Anniversary get away

THIS was the view I awoke to yesterday morning. I gave Jeff an anniversary gift of "me undivided" and unplugged (I happened to not be on call) which is so unusual. Everyone else gets "Taffy time" so to speak, clients, Bean during school, Diz during his stay with Jeff and I, my Dad when I am on he phone with him. Everyone but Jeff gets extended me time, so I turned off my phone, and spent 36 hours listening. It was a bonus anniversary gift for me too.

We went to the coast...obviously, as this was shot from my pillow as I awoke, and had Loganberry wine, dark chocolate and a hot tub. What more could you ask?

In the morning, we hopped back in the hot tub to watch the waves. I shot this picture of Jeff unbeknownst to him. The 36 hours was pure bliss!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words

I love capturing a moment on film.

Need I say more?

Christmas

Christmas was truly blessed. While I won't go in to the who got what and so on, I will say that Neil and Rissy were such gracious hosts and made everyone feel truly welcome in their home though they were exhausted from baking each of us a special batch of our favorite cookies until 5:00 a.m.! Can you believe they baked them on Christmas Eve, so they would be nice and fresh.

I was good to have Amy in our presence rather than only in our hearts. She and Rissy looked like domestic goddesses when getting Christmas dinner ready while Neil helped, he was simultaneously assisting Santa's elves with finishing the toys.

Jeff held the baby and the dog, and dozed while handling that challenging task.

Bean helped assemble some of Santa's gifts for Diz as well as played with his own toys. After dinner Neil, Amy, Jeff and Bean all played Magic, much to Brandon's delight! Charissa slept, at long last, while nursing the baby, and I played with Diz.

The love, the effort, the decorating, all of it was just so appreciated! I left their home with my heart full of love and family. THAT is a favorite memory!

Impromptu decorating

I had such fun with the boys today! Charissa had an appointment with her midwife so, I took care of the boys. While Charissa did Jeff and favor and ran him to the store to pick up an item he was unable to get when Christmas shopping on the weekend, Bean, Diz and I painted some Christmas pictures, had orange slices, and pretzels, and glue googley eyes on our masterpieces.

So, while I did not plan on this extra time, I am sure glad I had it!

Baking gifts

Last night Jeff and I had a Christmas Party at the neighbors. We got to know our neighbors better, and introduced ourselves to a few others. It was most enjoyable. That left Sunday for baking our cookies that we share with others and have Christmas Eve.

Sunday was also the day that Jeff went out with Amy to collect her Christmas gift from her Aunt Mary and Uncle Greg...a microwave. So, while they were out getting that I went grocery shopping for the ingredients for cookies.

Upon my return Amy decided she would stay and help out. This allowed us to bake 6 batches of cookies and make the sleighs you see atop the cookie tins made out of raisins, candies, candy canes, and a Hershey bar all wrapped up. It was great fun, and helped us get done by 9:00 p.m. rather than midnight, with AMy's help. We listened to Christmas music, baked, talked, and laughed and MAYBE, just maybe, the Grinch left AMY a little bit:-)

This is Jeff's favorite time of the year and he is trying to rub off on Amy just a bit.

Famous Dave's and Blind Side

You will find many of the following entries incorrectly dated. I finally have time to catch up a bit before I go headlong in to the New Year, but for now...December 6th Jeff and I took the opportunity to go and see Blind Side. I cannot recommend it enough! If it is no longer on in theaters, then I would see it on DVD once it comes out. The show is based on a true store and stars Sandra Bullock, who plays a plucky suburban housewife that takes in a kid off the streets, and goes on to detail the changes in BOTH their lives. Very inspirational!

Then we had an impromptu dinner with Amy at Famous Dave's. She had been to the place before in Minnesota, but it was our first time. It was nice just sitting around and chatting over dinner about everything and nothing. Jeff had a late flight out to Cozumel, so we chose to spend the extra time with Amy. Also, their Mudslides...to die...t for!

