More of the same

Like I said in my last post, Phil and I were gearing up for the Las Vegas U2 concert. In a nutshell, it was more of the same, but wonderful too...full story below.

Thursday started with an early wake up call, packing of the car, driving to my parents house, more packing and loading of cars and driving, more driving, and then a little more driving...

My mom and I decided to drive to St. George separately from the boys so that we could take a side trip to Richfield, a small town somewhat on the way to St. George. We loaded Natalie in the car and went on our way. It normally takes about 4 hours to drive to St. George, for us, it took about 9 hours! We made a few stops along the way - to give Natalie a break, to play on the swings, to slide down a few slides, to hit an antique store, to grab some Wendy's, to visit my grandparents gravestones. It was a very special day for three lucky girls! We finished off the drive by a stop at the Walmart in St. George - Natalie loves people watching and man oh man are there some interesting people to watch at that store.

Friday morning, Natalie, my mom and I hit the hotel pool. Afterwards Natalie took a nap and I packed up the hotel room, when the boys returned from golf, we went to lunch and started the drive to Vegas. We stayed very close to the concert venue on Friday night - which was great because we were able to walk to and from the concert. We caught the last song of the Black Eyed Peas and while waiting in the crowd decided to try and sneak into the 'inner circle' - which is where we were for the concert in Phoenix (basically this means you are closer to the stage). Well, using my wonderful skills, I convinced the guard at the "door" to the allow us in. After some prodding he allowed us back (YIPPEE)! It was packed (clearly because the guy at the door wasn't just letting us in, he was letting everyone who asked in). We were close to the same spot we were for Phoenix and enjoyed a big chunk of the show from there. We then decided to move to the back of the GA area and take in the view. It was a blast of fun! We walked the long walk back to the hotel on a U2 high.

The next day we drove Phil and my dad to the Boulder golf course and then packed up the hotel room and prepared to move to the Excalibur hotel for the last night in Vegas. This was the cheapest room we could find on short notice (I failed to reserve a room early); but I don't recommend it. What I recommend is staying at the Mandalay Bay (which is where my brother stayed). The rooms are wonderful and while walking the mile back to my room made me wish that I had paid the extra $250 to stay there (almost).

Saturday night we took turns walking to the Mandalay Bay to watch my brother and his band play. Natalie fell asleep in her bath and didn't wake up until I was at my brothers show, which meant I got a call from Phil with Natalie screaming in background, so I ran (with my mom and dad) the mile back to our hotel room, only to find Natalie and Phil peacefully sleeping...

We woke up early Sunday morning and made the drive home. It was a fantastic trip, made all the better by the time we spent with family (it is nice to have a husband who likes to be around your family!). Natalie was a dream baby the entire time; never fussed when we kept her in the car or didn't let her have a designated nap, stayed up late and most of the time woke up late too! Glad we are home, now we can start getting ready for the cruise.