Claire - ified

Claire's blessing day in Orem, UT.















Casey & Suzy and Claire are visiting with Casey's family in Orem this week.
Next week Suzy and Claire will spend a week in Farmington. Kevin and family will be coming up too!


Claire smiles!

Las Vegas and Cheap Hotel Rooms

This all started when I got an email offering a great rate at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas. Since we were going to Lake Havasu for the Half Marathon (see prior blog), I thought it might be fun to break up the trip and spend a night in LV on the way home. This particular hotel was interesting to me because it is right next to the Paris which IMHO has the best breakfast buffet by far in all of LV. It's also right across the street from the Bellagio which has the beautiful fountains which "dance" to the music every 15 minutes, one of the best free shows in Las Vegas.

So I was standing in line to check into this hotel room which I got for a very cheap rate, along with a long line of people who apparently were there for some convention. I was sure that when the clerk saw how much I had paid, she would give us the worst room in the place. However, when I finally got up to the counter, the clerk said since we were only staying one night, she would give us a suite. I said fine, thinking it would just be a larger hotel room with maybe a couch at one end. When we got into the elevator to go up to the room, I noticed the floor we were going to was the top floor.
Top Floor = Penthouse suite? This was starting to look very good. When we opened the double doors to the room, this WAS the Penthouse Suite, with the Penthouse VIEW! The room was actually 2 huge rooms, about the size of at least 4 normal hotel rooms. The first room had a marble entry, 2 seating areas, dining room table, wet bar, refrigerator, microwave, 2 TVs and separate bathroom. The second room was the bedroom/bathroom with an elevated jacuzzi tub in the middle, 2 separate sinks on each side, a walk through shower, and more. The whole width of the room was floor to ceiling windows looking out on the Eiffel Tower (remember the Paris was next door), the Paris pool area and a great view of Bellagio fountains. The view was even better at night, but sadly I only have daytime pictures.


Eiffel Tower and Bellagio











Room 1













Room 2










For one of the lowest prices ever paid for a hotel room in LV, this was by far the best room I've ever stayed in. And that's what happened when we stayed in Las Vegas. Oh yes, I did get my breakfast at Paris in the morning. Great crepes!!

A Bridge Too Far?

Last weekend we met Kevin, Caroline and family at Lake Havasu for the Half Marathon run. Ken, Kevin, and Caroline ran and I stayed with the kids.
( I think I got the best end of that deal.) The 13 mile race course went over the London Bridge and along the lake shore. They each finished the race with times that were their own personal best! Finishing times were 2:02, 2:05 and 2:09 for those who are interested in these things.

After the run, we enjoyed seeing the London Bridge and playing on the beach at the lake. Yes, the real London Bridge has been moved from England to the Arizona/California border in the middle of the desert. Who comes up with these ideas??

The pictures below show the baby and I in front of the vacation house we rented in Lake Havasu City, AND the 4yr old and 2yr old having fun at the pool and hot tub just across from the house. It was much warmer there than in SLC, which was a welcome change.


















On the way back to Farmington, we decided to stay in Las Vegas one night.
What happened there will be the subject of my next blog.