The Price is Right

So I know it's been awhile and I've been meaning to write up a post about our trip to The Price is Right, but life got a little busy and I finally found some time to sit down and write about our trip.

Well we left for L.A. on Saturday (Jan. 9th) and had planned to stay in Las Vegas that night.  We made it to Las Vegas around 3 that afternoon and before we went to check into our hotel we thought we would take the 30 minute drive out to see the Hoover Dam, which was definitely a trip well worth it. Jake and I are nerds and love seeing sights like that. We don't like big cities (like Las Vegas) and so we found entertainment at the Hoover Dam.  It was fun to see how big it really is and just take a walk around. 

It was also interesting to see the construction of the new bridge they are building there too.  It is amazing how big they both are.  If we ever are to go back to the Hoover Dam we would love to go inside (they take you on a tour down to the center of the dam, etc.)  Maybe someday. After the Hoover Dam we checked into our hotel, which was a complete joke because it took 30 minutes to figure out how to drop one of us off to check in, park at the hotel and then eventually get inside (hence the reasoning behind not liking big cities). 

Once we got inside we were content with not going back out because of the time and hassle it would be to get anywhere interesting (our hotel was about a mile away from the strip).  So we decided to go get some pizza (they weren't allowed to deliver to our hotel, because it was a 4 star and they just don't allow that) and so we left to Pizza Hut and got our dinner for that night.  We went to bed early in preparation for the long drive ahead of us the next day.

The next morning we left for L.A.. We stopped in Barstow, CA for a bite to eat at my first experience at In-n-Out Burger.  It was alright. I was expecting a lot more from it because of all the hype that I hear about the place, but in the end it was just a burger.  Wasn't bad, but wasn't great. The best part about the meal were the chocolate milkshakes.  We had been craving ice cream for weeks and we both agreed that was the best thing ever. We continued on our way and ended up getting to LA around 3 in the afternoon.

Our hotel room was the funniest thing ever, about 100 sq. feet (not kidding). We figured it was a place where you could lay on the bed, go to the bathroom and watch T.V. all at the same time.  It worked out nicely for us though because it was right across from CBS studios.  After we checked in, we went on a walk to find out where the line for the taping would be, and where we would have to park the next morning after we had checked out.  On our walk (mind you it was about 4:00pm by this point) we ran into a couple that was already in line for the show.  We stopped to talk to them for a minute and they told us that they came to this taping (the Valentine's Day show) last year and they came at 2:00am in the morning to get in line and they didn't even get in the show.  This scared us a bit and so we decided that after we checked out where parking would be the next morning, we would go back to the hotel and take a nap.

I woke up from our nap at about 6:30pm and for the life of me, could not fall back asleep. Jake woke up just a little while after me and so we decided to go get in line for the show.  We walked to Subway for our bite to eat and walked over to get in line.  When we got there around 7:00pm we were 13th and 14th in line.  So we knew that if we could get through this night of sleeping on the streets of L.A. we would definitely get into the show.

We were lucky to have a nice couple next to us (Frankie and Senica). They talked to us for awhile and we watched each others stuff while we would go on walking breaks every couple of hours. Even though we didn't sleep in our hotel that night it provided for nice place to go to the bathroom and rest up (15-20 minute breaks) every few hours.  We had a lot of interesting experiences while we were out too.  A gay guy passed by to make conversation with us and taught us the correct way to snap your fingers in a sassy way.   We also got scared by a homeless man sleeping in the bushes (sounded like a boar), and we played the car counting game.  Surprisingly the night went by a lot faster than we had expected.  Funny thing was we didn't really have to get in line that early.  The majority of people didn't start getting in line until 1:00am and so we could have easily made it into the show if we showed up later, but we had many memorable experiences come out of it. Now for the Price is Right experience.

At 6:00am they start giving out Order of Arrival Passes (which are basically your ticket to get into the show). After we got our passes at around 6:15 we walked back to the hotel and took a shower and a nap. We woke up at about 8:00am because we didn't have to be back to processing until 8:30. Once we got back to the studio for processing, the lines begin. The first line that you get in, you are given a new number (sometimes numbers change, in our case we were then 17 and 18. In this line you are also given your name tag.  After you get these you get your picture taken in front of "green" screen where then a Price is Right background is inserted. (as you can see by the picture).  Then you are on to yet another line. 

In this line you fill out a card saying why you came to the show, a little bit about you, etc. and then you put your number and your name tag on your shirt.  About an hour later they start the interviews.  As part of the candidate selection process they have interviews with one of the producers.  The interviews consist of about 30 seconds of one guy asking you, while in a group of 12, what you do and where you are from.  Because they interview over 300 people, I still think that there has to be some randomness to their candidate selection.

After the interview you are sent to sit for about another 1 1/2 hours until everyone else gets through processing and you can enter the studio. While in this line, they show a price is right taping to help pass the time.  Then it's time for the studio.

The Price is Right Studio is so much smaller than what I had expected.  Barely big enough to fit a few hundred people and a camera crew.  Of course we didn't get called up, but I think it was well worth it to wait in that line overnight to get the seats that we wanted. We were on the second row, right behind the "bidding" contestants.  So we were able to get on T.V. we think a few times. 

We will just have to wait and see until we watch to show on February 12th.  The whole show consists of yelling and screaming. You can barely hear anything in the studio and then you talk to Drew Carey during the commercial breaks for about 1 1/2 minutes each time.  Even though we didn't get called up we had the time of our lives.  We loved the experience and I think we would like to make it a tradition to go to that taping.  It was very fun!

We headed home that night and wanted to get as far as we could. It was hard because we were so tired from the night before, but we made it about halfway (to Mesquite, NV) and stayed the night in some Casino Hotel. The next morning we had a cheap breakfast buffet, and then were back on the road home.  We had such a great time on this trip and we so glad that we finally did something spontaneous and fun before the baby comes and "just to two of us" is no more.

Baby Boy!

     My 20 week ultrasound was yesterday and we were so excited to get to the appointment. We've been antsy for a couple of weeks now because we knew that we would be able to find out what our baby is.

     Well...IT"S A BOY!!! I always get so nervous before I go to doctor's appointments because I'm afraid that something is going to be wrong. I actually couldn't sleep the night before because of it.  This appointment brought a lot of relief though, because we were actually able to see our baby again.  We haven't had an ultrasound for over 10 weeks. After looking at the face, brain, stomach, and getting measurements for everything else he looked perfect. He's growing just fine and the due date can be anywhere from May 19th to May 24th. 
     We have our next appointment in 2 weeks with the doctor, and I'm sure that everything will still be okay.  I'm growing fine and I think I'm starting to gain weight finally too.  So that's good. I'm feeling him kick more and more everyday and I love it. Can't wait for our little baby to be here, when it is healthy and developed enough.

     As far as names go, I'm sure that we are going to have a hard time choosing a boy name.  We had about 4-5 girl names we liked, but have been stuck on boys names.  I think that from now on though, we want to wait to tell everyone what we are thinking until he's born and has a name.  Keep somewhat of a surprise in the mix.
     Anyways, we feel very blessed to have our little family starting.  I think it's definitely starting to set in more that he's on his way. Can't wait!!!