10 Awesome Years

We're back! And we had the best weekend ever! So, here's the whole story. We had originally planned to go to Mesquite to visit my parents over UEA weekend. We planned on hiking in the desert and going to Hoover Dam. But then, I was surprised with tickets to Mama Mia at the Mandalay Bay and our plans changed! We left here on Thursday and drove to Mesquite, stopping at Cove Fort along the way (which is way cool.) We got to my parent's house late Thursday evening. The next day, Friday, we kept our promise to the kids and went hiking in the Valley of Fire. I love that place and Doug had never been there, so of course we had to go! That night we had a weeny roast at my parent's house with my cousin Joseph and his wife, Andrea. They brought their new baby who has more hair than I do and he's only 3 days old!

Then on Saturday Doug and I got all gussied up and went to Vegas!! Most everyone knows that I have anxiety issues when I'm away from my kids. I don't really like leaving them, but I have to admit that it was soooooooooooooooooo wonderful to be alone with my husband! We arrived at Mandalay Bay a little early and wandered around. I gambled a little and won $11. I felt dirty in a good way.... Anyway, then I discovered how poor folk like us could afford a show in Vegas. Apparently my father, now a shady Nevada resident, had made a new "connection" with the Mandalay Bay Theater manager. Here's how it went down, we had to go to a certain spot at a certain time to call a certain number and say a certain thing. We were then given directions to go to a certain door at the theater and ask for a certain person who led us to the theater manager who told us to go through a certain door at a certain time to find him. Doug even gave him one of those suave handshakes that resulted in a huge tip for the manager..... Anyway, all the cloak and dagger shannanigans resulted in VIP BOX SEATS! We not only got to see a show in Vegas but we got to do it in style! It was awesome to sip our $100 diet sodas while we watched the show. And let me tell you, it was sooooooooooo much better than the movie. The singing was amazing and it was completely hilarious. My anti-musical husband even loved it!

I'll spare everyone a description of the rest of the evening but let me assure you that it was the best anniversary ever! I love my husband so much, more than I did 10 years ago. It's amazing how much he's become a part of me, he's in everything I think and do. He's what I breathe and dream. I never thought, in all my messed up formative years, that I would deserve what I've found in Doug. We've been through some tough times and some hard things, but we've learned to grow together and now whatever crazy things come our way, we're able to deal with them together. And of course, I love him more and more for giving me my beautiful children.

Ok. I'm appalled at my cheesiness so I'll stop. To sum it all up, we had an awesome weekend.

Thank you to my parents who played with my kids while we were in Vegas! And thanks to the Cox's for lending us the car top carrier so I could pack a variety of wardrobe choices!