Our Day In Hollywood!

Our Day in California!
Unfortunately because we had to take…I mean, got to take a side trip to Lake Havasu, we only got one full day in the sunny California. However, that day was filled with all sorts of adventure! We woke up early, at the crack of 8am, and took our time getting ready, at about 9:30 we left the house and made our way to Porto’s Bakery, HOLY COW! Talk about a bakery! It was a truly amazing sight! And the taste was even better! We got there too late to eat breakfast, so we ordered sandwiches which were so tasty, I think J’s was the best, I forget what it was, but it was great! We also got to see Kate, she was headed up to Oregon from San Diego, so we got to visit with her for a bit.
Portos Goodies

Us...

We then took a trip to the Americana Mall, just so we could look at all of the stuff rich people like to buy. I found probably the softest leather jacket that anyone in the history of the world has ever felt…it was $750, I don’t wish I had that jacket, I just wish I could afford to buy that jacket . Anyway, we went to another mall, I forget what it’s called, but we went to buy toys (no, not because we were bored). Earlier that morning David was looking online for stuff we could do that day and he found that Knott’s Berry Farm was doing a Toys for Tots drive. If we brought a toy valued at $10 or more you get in for free! So we went to buy toys.
After we got the toys we headed to Hollywood. We didn’t explore Hollywood Blvd. as much as I wanted to, but we also didn’t have as much time as I wanted…We got to take a tour of the Kodak Theatre, it was so cool! We found out a lot of interesting stuff, like if you go out of the public eye for too long, you won’t get invited to come back to the Academy Awards, you’ll be put into a lottery…it’s sad. However we also found out that in the year 2010 the Kodak Theatre is only going to host the Academy Awards and…CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!! Yes, that’s right, they are going to make a special show for Hollywood and play it exclusively at the Kodak Theatre, we are definitely going to see it! After the Theatre tour we headed outside to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see the Handprints! It was fun to see all of them and the Theatre is AMAZING! I found my hand twin…Jack Oakie…I have no idea who he is…I should look that up .
In Front of the Kodak

My hand twin!



Tomoko was supposed to meet us for the Kodak tour, but she got really lost, so instead she met us at Pink’s, pink’s is the best Hot Dog stand ever! Truly amazing…and everybody thinks so! We waited in line for about and hour and a half, and it was gone in about ten minutes. It was so so tasty! And we got to see Tomo, which was a major plus!





To top off our night we headed to Knott’s Berry Farm. Knott’s Berry Farm is a theme park of sorts, I mean, of course you’ve heard of their jam, and cookies, and yummyness, but they also have rides and shops and Snoopy. We got there at about 7:30 so we only had 2.5 hours to play before they closed. The first ride we went on was the Supreme Scream, if you’ve been to Vegas it’s called the Big Shot, except this one is bigg. In fact it is the largest descending ride in the world…you sit in a chair with your feet dangling below and it takes you way up to the top and then drops you, it brings you up again, and drops you again. You must know that I have not been on a ride since I was about 8 years old, so to go on a ride like this was either the worst, or the best thing I could have possibly done…I’ll let you decide. By the end of it I was practically hyperventilating, and laughing, and almost crying. It was truly amazing, that was the only ride that J went on, but D and David and I wanted more! We went on another ride called the Boomerang and then the Park was closing, David and I ran to another ride and got in right as they closed the ride. We were the last ones they let on . That was the best one, I don’t know if it was because it was the longest, the last one, or if it was because we barely got on…maybe it was a mixture of the three . D and J didn’t make it to the ride in time, but that was okay, because J wanted to go find the gift shop anyway.
One of the coolest parts of the night was driving in David’s Mercedes convertible, it had screens in the headrest’s and we watched a U2 DVD. Wow, I didn’t know I liked U2, but I really do . We also got to watch a Dave Matthews Band DVD as well. So fun! It was a Blast!!!
After the ride

David and Grace

Day 6: London Bridge Is Falling Down!

We left early to get to Lake Havasu. D drove Uncle David’s car with Uncle David in it, and C and I drove Sid. D was in an e x t r e m e l y bad mood.

