A Beautiful Fall Day

Today was an absolutely gorgeous fall day in Las Vegas so we decided to make the most of it! Aunt Michelle came over this morning for some play time on the playground outside our apartment.



After the morning nap we headed to the Summerlin Art Fair for art, ballet, carnival food, and, of course, another playground! Unfortunately, Ella hasn't gotten the concept of going down the slide on her butt. She prefers to launch herself head first on her tummy! Who wants to bother sitting down when you can just GO!!

Just Some Pictures

Ella decided to just hang out at the ottoman with Lily while she sipped from her cup. She just sat there, watching Lily and drinking away for a good 5 minutes.


As you can see from the outfit, it is finally cooling off in Vegas. Ella and Daddy took an hour long walk around 7 AM this morning, so warm clothes were definitely in order! Afterwards, it was playtime in the living room.

BalloonaPalooza

This weekend we headed out in the cool weather to BalloonPalooza -- a hot air balloon festival in town. We got a balloon and ran around a big open field.


We decided against the carousel ride because it would cost $6 for one ride!! Instead, we got a Funnel Cake. Yum! No elephant ears, though. Must be an east coast or Midwest thing.



Daddy reminisced at the Mister Softee ice cream truck -- the same ice cream truck that used to drive around his neighborhood in New York when he was a little boy.

Do you notice what's missing?? How about some HOT AIR BALLOONS?? Apparently those were scarce at the BalloonaPalooza unless you want to show up at 5 AM. Next year, we know to go early. We still enjoyed our carnival food and getting out in the gorgeous weather!

American Civics

There is a test on-line that was given to numerous high school and college seniors. They averaged in the 50% range. I got 70% correct. Go for it -- what do you remember??

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. It was one of those birthdays that are full of other "normal" things so you aren't sure if it was special or not. I prefer to celebrate my birthday on my actual birthday, but sometimes that's just not possible. Last night we went for sushi and I opened my gift from Mitch (books -- always a good bet with me). But today was just today.

Anyway, I have no point except that I wanted to see my birthday published on my blog (and I'm really too tired to think of anything interesting to say!).

So I wrote the above and THEN checked my email to find it jam packed with birthday wishes from all over the world!! Thanks everyone! I don't know how you all remember, but thanks.

Dad Update

Thanks for all the calls and emails about my dad! The doc put in 4 stents yesterday and dad was supposed to go home today (I haven't heard yet). Everyone is very glad that we didn't have to go through another by-pass operation! But I'm guessing Dad is still in for some major lifestyle changes!

Also, Matt (Karin's husband) starts 9 weeks of chemo today. He is in the hospital for the first round (5 days) to see how he reacts and then he will be on an outpatient basis for the next 2 months.

Who Am I?

I saw this on a blog (or two) and thought I'd post it. If you want, play along (it's a general tag)!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Violet Windstar

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Blue Moon Snickerdoodle

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
C-Gab

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Purple Kitty

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Catherine Lansing

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Gabca

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Yellow Diet Soda

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Russel Frances

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Beautiful Toffee

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Marie Albert

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Reed Raleigh

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Christmas Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Peach Shorty

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Coffee Dogwood

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Knitting Sunshine Tour

Is It Monday Yet??

Saturday morning we woke up and got Ella going and I returned my sister's call from the night before. She had the unfortunate task of informing me that our father (age 60) had a heart attack early that morning. It is his second heart attack in 10 years (almost to the exact day). He is now in the nearest town with a cardiologist -- about an hour from where my parents live. No word on what they've decided to do yet. He is really bummed out -- knowing now what the recovery is like (the first time you just go with it, not knowing).

Saturday afternoon I needed to run errands and hit both Costco and Wal-Mart. They are located across the street from on another about 25 minutes from home. It was worth the further trip to not have to run all over town -- right? Right! So we go to Costco and all is well. We head over to Wal-Mart and are about three-quarters of the way through our shopping trip, Ella is working on a melt down and an announcement comes over the loud speaker asking everyone to leave the store IMMEDIATELY. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Do not pay. JUST LEAVE NOW! So we did. Three hours from the time we left home we got home... with only half of what we needed! I'm not sure if the Wal-Mart evacuation was part of those bomb threats being made all over the country, but I'm guessing it was.

Today started out just fine and dandy... until Mitch threw his back out for the second time in 2 weeks. I'm talking not able to walk, screaming in pain. I got him to the Urgent Care and 2 hours later the diagnosis (I'm not kidding): Acute Lower Back Pain. No, really?? Nothing like spending money for them to tell you you are in pain!

So now I'm going to bed. The alarm goes off at 5 AM tomorrow so Ella and I can go baby-sit Miss I and Mr. R. Let's hope this week goes better than the weekend!

Food, Glorious Food!

Despite her reservations, Ella is becoming a very good eater. Bananas are now on the "yum" list as well as green beans and sweet potatoes. Tonight we had corn on the cob. It was not on the Yum List until she was given the entire cob so she could eat like we do. It is even better when you get to sit in the BIG, big girl chair and eat!



On a somewhat side note, we made homemade donut holes for dessert the other night from a recipe I resurrected out of my recipe binder. Easy as pie and yummy! Take a tube of biscuits and cut each biscuit in to quarters. Drop in hot oil and fry for about 5 seconds each side. Drain on paper towel and shake in your favorite topping --I used cinnamon/sugar, but Mitch prefers powdered sugar. Super easy, inexpensive and fixes that donut craving in no time!

A Long Road to Nowhere

This past weekend was Labor Day weekend -- a three day glorious weekend! We wanted to go somewhere, do something....but we couldn't quite get there (wherever that was). Having spent one Labor Day waiting in line for 2 hours to go half a mile to get in to the Grand Canyon, we're a bit cautious about traveling on this particular weekend. So we stayed put. But then we got restless. We decided to get out of the heat and head up to Mt. Charleston. We packed up for a little hiking, got on the road, made a left to go up the mountain... and saw rain and rain and rain on the mountain. Hmmmm. Not good. So we turned around and followed a sign on the freeway that said "State Park". I'm not sure what park we ended up at, but we had to pay to get in (boo), and it was hot and muggy. But the wee one needed to get the lead out. We stuck around for a bit and let her play.

This particular park boasts two fishing ponds (stocked monthly), horse rides (on the back or in a carriage)and.... peacocks. Lots and lots of peacocks -- even a white one! Just roaming around....






After the peacocks, we found a nice big grassy area to play in. We put down a sheet and let Ella down to run. Turns out the sheet is WAY more fun than running around.





On Monday we headed to the Children's Museum (teachers got in free that day).

And then we had a birthday party for Adam (Michelle's fiance), but he didn't come... but Ella got balloons and I made a 4 layer German Chocolate Cake. It was yummy!


And that was it. Non-eventful and we loved every minute of it!