08.22.2014: Lunch with the Ladies

I never pass up an opportunity to have lunch with Alisa and Avery.  It had been a long week for me, as Vince was out of town, and I had a TON of work to do, but was going stir crazy at home.  Lucky for me, two of my favorite ladies were available for lunch today!! :)  We met at Macayos since it was such a nice day and we could eat lunch outside, lakeside.  It is one of the very few restaurants in the Mesa area that had a great patio and is waterfront!  And what can be bad about some Mexican food?

Love our lunch dates!!

 

08.16.2014: Aleya's Bridal Shower

Like I said...it was going to be an early morning!!  And it was.....

 

We got it together though and headed out to the house where the shower was going to be.  As we walked in, we were greeted with Mimosas....and never being one to turn down a mimosa, it felt like it was almost too early for that!  We barely just finished our scotch & squats!! 

 

But after a few minutes, the 3 of us we ready!  Vince dropped us and headed out to Davis Monthan for a meeting and breakfast.  The shower was beautiful....Jackie always does such an amazing job putting on a party, and this was no different!  There was a mariachi group playing...it was fully catered...there was a professional photog...it was gorgeous!  It seemed as if Aleya had a wonderful time!  We did!! 

 

It was a little warm though, and Christina had a flight back home that afternoon so we didn't get to stay as long as we wished!  We headed back to Phoenix around noon and dropped Christina off at the airport on the way.  It was so good to see her, as always, even for just less than 24 hours!!

 

08.15.2014: Tucson Escape with the Girls (and Vince)

So tomorrow is Aleya's bridal shower down in Tucson at one of Jackie's friends houses.  The shower is at 8am, so we decided it would be fun to go down the night before and spend the night.  Christina, Karissa and I were all going together and Vince wanted to tag along as the driver ;)

We decided to spend the night at the casino down there (Casino Del Sol), since we figured it would give us good entertainment for the night.  The plan was to get down there early and go to dinner...however Christina missed 2 flights and was delayed!  Her plan was to fly to Tucson and we would pick her up there, but she ended up flying into Phoenix since it would get her in earlier, so we got her there, and headed down.  We stopped for dinner at a hole-in-the-wall place on our way to the casino...which wasn't too bad, but looked really shady...stop the music as we walk in kind of place!  Once we got to the casino & were valeting our car, someone pulled up behind us & started whistling.  Christina was like, oh NO!  But when we all turned around, it was Chris Hearn!!!  Charles' son Chris!  SOOOO crazy!!  And random!  He had no idea we would be there....and what are the chances that we would pull up at the exact same time!?  So funny!  He was there with his wife & sister-in-law just to hang out for the night.

 

So we went up and checked into our rooms, and told them we would meet them downstairs later.  We did a little pre-game while we were getting settled, then headed down to meet up with them.  We had a GREAT time hanging out and just catching up with Chris.  There were so many crazy things that happened that night though....  At one point I was in the bar, ordering another bottle of champagne....the bartender was going to another bar to find it and the guys next to me started up a conversation.  Christina came over and we were chatting with them while we were waiting (very much older thems!)  I guess one of their "girlfriends" saw the exchange, and didn't like it.  Once they left the bar, she went crazy on them.  Threw a drink, screaming & yelling. Security came and handled it...but it was pretty funny!!  So, after that, we decided it was probably time to call it a night...which meant to go find the lounge and have a drink there instead!  Haha!!  Such a fun, fun night!!  Once we got back to the room, we did some scotch tastings and Christina decided it was a good time to fit in some squats.  Yes, I said squats!!  So, 3am, and drinking scotch, we were doing squats.  (Update - I could not walk for a week!!)  Again, so fun....and random!!! 

 

All I knew at this point was that it was going to be a very early morning!!



 

The starter drinks at Bar #1

Post-fight...needed new drinks!

Catching up with the cousin!

Girls...cheerleader poses

08.15.2014: The Man with the Plan

 

Andrew, our family politician, was running for student council again today so I drove out to watch his speech he had to make in front of the school.  Doesn't seem like a year has gone by since last year's speech, but I guess so!!  Alisa, Avery and I sat in the stands to cheer him on... 