****** this is D interrupting... I am adding pics to the blogs and just read this post...and I have to say in my defense that I only got 4 hours of sleep and things had been frustrating*********

I was actually pretty grateful that I was not in the car with her. We drove through the exact same places that we had driven on Wednesday, but they were now almost completely devoid of snow and ice. It was a little strange. We passed by the fateful casino that had unintentionally caused so much trouble, and then moved on towards Arizona. The car ride was long, boring, and uneventful. That was probably a good thing, considering the events of the last one. We got Uncle David home, and he insisted on treating us to lunch. We went out after lunch and saw the London Bridge. It was pretty. We found out all sorts of info about the bridge, and C donated some coins to the huge Salvation Army donation thing that they had there. It was a pretty cool ‘donation thing’. It had a slot for every state. C donated for both Oregon and Idaho, since her heart belongs to both for various reasons. I didn’t donate to either, since my change belongs to my pocket for various other reasons. C is insisting over my shoulder that her heart does not belong to Idaho, it belongs to Rexburg. She wants that made very clear. Distinguish between the two. Idaho, no… Rexburg, yes. Sorry to all you Idahoans that are not from Rexburg. Anyway, back on track. We decided that it would be downright rude to pass through the area and not say Hi to our Grandma (Hi Grandma! (she reads this blog continually)) So we stopped in Earp (yes, named after Wyatt, who was born nearby) and had a short visit with her. We met the newest addition to our family, a little yapper-dog named Arrow. (Sorry, Grandma, I don’t know breeds, just size and sound). He was absolutely adorable, for all the noise he made. (I think I remember saying the same thing about my little brother when he was born. ;) )


When we finally made it out on the road to Cali, it was almost 5pm. We were all a little tired, but very anxious to get to LA and meet with David (Not Uncle). We were supposed to meet with David (not Uncle) late Thursday, and we were excited to see him and feeling guilty about missing almost a whole day with him. We drove FOREVER and finally made it to LA. We did a few things on Friday night, but I will leave them for C to describe, as LA is her territory. Thus ends the record of J Pappas on Vegas times.

Day 5: More than just food

Well, after the excitement of Wednesday, pretty much nothing was going to top it off. We all stayed up pretty late on Wednesday, so we woke up pretty late on Thursday. We had tickets to go to a buffet at Paris… not just any buffet, but THE buffet. For a complete list of all the delights we found there, see previous entry. After the buffet, everyone was pretty tired. We ate ourselves into a stupor, I think. We all went back to the hotel, where wee decided we would take a half hour and relax, then we would go out for our last day After her half hour, Mom decided that she needed more time, so D, C and I left her and Uncle David at the hotel and went out to see the sights. We parked at the Palazzo and walked over to the Venetian, where they pumped some sort of nasty perfume in the air so strong that we could not breathe. We walked across the bridge of sighs and sighed. We looked at the gondolas, heard the gondolier singing and I found my mind dwelling on Stephen Sondheim’s “Do I Hear a Waltz?” After walking around the Venetian, we walked EVERYWHERE else. We went down to Miracle Mile. It was starting to get dark, and the guys with their devious little pieces of paper were out in force. It was a little unnerving. We found a one hour photo place that did not actually do one hour photos. We passed by a guy who was pretending to hand out little pieces of paper like everyone else, and refused his paper before wee realized that it was a dollar bill. I am actually pretty sure that it was a $20 bill. Depressing. Anyway, we got to Miracle Mile and wandered there a lot. D had some guy try to convince her to buy a $300 dollar flat iron that was on sale for $200. If only. We found a couple of cheap souvenir places and got some pretty ridiculous stuff. We found an awesome hat place called Hattitude. Also, D discovered a place called ALDO, where she got some pretty sick rings to add to her collection. All in all, a pretty fun place, even if we did have to walk everywhere. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing; we found Teuscher chocolates, where D got some of her favorite champagne truffles. C got some chocolate, too, but I didn’t. Personally I think that if I am going to pay $75 a pound for something it had better be gold. We walked back to the car around 7. Mom’s plane was supposed to leave at 9:30 and we were going to take her to the airport, but we found out that her plane was delayed, so we went to Whole Foods again instead. We got random foods for our road trip the next day. D, C and I were to leave Vegas (only one day late) and head to LA on Friday. We finally went back to the hotel, where I crashed. I had stayed up until 2 am on Wednesday, woken up at 7 and then walked all day. I was dead tired. C and D took Mom to the airport… her plane had been delayed now 3 times… and then came back and went to sleep. A slow moving and tiring day....