Incidentally as soon as Jeff left, the temperature bottomed out in Portland for about a week, increasing ONLY when Jeff returned. Never before have I seen temperatures in the teens in 10 years in Portland, until I had the sole job of walking the dog three times a day:-P Even Finny was reluctant to go outside and do his business!

All things Christmas

Bean spent the night Friday night and for the first time in my life we made a gingerbread "train" AND ate it one the same night. While I am not a big fan of gingerbread, I did eat a tiny nibble. I had such a fun time making it with Bean and we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It was a really wonderful evening.

Before we set about making our Christmas train, we went hunting ghost and monsters while taking care of the necessity of walking the dog. We brought flashlights and walked around an open field searching for monsters, which we intended to later draw from our imaginations and sculpt them following that, but time was at a premium so we settled on the gingerbread creation.

My favorite educational moment

My favorite moment isn't the "ah haaa" moment I usually like. It wasn't vocabulary mastery, the delivery of a convincing Shakespeare soliloquy. My favorite moment happened today when Bean was doing the dastardly task of taking care of the basics. Bean has to take the CAT test again this year, so as always, we spend a little time "teaching tot he test" which I detest, but we both agreed to accept as part of the bureaucratic hoops.

Today we were covering various forms of literature and their placement when he asked "...a textbook...what's a textbook"? I laughed when I told him that it was like a reference book used in schools covering various subjects.

I wish each child knew where to go to find the information that interested him rather than have to learn a prescribed set of information for a given year.

The day after

The day after Thanksgiving we joined Dad and Stephanie at their hotel for a farewell breakfast before the headed for the airport. It was nice to have a quiet chat and sum up the events of their visit. Their visit was most enjoyable and memorable.

This is traditionally our quiet day at home for Jeff and I. We ended up retuning home and getting our Christmas decorations up. We chowed on more Thanksgiving dinner, went to the store for a few last minute decorative things and fell in to bed early. How nice it was fall into our nice warm soft bed. Sometimes it is the simple things that mean the most!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving started out quiet enough and took a long walk with Finnegan. Then I came home and spent the next 6 hours listening to the parade, cooking, planning, washing, cutting, boiling, basting, and figuring out ways to put each dish that each person requested in a bowl or on a plate. Now that does not sound like a task in and of itself, BUT considering it is just Jeff and I, we haven't loads of bowls, plates and serving platters readily available.

When Jeff got up he was so helpful. We ended up using our patio set in addition to our dining room table It was throwing it down outside and Jeff stood out there and cleaned the patio set before bringing it in to dry it off. Just was we finished the table preparations Dad and Stephanie arrived. Once the major preparations were finished Amy got here. I cleaned up a bit and the Mennell clan arrived in full force.

They brought goodies with them. A full platter plus a shaker full of fresh baked cookies. YUM!

Dinner was made just on time, the ham was hot, each person had their personal request filled, we all sat around the table crowded and sharing conversation, laughs, and food. I could not have asked for a better Thanksgiving dinner.

Following dinner we decorated the Christmas tree, roughhoused, and devoured the homemade apple pie that Bean made from scratch!

Each person signed the tablecloth that will keep me occupied stitching for the next year.

May each of you find that you had a multitude of things to be thankful for this year.

Wednesday before Thanksgiving

Today was the quiet before the storm a.k.a. Thanksgiving. We had a lunch with Dad and Stef at our favorite tea house. It was so relaxing. We started the morning at Dad and Stephanie's hotel. Jeff and Dad played Cribbage as usual. Stef and I chatted. Then, the four of us rode over to the tea house and we were seated at my favorite table.

We spent nearly two hours at lunch and moseying around the import part of the shop. Right after lunch we returned to the hotel. Dad ans Stef were gracious enough to allow Bean and Diz swim while we chatted. We watched the boys play in the pool for awhile. Dad started feeling a bit sleepy I think, and his eyes were burning from the chlorine so he and Jeff retired to the lobby to play more Cribbage; leaving us girls to mind the boys and chat. It is a fond memory. Stef held Donovan and we watched Diz's confidence grow and Beans social skills develop as he started playing with another boy about his age. All in all it was a pleasant afternoon.

