03.25.2010: Brian Greene's Birthday

Brian's kids came out for spring break and while they were here we celebrated Brian's birthday. They were only here for a few days because their flight was cancelled because of a big snowstorm that hit Colorado the day they were supposed to leave. They couldn't reschedule until 3 days later...which really cut into their time here! But while they were here, they had a good time. They came over one night & swam and we had a great dinner...and birthday cake!

For Brian's actual b-day the following week, Vince and I took him to Houston's for our traditional birthday dinner celebration. We really like it there!! :)

03.17.2010: Drake's First Tackle Football Practice

Drake had been BEGGING to play tackle football for the past year, but since Vince and I have been on the go non-stop, and had a wedding to plan we hadn't had a chance to enroll him in a league. Start of the new year, we got him signed up!! He was sooooo excited and a little nervous, but his first practice was awesome! He fit right in with the other guys...who had all been playing for a couple years. Drake was the new guy, and the youngest, and the biggest, and one of the fastest! He caught on VERY fast, learning all the drills and keeping up with the veterans. He is playing in the tightend position on offense, and usually safety (sometimes lineman) on defense. It is 8-man tackle...the "pee-wee" division. It has been a blast watching him improve and gain more & more confidence each practice. Cannot wait for the games!! Oh, after his first day, we asked how he liked it, and he said "I think I was born to do this"!!!! Now that is a football player!! :) FYI---he is still only 7 years old!

03.14.2010: Family Dinner with Ray & Lois

On Sunday, we went out to dinner to celebrate Mom & Kenny's birthdays. It was the night before everyone left for Costa Rica so we all got together for their last American meal for a few days. Ray & Lois (my Mom's uncle & aunt from North Dakota) were in town for the month, so we met them for dinner as well. They are great people and so fun to hang out with!! :) We had a great time!! Vince is missing from the group pic since he was taking it...usually it is me that is missing!! :)

03.08.2010: Vegas Weekend & Bon Jovi Concert

A big group went up to Vegas for the weekend. Purpose of the trip was the Bon Jovi concert on Sat, however, who really needs an excuse to go to Vegas!! :)

Day 1.....we went big....as always! Met most of the group in the lobby of the Rio for drinks right when we got there...then headed to McFaddens for dinner. We hung out at the Rio for a while playing some slots, collecting beads, drinking drinks...enjoying the early evening! We headed to the strip to meet up with the rest of the group. Some of Kenny's friends from the squad came up...Sparks met us at Paris...some friends from NY also met us there. Our intent was to hang out there for a while, then move on. We ended up staying there most of the night. Secured some seats near the dance floor at a popular lounge, and nestled in......danced all night!! So much fun! The best was when good old MJ started playing. Brad of course cleared the floor and showed off his moves. To our surprise, he had some competition! Kenny's friend from the squad had some of his own moves too! It was hilarious watching those 2!!! People were coming up and asking if they could join our group.....we had a BLAST! After Paris, we headed back to the Rio area...and walked across the street to the Gold Dust to find the famous Buddha. Eventually we found him....all rubbed his belly for luck....and Tammy danced with him! :) After that we decided it was time to turn in....as we still had 3 more days in Vegas!!

Day 2......after some nice sleep in....we played the slots some more. Vince and I headed to the Palazzo to check in our friends there and ended up hanging out there for a while. Didn't do much during the day because we had the concert that night. We did an early dinner at the Rio buffett, then took cabs over to the MGM in prep for the concert. We met up with everyone at a wine bar for some drinks (there were 22 of us all together, but some didn't meet up before). We headed in in groups and enjoyed the next 4 hours of concert madness! After the concert we all went our separate ways to gamble & just hang out!

Day 3.....we went to celebrate Mom's birthday at the Steakhouse at Circus Circus. A little known gem in Vegas! It was a great dinner....we had pre-dinner jello shot...slightly unusual before going in for a great steak dinner! :) After dinner we headed to the Palazzo for more gambling. Mom and Vince had GREAT luck there...winning pretty big! They both hit winning streaks on the same type of machine right next to each other. Great way to end a trip!!!

On the way home, we took some pics of the hoover dam bypass they are building. So cool....and almost done!!! :)