So I received a special visitor at the door out of the blue a couple weeks ago... the flower delivery lady. Everyone always loves to see her- what a job that would be! Todd had sent me flowers and with them was a note he had typed that said how much he regretted not whisking me away on a honeymoon 10 years ago and how he was making it up to me for our 10-year anniversary. He also included a clue for our destination:
"I'm the Luckiest man in the world to have you as my best friend and lover forever! So why not go where the luckiest people go? Just relax and let life be, because where we are going will be aMUSEing, and will be a place to reflect back on how we have "won big" in the game of life when a girl and a boy took a chance on each other."
At the beginning of the year I begged and begged Todd to splurge and go to Portland or Seattle for a weekend to be able to attend a Muse concert. (One of my all-time favorite bands.) He is usually not so hard to persuade into having a bit of unplanned fun. But he resisted and I was pretty bummed. I looked online for other concerts after we missed those closer ones. The next one I saw was in Phoenix so I asked for that and he brushed that off too. Everything else was European or far and much more expensive to justify.
So when I got Todd's clue, I was a little confused. It looked like we'd be getting to see Muse in concert, but "where" didn't seem to really imply Phoenix. I got back online, and realized that I somehow had overlooked a Vegas concert this whole time- and he hadn't missed it :). I was so excited! Especially because it would be WARM there! His note said I had that evening and the next day to pack. So I got on the laundry and I was READY!
Life's been a little crazy lately. Crazy with my Primary calling. Crazy with the season of extracurricular activities for the kids. A lot of stressful things with Todd's work. Some discouraging and even frightening things with my health. More on that later. But it had all really worn me down. I needed a trip alone with my sweetheart. It could not have been more well-timed. And it was nice that Todd had planned it all- I didn't have to stress over anything. And I savored every minute of this week-long trip.
Disclaimer: all pics taken with a phone :(. I left my camera outside my luggage to charge the battery during the night before we left for Vegas and I forgot it!
On the plane and boarding our shuttle to the Venetian.
On the plane and boarding our shuttle to the Venetian.
The main entry hall of the Venetian. They spared no expense at this place, it was nuts!
Having lunch upon arriving.
We took a long nap afterwards. For the past 6 months I had been having horrible problems sleeping. I would lie awake until, sometimes 8:00 in the morning, more nights of the week than not. And the night before we left we both stayed up most the night in excitement and also worry of not waking up on time for a VERY early flight. Our hotel room had a remote control to shut the blinds which completely blocked out all light. It felt like night time and we slept for about 3 hours like we'd never slept before!
When we woke up, we took a taxi to a CrossFit gym- this season is a 5-week world wide competition in the CrossFit world and I had to go to an affiliate gym that day to do the particular competition workout of that week or I would be disqualified. Once a week they post a workout online to do which you film your performance and submit online or perform at a gym with a judge who works there. There is a deadline. And if you choose the route of performing it at a gym, you are at the mercy of when that gym does the workout. In Vegas, they were all doing the workout that very day. So, even exhausted, we still went and competed. It was fun, but I felt the jet lag and lack of sleep for sure, which stinks in competition.
Here we are on our way out to the CrossFit gym. Don't make fun of my socks! This is standard CrossFit uniform. Make shift gymnastics suit mixed with weight lifting (shin protecting) socks, and with pizazz for the fun of it. The guys wear MMA style shorts for the mobility slits. Trying to get Todd to wear the right socks because he does beat his legs up... For anyone not familiar, CrossFit is the combination of gymnastics, weight lifting (often Olympic which scuffs the shins pretty good), and running/jumping/swimming/biking/etc. And you push at your highest possible intensity so you get blasted hot!
Every time we went to and from our room, we had to pass this incredible looking sorbet shop on the bottom floor. Many of the flavors were made from Fruit, ice, and agave. So we caved almost every night we were there!
We slept like babies all night that first night and woke up with some energy!
This is the hotel free weights section. Kind of small. The gym, however is HUGE! But mostly machines. I can't stand machines. CrossFit has the saying, "We ARE the machines". Machines have their place- physical therapy, for instance. But the best results come from compound (multi-joint/no isolated movements) and explosive movements which free weights make the best tools for. Anyway, off my soap box...
Just about every day had some time spent at the pool.
One of the highlights of our trip was getting onto Google Plus to video conference with my family members across 2 countries and 5 states to watch my brother, Marty, open his mission call. He's going to Brazil in July!
In Vegas, Todd informed me that we would not only be going to the Muse concert, but also to Maroon 5 and a Cirque concert. And Neon Trees, Owl City, and Paramore as opening bands! We don't gamble, so one might ask why we would enjoy Vegas, but we LOVE concerts! And shopping, and warm weather, and good food. And that food WAS delicious!
