Girls' Weekend 2014

This past weekend was the start of a new tradition in the Hall family - Girls' Weekend. It just so happened that Amber and Lindsey didn't have school on Friday because of UEA and Saturday just happened to be Lindsey's 20th birthda, so my mom spearheaded a plan to all get together and have one heck of a time. Brooke joined us all in a Vegas weekend that will not soon be forgotten.

Thursday, Brooke flew in with her daughter, Ellie. We got some lunch, gave the babies (and, ok, maybe the mommies) a nap, and went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. The kids got to have a cousin bath and we just generally had a really fun time hanging out and talking. That same day, my mom picked up Lindsey and Amber and they went to BYU's Homecoming Spectacular. Danny is in Men's Chorus and had a solo (which was freaking fantastic, by the way), so they went to see him in that.

Cousin lunch at Cafe Rio

These aquarium pictures always kill me, but I always end up buying them anyway.

Pretend cousin dinner was pretty much hilarious and adorable.

Bathtime!

Ellie explaining to DJ how his toys work.

The next day, Mom, Amber, and Lindsey drove down to Vegas. While we were waiting for them, Brooke and I took the kids to see the lion habitat. It's really cool, and I've talked about it in a previous post, but this time was cool in that we got to see lots of lions eating, including one behind a glass wall that put us a foot from one of the cat's faces. It was SO COOL. Those animals are huge and it was really neat to get to stare into his eyes. They also had a 3 week old cub, and she was just the sweetest looking thing you've ever seen.

Look out for that lion, Ellie!

If the glass wasn't there, DJ would have gotten lost in Bentley the Lion's mane.

The kids loved the kitty (baby lion).

Well, once we got everyone in town, we hung out a bit, got ready for the evening, and Deg graciously babysat the kids while we went downtown for dinner and a show. (Don't worry - he ordered pizza, watched a movie, and put the kids through the tub, which both of them like, so they had a great time while we were gone.) We went downtown to the Mirage where we ate dinner (they had a California Pizza Kitchen in the hotel so we had pizza and salad) and went to see Terry Fator. He won America's Got Talent by being both a ventriloquist and an impersonator. It was pretty dang funny and we enjoyed being together. Then we got some fro-yo after and came home and crashed.

Terry Fator souvenir pic.

Brooke, me and Amber - sister selfie #1

Lindsey and me - sister selfie #2

All of us on the tram back to the parking garage - sister selfie #3

The next day, we all got up, hung out, and then got ready to do some shopping. We hit up TJ Maxx because we are all Maxinistas, but then went downtown to the outlet mall. My dad is a sweetheart and put together a little bundle of money for each of the girls so that we'd have some cash to spend while shopping since he knew that would be inevitable. What a nice guy - seriously. So we all had a really good time spending money guilt-free on some stuff we really liked. Then we came home, sang Happy Birthday to Linsey, ate her giant cinnamon roll cake (and some dinner, too), and put the kids to bed. Then we played card games late into the night and were laughing so hard that, at one point, Lindsey spit Diet Dr. Pepper all over the table.

Maxxinistas!

DJ - our knight in shining armor

We had air mattresses all over the place.

Lindsey and her new boyfriend

Ellie as a knight

Lindsey can't contain herself or the soda in her mouth.

DJ was in a mood, so we put him on the table and he danced for us. When in Vegas, right?

Happy birthday, Winsey!

The next morning, Brooke had to be to the airport by 6:30, so I ran her out there and came back and made pancakes and eggs for my mom, Amber, and Lindsey, and had them up, fed, and out the door by 8:30 so they could drive 6 hours to Provo, then another 2 to Logan, then another 2 to Idaho Falls. What a drive for my mom!

It's over... Boo!

We all decided that this will pretty much have to be a yearly thing. We had so much fun together just hanging out, and the shopping and show were icing on the cake that was our glorious weekend. Because we're all at different ages, locations, and stages of our lives, we don't get to spend as much time together as any of us would like, and when we do, it tends to be with everyone, so it was really great to spend some time with just the girls. Huge props to everyone for coming, to Dad for funding the weekend, and to Deg for being the baby whisperer for us all weekend long. Girls, I miss you already!