"Orange Colored Sky" -Unknown

Jaeda-
GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
"The Way You Look Tonight" -Michael Buble

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Humble Me" -Nora Jones

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Soulmate" -Natasha Bedinfield

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Dancing" -Chris Issak

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"The Point of No Return" -Andrew Lloyd Weber

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Panis Angelicus" -Unknown

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"This Time" -Chris Isaak

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Strawberry Wine" -Deana Carter

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" -Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" -Brian Osburn

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Mouth on Fire" -Duncan Sheik

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"I'm Your Man" -Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Two Weeks in Hawaii" -Hellogoodbye

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"All Creatures of Our God and King" -Cathy Speer

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Stupid" -Sarah Maclachlan

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Star-Field on Red Lines" -Duncan Sheik

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Building a Mystery" -Sarah Maclachlan

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Don't Let Go" -En Vogue

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"The Mirror/Angel of Music" -Andrew Lloyd Weber

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"I Won't Say I'm in Love" -Cheryl Freeman (Hercules)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"The Winner Takes it All" -Meryl Streep

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Blasphemous Rumors" -Duncan Sheik

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Between the Minds" -Jack Savoretti

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Swing Low Sweet Chariot" -Eric Clapton

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Walking Away" -Jonny Lang

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Start Again" -Dunca Sheik

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Orange Colored Sky" -Unknown

1985 -Bowling for Soup

Casey-
GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
“Fearless Heart” -Unknown Artist

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"No One’s Aware" –Jack Savoretti

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Apologies" – Jack Savoretti

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Veronique" – Pink Martini

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Mosiah 4" -- King Benjamin

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Edelwies" –Vienna Boy’s Choir

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"1 Nephi 20" -- Nephi

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"The Best is Yet to Come" – Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"What Hurts the Most" – Rascal Flatts

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Hang on Little Tomato" – Pink Martini

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Honey Honey" – Mamma Mia Soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"What About" – Chris Daughtry

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Holes" – Rascal Flatts

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Journey to the Past" – Anastasia Soundtrack

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Time after Time" – Cindy Lauper

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"500 Miles" – The Proclaimers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Kryptonite" – 3 Doors Down

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Safe" -- Travis

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Flying" – Chris Issak

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Blackout" -- Muse

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Strawberry Wine" – Deana Carter

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Ave Maria" – William Joseph

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"My Wish" – Rascal Flatts

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Pieces" – Rascal Flatts

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"I Stand all Alone” – Quest for Camelot Soundtrack

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Survivor" – Destiny’s Child

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"1985" – Bowling for Soup

IPOD Game -- D -- "A Case Of You" -- Joni Mitchell

GAME RULES:
1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the game from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
"Proud Father" -- Jon McLaughlin

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Lights, Camera, Action" --NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Humble Me" -- Norah Jones

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Black Rain" -- Jack Savoretti

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Dr. Frankenstein" -- Jack Savoretti

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Summertime" --NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Come What May" -- Mario Frangoulis

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Put It On My Tab" -- NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Apologize" -- One Republic

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Only The Lonely" -- Chris Isaak

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Bad Day" -- Daniel Powter

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"A Taste Of Honey" -- Lizz Wright

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Cry" -- Dan Wilson

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"World" -- Five For Fighting

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Put Your Records On" -- Corrine Bailey Rae

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Dirty Dancing" -- NKOTB

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Something's Always Wrong" -- Toad The Wet Sprocket

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Poison" -- Bell Biv Devoe

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Dreaming With A Broken Heart" -- John Mayer

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Nothing Special" -- Duncan Sheik

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Get Together" -- Lizz Wright

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" -- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Crush" -- David Archuletta

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"I've Loved Enough To Know" -- Deana Carter

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Several Thousand" -- Jim Boggia

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"I'm All Right" -- Madeleine Peyroux

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"A Case Of You" -- Joni Mitchell

Day Five: How can I keep from eating?

We went out to brunch this morning... what did we have you might ask? Well, let me tell you:
Bacon cheddar bread rolls, rosemary bread, bouillabaisse, gnocchi, ravioli, pasta alfredo, risotto, saffron rice with peas and carrots, scalloped potatoes, rosemary potatoes, 2 kinds of mashed potatoes, crepes, gouda, meunster, havarti, chevre, 6 or 7 kinds of olives, artichoke hearts, roasted roma tomatoes with mozzerella, creamed spinach, coq a vin, curried cauliflower, broccoli, seafood soup, breaded fish with cream sauce, prawns, sausage and kraut, quiche, marinated vegetables....
cannoli, fudge brownie, creme brulee, apricot tart, pumpkin chocolate pie, pain au chocolat, croissant, bananas foster & flan
CAN YOU SAY BUFFET?

