Denver Broncos vs Seattle Seahawks

We went to our first ever, professional football game! Nick can finally say he's lived the dream. All in one game he got to see 2 former Utah State football players play professionally, Peyton Manning, and a former Buffalo Bills player (which is 'his team') run around on the field.

But that wasn't the only thing that made our trip memorable. Let's start at the beginning.

People who came on the trip: Nick, Me, Shasta, Nick's dad (Randy), Nick's mom (Raylene), Nick's sister (Kaleena), her husband (Josh), and their daughter (Meili) who is 6 months older than Shasta.

The game was in Colorado so we left Friday night and stayed in Rock Springs, WY which is only roughly 3 hours from our house. We decided to leave in the evening because Nick's cousin got married that day and it was important for his parents to attend the ceremony. We got to Rock Springs around 7:30pm, had dinner, and then Nick and I took Shasta swimming.

This was her first time swimming in a real pool. She wasn't so sure about it. She mostly clung to me for dear life.

Waving at dad.

He gets some of the best pictures of her.

 Then after we went swimming, we bathed Shasta and put her to bed. Around 11pm Nick came hauling out of the bathroom to tell me he realized we forgot our tickets to the game. WHAT?!? When our tickets came in the mail he told me where he put them so they wouldn't get lost, but when it came time to packing them it never even crossed my mind. We knew right where they were, but never thought to bring them. Smart.

So we decided to drive back to get them (3 hours each way), but Nick's dad talked us out of it. He was certain it would work out. Nick tried calling the ticket office, but of course they were closed. After a very sleepless night he called at 8 in the morning and talked to someone. Long story short, she was going to do her best to help us, but we didn't know for sure if she could or when we would hear back from her so we called Nick's aunt (who lives in Cache Valley) and asked if she would pick up our tickets and meet us halfway. Thankfully she was able to do so.

Nick and his parents drove halfway back to Logan to get the tickets while Kaleena, Josh, Meili, Shasta and I drove onto Denver. We did it that way so the little girls wouldn't have to be in the car any longer than they had to. That and if Shasta and I went with Nick we would have to stop periodically for her to have a break from the car which would only put us further behind.

Once we got to Denver we checked into our hotel room and let the girls run around for a little bit before getting back in the car and heading to the game. Both nights we stayed in really nice rooms. They were Suites with 2 separate bedrooms connecting to a family room and kitchen. Our hotel room was about 20 miles from the stadium so we decided instead of driving to the game and paying a fortune for parking we would take the train in. I had never been on a light rail before so I was excited, but it lost all it's excitement in a hurry. When we got on the train was already packed with people (everyone going to the game had the same idea) so we had to stand. Not a big deal, right? WRONG!

Twenty miles from the game meant about 20 stops along the way. And with each stop more people did their best to cram onto the train. That paired with holding a 20lb baby while standing and doing my best to hold on for dear life made for a very tired momma. Luckily Kaleena and Josh took turns holding Shasta so my spaghetti arms got a break! Then once we got off the train we walked half a mile to get to the stadium all so we could sit outside and wait for Nick and his parents to get there with the tickets. DUH! We can't get in without them!!! We're smart!

So while we waited Shasta pushed Meili's stroller around for a while.

 Shasta is such a busy-body that I spent the next hour or so chasing her around while she did her best to make new friends. After exploring as much as she could she finally found a cozy spot to sit in the rocks and was content to put dirt all over her legs.

Nick and his parents finally made it to the game and we climbed our way to the top of the stadium to sit in our seats. And a climb it was!

Here's the view from where we were sitting.

From this angle you can see we weren't too far from the top.

These are probably some important players, but I have no idea who so for me it's just proof that we were at a game!

Shasta with her Grandma.

I love this picture! Another great moment captured by Nick.

Shasta, Nick and Sara

Josh and Kaleena

Randy, Raylene, and Meili

She was having about as much fun as me.

 Holding Shasta during the game was exhausting. She's constantly up and down, in your lap then standing. It was driving me crazy because while she was standing I was SO paranoid that she was going to topple over the seats in front of us and I would have a mini heart attack every time she almost fell.

 Finally, during the 4th quarter I took her out to the concession stand area and let her run around. It was still a lot of work trying to keep her out of the way of the crowds of people, but it was less stressful than fearing she was going to break her neck!

Then after the game we took the train back to our hotel. Again it was packed full with people, but this time we got a seat so it was a much more pleasant ride. I thought Shasta would sleep the whole way, but no, she was wide awake and crazy as ever.

Going to the game was a fun experience, but it was a little more stressful than it was worth in my opinion. I'm not used to being in crowds of people like that so it was claustrophobic to me. Nick's solution, go to more games. Oh joy!

Shasta thought she should drive home. Luckily her feet don't reach the pedals so Nick drove instead.

Good thing too because she slept a lot. 8 hours in the car does that to you.

 And for those that are wondering what we did with Wedge while we were gone. A friend from the ward watched him and he had the time of his life. They have a cat...!