Vegas...Vegas...Vegas

Last weekend was our third annual trip to Las Vegas!

We went to see the Frozen Fury XII, Avalanche vs. Kings hockey game.

There will be several posts over the next week or so to give you a glimpse into our trip...

Our friends Jeremy and Sara invited us to go with them three years ago (they have gone every year for awhile and celebrated their 6-year anniversary this time; they got married on the ice 6 years ago before the hockey game).

We flew out of the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport, which is great! It is nice to only drive 15 minutes to the airport and pay $5 a night to park. As long as you watch the website, the flight price will usually drop for a day or so and you can get a cheap flight. We met at the ice-rink nearby and left one car there so we only had to pay for one parking fee. Our friends have taught us well in regard to flying out of this airport... Show up early so you can check in as soon as they open; we sat on the floor playing cards until they let us check in. Then you leave and drive the 5 minutes to Centerra for breakfast (or lunch depending on your flight time); we got Chick-Fil-A! Then wander around for awhile and make your way back to the airport. Go through security and then you only have to wait about 30-minutes to board your plane. It is one of the best airport experiences ever!!!

The flight to Vegas is only about an hour and a half, so it goes really quick! We usually bring snacks and grab a drink from the vending machine after we've gone through security so we don't have to buy any food. There is just enough time for a quick cat-nap or a few chapters in a book and then you are landing.

It was nice to go from the cool weather we've had in Colorado to the sunny 90's and higher in Vegas! We stayed at the Palace Station because they gave us free rooms for 2 of the 3 nights! It is definitely not anywhere near high-end in Vegas standards, but it is simple, nice and clean....and did I mention FREE! James and Jeremy were also entered into a free slot contest, they didn't win this time, but there is always next year....

We went to the Rio World Buffet for lunch/dinner; it was lunch price, but right at the end of the time so we got the dinner food at the lunch price. I was too focused on eating to get any pics, the food was great. James actually got several kinds of seafood and seemed to enjoy it, I stayed away. I did enjoy lots of different food and especially enjoyed dessert! I think I ended up with 8-10 desserts :) in my defense the desserts are small, not that it would really make a difference.

James was very excited for In-N-Out Burger, the rest of us were as well, but he was especially excited.





Even though we were not very hungry after the buffet earlier, we decided to hit In-N-Out before heading to Fremont Street.



James and I both got our burgers and fries "animal Style" I was so full that I couldn't finish and it was very sad having to throw part of my food away :(

The good thing is that we went to In-N-Out 3 more times while we were there (4 total)! So, I got to enjoy it when I was a little more hungry. I think I have decided that I like my burger "animal style" and my fries plain, also the neapolitan shake is a definite keeper.


More To Come...

Vegas Here We Come!

The countdown is over...

We fly out to Vegas in the morning and get back on Monday.

I will post pics when we get back.

Have a great weekend!

Hockey Widow

My wonderful husband is going to be a hockey widow this season (or is it widower)....

James decided to take a season off from playing, but I am playing on two nights this season (Friday and Sunday). He is actually going to fill in as goalie on our Sunday team for the first month while our rostered goalie recovers from knee surgery, but otherwise is not planning to play. He may get sucked in for a few games anyway, but we will see; he is ready for a break.

I on the other hand could not be more excited that the league is starting again! We had the ice for practice on Friday and Sunday night; it felt great to get back out there although I am out of shape. I am hoping that going to the gym might help with that. I am missing this week's practices since we will be in Las Vegas (a price to pay, but we will get to watch some hockey while we are there and just have a good time). The weekend after we come back, our official games start; I can't wait!!!

So it is an interesting twist since it is usually the guys on the team playing and their wives watching or staying at home, etc. Granted I convinced James to let us play three nights over the summer so this season doesn't come as too much of a surprise; I just like playing too much :) I am glad he puts up with it!

The Countdown until Las Vegas is 4 days...

I Love My Job!!!!!

There are some great benefits to working for my family's business.

1. I get to see my family often

2. I have a great boss

3. I get the opportunity to learn new things daily

4. I can ask for last minute time off

5.... Lot's more, but back to great reason #4:

On Sunday night I called my mom to see if we were still going to have a meeting in Denver on Monday morning (it had been discussed but was still up in the air).

She said that we were going to schedule it for a later date, but that I would still need to come down to pick up a server from their office. So I asked if I could take Monday morning off to go to the Colorado Avalanche training camp and then stop by to pick up the server. I didn't have anything else on my schedule so she said that would be fine and to have fun!

When I got off the phone, I asked James if he wanted to go to training camp in the morning; he looked vaguely interested. He had considered driving me to my meeting in Denver, and then heading over to watch training camp. I told him that my meeting was cancelled and that I was taking the morning off so we could both go! He seemed much more excited with this change of plans.

So we planned to leave around 7:15ish in the morning so we could get down for the start of camp at 9. Well, my alarm went off at 6:20 and I was not quite ready to wake up yet, at 6:35 James grumbled at the "stupid alarm clock" and rolled over, I finally got up at 6:45. It's hard to get motivated to get out of a nice comfortable bed when you really don't have to!

I made a pot of coffee and fed the monsters (our pets) and got ready to go, James got up sometime during this and got ready as well. Thankfully neither of us are too high maintenance so we get ready fairly quickly. We got in the car and realized we needed some markers for autographs. A quick stop by the store and we had 4 silver and 5 black permanent markers (we got the larger packs so we would have them for Las Vegas on the 25th).

We drove to Denver, thankfully traffic wasn't too bad. We got there a little after nine, and went into the pro-shop to get a hat and pennant for autographs. It is kind of a tradition to get a hat and pennant signed each year we go (we missed last year but went a couple times before).

