Thursday, July 23, 2009

Las Vegas Trip Wrap-Up

Ok, so we went to Vegas like weeks ago, but I'm finally getting around to writing about it. Overall, we had a great trip. I forgot how much I missed the desert air!!! As soon as we walked out of the airport to wait for our shuttle, it felt WONDERFUL. We stayed at the MGM Grand, in 4 different rooms in our 3 day visit. Let me just say that the front desk of the MGM Grand was less than helpful - we had reservations, yet they said since we were checking in so late, we had to just take what was available, which the first room was across from the bar - um hello, bar, in Vegas, I'd never get any sleep - so we got a new room ASAP. ANYWAYS, I've had a few weeks to get over all the room changes, so I will save you the drama. In the end up in a lovely room on the 18th floor in the Grand Tower.

The first day we had breakfast at the Paris buffet - a WONDERFUL yummy goodness of breakfast! We stuffed ourselves silly. Luckily we walked everywhere - by the end of our trip we had walked over 25 miles in 3 days! I brought my pedometer :)Anyways, next we hit the pool and cruised the lazy river. I tried to get some reading done, but I'd forgotten how hot it actually gets in the summer and spent most of the time in the water. Luckily, I didn't get too burned. I'm afraid I am turning into a Midwesterner who is really, really pale :(

Now it's time for me to step up on my soapbox: Las Vegas is NOT for kids. Yes, there are things for kids to do, and Las Vegas has tried to make it all family friendly, but in my humble opinion - PARENTS DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS. I have never seen so many absentee parenting then I did in these 3 days. When we came home I had it all planned out how I was going to rant and rave about this on my blog, but as you can see I've forgot. So again, I'll spare you.

The best part of the trip was seeing was seeing Cirque du Soleil LOVE. This was our first Cirque show, loved it so much we went to see Koooza that is performing here in town last week! we heard that Love is different from the typical Cirque show because it tells a story instead of different "acts". If you are ever in Las Vegas I highly recommend seeing Love - it was amazing! Plus it has a ton of great Beatles songs to sing along with :)

All in all, we had a great trip. Those darn machines ate my money. Adam placed a bet on the Vikings winning the Super Bowl, so we'll have to wait and see on that one. Next trip - Phoenix in August!

Monday, July 6, 2009

4th of July Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a great 4th of July weekend! We kicked things off Thursday night with a concert at First Avenue downtown Minneapolis - The Roots!!! I've loved The Roots since I was in high school (which I just realized this year is my 10 year reunion!!!) and when I saw they were going to be in town I knew we HAD to go. The show was AMAZING - they give such a great live show - playing new songs and old ones too - as well as a little of everything else. After the concert we walked and had dinner at Pizza Luce. It was here where I had my first official "I am old" moment - there were some girls at the restaurant who needed to find some more clothes to wear! I swear I have never seen dresses so small and inappropriate! That's when it donned on me - I am officially old.

Friday morning we left to head up north to our cabin visit at our sister-in-law's family cabin in Barnum. It was GREAT. I finished 2 books and started another while I worked on my tan. We went out on the pontoon boat and had smores by the fire. I also realized why Minnesotans have cabins - to get away from it all and relax! (This is along the same epiphany I had when we moved here in November about why Minnesotans also take vacations in the winter to warmer climates!) If you know me, you know I am not an "outdoor" person - my idea of camping is a hotel with a pool. We finished up the weekend on Sunday going to lunch at Smashburger in Golden Valley. These burgers were SOOOO YUMMY! We will definitely be back :)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Books Read: June 2009

1) Hungry Monkey - Matthew Amster-Burton
2) The Case of the Missing Books - Ian Sansom
3) Exposed: Confessions of a Wedding Photographer - Claire Lewis
4) An Idiot Girl's Christmas - Laurie Notaro
5) Scot on the Rocks: How I Survived My Ex-Boyfriend's Wedding… - Brenda Janowitz
6) Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith
7) Admission - Jean Hanff Korelitz
8) Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
9) A Catered Murder - Isis Crawford
10) The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs - Alexander McCall Smith
11) Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like A Skank - Celia Rivenbark
12) Mexican Whiteboy - Matt de la Pena
13) American Wife: A Novel - Curtis Sittenfeld
14) The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
15) A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana - Haven Kimmel
16) Bad Twin - Gary Troup
17) Summer Reading: A Novel - Hilma Wolitzer
18) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book - Frank Warren
19) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel - Gregory Maguire
20) Don't Let My Mama Read This: A Southern Fried Memoir - Hadjii
21) Serve the People: A Stir Fried History Through China - Jenn Lin-Liu
22) The Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
23) Looks - Madeleine George
24) I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales From a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing - Kyria Abrahams
25) Holly's Inbox - Holly Denham

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