LAS VEGAS

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THE MEADOWS : MEETING MY IN-LAWS

More commonly known as Las Vegas, the direct translation to English is the Meadows. Having not known that (and refusing to use Wikipedia to find the answer) was a topic of conversation while visiting my in-laws for the first time with my wife, Shifra.

Feelings of meeting my my Father-in-Law for the first time were mixed and confusing leading up to the trip. We had been married for over 8 months now (married September of 2014) and I had still managed never meet her father or her grandmother of whom she spoke to on a bi-weekly basis. I had met her aunt and uncle a number of times, and had met her mother within a month of us dating back in 2013.

Needless to say, I was a little nervous going into this.

We arrived at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas with a comped room and Shifra's father and grandmother waiting for us. We had dinner at the casino that night.

We started by making small talk about this and that. Eventually we moved into more serious conversation, apologizing for missing the wedding, financial issues, health problems etc. Over time we found our witty banter, talked of our favorite music, and discussed business plans to help one another out and make a reality show about his life, all of which were just testing the limits of our personalities. Everything I thought I would bring up or be nervous about slipped my mind altogether.

Over the next few days, and to my surprise, we were able to spend every night with my wife's family. We ate at Las Vegas staples, Lindo Michoacan, Komol, The Cracked Egg, Buca Di Beppo, In-N-Out (of course) and had some home amazing cooking from her aunt. I felt at home.

I can't speak more highly of Shifra's grandmother. She's quite possibly the sweetest and most thoughtful little woman on the planet, other than my own mother of course. We spent days talking and hearing about her life, talking politics, and cleaning our her closet that was filled with old pictures that my wife had left there when she lived in Vegas.

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My memories of Vegas will be different than I expected them to be. And the best part, I know my father-in-law, now.

Despite our differences, including his love for Green Day, we are now friends.

Here are some photos from a drive through the Red Rocks one afternoon of our trip.