Day Four: Of Blizzards and Broken things...

So, we started out the day pretty much the same... slow start. We weren't sure what weather to prepare for. It had snowed a bit on Sunday, rained a lot on Monday, sunny/cold on Tuesday... it was a little unclear. So we figured we would dress for cold. There wasn't a lot we had planned. We were going to hang with David for a while, go to the Rio and check out the Venetian. We didn't really have anything set in stone. we were going to try to meet up with some friends from a while ago and whatever... lazy day, lazy plans. David came up and said that he might have a couple of ideas on what we could do. There was a ghost town somewhere out there... or we could go to Lake Havasu Azirona (yes I misspelled that on purpose) and see his hometown. That sounded like fun. I hadn't been back to Arizona since I was about 5 (unless you count passing through it on the way here) so I was up for it. We all agreed that we were Lake Havasu bound. As we got our things together and went downstairs, we discovered that David had lost his keys. He couldn't find them anywhere. He checked his room, his bag... everywhere. We finally decided that they had to have gotten locked in his car somehow. We checked out in the parking garage and, sure enough, his key was sitting perkily on the back seat, laughing at us. Oh crud. We spent two hours in that garage trying to get his car open. He pulled at the door to his car, stuck a wire hanger down the window and basically did everything he could think of to open that door. We had two security guys helping and there was nothing any of us could do. We listened to music, sang, took pictures. Generally we just had fun. Finally, C and D went inside and rode the glass elevator to the top of the hotel while mom and I went to get 'hot chocolate' from the coffee place inside. (I am using sarcastic quotes because we did not know until we were almost done drinking it that Starbucks puts espresso in their signature hot chocolate. That right there on top of the missing key should have warned us... but we just didn't see) As we got our drinks and D and C finished their elevator joy ride, david and the security officer got the car open. Yay! We were on our way. We stopped at in and out and got food, stopped at terrible herbst and got gas and then went on our merry way towards sunny Arizona. Or so we thought. C, D and I followed Uncle David and Mom along the freeway. As we drove things got brighter and brighter. Not because of the sun, no, because of the snow that was surrounding us. It was not long before we found ourselves in the middle of a FREAKING BLIZZARD. IN FREAKING NEVADA! We were calling back and forth between the cars deciding what to do. We decided to stop by the side of the road somewhere, get Mom in our car and say goodbye to David. He could continue on home and we would go back to Vegas. Without warning, David crossed two lanes of traffic and turned into a casino parking lot. We couldn't get across those lanes fast enough to make the same turn, so Mom and Uncle David told us to keep going until we could turn around, they would wait for us in the casino. We went 5 miles and a half hour further. Traffic was NOT moving. Finally, we turned around. We were having fun. We ate Smarties from Canada and opened the windows to the horizontal snow, turning the car into a snow globe. We took pictures of everything and blasted music. It was great. We got to the casino parking lot and watched as the reader board our front blasted the words 'Poor Weather Conditions Ahead, free coffee inside' to the poor people stuck in traffic. We called Mom when we got there and tried to decide if she was coming out or if we were going in. Finally, we just decided to go in. It was freezing, slippery and slushy outside. We went in and met up with mom, when we found out that David was missing again. We looked around, couldn't find him. His phone went straight to voicemail. Nothing. We were trying to decide whether we should just leave without saying goodbye when mom came rushing over to tell us that we needed to find security or something. David had just fallen in the parking lot... and broken his leg. Yes, that is what I said, broken his leg. We rushed outside, careful of the slushy snow that covered everything, and found David sitting on the ground. His leg was stretched out in front of him and he was shaking pretty badly. We got security over, along with about 10 other people. Everyone was trying to decide what to do. We saw cars spinning out everywhere in the street and the parking lot. The ambulance said that they would be a while. We waited outside with him. They casino personnel covered David with blankets, coats... anything that they could to keep him warm. I tried to lighten the situation with humor... he didn't appreciate that much. We surreptitiously snuck photos that he also wouldn't appreciate. It took the ambulance an hour to get there. It wasn't until we got to the hospital that we discovered that they came from less than 5 miles away. The traffic was just that bad. Mom drove David's car to the hospital while D, C and I drove Sid, my car. We waited in that hospital for 7 hours. After 4 hours they determined that the leg was broken in two places. You know how they figured it out? They took him in for a CAT scan. Morons... a simple X-ray wouldn't do. C D and I had to go to an auto place to get chains for my tires and a new headlight. We also replaced David's windshield wiper, as the one he had was cracked in half. We tried to get dinner for all of us, but ended up with nasty crap that cost way too much and tasted like chemical cardfood. In the end, they wouldn't let David eat anything anyway in case they had to take him in for surgery. I would be afraid of surgery from that hospital... The techs that took him in for the CT lay him on the gurney with his feet sticking out the end and pushed him through doorways feet first... using his feet to open the doors... yeah he did have a broken leg thanks for asking. They apparently didn't care. they put him on some sort of psychotic drug that had him freaking out, then another drug to calm him down. They also said that their 'bone doctor' wasn't in, so they would splint it tonight and we could come back tomorrow to get it cast. Come back tomorrow? What pills are they taking? D, C and I finally came back to Vegas (on clear roads, by the way) to wait at the hotel room for Mom and David to come back from Henderson. Yeah, did I mention that we only made it 20 miles outside of Vegas. This whole thing happened within spitting distance of our hotel practically. What the heck?
I should say, though, that through this whole thing I know our Father in Heaven has been watching out for us. I am not sure that what happened here was His design or a result of our bad choices, but I am sure that He has not left us alone in this. There were many other things that could have gone wrong, many worse things that could have happened. We had good people around us that helped us through it all, and we had angel to bear us up. I only hope that they are okay being with us in Vegas. This town still makes me uneasy, but I no longer fear it. I wouldn't want to live here, but I like it much, much better than I ever thought i would.
As for Uncle David... well... it is 230 am here, and he has been at the hospital for 10 hours. Mom should be bringing him here very soon, and we are waiting for them. (Well, I am, D and C have passed out on the bed)He is not in the best of moods, and he is very drugged. I know that he is not happy with this day, and I fear that he regrets coming to see us. I regret only that he is hurt. I think that this day ended up with a much more interesting story than any of us could have planned. I wonder what tomorrow holds...

