Lions..Hippos...& Jelly Beans

Happy Monday.... 


Well we not only survived our Vegas Vacation... but we really enjoyed it!!

The afternoon we arrived, we dropped our stuff in the hotel room and went out to wander the strip. 

 

We did a lot of people watching... and according to the boys, we took way too many pictures, but as a mom, I feel there are never enough pictures. We let the boys play at an arcade for awhile, went to dinner and did a lot of walking. We planned to take the boys down to the pool when we got back to the hotel, but it turns out the pool closes at 7:00 pm.... WOW... an employee informed us that the hotel wants people inside gambling, not outside laying by the pool...hhmmmm.. OK. So we just went to our room and the boys played a few games before bed. 

The next morning we were up and out the door by 8:30 to get to the pool. (This is the view of the pool from our room). The boys had a blast in the pools... the wave pool, lazy river, and regular pool... we spent 4 hours going from one pool to the next, I think we may have sat in our lounge chairs a total of 10 minutes the whole time. The Monte Carlo is now my new favorite Las Vegas hotel just because of the pool. It was about 104 degrees out there, but the water felt amazing! 

And that night, we went to see the Lion King.

No idea why I didn't take any pictures in front of the Lion King displays.... only a couple in our seats while we waited. 

The show was awesome!! The boys loved it... and the mom's did too! I highly recommend the show if you ever get the chance. 

And after the show we went to dinner... walked around a bit more... then headed to the Bellagio to see the water show.  *While we were walking the strip, we overheard a discussion between 3 girls... they were discussing why hippos are so much more dangerous than lions...and Vanessa and I got caught eavesdropping, so we joined in the conversation... haha The boys were pretty amused by all of us women. 

*Nate & Drew waiting for the water show*

We all had a great time that night... and were pretty exhausted by the time we got back to the room. 

The next morning we had breakfast and stopped to check out the lions at MGM. While we were there we caught the "gambling bug".... both of us moms took turns watching the boys so we could play the slots. We each just played a couple dollars so the boys didn't have to wait long.... and I won $14.. WOOHOO.... but Drew takes after his mother in the gambling department too, and he was begging me to play one of his dollars so he could win too. So he picked a machine (a penny slot with a picture of a kitten on it) and I played for him... and won 96 cents...haha.. but he was happy! 

It was a great vacation with our amazing friends! We are so happy and lucky to have Vanessa & Nathan in our lives.. to laugh with, gamble with, swim with.... and throw chanclas with...LOl

Vacation Time

Tomorrow morning we will be on our way to a little vacation... 
and I am SUPER excited!
Looking forward to 3 days of no work, no dishes, no laundry, and ZERO structure.... when we're on vacation pretty much all the rules are thrown out the window.... 
Especially when we go to 

YAY for Vegas!! 


We're staying at the Monte Carlo just for the pool... I'm sure the hotel is nice too, but we wanted a fun pool area for the kids to play at..... 

And we're also going to see the Lion King... can't wait!! 

I've heard great things about the show and I'm sure the kids are going to LOVE it! 

Now if I can just try to get through the next 24 hours...... It is extremely hard to concentrate when all I can think about is bright lights, tons of people, and laying by the pool... 

Summer Lovin'

***I acknowledge that it is not officially Summer until June 21st.... However, in my world... Summer begins either A) on Drew's last day of school... or B) the 1st of June, which ever comes first. 


*After closing ceremonies this Saturday, baseball is officially over for Drew. Which leaves us with time to fill... I'm sad to see baseball go, but I welcome our free time to sit around and do nothing.. or head to the BEACH!


*By this time next week we will be in VEGAS!! Yes, this is our Summer vacation (again)... and was completely Drew's idea. I gave him the choice of where he wanted to go for vacation this year, and he chose Vegas, since that's where we went last Summer and we had a blast. This time we're taking friends with us too!


*I have recently been in touch with an old friend from high school. We hadn't spoken in about 8 years and found each other a few weeks ago on Facebook. Our friendship in high school was minimal.. and awkward the 2 years following... but we'll see what happens this time. We have plans to hang out Saturday.... let's hope this wasn't a mistake. 


*While going over the bills for the rest of the month I've come to the realization (that I have every month) that we are BROKE... it seems like every dollar I earn is already allocated to some bill before I even get paid.... yet some how I acquired 3 new dresses, Drew got new shoes & a video game, and I gave into my thrift store addiction last week... Oh, and did I mention we leave for VEGAS in a week?? Where did that money come from?


*The car is in need of a couple repairs. The motor to my power windows decided to go out (right before Summer!!.. Thanks Ford!) and I need new front brakes (just had the rear done 3 weeks ago).... 


*Although the bedroom part of the remodel is pretty much complete, the construction continues... they are now tearing apart my hallway, dining room and living room.... while installing the AC/Heater unit... fun & dirty stuff going on in there. I'm actually getting used to walking in my front door and seeing holes in my walls and tarps thrown all over my furniture.


*I would like to file a complaint with Mother Nature. Like I said, I do get that Summer has not "officially" started.... but, I do live in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. According to every song, movie, book and sun screen commercial, it is supposed to be in the 80's AT LEAST by now... every day! This 70's weather is just not cutting it. Kick up the heat Mother Nature!! 


