Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Viva Las Vegas

Scott and I enjoyed a fun weekend in Las Vegas while Hannah stayed at home with grandma.  Megan and Barry joined us in Vegas and we had a great time hanging out together.  We had a pretty low-key weekend in Vegas (surprise) and I got more sleep there than I do at home. Ha!
We spent some time at the pool, walked the strip, gambled a little, went to the Barrett Jackson car auction, ate a lot of good food and visited Hoover Dam.  I have been to Vegas a lot of times, but I have never ventured away from the strip, so the Hoover Dam excursion was a nice experience. 
Barrett Jackson Car Auction
Dinner at Sirio in the new City Center
The Hoover Dam tour was pretty impressive.  We went into the dam and did a short raft trip on the Colorado river to see it from below.  And the dam jokes never got old :)
The new bridge is not in operation yet.  It is very impressive!
As you know I am not a gambler at all and I wasn't going to spend any of my own money on gambling :).  Scott gave me a little money to gamble with and I more than doubled it playing roulette.  I also placed 2 sports bets and won both of them again doubling my money.   I was very excited about my winnings and I stopped there.
It was a great weekend and I enjoyed some quality time with Scott, but I was so ready to head home and see Hannah on Sunday.  I know Hannah was in great hands and enjoyed her time with grandma.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Top Chef

Scott and I have really started to enjoy the show Top Chef.   Season 7 just wrapped up and we are ready for the next season to start.  It is a perfect mix of competition and reality drama.  One of the Quickfire challenges was to create a meal for Schwan's.  We were really excited for this challenge, because the Schwan's man has become our new best friend (I have found some really great healthy options).  So, we finally had Ed's Gnochis tonight and they were really good.  We went to Las Vegas last weekend and ate at 2 Top Chef contestants restaurants.  We got to meet both of them.  We met Stephen from season 7 and he was really nice (and short).  We chatted with him for a while and asked him about the audition process, the other contestants and the pea puree (there was some drama about stolen pea puree this seaoson).  He is the Executive Chef at Seablue at the MGM.  We also ate at RM Seafood, which is owned by Rick Moonen, who was on Top Chef Masters.  He also happened to be at the restaurant when we were there.  We didn't know much about him, so we only said hi.  I am kinda bummed that I didn't take a picture with Stephen.  I guess what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
So, now Scott and I have decided to do our own Top Chef competition.  We will each have to cook a meal the day before Thanksgiving and the family has to judge it.  We are still working on all of the rules (and yes we will have them in writing), but it looks like we will have to draw a protein out of a hat that we have to prepare and a few other ingredients that we have to incorporate into the dish.  We will also have to draw a Sous Chef out of a hat.  We will then have a budget for grocery shopping and a time limit.  The family is not allowed to watch us cook, so they don't know who made what dish.   The pressure is on......Scott is not a cook at all, but he is so competitive and for some reason he always seems to win at everything no matter what it is.  I will keep you posted on our own Top Chef challenge.
I will talk a little more about our Vegas trip tomorrow.
Have a great evening.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Trip to the Wilderness Safari

Yes, you read correctly we have a Wilderness Safari in Gentry, Arkansas and it is quite the experience.  It is a drive-through zoo with a variety of animals. You can find anything from chickens to tigers to deer to rhinos to zebras and emus at the zoo.  Matt and Casey joined us on our trip to the safari.  We had a fun morning and had a few close encounters with some animals. 
We were just minding our own business and feeding a deer when we saw a monkey run up the hill and jump on our car.  He was just hanging out on the mirror and then he started to pee all over the car.  It was pretty funny!
Monkey running across our car
Hannah was just glued to the window the entire time. 
 
Feeding the zebra
These Longhorns were blocking the road
This guy had some nice bangs
The Emus are a little crazy and they will not leave you alone.  They followed our car and "pecked" on it.  We also had a big Buffalo rub himself on the hood of our car.
After the drive-through adventure we went into the petting zoo.  They currently have a baby Liger (cross between Lion and Tiger).  He was really cute and you could pet him!
Monkey jumped on Casey's back
Our family plus a giraffe :)
The kangaroos were really soft.  It doesn't happen very often that you get to pet a kangaroo.
Hannah and Daddy
If you live in the area and have never been to the Gentry Safari you need to make a trip and if you don't live in the area I would say the safari is almost worth taking a trip to Arkansas!
Have a great week.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

MDO and Yoghurt

Hannah has been going to Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the last couple of weeks.  The first few times she cried when I dropped her off, but now she just wants to play when she gets there.  She has gotten really attached to one of her teachers and if this teacher leaves the room Hannah has a full blown meltdown!  She can be heard throughout the entire facility and all the other teachers think it is pretty funny, because they know Hannah's teacher just had to go to the bathroom :)  As soon as the teacher walks into the door again Hannah resumes playing.  I guess she really knows what she wants!
This was Hannah before school this morning
She looks like such a big girl with her backpack on

The first few times I dropped Hannah off I didn't even know what to do with my time.  Now I have a to-do-list that is never ending.  I enjoy having a few hours to run some errands and not have to worry about whether I packed a pacifier and some more diapers :)  This also gives me the opportunity to miss Hannah, which is good for both of us. I get so excited when it is time to go pick her up.  Hannah loves to play with other kids and her favorite part of the day is music class and painting.  She brings home arts and crafts every time.  You know I will  be saving every piece of art.
Hannah is becoming very independent and wants to do everything on her own.  She now refuses my help when eating with utensils. As you can imagine it gets a little messy, but it is also so fun to watch!
 Just making sure there is still some yogurt left....
Happy Friday
  

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Boston and Maine vacation continued.....

We had a perfect Saturday morning on Peaks Island before the wedding.  We started our day with breakfast at the little cafe.  We sat in the backyard at picnic tables and enjoyed our food while Hannah was able to run around and play.  After breakfast we rented bikes and explored the island.  The weather was great, but it was pretty windy due to Earl, so we saw some nice waves.  Peaks Island is a beautiful little island and we enjoyed biking around the island.
Beautiful waves
Hannah still awake in her trailer, but that didn't last long

After all this fun it was time to get ready for the wedding.  We all clean up nicely :)

The ceremony was very nice and the bride looked beautiful. Thank you Matt and Casey for allowing us to be part of your special day.  Your wedding was perfect and a ton of fun.  I can't wait to see all of the pictures from the photographer. 
Introducing Mr and Mrs Rivard.  Congratulations!
The glowing bride and Kristin
Kristin was our "babysitter" for the evening.  Her and Hannah danced the night away.  Hannah was fascinated with the drummer. Thanks Kristin for entertaining our daughter.
Hannah also enjoyed dancing with Matt and Casey's nephews.  
And she danced all by herself.  Our little dancing machine was very tired by the end of the night.
We spent the last few days of our trip in Boston.  I love this city!  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  We walked around all of Boston, participated in a Duck Tour and ended the trip at Fenway.  
We went to the top of the Prudential building. I thought the sailboats on the Charles River were so pretty.
 This is where we finished our trip.  Fenway!
Hannah's first Red Sox experience
Getting ready to go into the game
The Newlyweds at the game
Meeting the Green Monster
Group Shot at the end of the night
We had a wonderful vacation and I look forward to going back to Maine again someday.
I hope you are having a great week!