The View from Las Vegas

Wednesday morning we were up EARLY to be at Caesar's Palace for The View live from Las Vegas! I was able to get ABC VIP tickets from a friends' father in law (thanks Kelly and Roger!!!) Our seats were AMAZING; front row..feet from Jessica Simpson, Elisabeth, Barbara and Whoopi (Joy and Sherri too!)

Me, Roger (aka Pop-pop) and my mom


Elisabeth Hasselbeck and I

She was totally squishing me; in a good way of course. She sat down during a commercial break on the step in front of me and we had a looooong conversation about the military, being mom's, our kids, etc. She was AWESOME, just as I suspected. Really down to earth and approachable. She told me to thank all of the people in my life who are in the military or support a military member...so THANK YOU from Elisabeth!

Whoopi

I just love Whoopi. She always has the best advice and words of wisdom for the younger ladies on The View. During the Cirque de Soleil performance another woman and I were pulled from our seats so the camera man could sit in our place. We were given seats near the large boom camera (is that what they are called?) and Whoopi was standing there watching the performance. I motioned to her that there was an empty seat near me and she came over and sat down! I made a total FOOL of myself; but that's okay..not like I'll ever see her again! We ooh'd and ahhh'd over the contortionists and all the stuff they were doing!

The guest performer was Jessica Simpson...she was like this >< close to me!


After the show we went in to Caesar's Palace for some gambling and I proceeded to drop MAJOR cash...but, it was a casinos money anyway so no biggie! From there we walked down the strip towards New York New York to an In n Out...


More on that adventure to come.....

What happens in Vegas.....

stays in Vegas, right?! I got home yesterday from my whirlwind trip to Vegas; gambling, spa treatments, gambling, attending taping of The View, gambling, In n Out, Dunkin Donuts, gambling....do you see a pattern?

I flew out on the red eye Monday night and arrived in Vegas at 630am Tuesday. My mom's flight was to arrive at 820am so I killed time by getting Starbucks and playing a slot machine in the airport! I WON! Well, it was only $10 but I still won :)

We took a cab from the airport to the hotel which cost a FORTUNE, but we didn't feel like stopping at every hotel in Vegas by riding an airport shuttle. We stayed at the Golden Nugget downtown and WOW have they really put work into that place! In the middle of the swimming pool is a huge shark tank and the water slide goes right through the middle...tres cool!



We left our bags with the bell captain since it was before check in time and off to the casino we went! I played some table games; Three Card Poker and Let It Ride. Not much luck there so I meandered around the casino floor and stumbled upon PENNY SLOT MACHINES!!! OMG, how fun! I played a couple different ones and then found a "Deal or No Deal" themed one. There are so many options to play I really didn't know what I was doing for about 15-20 minutes :) I started getting on a roll and going to the "BONUS" round. I built up quite a large sum in credits and started betting the maximum amount. That turned out to be a very good thing because this happened.....

I had NO IDEA what was going on. I kept trying to hit the button to make it spin again and it wasn't doing anything. I thought I had broken it or something!? Then my mom walked over and started screaming like a crazy person...then I realized that I hit the JACKPOT! It was $909 on the progressive jackpot and I still had about $200 in credits on the machine!! That started the trip off on a good foot!

Here are some other pictures from the trip:


The 4 Queens Hotel & Casino on Freemont Street


My new best friend at Dunkin Donuts


and the famous Cowboy dude that you see in alot of pictures and ads for Vegas


We hit the hay early that first night because we were attending a LIVE taping of THE VIEW at Caesar's Palace the next day...more on that in my next post!

Ooooooh, I almost forgot!

I wanted to share these pics of "the boys"....do you know Parms in Paradise? Well, they are my next door neighbors and her LittleMan and my Pookins are bestest buddies. Ok, they are 5 so they are bestest buddies and mortal enemies at different stages during the day, LOL! Anyway, the other day Mommy Parm got out their "water worm" and the kids were all running through it and I caught some after the fact shots...



I'm not sure where the ParmPrincess was? She must have been inside preparing the "picnic" they had afterwards which consisted of cheerios, chips and otter pops!

Not too much goin' on

in the Aloha state for us this week. More of the same: swim lessons, errands, laundry, dishes, cooking; sounds exotic and leisurely doesn't it?! We did have a super fun day today; we met up with some friends after swim lessons for another picnic in the park at Moanalua Gardens. I'd love to share some pictures with you but my camera battery died...I know mom, big surprise right? So, instead I will subject you to more photos of my fish belly pale children at swim lessons :) Pookins jumping off the diving board; notice my use of the "sports setting" on my camera...






And today was safety day at swim lessons which means everyone gets thrown in with life preservers on. NOTE: Magoo DID NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL! Poor thing could barely get his arms around the puffy part to hang on to the wall :( Did I mention he's the youngest (and smallest) kid in the class? God love him!






In case you were thinking it was bright out or something in that last picture; it was. But he's not squinting b/c it is bright, he was practicing for tomorrow when all the parents are invited to get into the pool with the kids. He'll have to squint like that when I reveal my FISH BELLY PALE body to the swim class. God give me strength!

Did I mention I am going to Vegas? 4 days!! More info on that trip over the weekend, stay tuned!

I did not turn into a pumpkin

I did however turn into an Oompa Loompa. Well, when I scanned the picture in it got all scrunched up making me look waaaaaay wider and much shorter than I am. DevilDoc had his Corpsman Ball this weekend and we were lucky enough to coax a babysitter into watching Pookins and Magoo. It was a nifty evening; there was lots of testosterone, adult beverages and baked Alaska. Yes, that's right...dessert was baked Alaska and DevilDoc has found his new favorite thing. He was just in awe of the concoction. Me...eh, whatever. It was dessert.