Then we watched some hockey. Well, we watched some drills and then a scrimmage and some more drills. I am always amazed just to watch those guys skate! I wish I could skate like that, or even half as well!

The scrimmage was a lot of fun to watch. Weiman played great in net and I hope he gets his chance this year! Duschene play well also, initially he looked a little lost but went on to make some great passes and scored 2 of the 4 goals during the scrimmage; he also scored in the shootout that followed. He has a great shot and some good moves, we'll see where he goes from here. Stoa, Koci and Wolski looked great also, along with many others but those are ones that particularly stick out. Anderson play well in net, hopefully he can be solid in net this year for the Avs. By the way, Stastny, Foote, Budaj and several others were not a part of the scrimmage and we watched them run some drills on the other rink.

I was too focused on watching the scrimmage to take any pics, but I got some during the drills.

Budaj blocking shots during drills:

Foote shooting on Budaj during drills:

Stastny taking a shot (Sorry I cut off part of his foot, I need more practice and maybe a better camera):

My awesome photography skills! I managed to get a puck flying across the ice but missed including any players, oops:

One of the other cool things about training camp is that after it's over, many players stop on their way out to sign autographs!

Every time we have been there, Liles stops to sign and talk to fans and take pictures. There is only one time that he didn't (a couple years ago), but he stopped to apologize that he had some place he had to be and would have time the next day. A class-act in my book, plus a defenseman so that's bonus points!

James was pretty excited with how Koci played and he stopped to sign as well, seemed like a very cool guy. So we got a picture of James with him:

Duschene actually came out first, but I'll finish my post with him. He looked good from what we saw during and I hope he does well in his hockey career. He walked out to sign and talk with fans. We got a picture with him also:

We got 10 autographs in all and watched some great players, so it was a wonderful way to start the week! Now the countdown to Vegas begins: 10 days and counting....

The Pink has packed its bags....

A couple weeks ago my parents came up for the weekend to paint our house.

James and my dad power-sprayed the whole thing on Friday to get rid of any dirt and loose paint. James now wants a power-sprayer...he had a lot of fun with it :) We cleaned the gutters and scraped paint in a few spots.

Saturday morning we got up early and started painting! Let me tell you, it was very therapeutic covering up all that pink with a nice gray. We got all of the base color painted on Saturday and my dad also fixed a couple of boards that had rotted. It was a long day, but very productive!

On Sunday we got up a little later and started on the roof-line trim which is a dark grayish charcoal. We got that finished and painted the door a brick red. We started getting a little rain so were not able to finish all of the white trim, so that is an ongoing project, a little at a time.

The pink is gone!!!! I am so excited!!!!!

Here is the Before:

And After:

I did a little photo-editing so you don't have to look at the dead grass :) This space will eventually become a patio area with a table and chairs!

So for waiting so long to post, it's been a little crazy lately. I will post again soon!

WoW!!!

No this isn't a post about World of Warcraft.

This is in response to what individuals can accomplish when they work together.

Most of you read The Pioneer Woman, if you don't then definitely check it out. Ree posts funny stories, great recipes and beautiful pictures; trust me it is worth a few minutes out of your day.

Well last week I pulled up Ree's website and saw a post about Fat Cyclist with a request and contest for people to donate to his team for the Live Strong Challenge through the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Elden's (aka "FatCyclist") wife, Susan is battling cancer, you can read about her story and Eldens riding on his site. Ree put up a Nikon D80, (lens included) along with a copy of Photoshop CS4 as a raffle and everyone got a "virtual" Ticket for each $5 donated; she also gave away 3 copies of Photoshop CS4 just for posting a comment on her post.

Okay, now that is pretty cool in and of itself. One blogger posting a contest to help another blogger and his family. It is great when we can help each other out.

Now for the WOW!

Within the time for the contest (a couple days) 1,551 Pioneer Woman readers donated $28,632.

Now that is just awesome! In a time when there is overwhelming negativity and sadness it is refreshing to see such a large heartfelt expression of love and the desire to help one another.

I am always amazed at how we can all connect through something deemed so impersonal as the Internet. People who don't know each other, who will probably never meet face-to-face, live miles and worlds apart can come together to help support someone they don't even know. Knowledge of another person and their struggles are brought to light so that hundreds or thousands of people can offer up their thoughts, prayers and financial support to help.

Happy 4th of July!!

Yes, I know it is already the 6th......

So make it a Happy Belated 4th of July!!!

James and I drove down to my parents on Saturday morning and James' parents came up. A lot of other people came over too and it was a great time as always! I am still so thankful that we can do things with both of our families, I know that for many people that is not the case.

Not only can James and I, my parents and his parents all be in the same place, but we enjoy it! We are planning to get together to play games soon and to go out to dinner next year to celebrate all of our anniversaries (since we all were married in June, I guess we picked a good month)! I feel so blessed with all of our family and just wanted to share :)

Back to the 4th....

So I am a slacker and forgot to take pictures, I know Susie took some and will probably post on her blog. We got to spend some nice time hanging out on the deck, eating food and drinking peach margaritas...yes the margaritas started early again! We made 5 or 6 batches...I lost count :)

Then it started raining, so we moved the party indoors. My mom made shish-kabob (not sure is that is spelled right, but you get the point) and my dad grilled, they were very good; besides, I like meat! Potato salad, pasta salad, veggies, beans and of course guacamole! There is always a lot of food when we get together.

We saw a few fireworks that people set off, but mostly just enjoyed the company.

I hope you all had a happy and safe 4th of July!

Thank you to all of our service men and women, we appreciate all of your sacrifices that allow us to enjoy so much freedom!