Dad and Stef then invited everyone to dinner. Amy was uncertain that she would be able to attend but make it just in time. Neil had a late patient so was unable to join us. So the 9 of us descended upon Ruby Tuesday's. It was nice to chat and not cook before Thanksgiving which would prove a 7 hour labor of love. Our heartfelt thanks!

The Berlin Inn

The 24th I got the opportunity to take my Dad and Stef to the Berlin Inn. We had a lovely dinner and were attended by a great server. Best of all it was a quiet dinner with Amy and Charissa. Neil was kind enough to mind the two older boys. Donovan slept through the entire meal. We chatted about old time, met new grandchildren, shared a laugh and generally had a wonderful, albeit mildly crowded evening. We even topped it off with a desert each and shared a bite of everyone's chosen goodies. Dad even got a fresh baked sugar free pumpkin pie that was still slightly warm. His was the only dessert I didn't take a taste of as I really detest pumpkin anything:-P

It was wonderful to watch Dad and Stef discover the latest greatest grandson! It was lovely to watch Dad take Donovan into his arms and get a glimpse into the past and see what it must have been like when I was a baby. He was so gentle and tender. Stephanie looked on so adoringly but unobtrusively. It was great that Donovan got his introductions without his older brothers feeling displaced while all the attention was focused on the newest addition.

Recognition

My favorite thing so far today has to be that Jeff has received the recognition he deserves. After countless sleep deprived nights, 3:00 a.m. call, loyalty to the company, through 4 recent changes of owner, has been given a big promotion. I am uncertain what it will be titled, but he will have four teams under him and he has been goaded into a management position. Jay, the man he has trusted implicitly for years told him that this job was right up his alley EXCEPT that it was management. Jeff even suggested two others for the position. Yesterday he received a call from the person in charge of this venture, to say "Yeah, we interviewed the others and they are not right for the position. You are the only one qualified for this position. So after much cajoling, Jeff has in fact taken the position. He will transition out of his current position that no longer challenged him, or afforded forward/upward motility over time, and assume full responsibility of a new crew.

I am so proud of him!

My daughter's strength

Congratulations to Neil and Rissy on the birth of their latest son! While this is Rissy's story, so I will be brief, this has to go down as ONE of my favorite days. I was awakened by a text message from Rissy, Friday evening as we were entertaining guests that mentioned her 1st contraction that made her stop in her tracks, in the local grocery store. I knew this was going to head in to the "Real McCoy." Rissy had been experiencing contractions for weeks, but the fact that it made her stop and focus on the bread at the store made me laugh. She did not want to attract attention so while she waited for the contraction to pass she read the ingredients on the bread. This memory is probably indelibly etched in my mind.

I told her to expect the unexpected as I do all of my client's. It was my turn to remember this lesson. I was on standby should she need me during labor, but of course I had in my head a few versions of how this may or may not occur. It was nothing like what actually happened.

Rissy texted me again at 5:24 a.m. Saturday morning the 7th of November. It read like this:
I'm sorry for waking you but i don't know what else to do:( I'm not handling these very well at all:( the pain is unbelievably intense and now with every contraction... (left out, out of respect for her privacy)but I'm not sure exactly. Can you please help:-(

I texted back the info I needed to help her. She texted back..."can I call you?" I texted back with "of course" It is best to hear people in labor to get a better idea of what is going on. She called a few minutes later. When I listened to her, her contraction went from 7-9 minutes to about every minute lasting for 1min 15sec. I could tell be listening to her that she was in transition, but did not want to excite or panic her. I helped her through a couple and suggested she awaken Neil. She had been dealing with these contractions for nearly 3 hours brilliantly on her own. I also suggested she call her midwife. I did tell her after those two things were done, I that I was glad she was on her way and it sounded like transition to me. historically once she approached transition things went really fast. I stayed on the phone while she was en route to the birth center. She was told to go to the one she had not intended on going to as their intended birth center was full...a first. I listened and breathed with her on the phone all the while listening to her taking a break from breathing while still contracting to direct Neil's driving.