Another pic that someone at the ball took; DevilDoc looks "googly" or constipated or something, doesn't he? SIDENOTE: And I have "moon face" thanks to prednisone; thank you makers of oral steroids...I appreciate the weight gain and incessant hunger.

One of DevilDocs junior guys received a special command coin in recognition of being awarded a Purple Heart. The kid is a Purple Heart recipient at the age of 21 (maybe 22?)! He's not even a Petty Officer yet...though he should be in my book; Purple Heart should be a meritorious promotion. I digress, sorry!

Group picture of CSSG-3

It's not everyone of course, but you get the gist.

And of course Sunday was Father's Day. Since I totally suck and suprises I had already given DevilDoc his present; a Wii and Wii Fit. He has since bought 5 games, an extra controller, extra nunchuk and 2 steering wheels. His birthday is in July; he'll be getting a macrame plant holder or the like from the Pookins and Magoo summer camp adventures! He also received a lovely handmade card and a garden tile with 2 little handprints. There were tears. We went off to Waikiki for the day and had brunch at the Cheesecake Factory (his choice) and then stopped by the Hale Koa to hang at the pool. A relaxing and fun filled family day.

We also stopped to look at cars on the way home. I test drove the Mazda5; I just LOVE that little thing. They didn't have one on the lot that was exactly what I wanted but the sales guy was gonna go on a hunt for one. There was a gorgeous CX=9 though, wooo-weeeee it sure was purty! Still trying to hold out on another vehicle though, we'll see what happens when we start riding TheBus.

It's a LIFETIME TV Network day

you know those kind of days; overcast and rainy out...a little chill in the air. All the blinds in the house are closed and nothing could pull you out of the house?! Except swim lessons of course!

There is the Pookins dangling high above the pool below...it was a death defying feat!



















And, that splash is him...I missed the whole free-fall part! Bad mommy award for me.



What I really want to do is go climb in my bed with its freshly laundered sheets and watch mindless television until I fall asleep. But, instead I am going to dinner with my Bunco group. They will give me an energy boost, that's for sure!

In the summer, summer time....

I had a whole long post all typed out about WHY DevilDoc insists on asking me what we did all day everytime he comes home. And not just a curious, what did you do today? A more accusatory statement insinuating that in fact I did NOTHING all day. Then I deleted it because I'm just not dwelling on negatives.
Instead, here is a positive. Yesterday Pookins jumped off the diving board at swim lessons, on the way home told me he wanted to go off the high dive.




So, of course today they try to get the kids off the high dive. He was having NONE of it! He did climb up and wave to his teacher in the pool though, LOL! He says when he is 10 he can go off the high dive...I've got $5 says he's jumping off it by Friday :)












And, lest you think I have a favorite child or something Magoo is also in swim lessons...




I apologize for the choppiness of this post; I am still figuring this thing out and it isn't cooperating...OBVIOUSLY!

Cherry Jams

By just reading the title of this post you may have thought I was going to share a recipe. Sorry to disappoint, no recipes in this post. No, the Cherry Jams I am referring to is the Pookins Suave Shampoo. Last night after my "run" I was showering and kind of just zoning out. I thought to myself, "self, you've used the same shampoo the past 3 days. Why not switch it up?" So, I was going to get out of the shower and tip-toe to the cabinet (leaving wet foot prints of course) to get a new shampoo. Then I realized that there was kiddie shampoo in the shower! Glorious joy; what is more fun than washing your hair with kiddie shampoo?! It has that awesome kiddie smell, shampoo and conditioner in one bottle AND I didn't have to get out of the shower to fetch it! Just a random thought :)

Oh, and the running thing. I know, I know...I always said the only time you'd see me run is if someone was chasing me. Well, I'm fat. Yep, that's right F-A-T! DevilDoc would argue that it is P-H-A-T but he would lose that argument. I have gained 15lbs. since I was discharged from the hospital 3/27! Sooooooooo, I bought a treadmill a couple weeks ago and started running twice a day. Last week I found this awesome training website http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml. I started week 2 last night. I use this podcast http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/page4/files/category-7.html to keep me on track. Last night I only cursed him and flipped him off once. Yes, I was talking to my iPod...but it made me feel better. I increased my rate to 5mph and had to cut my last run short 10seconds. I was so disapponted! Then I remembered that two weeks ago I couldn't have walked fast to the mailbox let alone RUN 5mph for 10 minutes!

Packages, we loooooove packages!

For what seems like an eternity my kids have been asking if they got a package EVERYTIME we go to the mailbox. Yesterday there was one for me, today one for my husband...things were not looking good for Pookins and Magoo. But alas; a lovely flat rate priority box arrived at my neighbor's address with Japanese goodies for her kids and mine! Konichiwa Katie (did I spell it right?!) The DevilDoc and I say Mahalo for our treats too :)

P.s. that note is handwritten by the Pookins in PreK phonetic words...sound it out.

Be a leader, not a follower....

that's what my mom always told me. Well, sorry mom...but I'm being a follower in this technological part of my life and jumping on the "blog bandwagon".

So bookmark me, link me, do whatever it is that you need to do in order to get yourself back here; I promise you it will get more interesting. Okay, I shouldn't promise that! I HOPE it gets more interesting.