Day Three: Then things started to go south...

We woke up late again yesterday. We took a long time getting out and about. It didn't help that we were trying to resolve our hotel room mixup. They were chargin us for all kinds of crap and we were not happy. Add that to the fact that the ice machine kept waking us up throughout the night and blah blah blah we were getting a different room. We were supposed to check out of our current room, then check into the new one. as a courtesy to us (I think that they need to really learn what the word courtesy means) they were going to let us stay in our room until our next room was ready, but they didn't let us know if our room was ready or not. And they didn't let us know... and they didn't... you get the pic. So we sat around waiting for them to call, then finally decided that we needed to get out and do something. So we left the room around one o'clock. We drove out to the Las Vegas temple. The difference between the strip and the temple is laughable. There is a peace and a wonderful feeling that comes just from standing on the ground outside the temple. We took pictures and wandered. When we left the temple we went to Ross and each bought something. We got a cooler for our Whole Foods food and a couple of other things. Then we followed the Stratosphere back to our hotel. We were waiting for Uncle David to come so that we could hang out with him, so we went to get our new rooms situated until he came out. Yeah, that was wierd. They didn't have any record of our new arrangements, so mom had to arrange again. We got our stuff out of our room and up to our new room with no help from the hotel staff thank you very much. then we decided that rather than wait for David, we would get a couple of other things on our list out of the way. We knew that David wanted to take us to Freemont St., so we decided to go to NYNY and MGM before he got there. When we got to MGM, we went to Emerils and got some 'banana creme pie' that tasted really good but I would probably never crave. Then we went to see the lions. We felt really really bad for the lions, because I would hate to be stuck in a huge fake plastic habitat all day while people pointed and stared at me. David called and said he would meet us there, so we sat around and waited for him. And waited and waited and... finally he got there, right as we found out that the lions are actually not stuck in the habitat all day, they actually come from a farm on the edge of town, where they live with the other 25 lions. They are traded out every 5 hours and only come to the casino 2 or 3 times a week. I felt better. Uncle David joined us as we wandered (for a very short amount of time) around NYNY and took pictures with us as we walked on the fake brooklyn bridge. He was a good sport about it, though he didn't really like having his pic taken. Then we went to Freemont St. It was cool. I considered, as I had been considering all week, whether or not I should just drop a quarter in the slot machine (I decided against it in the end). We bought postcards really really cheap and saw the music show on the ceiling. C and I were on TV for a short amount of time as we talked to the most awkward host guy ever. We had fried twinkies (which I didn't even try) and fried oreos (which were surprisingly delicious) and got mardi gras beads. It was loads of fun, in spite of the lack of smashed penny machines. We headed back to the car, back tot he hotel and said good night. We didn't crash as quickly, but crash we did eventually... the best is yet to come and babe won't it be fine...