Outside the Wynn where we attended La Reve, a Cirque Show.
We tried something new- mixing layers of Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiris (both virgin, obviously) in layers. It was yummy!
Their chocolate covered strawberries were in sanely huge!
It was such a neat show! We actually met one of the gymnasts in the show at the CrossFit workout we went to the day before.
We shopped the shops in our hotel afterward until things closed and then we watched a movie in our hotel room. Here we are trying on hats!
Up-do's and hats don't mix. I look bald. :/
Off to the pool, again and again and again! It was so relaxing. We were told that we came into weather with record high's for that week in Vegas. It was in the 80's every day. Seriously couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.
Posted the pic of the exit sign to further my statement of this place "sparing no expense."
Maroon 5!
Sorbet afterwards!
It was St. Patrick's Day weekend and all weekend, everyone wore tons of green. We were fortunate to not really see anything too crazy by way of partying or rough crowds or anything, being Spring Break season AND Saint Patrick's Day weekend. It was a pretty classy crowd everywhere we went the whole trip.
We did a spa/pool day. We got a couples' massage (same time same room)
and a mud spa treatment. Then went and hung out by the pool even more
relaxed than the days before. More and more green.
Found one of my favorite athletic shops for work out attire. Lululemon- a yoga/running store with clothing that is easy to move in comfortably. This place has become an instant sensation for CrossFitters in the last 2 years. I counted the other day, I have 26 of their bras. NO ONE needs that many. I'm not sure how I managed to do that before better sense could kick in and say I had enough. After working out so routinely for so long, I need different colored sports bras to mix things up and keep it exciting!!!???? Is this less wrong if I admit that I bought most of them on eBay? Before their discontinued and even used items became more expensive on eBay than new items on their actual website from huge popularity and instant demand... Seriously, though, great store. I didn't buy anything there. I promise.
Headed to the Muse concert in my green heels!
And green nails and green eye shadow... WAaaaaaayyyyy out of the norm for me. I never paint my fingernails ANY color let alone green... Brielle is rubbing off on me! :)
Can't tell from this picture, so I thought I'd clarify, the shirt is "bejeweled" with fake jewels, not spikes. Looks spiky in that image. And that is definitely NOT me :)
The coolest part of their show, beside their music of course, was their metal curtain. It had moving layers that rose and fell to create a pyramid or an upside down pyramid and to enclose the band from the start and at the end before they came back on for an encore (like a curtain). It was used as part of their light show, turned into television screens with decorations, became their giant screen to display THEM as they were performing, it was super cool. Here it is at the start coming down before they appeared inside on stage.
Here it is lifting up off the stage, unveiling the band beneath it.
My favorite song :) So fun to hear it live!!!
More green.
Grandma Lee watched my babies while we were gone. I had built up a lot of excitement for St. Patrick's Day- I posted everything I had planned to do in the last post. The reason I made thorough instructions for it in the first place, was so that my Mother-in-law could do it for me since it turned out that I would be gone. Making it so simple to follow meant it would be easy to share. So the night before we left, I posted it on my blog. Having it on my blog made it simple for her to look to if she needed more info. I'm glad it made for some mischievous fun for more people too! She did a great job playing Leprechaun that weekend. It was so much fun to have the kids tell me over the phone about all that transpired! I would have explained more about being gone and Grandma filling in, but I never mention on social media that I'm going out of town whenever Todd and I leave together and abandon the house. We've heard of too many bad stories where people did that.
Here the kids are in their St. Patrick's Day attire at Grandma's.
This part of the hotel has a ceiling painted to look like the sky. It is lit up in the day and starry at night. Here we are in the evening after dinner.
Same place, same sky ceiling the next morning when we rode the gondola boats. An incredible opera singer sings Italian numbers while paddling you along. It was so fun! For tradition, you kiss while floating under bridges (there's quite a few too- Fun!). The singer was out of this world! It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip!
Eating at the Italian restaurant after our ride.
Tried to narrow down pictures, but I think that was still almost 160. I don't like stressing too much over choosing which ones to post so I end up with too many- sorry!
It was just a dream of a trip. I slept every night there. And I have slept every night since. It was better than any therapy to be alone with my best friend for a week in a fun and stress free environment. I felt so spoiled and so special and he really outdid himself. It was amazing. I loved every minute just like I have loved being together 10 years with such a thoughtful, true, and wonderful friend. I love my sweet husband so much.
It was just a dream of a trip. I slept every night there. And I have slept every night since. It was better than any therapy to be alone with my best friend for a week in a fun and stress free environment. I felt so spoiled and so special and he really outdid himself. It was amazing. I loved every minute just like I have loved being together 10 years with such a thoughtful, true, and wonderful friend. I love my sweet husband so much.
