mariah carey lives {VEGAS}

{paige, me, aj, & jackie}

...

16 things i learned 

in vegas:

1. go go dancers are the same thing as strippers,

no matter what Caesar's palace and jackie say.

2. staying up until 3am every night IS actually possible at the age of almost 31,

just as long as you don't have to wake up with three children at 7am.

3. sleeping until 10am IS actually possible, even when you're not a teenager.

especially after you've stayed up until 3am.

i know, it surprised me too.

4. looking at old pictures from high just might make a lady pee her pants.

what, it wasn't me.

5. also, you might be horrified at some of the things you did in high school.

ehem.

6. good friends 15 years ago=out of the ball park amazing friends STILL 15 years later:)

7. paige sample hutcherson is by far the best story teller on the face of the planet.

especially in a hot tub.

no bubbles, too loud.

8. beaver, utah has the nicest gas station bathrooms of all time.

also, you can buy fried liver and gizzards.

we did not.

and you can take a picture with a beaver.

and buy your friends bumper stickers they might like.

9. imitation is the best form of flattery.

we love you shania.

also, paige is a sexy horse.

10. there is a $1,000 ice cream sundae at serendipity 3 on the strip.

i can think of 5 billion other things i'd rather spend $1,000 on.

11. it's still just as fun to take pictures in front of stupid stuff as it was in high school.

we looked through about a million pictures 

of us doing the same thing as we did in this picture below back when we were in high school.

neigh horsie.

you're still the one.

12. red rock canyon is just about the most beautiful place i never knew existed,

AND it showed everyone what a big wimp i am.

also, that i'm a worrier.

and jackie has no fear of death.

aj doesn't either.

i was a nervous wreck for parts of it.

and where was my ladder anyway???

13. paige is a slammin' yoga teacher.

and the one where you lay down flat out on your back 

in the middle of red rock canyon

was my favorite.

14. also, i breathe in deep,

and sometimes i breathe out shallow.

dang it.

i vow to focus on more even breathes yogi paige.

scout's honor.

whatev's!

15. never reheat your pizza in a microwave ever again.

EVER!

broil high.

5 minutes.

do this after you've cooked it the first time too.

LIFE CHANGING!!!

16. and last, 

but certainly NOT LEAST...

after almost 10 years, 

and what i thought would be lost forever!!!

i am pleased to announce that...

wait for it...

.

.

.

.

wait for it...

.

.

.

.

wait foooooorrrrrr iiiiiitttttttt.......

.

.

.

my california accent is baaaaaaaaaack!

what once was lost.

has now been found.

GLORY BE!!!

it's like coming home again:)

{i give it a week. sigh.}

{thank you ladies. it was just like riding a bike.}

VEGAS OR BUST.

{in the mini van.}

{b/c less money in the tank means more money in the wallet.}

 p.s. 

mariah carey lives. 

her name is also paige.

BEHOLD...

{the end.}

pink sunsets too {running down north temple in heels}

we were late.

like we were waiting in traffic in the parking garage at 5:40pm.

and you're supposed to be in your seats 2 blocks away 10 minutes ago.

and in utah, 2 blocks away means 2 football fields away.

i kid you not.

so they tell you that you have to be there a half an hour early on your ticket.

5:30pm it says.

or you might lose your seat.

except you're sitting in traffic everywhere b/c everyone else is late too.

because really, when you're gathering 21,000 women in one place 

to something that is going to start on time no matter what,

because it's being broadcast live,

you have to tell them a time to be early.

us women.

except i'm thinking that they should tell us to be there an hour early,

because then maybe more of us would have been there by the time it started.

except we'd probably all STILL just be squeaking in during the open song.

it was amazing to watching the empty seats around us and on the sides fill in,

and in,

and in,

and in,

like dominos falling into red cushion seats.

except women.

so picture my 67 year old mother and i,

running up 200 south and then down north temple,

in heels.

not high ones, 

think kitten ones, 

because we KNEW we wouldn't want anything higher than that.

and the women were all flocking

toward the conference center 

by 

the 

thousands!

and everyone was smiling and laughing.

chatting with their friends,

their moms,

their whatevers.

and my mom and i just couldn't stop giggling.

wishing that we would have just gone to our designated parking area from the start,

instead of trying to go to the $5 lot across the street from the conference center,

which turned out to be handicap only.

it's been awhile since i've been down to temple square during conference time.