Day Two: Everything we wanted and more...

So, when we were at the hotel room we made a list of everything we wanted to do in Vegas:
See a Show of some sort
See the
--Bellagio(water show, pastry shop, blown glass, Christmas decorations)
--New York New York (brooklyn bridge)
--Venetian (gondolas, opera singers, rialto bridge)
--Mirage (volcano, tigers, Beatles tribute)
--MGM Grand (Lions, Emerils)
--Paris (everything)
Show at the Rio
Whole Foods
M&M Store
Carnegie Deli
Etc. Etc. Etc.
So we planned each day out, and Monday we had a lot to do. We were to go to breakfast, go to Whole Foods, go to the M&M Store early to get 1/2 price tickets and then go to the Bellagio and the Mirage. Things didn't quite go as planned in the beginning. We didn't make it to the M&M Store as early as we thought we would, so D and C were in line for a while. Mom and I wandered around the store itself while they stood in line and tried to decide on a show. We weren't allowed to know which one, but they did want us to decide between Mamma Mia and Cirque Du Soliel's Mystere. We couldn't decide, so they did. We got tickets for 'a show' at Treasure Island, which was perfect because it was right next to the other two hotels we were looking at. We also discovered that, contrary to what would make sense, the Carnegie Deli was at Caesar's Palace rather than New York New York. Caesar's was also right next to the other hotels. So after going (back to the hotel room to get coats and money) to Whole Foods (barely missing a fire alarm there, then meeting our new best friend whose name I do not know but who loved us for our deep and extensive knowledge of cheese) and eating an AMA-zing lunch, we parked the car and walked around Vegas... and walked... and walked. We walk a lot on vacation I have noticed. I should go on vacation more often, I might lose weight. Of course, we eat a lot on vacation too, so that probably wouldn't work well. After parking as TI (or treasure Island) we walked to the Bellagio. Wow. We saw all of their nasty gaudy Christmas decorations, as well as this huge-ungous blown glass ceiling design of flowers. We went to that one pastry shop and saw the worlds largest chocolate fountain that pours three different kinds of chocolate down from the ceiling to the floor. They also had amazing chocolate designs like Elvis and a Ratatouille cake. We decided that we had to get a culinary confection of some sort, so we settled on a choclate Nutella thingy that was oh-so-good and a Dulce De Leche bread thingy that was even better! We sat and demolished those, then headed out for the light show. The first light show that we caught most of was to the song "She's the One" It was great. We made it to the other side of the water and waited for the next one, which started about twenty minutes later. It was to the Alleluia Chorus from the Messiah. It was astounding. As we were leaving, they did another, this to the song My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Wow. We crossed the street and went to Paris. We walked around looking at everything, tried to find water that wasn't purified or $4, settled for tap water and a huge crepe. The crepe was stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, mozzerella and boursin (though I couldn't actually taste the boursin). It was yummy deliciousness. after the crepe and the agua, we went out to Caesar's Palace and wandered looking at all the amazingness (we also found out that Carnegie was not there either, but was at the Mirage)When we went to the Mirage, we discovered that it was $15 each to see the tigers, no ta. So we went to the large psychadelic hallways and took pictures with the Beatles cutouts. That was groovy. Yes, the day is still going. We found our way from the Mirage to Treasure Island, where we wandered around a couple of stores and found the line for Mystere. We waited in line for a long long long time, then found our seats. Wow, our seats were good. We were right up alongside the stage. We could see everything and everything could see us. I am going to let D or C blog about the show, because now, three days later, I am still speechless. It was... There were... And the... yeah. After the show we had all pretty much hit a wall. It was made of brick and gave us instant dreams of pillows and sleepiness. Except Casey, she was pretty wired. We weren't quite done either. Even though it was now midnight, we had to go to Carnegie Deli for a sandwich. We got Fries, Corned beef hash and a Reuben. Wait, did I say Reuben? No, I meant ten pounds of meat on top of two slices of rye bread, covered in five pounds of saurkraut and swiss cheese. We split it between the four of us, ate seconds of it, and took the rest in a to go box. huge. We skipped and jumped our merry way back to the car and went back to the hotel, where we crashed yet again... more to come...