She arrived at the birth center and 8 minutes later my third grandson was born.

In hindsight after listening to how she wasn't handling the contractions well and they were so intense I thought to myself "Yep transition is like that!" I thought she did better than she even knows. Her strength, when I know she was so frightened of "natural childbirth" amazes me. She was sure that these intense contractions would likely go on for hours.

I arrived to see her holding her newborn son, still in the tub.

It is truly the BEST birth I never attended.

Congratulations to the entire family and a special bow to my amazing daughter.

Fright Town

For those of you unaware Jeff is just a little kid in a mans body. He wanted to go and see haunter houses this year for Trick-or-Treat. SO Friday night we went to downtown with Amy to the Memorial Coliseum and did the whole haunted house tour, which consisted of three separate haunted houses, each with a different theme, in one location.

As Amy pointed out we were glad that we did them in the order we did. The 1st house was not spooky at all, but had some very creepy props.

The second house was supposed to be a gas station with a grocer next to it. They had some real jumpers and things we had not seen before like auto accidents and people repairing the autos who would run things across the fence in front of you causing them to spark.

The funniest part was when there was a pressure pad on the floor with a dead body cut up in the floor board, and Jeff missed it, so I wanted him to see it, so I stopped and tried to get it to go on again. Meanwhile not a foot behind me was Amy being chased by a guy on stilts. Suddenly I hear "Freaking GO!" I was laughing so hard I could hardly breath!

While I don't like being scared/startled, I have to admit it was fun to go...once a year. I try to let my imagination go with the flow rather than fighting it. I think it makes it more fun:-)

I hope your Halloween was spooktacular!

Wisdom in a compact body

I will occasionally use my blog to gloat about one of my favorite things. Bean and I were in Tae Kwon Do last night. He did a jump round kick essentially, and threw out his hip, or it popped and hurt him. In all the years that Brandon has trained in Tae Kwon Do I have NEVER seen him stop training for anything. This time he stopped briefly grabbed his leg and trained on his left leg.

Our instructor gave him an out during self defense but he opted to work out anyway as he declared that in a real life situation should he be injured his attacker would be unlikely to await his recovery before attacking so it would be wise to learn to defend himself when not at full capacity.

Then at the end of class he was still limping, which I have never seen him do either, but in spite of discomfort, he offered to assist our instructor with carrying her bags. Such a well mannered wise young man. I truly respect the person emerging from the little bundle of joy I fortunate to know 10 years ago. Since I cannot show his picture I decided to honor him with this redbelt image.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY

October 18th, Amy's birthday, we started off by going to the dog park to let Finnegan and Stanley play, and went for a walk to cool them down. Then we came home for a quick lunch before heading out past Oregon City to Dream Stable for a horseback riding session. Everyone there was great!

Horseback riding was Amy's choice for a birthday adventure. At the stables we were greeted by Karen, and Dale, the owners and Carol another outrider. This stable is clean, the horses looked beautiful and well cared for. Two of the horses we rode were 26! One of whom was in a rodeo just last year. Dale and Carol minded Diz and with a lot of patience and allowing Diz to do things HIS way in HIS time, got him riding a horse comfortably and happily.

Neil was given a horse that essentially babysat him. what was wonderful was that rather than just putting us all on horses and turning us loose on the trails they gave a basic lesson in handling the horses, played some games with the horses both in the indoor arena and then the outdoor arena before heading out on the beautiful trails. In the end Neil, who was hesitant and still mindful of past bad experiences with horses, even said he might do this again.

