in Arizona on a news internship with CBS 5. 

I get up at 1:30am on Mondays and Fridays to work on the morning show. 

(Buuuut when I go home at 8am I usually crash for a few hours.)

I walked in on day 1 and right off the bat they asked me how they could help me further my career. 

What a group.

Wednesdays I'm dayside - shadowing everyone from photographers to reporters to assignment editors.
Their day newscasts and especially their nightly news really emphasizes investigations.
I'm not on their 5-I team. but even daily reporting reflects the station's promise to "Tell It Like It Is" and "Hold the Powerful Accountable."
It's a big change from BYU Weekly.
(Which is doing brilliantly by the way - I've been watching! byuweekly.byu.edu)

There's a short reel up on YouTube of some packages and things I've done with the station.
Nothing that's aired, but it's been great.

I plan on doing much bigger and better things, but here's the link if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2w1Nr_t-3E