The Bitch is Back.

Ryan and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on January 22. He surprised me with tickets to see Elton John in Vegas at The Colosseum inside Caesar's Palace! For those of you who don't know, Elton John is one of my favorites. I was beyond excited to see him perform live, and I was even more excited that Ryan was going to appreciate it as much as I was!

Ryan had all the details taken care of; All I had to do was show up ;) We flew out of SLC on Friday morning, and arrived at Caesar's Palace, which was also where our room was booked, around noon. When we got there to check in, all they had was a smoking room with a king size bed, or a non-smoking room with 2 queen size beds. We chose the non-smoking room, and I LOVED it! It was even accented with my favorite color ;)

Prior to the show, I worried whether or not I should try to sneak my camera in with me. After all, chances were, I would never again get the chance to see him perform. However, I decided I wouldn't take any chances, and if it came down to it I would just use the camera on my iPhone to do the job. BIGGEST. MISTAKE. EVER. Turns out they did allow cameras and photos, just not any video recordings. DAMN IT!?! I did try to get some photos on my phone, but the quality was less than ideal.We were only 9 rows away from the stage, but the photos look as though we were pretty far away :(

When he came on stage, the crowd went NUTS. Everyone from the gay men to the 75 year old ladies were on their feet cheering for him. There was even a bride and groom in the audience! After the crowd quieted down, he talked for a few minutes about how excited he was to be back, as this show was his first one in Vegas since The Red Piano. Then he mentioned Celine Dion (she also has a show The Colosseum.) He made comments about her being buried under the stage when she dies, and referenced his feud with Madonna. Although I don't remember the exact wording, take my word for it, it was pure gold. As if I didn't already love him, he had to go and be funny, too!

He opened the set with "The Bitch is Back," and from the very first note, I knew we were in for an amazing show. I was skeptical as to how the show would turn out, as he is pushing 70. Needless to say, he removed all doubt from my mind within the first minute. He didn't miss a beat. The lights, all the musicians and instruments, the whole set-up. I was in awe. The bitch, was indeed, BACK!

After the show, we went and rode the zip line at Fremont Street. It was a blast!

Oddly enough, my dad had a work meeting Saturday in Ontario, CA. His flight home had a layover in Las Vegas and we were able to meet up with him at the airport and have a beer! We were going to try and have a wheelchair there waiting for him along with our sign, but a grumpy group of passengers on flight to Chicago had a monopoly over them ;)

It was such an amazing trip, and I feel very grateful to have gotten to experience it.  So thank you Mom and Dad, for being the best grandparents in the world to Jaylinne, and letting her come stay with you while we were gone. She loved every minute of it! Thank you, 12 year old Rubik's cube genius that entertained us while waiting to board our flight to Las Vegas. Thank you, Man on our flight with a rotten demeanor that we laughed at the entire trip. Thank you, ankles, for not completely giving out on me when I attempted to wear heels. Thank you , Elton John, for showing us that 65 is the new 40. Thank you, "Muthafucka Jones" for providing what I can only assume will be months of laughter. Thank you Delta flight 4795, for in my eyes, my husband will always be known as "Julia Gulia." And most importantly, thank you Ryan. For being the best husband a girl could ever ask for, and making this memory with me :)