Amy, of course was as comfortable with horses as she is with dogs. She had a horse who preferred not to stop but to go, go go. I was proud that she was able to let the horse know who was boss. Brandon handled the horse like he'd been doing it all along. He loved his week at Bar M Ranch, so learned much from riding up the mountain trails there, and apparently still retained most of the training. Jeff looked pretty comfortable on his horse as well and said in the end that he really enjoyed riding. I loved it of course, but I always have.

Rissy was out intrepid photographer as she was busy contracting, walking and preparing for her youngest son's arrival. They were a little uncomfortable with her riding being so heavily pregnant. They were afraid the saddle horn would hit her belly. In this particular picture though, I was able to catch the fact that the horse, Pistol, would nuzzle her belly at the start of a contraction. How awesome is that?

Following the horseback riding we went to La Hacienda restaurant for dinner and margaritas.

Amy was treated to a special birthday flan, complete with song, well wishes and a sombrero!

My favorite part of the whole day was the fact that we at long last had Amy with us to celebrate her birthday.

Pumpkin Patch

Today was sunny and warm with a bit of a breeze as the day grew later, but we headed out to the Pumpkin Patch. Our thinking was that we could get the pumpkins before the rains hit as we KNOW they are coming! It was the perfect day to go out. While it was busy, it wasn't so swamped that we felt crowded.

We took a hay rack ride out to the field to select our own perfect pumpkin.

We then took the pumpkins back to car and tried our skill at shooting a car with the pumpkin launcher. Amy came the closest to the target, an old car, Neil was a close second, and Jeff next. My first shot fired six of seven pumpkins simultaneously and coincidentally a bird got hit with a piece of pumpkin but flew it flew off.

We then headed for the kids maze. Charissa, Amy and I stayed on the outside. The maze was really dark as it was surrounded by hay. Then they had an additional maze attached to the hay maze that you could see over.

Buzzard Bowling was next with the little pumpkins. I was the ONE and ONLY person to hit the buzzard! Go me!

It was a really enjoyable day and I am so pleased we were all together and all having a good time.

Dizzy is 4!

Happy Birthday DIZ!

Today, the 7th of October was Diz's 4th birthday, though we didn't end up celebrating until almost 7:00 at night. But he did come over and open presents and had ice cream cake. He took a little while to blow out his candles but in end he got the job done.

He was very pleased with his bathtub bubble maker, and some aliens he recieved.

Grandpa Vergara got him a Lace and Trace set that he can keep himself busy with. Jordan is really into writing, drawing, puzzling...anything that utilizes artisic abilities.

So in 4 more years he will be an 8 year old, I find that hard to beleive!

GREAT Wolf Lodge

Saturday the 4th of October we all descended upon Great Wold Lodge to celebrate Diz's birthday. This was his birthday adventure choice. Jeff and I got the idea from Stephanie Vergara, years ago for a birthday adventure. Since many children these days are often over indulged with material things but lack adventures and experiences we try to balance the scales with experiences. Many years ago, Beans favorite part of the adventure was the togetherness, and it kind of stuck.

Jordan decided months ago that he was going to go to Great Wolf until we went to the zoo, and he was convinced he'd rather spend a day with the animals, namely the zebra's, petting them. There are only certain things we cannot do. THAT would be one of those things. Once out of the zoo, he went back to Great Wolf. We celebrate the weekend before Diz's birthday as his birthday was midweek. Amy just started her new job out here, Jeff is working, Bean volunteers, and Neil has his office to run and Rissy is closer and closer to the date they will welcome their new son, that we figured it would be better to go earlier than later. We had a blast!

This was Amy's first time there. Rissy was able to opt out of the tornado which is a HUGE waterslide that she doesn't particularly like. We stayed int he wave pool a LOT with Dizzy letting him tug us around on the innertubes. Rissy laid on her belly for a change and it felt nice. She also mentioned that she didn't realize how comfortable the water made her, but realized it when she got out. I guess it is a good thing she is a fan of the water as she is planning a water birth:-)

Amy, Jeff, Neil and Brandon spent a good deal of time on the big water slides, but got together and held on together while the big waves threw them around. Coincidentally, Monday morning, everyone's muscles complained a bit especially their pectorals and calf muscles from the innumerable stairs.

