• Getting ready for my sister’s arrival! 7:15 AM Sep 30th from web
• One more day before the scrappin’ fun begins! 5:35 AM Sep 29th from web
• Just got back from a weekend in Vegas. Ate my weight in crab legs at the Rio. Saw Popovich Comedy Pet Theater… Cute, but kitchy. 7:31 PM Sep 27th from web
• My cousin went to sleep on Tuesday and never woke up. I will miss her so! http://bit.ly/2llqCD 5:53 AM Sep 25th from web
• Modern Family was ok, but Cougar Town is hilarious! 8:52 PM Sep 23rd from mobile web
• Oh yah. We’ll definitely be in the news tomorrow… 8:32 PM Sep 22nd from web
• I really hate legal email recovery requests. 10:03 AM Sep 22nd from web
• Looking forward to the DWTS premiere tonight! 5:44 AM Sep 21st from web
• Finished the Hawaii/Bahamas scrapbook yesterday, and started in the UK/Ireland trip. It will be two full albums when I’m finished! 5:40 AM Sep 21st from web
• Home for the weekend. It’s Friday. Time to scrapbook! 6:08 PM Sep 18th from web
• I just picked up a 5/10 split at bowling!! 7:03 PM Sep 17th from mobile web
• Somehow I managed to accomplish scrapping 6 double 12×12 layouts today. Finished the Disney cruise, and I’m halfway done with Hawaii. Yay! 11:21 PM Sep 13th from web
• Just ordered $43 worth of prints from Costco Photo for the upcoming CK Scrapbooking convention. I hope to scrap my last 4 vacations! 9:50 PM Sep 11th from web
• Happy 7 year 7 month and 7 day Anniversary to my sweetie! 7:10 PM Sep 9th from web
• Beatles Rock Band in hand – heading home to play! 12:20 AM Sep 9th from mobile web
• At Harrah’s with Mom, casino number 5 so far. Heading home shortly to rock out! 9:18 AM Sep 5th from mobile web
• Been cleaning house all day long in preparation for my Mom’s arrival. Nothing like vacuuming all surfaces of the couch to make you tired! 2:28 PM Sep 2nd from web
• Mom flies in tomorrow to visit until Sunday!! I’m so excited to see her! 6:40 PM Sep 1st from web
• Going to pick up Guitar Hero V today. I hope it’s not as bad as the last one! 8:08 AM Sep 1st from web

It has been almost two years since Andrew and I went to Vegas.  That’s a record for us!  We thought it was about time we got back up there.  Since we’ve seen almost every show in town and been to every casino, it’s hard for us to find new things to do.

This time, we decided to stay at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino.  What a DUMP.  For real – it was a dump.  Dirty walls and carpeting, old fixtures, paint chipping off the doors.  For some strange reason, their rooms have a glass window allowing you to look directly into the bathroom from the bedroom area.  Disgusting!  Who wants to watch someone on the toilet?  Uggh.  I will never stay there again.

We were stretching it with the entertainment this time.  We decided to go see Comedy Pet Theatre – a very kitchy show with cats and dogs.  Mostly dogs.  The performer tells a one-sided story of how he got kicked out of the circus and decided to take his pet show on the road.  The little kids in front of us loved it, but Andrew and I were pretty bored.  We wish he had done more with the cats.  One thing to say about the performer though is his cats clearly loved him.  Every time he walked by one, it would stretch out to greet him and want to be petted – he has a very good relationship with his pets.  That was nice to see.

We went to the Pinball Hall of Fame to find a tournament in progress.  It was absolutely packed with people!  We couldn’t even get in on any of the machines to play.  After another Cactus Cooler from the vending machine, we decided it was best to leave.

It seems Vegas has pretty much lost its charm for us these days.  We used to go 3-4 times per year, but with nothing new in town and no exciting acts to see, it’s hard to justify the drive and the expense of a high class strip hotel

"Suite" at the Rio Las Vegas

Living Area with old TV

Window View from Bedroom into Bathroom

Mom and Me in Sedona

For the first time since May, 1999 my Mom came to visit me in Arizona.  Ten years I’ve waited!  Hooray!  I took her casino hopping throughout the state, and ended up at our house for a small birthday party to celebrate my 32nd.

She flew in on September 2, 2009.  I picked her up late in the evening and we headed up to Fort McDowell casino for the night.  The following morning it was off through Payson on AZ-87 through Camp Verde.  We went up to Sedona and checked out the beautiful views before heading back to Cliff Castle Casino for the night.

On the morning of the 4th, we drove back down to Phoenix.  We visited the Shoot the Bull dart store where Mom picked up a few souveniers.  Then it was off to see where I worked, and a few more casinos later we ended up at Gila River’s Wild Horse Pass for the evening.  That’s one hotel and casino that is crazy confusing to traverse.  The pool was beautiful though – the cost of staying there is worth it if you love to swim!

On the 5th, we headed over to the new Gila River Lone Butte to try our luck some more.  Mom won all of her money back this time!  Afterwards it was off to our house where Andrew threw me a very cute Hello Kitty birthday party.  Karen and Jerry, Amy and Mason also came over and celebrated with me by playing Rock Band for a few hours.  Then, Mom and I went over to the Hyatt Place Gilbert for one last night.  This brand new hotel is gorgeous – the rooms are spacious and the staff was friendly.  The pool was terrible though – slightly larger than a hot tub and cold as ice.

The next morning it was time for Mom to board her flight and go back home.  I was sad to see her go, and hope she can come back out again sometime!