Day One Vegas: We're Driving, We're Driving

So... it is my turn to blog... prepare yourself because a lot has happened and I am going to tell you ALL of it! Casey and I left Rexburg in the afternoon on Saturday. We were headed to SLC to meet up with my mom and sister. Then we were all heading to VEGAS! Yippee. To tell you the truth, I was not totally excited about the trip. I mean, I was happy to spend time with my mom and sisters, but Vegas has never really been on my wishlist, but whatever... it was an adventure. We drove FOREVER! We got into SLC while Mom and D were out to dinner, so Casey and I walked around temple square for an hour or so. Then we went to a little place called the OBT or Off Broadway Theatre, and met up with Mom and Danita to watch the play Its a Wondrous Life. Yes, I got the title right. OBT is a spoof/improv theatre that specializes in wierd. The play was great. It was funny and strange. After the play we went and crashed at Russ' house, then headed to Vegas the next day. We stopped over in St. George and visited the vistor's venter at the temple there. It was SO beautiful! Then we continued our squished little journey towards Vegas. It was a long car ride, and it was just getting dark when we got there. We first went to our hotel, dropped off all of our stuff and went to get something to eat. We were trying to keep it simple, so we went to in-and-out burger, where their chocolate shakes are 'light colored' (aka vanilla) and their burgers have a secret ingredient (grilled onions, yum!) Then we drove up and down the strip looking at all of the ginormous buildings and trying not to get in a car wreck as we couldn't really keep our eyes on the road. We finally went back to the hotel and crashed again (not the car, just ourselves) in our dinky little hotel room with the ice machine outside that, in my mother's words, sounded like a jet engine.... not even close to being finished...

Happy Birthday To ME!!!

Several years ago my sisters and I went to Canada for my birthday. We only had one night to spend and it's one our favorite memories!

So it has become one of our traditions to go to Canada for my birthday, this year (as with the first) it happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day. While many of you were stuffing yourselves with turkey and ham and sweet potatoes -- J,C and I were playing in Canadia!!

We started our adventure in Seattle on Wednesday. My sistas picked me up from school and we headed out. Our destination was a place called Costas Opa! a greek restaurant that came highly recommended. We're greek, we love food, we love greek food and this place was YUMMY!!!! We took pics of all of the food we consumed on this trip. I guess we could rename this blog "All the food we ate and LOVED!" anyway, after a quick visit to the Seattle Troll, we had the most delicious tyropitakia. I also got free birthday baklava. We then met Aunt Debi, Sunny and Dakota for a second chance at TWILIGHT!

tyropitakia





I LOVED IT!!!!! it really was better the second time.

Well, we slept for a couple of hours and woke up to Aunt Debi cooking us delicious breakfast, including a small birthday cake!

We drove to Canadia. Mr. Grumpy was at the gate, but let us into Canada for the night. After checking in, we went to Granville Island for lunch. I think it was the best lunch we ever had. We found bits and bites from the different stands in the market. Some greek olives, feta cheese, hummus, rosemary bread and cheese and pepperoni... I am hungry just thinking about it!






We took a drive through Stanley Park on our way to Grouse Mountain. They have this really great gondola/cable car that takes you a mile up to the top of the mountain. Once there, we took advantage of the offerings at the chalet. Meaning, we watched a couple movies on their "IMAX style" theater. yeah, not IMAX... not even close... anyway, it is right before ski season and if it weren't for the convention going on, i think we would have been the only ones there. They have 2 grizzly bears that live on the mountain and we were sooooooo excited to see them. They said it was only a 5 minute walk... we went on the bear hunt and came up empty handed. Well, not completely... we found some MONSTER large statues of sports guys overlooking the ski resort. We wandered until we could wander no more and then C and I went ICE SKATING!!!! It had been FOREVER since either of us had gone. True confession-- I used what I call the "ice walker" for the first few rounds. There was nothing else to hold onto. We held hands and skated like we were kids again. Then headed in for some hot chocolate and spiced cider. We had an extra treat of a gospel choir to serenade us.


After out mountain adventure, we headed to dinner. Our choice was a Malaysian place called the Banana Leaf. YUM! fried bananas and ice cream for birthday/thanksgiving.



After our usual toasting time when we got back to the hotel, We CRASHED hard. I totally forgot to open my birthday presents.

We headed home the next morning and we planned on NOT going to Seattle, but as we were driving through, there was an accident and looooong delays, so we went to Pike's Market for a bit. SO FUN!!!


I love the adventures that I get to take, especially the ones that I take with my sistas!