Saturday night, we ate at the lodge restaurant and finished off with some yummy s'mores fondue complete with crackers, strawberries, marshmallows and of course Piece de Resistance...oooey gooey CHOCOLATE of which I had none, but it smelled delicious!

Sunday morning we awoke and went for breakfast in the buffet, a favorite of everyone's as it is massive and diverse. There is something for anyone...even me!

We played in the pool some more and at the end of the day the boys slayed the dragon on the Magic Quest the perfect end to a perfect weekend!

I am glad that Jordan chose this adventure as we of course benefit from their choices as well.

White water!

Hi all,

I know it has been a LONG time since I have updated my blog. The beginning of school proved busy to say the least! Some days, I feel like my head is reeling from all the things I have going at once, and I am about to add Tae Kwon So, back into my schedule. But yesterday, we did something recreations JUST for ourselves!

We headed down the Deschutes river at Maupin Run with our dear friends Dave and Connie. We left at 7:30 in the morning for the 2.5 hour drive to Maupin, out by the Dalles. After feeding the boys, yes, Jeff and Dave, we arrived at the put-in site at 10:02...not bad!

We were greeted by Troy, our guide and owner of Natural High Rafting. After going over some quick safety information and brief itinerary, we headed off to the river without delay. Once in the raft were practiced our instructions, and headed down for the first few rapids.

The beginning looked so smooth...but in this picture I had just gotten soaked by very cold water!

Then Jeff "rode the bull" which is rafting equivalent to hanging on with one hand to the mechanical bull at the bars. You sit on the front of the raft and hold on to the rope with one hand while riding the rapids. This picture is shot just as we are about to turn in to the rapids.

After a few class III rapids we stopped at a really quite spot in the "city park" for a catered lunch. The lunch was nice enough, but swarmed by bees, that did leave you alone once you got to your covered picnic table. Unfortunately ours was by a dog pile covered in flies, hardly appetizing. Needless to say lunch was not a highlight, but the sun warmed our skin and felt great!

Connie shot this hanging upside down over the raft:-) Everyone did this but me, as I had only one dry pair of shorts, but at least I got to see the pictures.

Then we went for a hike, which was HOT but pleasant enough. Jeff shot this of me unaware, even though it looks like I am looking right at the camera.

This is Connie soaking up the sun on the break we took before heading for the rapids once again where we were drenched! Ahhh now that's the life!

My favorite thing

I just love the sun, and it is so sunny and nice today. I am here with my eldest grandson, watching him paint a volcano for school and the weather is perfect!

Saturday in Reno

Today was our last full day in Reno and Jeff's birthday, though he's been celebrating for two days. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, though the placed was packed with the Memorial Day Weekender's

There was a volleyball tournament, a Tae Kwon Do tournament, and a BMX tourney. The volleyball kids were noisy and left beer cans in the hall. Jeff was not impressed with the staff for not getting it cleaned up 1st thing, but I think they probably had a LOT to deal with given the noise from the night before.

I went to see about catching a round or two of Tae Kwon Do but for the admission price I prefer to compete, so we played 18 holes of indoor golf. It was so relaxing and fun. I wish I would have gotten pictures. Everyone played well and of course there were no people behind us wanting to play through, we had lunch between turns, it was just really nice. What more can you ask, you can play championship courses for pennies on the dollar, it is temperature controlled, you don't even have to walk and they deliver drinks right to you! No bugs, no bags to carry around, and chair to sit in while someone else is taking their turn. Now that is my kind of golf!

