Birthday Weekend in Vegas with Shelley- "Look at Us"

For the first time ever, Shelley and I planned a trip together for our birthday and it was seriously the best ever.

After all of the heart ache and drama with Ray, it was nice to slip away and find some balance. And I LOVE being with Shelley so much! She is so easy to talk to and it is a joy to be with her. She came over and dropped off a bunch of hand-me-downs from Dan's kids (including an NBA arcade game which Parker put in his room after spending ALL day cleaning and organizing it). We loaded up the speakers to being to Dan's new recording studio in is brand new house in Vegas. Then we hit the road! 

We chatted non stop and left no topic uncovered. We got to Vegas in no time and were blown away by the hotel. It was gorgeous! We felt so lucky and special! We got settled in and then walked around for a little bit and grabbed a slice of pizza before getting ready for Magic Mike. Now, I know what you might be thinking, but it was NOT was you'd expect. We walked over to the show which was super close by and everyone was so kind and complementary. We had awesome seats and the whole show's goal was to help the women there feel empowered, safe, and special. The guys were really talented singers and dancers. And yes, they tied to be sexy but they were literally like 19 years old and soooo skinny. It was like, "Awww, you guys are so cute! Good job buddy!" They handed out long stem roses and slow danced with a few of us. It was a fun time and I'm glad we did it.

Tanner, on the other hand, was NOT. He felt very insecure about me going and apparently thought I was going to Magic Mike to compare him to these other guys or something. Half of me was sooooo mad at Tanner for judging me and not trusting me. Half of me felt good knowing Tanner cared. But I don't regret going and I'm sad that he shut me out all day and didn't communicate as a result of his own insecurities. I think he's over it now... ask him and see what he says.

After the show we went back to our room and talked for hours and ate chocolate.

The next morning we slept in and I wrote in my journal and then we headed to Dan's house. We had a wonderful tour of his new mansion by his designer who was there from Chile making sure all the furniture that was being delivered was put in the correct places and such. She was super cool. Shelley and I took the huge speakers clear to the other side of the house, up 3 flights of stairs and it was a work out! But so totally cool. Dan and his family designed this whole compound in Vegas (like 5 minutes from Andrea's house) with each sibling's house surrounding a central park area with a HUGE pool and a recreation house and everything. It's seriously a dream. 

After all of that we were starving so we stuffed our faces with cheeseburgers and then drove back to the hotel to spend a few hours in the amazing spa. Oh my goodness, I can't stop dreaming about this spa. It was unreal. The coed section had thermal pools and therapeutic spas, a sauna experience call "AUFGUSS" where a woman uses music, dance, heat, and scent to bring a wellness experience to the participants. It was very healing and meditative and I loved it! We sat in the salt room, the snow room, the infrared sauna, and the anti gravity chairs. Then we got a 45 minute hand and foot massage that was divine. Oh man, I want to go back! So incredible!

We took showed and spent some time getting ready and buying a new scented perfume at the gift shop. I even used all of the tester make up to get ready and I loved it all!

We grabbed a nice dinner that night at the hotel and again, chatted late into the night.

The next morning, after a great night's sleep, we got breakfast with Shelley's birth dad, Mitch. I got coconut pancakes and they were delicious. It was so cool getting to know Mitch- he's such a great guy! He's been so smart with his money and we asked him for his #1 piece of advice and he said to pay tithing. He was inactive for 35 years and decided to go back during covid. The first thing he did was pay tithing and shortly thereafter, he was reunited with Shelley. He has a testimony of paying tithing and couldn't hold back the tears as he spoke to us. What a sweet man.

We drove home and, again, the drive went by so quickly. Shelley's got some amazing creative projects coming up including a western style show she's co writing that could be picked up any day! She loves working for the lead singer of Imagine Dragons and hope's one day she can buy Minka Kelly's house in the Hollywood Hills. (she's dating Dan and not ever at her own house). I'm really proud of Shelley and love to brag about her. She is an incredible human and I'm so lucky to not only be her cousin, but her birthday twin.

When we got home, we talked to Tanner about Magic Mike so he wouldn't be so scared anymore. He told us about his weekend with the kids and Jack's soccer game. And then Angel, our massage therapist, came over to give Tanner a massage which he loved! We ended on a high note so all it well.

I can't wait until my next adventure with Shelley! Happy almost 40th birthday to us!