Thirteen years later, that dream came true, Garth Brooks in Las Vegas! Of course we have to go. Let’s call it a Valentine’s Date. And a birthday celebration for the twins, after all, their birthday is only a few short weeks away.
So, Jake and Liz and Joe and Marci hopped on a plane down to Vegas and the adventure began. First off, let me say, I’ve never flown to Vegas, we’ve always driven. It was awesome! You get on the plane, fasten your seatbelt, have some cran-apple juice and a quick game of Conquest with Joe, then it’s almost time to land. Very cool. We sat on the very last row and this was our view as we glided into Las Vegas.
A quick taxi ride later and we were at the Paris hotel, our final destination. Here’s the view from our window.
We had a quick dinner (mmmm, french onion soup) then went to bed. We need to be rested for our fun day tomorrow!
Bright and early, we decided to hit the gym. After discovering it would cost us $50 to use the teeny gym with a few treadmills and ellipticals, we decided to run stairs instead. Jake chose not to join us, but Joe, Liz, and I were going to get in a workout!! Brilliant!!
Not brilliant. We ran 35 flights up and down, twice. Then we felt it for the rest of the trip. It was pretty funny to watch us try to walk after that. But we must carry on.
We went to the Paris breakfast buffet. Mmmm, crepes made to order, pain au chocolat, omelets, hot chocolate, croissants, orange juice, fruit, yogurt, bacon, sausage…they had everything! It was worth the wait.
Time for some walking and shopping! Those look good on ya, Joe.
How about a little pick-me-up-mall massage? Ahhhhh…..
Maybe a snack? This pizza was one of the top two meals of our whole trip. Delicious!!
A new feature of the strip was characters dressed up. Give them a donation, and you can take a picture with them. Or do what we did and snap a quick shot as you walk by. Hey Buzz and Woody!!
Hey Storm Trooper and R2-D2!!
Some characters were cool, some were just plain creepy. 
We kept walking and walking and walking. We walked through hotels and shops and malls. We were walking through the Caesar's Palace shops and look what we saw!!
We like to look at this store anyway, but we were pleasantly surprised to find one of our favorite players of all time there signing autographs! Go Bears! He had a deal going that you had to buy one of a few specific items, he would sign it, and donate the profit to his foundation “Play Clean” – it focuses on getting kids off steroids and playing clean. Joe got a retro helmet and we stood in line.
He had quite the sales pitch going on….
Dick Butkus was such a cool guy! He spent about 5 minutes with each fan and no one felt rushed to get out of there. Joe talked to him first, then I joined him.
“To Joe, with friendship, Dick Butkus, #51, IHOF ‘79”
Jake and Liz joined us for a picture, their brother-in-law is a huge fan too!
While we were taking these pictures, I kept hearing a funny sound…like someone was passing gas. First I thought it was the chairs. Then I was afraid it was Joe. Or me? Then I felt bad because I was pretty sure it was Dick. Poor old man had no control. Then he revealed his farting machine…. we were laughing so hard!
What a cool guy! He took a picture with Jake and Liz…
I was so impressed with him, he was funny and warm and made everyone feel great. They don’t make professional athletes like that anymore. I may have been a fan before, but now I’m an admirer!
As we left, we noticed another banner just a few stores down:
Sure enough, Pete Rose was there. But there was no line, no announcer, no crowd. I did snap this picture of him, though. I can imagine what he’s saying, “Just remember son, if you’re going to cheat, make sure you don’t get caught!!”
What a stark difference between being classy (Butkus) and being remembered as a cheater (Rose). Both great athletes, but a world of difference between the two.
We went to a few more stores and worked our way back to the Paris…
We got ready for our big night and left again. Time to see Garth!!!
A few pictures on the way…our ride…
Just kidding. Our actual ride:
We have arrived at our destination. More fancy stores.
Possible future wedding reception décor idea…
The reason for this trip…
This is what we saw when we walked in. A stool, a guitar, and a water bottle. Just add Garth.