After golf we went upstairs and opened Jeff's gifts, packed and returned to the casino. I WAS doing great! And then I didn't...se la vie! I enjoyed watching Jeff open his gift from Brandon, which was a book in a series they were reading, that Brandon bought with his own money. The story goes, that Brandon introduced Jeff to this series from the library. Brandon read the third in the series but had to return it as he couldn't renew it as someone else was waiting. It became a standing joke between the two of

them.

We had dinner, including cake for Jeff's birthday, and finished our final night with Oh Hell and King's Corners.

Oh and I forgot to mention the IPod I got Jeff.

In summary the vacation was great, very relaxing, better than I anticipated AND I leaned to play craps!

Lake Tahoe

5:45! Argh that is early when you are on vacation! We got up at this time so that we could meet Dad for breakfast in the event that he would care to spend the day at Lake Tahoe. Alas, he did not sleep well the night before, so Jeff and I dined alone and headed for Lake Tahoe at 7:00.

Jeff's birthday present from me was a dive in Lake Tahoe as he has wanted to dive that since last December. I decided after talking with the dive shop that he may as well get another certification while doing so. He received his High Altitude Diver specialty certification. He was so excited!

I grabbed a good book on the way up to the lake and I read while they did their thing. I was able to go off and read in peace while the group was diving. This was paradise! Not a soul in sight save the dive flag bobbing in the water. The temperature was just perfect. I was comfortable and surrounded by beauty and peace! It was amazing!

Their second dive they picked up another local diver and the four of them went into their underwater world. I crawled atop the rocks to try and get a good shot or two of the group.

Friday night, as we still had the car Dad took Jeff out to the dinner of his choice for his birthday. I got the added benefit of coming along for the ride. By the time we arrived I was of course famished. The food and the margarita was delicious! I had asked the locals for a few good names. We were not led wrong, this was authentic and wonderful. So if you are ever in Reno and want authentic Mexican Fare be sure to stop in at Miguel's on Virginia Street. There was a wait, but it was not terribly long, and they had chips and drinks while you waited, so who cares! I was a great evening.

Thursday in Reno

Today I spent the majority of time feeding the slots until 11:30, when I went to get our rental car. After much adieu I ended up securing a car which I had requested the day before, but with it being the holiday weekend, cars were difficult to obtain.

We needed the car to go and get Jeff's rental gear for his birthday dive the following day. So, we left Dad at the casino where he was a up a few bucks. We spent a couple of hours out and about and upon our return he was down; such is the nature of the slots I guess.

After out return to the resort I laid down for a nap but ended up arguing with Jeff. We did however, in the meantime catch a good show on t.v. and at least rested. Naps are highly under rated I dare say. I should like to work one into my daily routine regularly. Funny how we fight naps as a kid, and beg for them as adults.

This evening we did get to see Iconman which was great! Greg London was an impersonator with a great band and a variety of characters. While I am generally not an impersonator far, he had a great voice, and while he didn't really attempt to look like any of the people he was impersonating his humor and ability to pick out/on their shortcomings made it believable.

We had a great maitre de who listened the day before to Jeff's special needs and had a table situated just right for Jeff. Rather than wait in line, we were personally escorted to our table. This raised a few eyebrows in line, as Dad and Jeff stood in line while I went to the will call to obtain the tickets and asked to speak with Vic the maitre de, per his instructions. Hence Jeff and Dad were taken out of line and escorted. I didn't think anything of this as I am accustomed to arranging special seating, but apparently the people behind Dad and Jeff did, as they commented wondering 'what package they got' etc. I imagine they felt slighted.

We met some great people from Kentucky and it was great fun chatting with them and watching them have as much fun at the show as we did.

During one song that would typically illicit lighters in the air, having no lighters any longer, I grabbed the table candle and held it up, which Greg London pointed to, smiled and smirked; that was fun.

Following the show we went back to the hotel as Jeff had an early wake up cal for his diving expedition and high altitude class.

