next stop, VEGAS please.

i should warn you now, this is really long. i just couldn't take stuff out. i want you to have the full effect of the vegas.

about a month ago, i learned that the all american rejects were playing in the vegas on july 3, leaving us to party it up in the vegas on the fourth (yes, we call it "the vegas"). since my friend bethanie and i were trying fit in a trip there this summer, we were stoked. after reactions from parents however, we kind of just let it go. then on wednesday (july 1), we just decided, why not? by the time we decided that we could do it and once we got our parents to agree, we had just over 24 hours to put together our 3 day trip. after a lot of phone calls/texts and even more stress, we figured it out. we didn't actually have a confirmed place to stay until about 11 on thursday and we left friday morning. hence the stress. BUT, we went and we loved it. our friend ashley came with us and it was seriously so fun. i think the most common phrase used was "i love the vegas!" the traffic on friday was no good. my dad wanted us to drive thru flagstaff to get there, which was okay except it took us over 4 hours just to get to flagstaff. YEAH, it was ridiculous. after that the traffic was normal. and then it started raining. at first it wasn't bad, but then it started pouring and i literally couldn't see the hood of the car. we pulled over twice and just sat hoping it would light up and it really didn't. we finally said a prayer (seriously, i've NEVER seen rain like that. i was scared to drive) and it became light enough for us to feel comfortable driving in. then later, there was a truck with a motor home attached to the back. we were about a half mile behind it when we noticed the motor home swinging back and forth. it wasn't bad, but we thought it was weird that the guy wasn't pulling over. about 2 minutes later it was swerving so bad it was going over both lanes and came extremely close to hitting the car next to it. if that car hadn't been paying attention and slammed on its brakes, the thing would have hit him. we had to slow way down for that and thankfully the guy finally pulled over. it was scary. i really wanted to get a picture or video of it but i was preoccupied with terror. after all that and with 6 stops (including when we pulled over because of the rain) it took us NINE hours to get to the vegas. yes, 9. needless to say, we took the normal way home :)

we got there so late that we had to get ready and eat really fast to make it to the concert. the show was at mandalay bay (if anyone has been there) but it was outside, something we were not aware of. they have a little wave pool/fake beach with sand and everything. they put the stage in the middle of the pool, but since we were all wearing jeans, we just stood at the edge of the sand. of all the shows i've been to (and i've been quite a few because i love it), it was probably one of the best. i don't know if it was because it was outside in the fake beach or because it was the vegas, but it was the most fun i've had at a show. the lead singer was so funny to watch. he would just dance and it was hilarious. my favorite time was during the song "fallin' apart" but sadly i do not have video of it. i do, however, have video of part of "gives you hell." you have to watch the whole thing to see the funny part.

seriously entertaining. we kept looking at each other and laughing and saying "i love him" because he was just good. the whole thing was amazing. i wish they would have played longer though, they only played for just over an hour. it was so worth it though.me, ashley and bethanie just before we left for the show

our feet in the sand at the fake beach.

happy!

he used two microphones for a couple songs. it sounded sweet.







yes, he had his shirt off the whole time.
yes, we enjoyed that.
yes, we (bethanie and i) have found our new obsession.

saturday we woke up and headed to the strip. we walked around the mall for a while and walked through the venetian. that place is amazing. if you ever go to the vegas, the venetian is a must see. its gorgeous. friday night we stayed at someone's house, but saturday we had a hotel. we left to go check in and freshen up. we went to dinner and watched fireworks sitting on a wall next to our hotel. that was cool because we could see the whole strip so we watched about 10 different fireworks shows at once. then we headed back to the strip. there were SO many people. we didn't take many pictures that time because we couldn't really stop, and we didn't want to make one person stand too far away from the other two, and no way was i trusting any of those people with my camera. our rule was to never separate, no matter what. we walked through the bellagio and that is really cool too. the water show there is awesome. we really wanted to go to caesars palace and the forum shops but when we walked up the fire alarm was going off so we voted against that. sunday we woke up and just drove home.waiting to get on the tram to take us from treasure island to the mirage.

on the tram.

me & ashley at some fountain.

wax version of michael jackson.

blue man group. we tried to copy the faces. i failed.

we think we're funny :)

yeah, they were getting married.

that was a real person. it freaked me out.

me & ashley and the umbrella room in the venetian.

me & bethanie at treasure island.

fashion show in the middle of the mall.

they were fighting over that spot on the bed. i, being the good friend that i am, took pictures.

our elevator had a mirror for a ceiling. a picture was necessary.

on the wall watching the fireworks.

me & ashley

me & bethanie

the trip was amazing and i loved that it was a last minute, "hey, let's go to the vegas this weekend." the AAR show rocked and i recommend their new cd to any and all. i will say i was shocked at the amount of people that had kids with them on saturday night. it was 11 at night and there were kids everywhere on the strip. i thought that was weird. the vegas is dirty and a little scary, but the hotels are beautiful. the only bummer thing is we were booked to stay at the bellagio, but since none of us were 21 we couldn't stay there. since every hotel has a casino in it, the person checking into the room has to be 21. bummer deal. it was a blast. we're hoping to go back to another show at mandalay bay. don't know when, but we'll be going because we love the vegas!