you forget how packed it gets.

so a half an hour's worth of traffic later we are finally parked in our designated parking area,

and we're running in heels,

and my mom was all,

"don't forget your mother is 67 and doing this!"

and i was all,

"do you need to stop? are you ok?"

and she was like,

"oh no, i'm good! just don't forget 

that i can do this and i'm 67! 

i feel like i'm in vietnam. this is great!"

and then we talking about how if we were good rule followers 

who went to their assigned parking spots in the first place,

we wouldn't be having nearly as much fun.

then once we got there,

we found friends in the line behind us,

because out of 21,000 women,

in small town utah,

you're guaranteed to see at least 3 of your neighbors

when you go downtown for conference.

really, i saw 3 of my neighbors.

not planned, not looking for them, just ran into them.

small. town. salt lake city.

coming from a small california beach town,

it never ceases to amaze me,

how everyone knows everyone here,

and you see them everywhere.

sometimes it's freaky.

so one of the ushers escorted us to the shortest line through a side door,

they checked our bags,

we went through the metal detector,

and for half a second i was scared.

to be at a large publicized church gathering.

because our world is just different now.

different than it was ten years ago,

the last time i went to something at the conference center.

but then we got inside,

and the opening song was going,

and all of the women were still filing in by the thousands,

and it was just amazing.

because i promise you,

you've never seen a bigger girl's night out than the general relief society conference.

one of my favorite nights of the entire year.

longer lines than disneyland.

and then when it was over,

we took our time walking back to our car,

and sat in traffic again for another hour,

b/c we forgot that it's smarter to eat downtown after.

so we sat in the car,

and talked about the themes of the talks,

how much we loved the talks,

how lucky we were to hear the prophet speak,

and then we ate chinese food at 9:30pm at night,

in a restaurant full of women 

in their church dresses 

and heels.

and we talked about how it's just so wonderful

to 

live 

in 

utah.

pink sunsets too.

last saturday night {chase the charm}

the first saturday night in october {and april} is a state wide girl's night out in utah.

all of the men go to a church meeting that night,

leaving all of the women to themselves.

rather than staying at home to put the kids to bed by myself,

i called a babysitter,

brought my boyfriend baby man chase ray with me,

and met up with my mother in law and two sister in laws for dinner.

as we were enjoying our chicken BLT's, seared salmon, artichoke dip, and sweet potatoes fries, 

i all of a sudden got a wiff of chase.

just as i went for a diaper under the table, 

i saw the horrifying sight of what we have fondly come to refer to as,

"NOT sweet potatoes."

yep,

that's right folks.

it happened again.

AGAIN.

for the third time.

and let me tell you,

in this case,

the third time was NOT a charmer.

however,

in a restaurant filled with all women and baby carriages, 

it was nothing more than a 

"push up your sleeves and give your baby a bath in the sink" 

kind of event.

natalie and i calmly walked ourselves into the family bathroom and got to work.

while ashlie and valerie waited with our food and fed 2 week old baby ellie at the table.

we had chase all cleaned up in a jiffy,

carseat washed,

and all sink and changing table areas sanitized in under thirty minutes.

with NOT ONE DROP of poo on either of us.

christmas miracle!!!

we then politely told the workers that there was a really stinky diaper in the trash can,

and they might like to empty it.

b/c we're polite like that.

have mercy.

then we went back to our dinner until the men in white shirts and ties started flooding the restaurant.

our cue that priesthood meeting was out.

so being our sneaky selves that didn't want to go home to kids that they babysitters had not put to sleep yet,

we casually called our men and requested that after they ordered and ate their ice cream,

"would they kindly order us some and bring it home?"

they of course said yes,

and we hung up with smirks on our faces,

driving to crash their man party.

only in utah on the first saturday night in october {and april} AFTER 8pm, 

will you find a restaurant PACKED with men in white shirts and ties.

no women to be found!

so we waltzed into that ice cream shop,

the only 4 ladies in the joint.

2 baby car seats in tow.

and our men looked like smiling deer in head lights.

then we ate their ice cream,

and sampled bites of their burgers and rueben's before we ordered our own.

which we of course shared with them as well.

complete with the best brewed root beer my taste buds have ever fancied.

with two babies asleep,

and men on our arms,

we were the luckiest ladies in all of utah.

last saturday night:)

{i am sad to report i have no pictures of bill OR val being there. TRAGIC!}