Wednesday...downtown Reno

Wednesday we went downtown Reno. I dare say, though the change of scenery was interesting, I am very glad that we stayed away from the strip. We took the bus downtown and went to the Riverwalk area with a plethora of shops. Not being impressed we went to the Auto museum. This museum started off looking not so impressive with a room dedicate to the first woman to travel cross country in a car BUT saving grace, they had the remainder of the rooms set up by decade and had time appropriate facades and collections of fashions.

We also had fun with the costume pieces. Jeff got the camera and got this lovely picture. Born in the wrong decade maybe?

Jeff became gangsta guy, and looked like he belonged in the era.

Dad was the epitome of a gangster! He looks believable don't you think?

After walking around for a few hours we headed across the street for lunch. I was a fairly quiet diner. The food was okay, but the patrons made Dad uncomfortable, one in particular. We didn't hang around long. We headed back to our area of town and relaxed in our rooms for a little while.

Tuesday in Reno

Tuesday started out with a nice breakfast in the cafe. The funniest thing was that I ordered a muffin and with it came butter. Dad ordered toast and requested additional butter. The waitress was a comedian by nature and from that moment on gave Dad schtick. To try to reiterate in print the dialogue between them would be an injustice, but suffice it to say it served as our daily grins, and Dads ability to take it and give it back with grace made it all the more entertaining.

Following breakfast we played, no, fed the slots. golf,Then we headed over to the RV area and decided to take in miniature golf. The nice lady at the miniature gold place let us in about a half an hour early. After mini-golf, which I won hands down...(I know big accomplishment)

After a long mini-golf game we ate at Johnny Rockets,a 5o's diner where they play oldies and serve good old fashioned malts.

This evening I took advantage of the free cocktails...two to be exact and discovered that on an empty stomach two Chocolate Martini's is one two many. When I was sat int eh bar waiting for Dad and Jeff after my afternoon nap (luxury!) I managed two in an hour. When we went to go eat and I was escorted through the casino. When my Dad asked how I was feeling I replied that I was feeling "pretty f'ing merry." Such a proud moment!...from that night on I stuck to one drink in the evening!

Monday

This morning we decided to meet in the lobby for breakfast and decide from there what we were doing for the day. Dad graciously said that he would do whatever we wanted as he had no preconceived itinerary. He didn't wish to make the decisions (I know what it is like to want a rest from that) just go along.

When looking for things to do around Reno other than gamble, I found Iconman,

a variety show and an advertisement for a wild animal zoo. This zoo reportedly took injured animals and rehabilitated those they could and kept those who could not be rehabilitated into the wild. I asked the front desk clerk if it was cheaper to rent a car or take a cab. She said "Oh it is only about 8 miles up the road" 8 exits was more to the truth. We ended up paying $66.00 for a cab round trip. We could have rented a car for less, but rather than commiserate on this I set out to enjoy what lie ahead.

Upon arrival we discovered an empty lot, and a run down area. I was not hopeful. Once inside we found they were indeed open and we were treated to a little 8 week old squirrel monkey. It's mother died right after giving birth. His adoptive mother was a stuffed monkey. He was handled by the volunteers, but Jeff got to pet him.
They did have goats, alpacas, and deer. It was nice to relax with the animals. We spent probably 20 minutes just in that area.

Later that night we returned to the hotel to discover that one of the lounges offered free drinks to the ladies from 5:00 to 7:00p.m. They offered Cosmopolitan's, Lemon Drops, Dry Martini's but best of all Chocolate Martini's! Generally speaking I am a Margarita girl, but after giving up salt there is really no point. When my Dad went to order it he asked the bar tender if it was in fact candy with a kick. He agreed that was exactly what was. It really packs a punch as you will read later in my blog.

Later that evening, we play aqua golf. This was the aqua driving range arranged at various distances were docks with signs to aim at and a barrel for a hole in one. We had such fun! This was probably a favorite event of the trip. The weather was perfect, everyone enjoyed themselves, and my first hole was on the green!