We thought our view might be obstructed, but it turned out okay…
The show was unforgettable!! Garth ran out in his baseball cap, shirt and jeans, and tennis shoes. Where’s the boots? Where’s the hat? Where’s the band? Nope, just Garth and 1200 of his biggest fans in an intimate setting. He told us about his parents. His dad loved Merle Haggard and George Jones. He talked about each decade…the 60’s when they couldn’t ever finish a song (na na na nana na na), the 70’s when they could finish a song but you never knew what they were talking about (helter skelter in a summer swelter, the birds flew off with a fallout shelter), he talked about James Taylor and how he named is daughter after him (Taylor), he talked about the 90’s, the greatest decade of music when a singer named Garth Brooks was introduced. He talked about being shown a picture of an 18-wheeler plowed into a motel and the songwriter saying, “This is a love song.” Well, they wrote it and we know it now. He talked about raising girls and trying to be a good dad. It was awesome! He’d tell a story, sing a song, then go onto the next story and song. It felt like you were hanging out with your buddy. Simply amazing!
At one point, he introduced a woman who was won more Grammys than him (he said they could never agree on that)…and out walked his wife Trisha Yearwood. She led us in singing Happy Birthday to him, I guess his birthday is next week. They sang together and you could tell they were madly in love. It was sweet.
I took some shots with my phone with no flash, so they are not great, but it had to be done.
It was such a wonderful concert! Joe said, “Today, I shook Dick Butkus’ hand, and saw Garth Brooks live in concert. I feel like we’re not living within our means.” I said, “Today we’re not!” When do you ever have a day like this? It was fantastic. 
We have time for a little snack, then it’s off to bed!
The next day, we did NOT run stairs. We just got ready, grabbed a pain au chocolat and Orangina and were on our way. As we were leaving, we noticed a camera crew and a small crowd gathered. We asked what it was about, and Randy from “Say Yes to the Dress” was on his way to do a segment at the bridal shop inside the Paris Hotel.
We decided not to wait and started walking. We saw this:
And just around the corner, we saw this:
Randy was getting his makeup put on in the front cab. But as we walked by, he leaned out and started talking to us. “Are you married?” “Oh, 13 years? Congratulations!!” “How about a vow renewal?” “Come to the Paris, the most romantic spot on the strip!” He was just darling!
We saw some neat things while we were walking.
Joe and a horse.
I think this sign said “Sweepshow” or “Jeepshow” or something like that.
Of course, we had to go to the M&M Store and the Coke Factory. The new M&M is a smart, intelligent girl! Very cute!
A glimpse of things to come…
I told the kids we’d bring home pink m&m’s…
Look at all those choices!! We picked up some magnets for the kids and two bags of M&M’s. Joe went to check out and the clerk excitedly told him he qualified with a $60 purchase to buy a dispenser for only $5!! He was shocked and said, “I’m spending $60 for a few magnets and a couple bags of skittles? I’d like to UNqualify please!” He cracks me up! Needless to say we put the magnets back…
On to the Coke Store…have a coke and a smile. 
Man-cave envy.
New York, New York
Excalibur
This Statue of Liberty was made out of Jelly Bellies…
One more massage…
Jake.
Another candy store.
Oh, it’s on!
We saw beauty. I love this picture.
And we saw sad things. HIs sign says, “Why lie, I need beer.”
And we saw naughty things. No pictures of those though.
We ate Italian, Mexican, French, Asian, and American food in our three days there.
And we had the BEST company!!
Try not to touch the doors with your hands. Just to be safe. Time to get ready for our big night out.
In a nutshell, this is what we’re headed to…
But first, we had some time to walk the shops in the Venetian. Wowza! Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Dior… high-end, ridiculously-priced stuff. And very fun to look at.
Hey Joe, you match!
Time for dinner!
My hot date.
This was a “small Buddha” next to our table. The big one was about two stories tall.
Mmmmmmmmm,
and Mmmmmmmmmm.
Yeah, those are chocolate chopsticks.
Time for the show!!
Joe was still a little sore from running stairs. Thank goodness for handrails.
Inside the theater before the show. It was spectacular! It was a little bit shorter than a full-blown production, but the quality was definitely there. I got chills during the songs, the stage-effects were magnificent, and Christine (especially) was superb.
After the show, we walked back and saw the volcano show at the Mirage and the water show at the Bellagio.
Our last night here. Thanks for the fun trip and the memories and the laughs! I love you Joe, Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Birthday!!
One more quick breakfast,
and we’re on our way home.
It’s good to go. It’s good to come home.
We were happy to see the kids and so grateful to my parents for watching them. I know they made it fun for the kids because as I was tucking in the boys for the first time in three days, Beau told me he loved me then asked when they could go back to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house. I love knowing that they had as much fun as we did. Thanks Mom and Dad!!