*This is the first full week (all 5 days) that I have worked in over a month... and will be the last full week I work for another 3 weeks. This is all due to vacation days, my birthday (which is considered a holiday by my company and ME), and my Gma being in the hospital. After 4th of July, I'm pretty much stuck in the office.... I can feel a few "sick" days coming on already... 


*S'mores, water guns, swimming, the smell of sunscreen, tons of ice cream, and sand under my feet are all in our future! 


****HAPPY SUMMER****

Moody Booty

Apparently I'm in a bit of a "mood".... and didn't even realize it until today. 
I just noticed that it's been over a week since I posted anything even though I'm on here every day reading everyone else's blogs...
It's not for lack of things to post... with Drew and I there is always something going on... and last week was a VERY busy week for us.
We had my birthday, the last week of baseball games, my cousins graduation and my sister came to visit. But I've been in a "Me Mood"... I don't want to share... I want to keep my happy little life to my self.. yep, I am a selfish one... 


But this is a mellow week... the only thing we actually have scheduled is to watch the NBA finals... that's it... oh, and closing ceremonies for baseball on Saturday... So maybe soon I'll get over the mood and post some pictures from my birthday at Disneyland... or share some stories of the crazy night with my sister.... 


Hope all is well with the rest of the world.... 

It's Just About Ready...

It's been a PROJECT to say the least.... 

One month...

But totally worth it... 

Just added the new furniture and new bed set.... 

And I love the way it came out. 

Still need to get some curtains.. and an area rug.. 

then attempt to hang some pictures of the love of my life 

up on these blank walls... 

I am SOOO glad to finally be sleeping in my own room and bed again... that couch was not meant for Drew and I... heck we have a hard enough time both fitting on this Cal-King bed with the way he flips around in the middle of the night... 

In other news... 

I took a much needed trip to the beach ALONE a couple weeks ago... 

I baked like a lobster.. OUCH.. 

but it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed every second.

We had a very busy end of the week last week, and it carried into the weekend.

Grandma was sent to the hospital Wednesday afternoon with con-genitive heart failure (but she's doing good now), so I was at the hospital Wednesday and Thursday.. 

My mom was in town to see Grandma and to work on a family yard sale that weekend. 

Friday & Saturday were spent working at the yard sale, dealing with a migraine, and squeezing in a little league game. 

So Sunday we just completely relaxed out by Grandma's pool... 

it was nice and hot..

but that water was freezing cold!! 

Patience & Practice

Last night was little man's first night of football practice. Well technically it was just conditioning to prepare him for the actual practices in August... but we're calling it practice.. just because. 
So we get there and there are already about 20 kids out on the field and a bunch of coaches. I tell Drew to go out there with the other kids and pay attention.... He's a little hesitant, but to my surprise, he actually went.
They started off with simple stretches, then went running around the track.... Here's where football takes a HUGE turn for the worse for us.... I had forgotten to bring my chair out to the field with me so I while Drew was out running I decided to go the car and get it. HUGE MISTAKE... 
I wasn't back in my spot on the field when Drew came back and he was devastated... scared and very upset.. tears and all. 
So I tried to calm him down.. he seemed ok so I gave him his water and told him to get back out there with the kids because they were lining up to start drills. 
But it was too late.. Drew was done.. 
The running exhausted him.. then he was scared to death... he had NO desire to go back out there and proceeded to cry and throw a tantrum.... and I became the HORRIBLE Mom... I start threatening to take away every video game he owns... then the entire Wii system... dessert.. and then every toy he owns.... but this kid wasn't giving in.. 
So I decided it was over... we were leaving. 
10 minutes into "practice" and we were done. 
But that just made Drew even more upset. As we start walking to the car his crying gets worse and he's begging to stay (because by this point I've already told him his entire football career is over FOR LIFE). 
I yelled. I said things I shouldn't have. I got frustrated. I had absolutely ZERO patience with my 6 year old. I know this kid like the back of my hand.. even better than that.. I know how he responds to yelling and threats (he doesn't) but I did it any way... I lost my cool.... and I am VERY disgusted and disappointed in my behavior.
When we got home and things settled down a bit we climbed in to bed and had a talk. Drew said that he didn't like the "practice", it was too hard to run that much. He doesn't want to do the practices but still wants to play in the games. I explained that it doesn't work that way.. not just because Mommy says so, but it's reality and the coach would tell him the same thing. 
So now I'm stuck... I'm not sure what to do. 
These conditioning practices are not mandatory, but they are recommended to prepare the kids for the actual practices. Do I let Drew skip the next 2 months of conditioning then show up in August for full on practice 3 times a week and hope it does it... and well? Do I make him go to conditioning even though I know it really probably is too much for his tiny body? Or do we just quit before we even started? 
Drew loves football.. he loves watching it, playing it, playing the video games, wearing the jerseys.. all of it.... except practicing it. 
I think we'll go back to practice next Tuesday and let him give it a try.. talk to the coaches and see what they say... and go from there. 
And in the mean time.... I will practice my patience....