Daisy I agree with the red eye flight nice to leave at night and arrive there in the day. I would just keep watching fares for both trips. As for getting one 8 weeks before I've always bought before that. There are sites that will email you when fares drop. Or if you have not decided on a hotel maybe look into a package deal for staying at 1 hotel for the week. Also if you see a fare on travel sites also check the airline directly, fares could be different.