 

He was soooo nervous!!  Poor guy!  He is SUCH a true politician, but still gets super nervous speaking in front of people...but still loves to do it!  I am glad he does!!  As much as I did in school, I still HATED speaking in front of people!!  Still makes me nauseous thinking about having to give a speech!!

 

Anyways, back to Andrew!!  He did a great job.  He was running against his 3 little buddies for the position of 5th grade representative.  There were 2 positions up for grabs and there were 4 people running for them.  Before he left for school this morning, he told Alisa that no matter what, he would be happy if he won or if he didn't win.  Because if he didn't win, that meant his 2 best friends won.  What a great outlook coming from a 10 year old!!  Definitely the pleaser.  Who else would be so happy to possibly lose an election because it meant his friends won it.  That is why we love this kid so much!

 

On the campaign trail for her brother (again).
I have this same pic from last year...so cute!!!

08.02.2014: Brent & Alisa's Anniversary Dinner

Tonight Mom & Dad were going to watch all the kiddos so we could all go to a nice dinner to celebrate Brent & Alisa's 12 year anniversary (that is tomorrow).  After a LONG day at the pool, we could not decide where to go.  Somehow it was left up to me, the most indecisive person on the planet (unless I know what I want - then there is absolutely no compromise). 

 

We went from going to a nice steakhouse dinner place - that was completely booked - to a more casual but kinda foo-foo place - that was also booked....to deciding to just walk around the new Quad/Linq area and just picking something we see.  Kinda funny....we ended up at the Yard House! Haha!!  So fancy.  Oh well...it was supposed to be a no-wait (but turned out to be a 45 min wait) and they had a little something for everyone.  So it worked out for the group.  We had dinner, some drinks...then moved on and walked the strip a bit.  Since we were all beat down, we headed back to Caesars to gamble there a while...then went to bed!  We were truly exhausted!!!



 

08.02.2014: Cabana Day at Caesar's Pool

Mom & Dad had a VIP cabana at the Caesar's pool today so we took advantage of it and felt like royalty!!  Nice when you don't have to deal with the riff-raff out in the common areas! :)  We had a private pool, with our own butlers and waitresses bringing endless drinks and food for the group.  Ahhhh, it's nice to be Diamonds (or related to one).  We spent the ENTIRE day out there and it was perfect because it was slightly overcast, but still warm out. The kids enjoyed it and are starting to feel the perks of being high-rollers in Vegas.   (Think they are hooked)  Anyways, it was soooooo nice!! Perfect Saturday in Vegas!

 

Mimosas all morning

Chilling by the pool

Our cabana

The remnants of some of the food...

08.01.2014: Vegas Baby...with all the Babies!

 

We are back in Vegas!! This time, we have the kiddos with us.  Mom & Dad had been wanting to have a "cabana day" at the pool at Caesars one day this summer and have the kids come and hang out.  This weekend seemed like the perfect one for a few reasons....1. Journey was playing!!! 2. It was Brent & Alisa's wedding anniversary (12 years!!) 3. Gina & Bill could come out to watch Avery while we go to the concert 4. Just cuz....it is always a perfect weekend to go to Vegas.

 

So Friday evening, everyone got into town just in time for a quick drink together and to head out to the concert.  Mom & Dad surprised the kids by reserving a Hummer Limo to transport us to & from the concert.  They were soooooo excited!  They thought it was the coolest...and that they were the coolest! Haha!  Have to say I never got to ride in a limo when I was that young!!

 

So we rode down to the concert at the Mandalay Bay and got there early enough to see the first opening act - Tower of Power.  One of Vince's favorites! They didn't even show up on the ticket...we had no idea!  Next up was Steve Miller Band....another favorite from the era!  I wore out the grooves on that CD back in the 90's haha!  To finish off the night -- JOURNEY!  One of all of our all-time favorites!! :)  Even the youngest ones.  We didn't stay for their whole set.  Nana was DONE...long day for them because they were in school this morning!  We got the limo to take us back to Caesars...and the kids went to bed, and some of us went out for a little gambling. No big wins & we didn't stay out late since we were all beat too.

 

Awesome night!!