NKOTB Obsession!!!

SISTAS!

20 Years BABY!!


We all heard the the New Kids were back. After hearing about the reunion tour, I debated on getting some tickets. I know someone that could get me some tix to the Rose Garden and thought I would try that connection to get some seats. I couldn't afford much, so if that didn't work out I wasn't gonna cry about it. But about a month or so ago my friend Jill went to the NKOTB concert in New Jersey. Immediately after the concert, she bought floor seats to the D.C. show! After hearing how AWESOME the show was, I made an effort to find some tix.

Jen and Breezy and I are celebrating our 20th Anniversary! We have been best friends for 20 years and I don't know what I would do without them. We decided we had to do something BIG to celebrate. Caribbean cruise was the decision, but as is the way of life... other more important things came up, like foot surgery and car repairs. I convinced Breezy and Jen that NKOTB would be THE PERFECT 20th celebration. They weren't quite as convinced as I was, but they love me and we found $20 tix, so they relented. And boy are they SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad they did. B flew in from Houston and I flew from Oregon and we met Jen in SLC for the weekend.

There are no words to describe what happened at the concert. But I'll try to put a few together for you. It was like my 30 year old somewhat mature self was overcome by a SCREAMING 15 year old girl. I found myself jumping up and down screaming at the top of my lungs. At one point I thought I was gonna pass out, I had to sit down. It was so great to just react and be and not worry about the person next to you thinking you are a TOTAL FREAK... because they are doing the SAME THING!

I am a really lucky girl, cause not only was I there with my bff's, My sisters were there too! J converted C to the NKOTB fan base and they got tix with us. I got to sit in the middle, so MY GIRLS were on my right and MY SISTAS were on my left. IT WAS AMAZAZING! A perfect way to celebrate our BFF anniversary and a magnificent sister memory!


addendum ---- this concert was SO AMAZING that I went 2 more times!! I drove to Vancouver BC with a friend of a friend. We were in row 27 on the FLOOR!!!! I touched Donnie and Jonathan!!! *sigh* and toward the end of the show, I snuck up to the eighth row!!

I also went to the show in Tacoma with my girls from the 'Couve. I snuck onto the floor for the B stage show and touched Donnie and Joey AGAIN!!!!!

Enjoy the pics, and remember to breathe!

D loves Vacations

I LOVE vacations. I really wish I could be on vacation ALL the time. Most recently I spent a week in LA. As I sit in physics class trying to understand how to find the sin of angle theta and the velocity of the rocket our teacher fired off in the parking lot next to the science building, I find myself daydreaming about the places I've been. I still have the tan lines from my San Diego sunburn, so I know that I don't have to think about physics forever. There are days that all I have to worry about is whether or not I remember my sunblock. Thank goodness for vacations!

I'm already planning the trips I'll take on the next school break. Looking forward to Canadia on my birthday/Thanksgiving. And a quick weekend to see NKOTB with my best friends for our 20th anniversary. And Vegas in December with my mom and sistas.

Stay tuned... but until then, enjoy some pics from my fun in the sun.

Santa Monica Pier

San Diego Wild Animal Park

me and my buddy David

Beluga Tail

the Budweiser Horse

Me and THE Mouse!

California Adventure

Teacups!

The posse with goofy

me and my pal Allyson

The Wubulous World of... BYU-Idaho

Hey! I have decided that it has been much too long since I have blogged here about anything! I am here at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, and there is just not a lot to say. School has been a blast so far, with C here and so many other C-siders. I have been meeting lots and lots of new people. Nearly everyone here is so friendly, and the teachers tend towards the cool. It is nice to be living a different life here than I had previously been able to live. I am still not sure what the future holds, but for now, I am content with the present. I guess the point of this little entry was to let everyone know that I am still alive! So, now you know. We will be having much more to write come November and December. I am looking forward to it all!

D on the Deschutes

I FINALLY WENT RAFTING!!!!!!!!! At the last minute, I got to join a rafting expedition down the Deschutes. It was AWESOME! I knew I would love it. I only had about 4 hours of sleep (this will be explained in a different post), but strangely had enough energy to rock it down the river. I think my favorite part had to be when our whole side of the raft fell out at Boxcar. At one point, I was under the raft, holding onto the rope and my paddle for dear life. I also loved pushing Adam off the front of the boat, when Travis tackled Crystal off the raft into the water, and the water fights with random strangers. All in all, it was a fabulous day on the river... as the pictures will show.