Leaving Las Vegas and Arriving in Sedona

We had to change hotels for our last night in Vegas and there didn't seem to be much available that didn't cost a fortune. We finally went to our old buddy priceline and got a good deal, even though it was at the Trump. Rich and I are not big fans of The Donald, but what the heck, if he is willing to give us the best deal, I guess we will take it. Not to mention the fact that you can't back out once you've clicked "buy my room" on priceline. Begrudgingly, I have to admit that the people at Trump's were the most friendly, welcoming and service oriented of just about any place we've ever stayed. I give his company big credit for training people in customer service, something that seems to be lacking everywhere we go (Do I sound like an old lady? Sorry, but it is one of my pet peeves when people can't even be polite). The room was pretty fabulous (yes, I know, I do feel guilty after my entry about the homeless population). There was even a little TV built into the bathroom mirror. I mean, really, how much TV do we need to watch?? Even while we are brushing our teeth?! The room was actually a mini suite so we had a sitting area and a kitchenette as well. I actually wanted to stay longer. :) There wasn't a casino there, either, which tickled me to no end since I did not have to deal with all the cigarette smoke. We were right across the street from a major mall which was having "day after Christmas" sales so we could not pass that up, of course. Did a little shopping, had some dinner, and finished off our Vegas stay by attending the Cirque du Soleil production of "Love," based on songs by the Beatles. What a trip back through our lives that was! Everything you've ever heard about Cirque du Soleil is true--the performers were fantastic, the sets and costumes and special effects were amazing, and the music just topped it all off. At one point, we were a part of the show with a huge white canopy pulled up over most of the audience--very cool. The ushers were dressed like "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid" and "Sgt. Pepper." The songs came to life with recognizable figures, strange interpretations, or surreal, seemingly unconnected scenes that somehow worked anyway. Everyone seemed to leave in a happy mood--full of peace and love and singing songs. :) I highly recommend it if you ever have a chance to go.

Yesterday morning, we headed back to the airport for our flight to Phoenix. Meanwhile Bonnie and Dave had already left Amarillo and Sarah, Miles, Elle, Susan, Aidan and Ally were flying out of Dallas. The Dallas group had delays so we finally all met at the Phoenix airport mid- afternoon. Next, we had the ordeal of hauling luggage for 10 people and baby paraphernalia on the rental car shuttle and waiting forever to get the rental cars worked out. Most of us were starving so we stopped to eat before even getting out of town. Finally on the road to Sedona at 6 and all was well, though we were one tired family. When we arrived in Sedona, we found that there was huge road construction going on all through town, which made it a bit difficult to navigate and to find the property rental business where we had to pick up the keys to the house we rented. Wouldn't you think folks would have clued us in??! It was a little annoying and we felt completely lost a few times but eventually found the house where we are staying for a week. It is gorgeous, backs up to a creek, and has plenty of space for our big group. Rich and I made a grocery run late last night and we have mostly taken it easy today. The kids went for a drive to check things out while Gigi and Grandpa Rich babysat the grandkids. Rich is fixing us a nice dinner tonight and we are just enjoying having everyone together (except son in law Corey who had to work and couldn't come). It's wonderful to see the kids and grandkids and be able to spread out all over the house instead of being in hotel rooms. We love this house rental thing!

We're having trouble with our memory card so will get some photos up as soon as we can.