Vegas, Baby!

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

Well, I had only been home from Orlando for a few days, and then it was time to jump on the plane again for a little trip. This time, it was a childless adult trip.

Kevin's best friend since high school had his 43rd birthday coming up, and his wife Tracie decided to treat him (US!) to Vegas to celebrate.

Our flight was a little delayed, setting us into Vegas a little later than expected, but nonetheless we arrived in one piece. Tracie also surprised Roddy with a limo to pick us up and take us to the Mirage. Here's our driver, Luis, giving the birthday boy some champagne to sip on until we reached our destination.

Now, I'm not too crazy on gambling, but Kevin handed me over $10 to use on the slots to keep me occupied while the the guys hit the machines. I reluctantly picked out a 2 cent slot machine, and after a few spins, heard the good 'ol cha-chings. What did I win? I had no idea, I couldn't figure it out. So, Tracie and I waited patiently for the credits to quit adding up, and found out I made $65! Not bad! After a a bit more of playing, I quit at $100 ahead. By the end of the night, I had lost my $100....in the form of a pair of Donald J. Pilner shoes. Har har!

The next night was Roddy's birthday dinner, and we all took a cab to a fantastic upscale steak house, called Ruth's Chris. If you haven't been, you really need to. It is DE-LI-CIOUS. Dinner was perfect, and the evening was great. That is, until we stepped off the cab back to our hotel, and I realized that I had forgotten my wallet underneat my chair at the restaurant. We immediately called the restaurant, and were told that my wallet was found and being safely held in the safe. No more than 15 minutes after we had left the restaurant, we were back to pick up my wallet. Kevin went out to get grab it for me, and I quickly thumbed through it, knowing that everything would be just fine. No such luck. Some shithead had stolen the cash out of it! I called immediately while still in the cab to speak with the manager. To make the long story short, the director of operations showed up at my hotel later that evening, telling me that surveillance cameras had caught the hostess pocketing my cash after the server had turned in my wallet to her. Needless to say, she was terminated and I had my cash back, plus $100 gift certificate for the inconvenience. Shweet! He was very apologetic and embarassed, and I accepted graciously. The night certainly was better after that, even after I lost $100 at the roulette table. Doh!


So, what else did we do? Our birthday present to Roddy was tickets to Cirque Du Soleil's "O." Man, I love those shows. It was really great. I don't know if I liked it better than Mystere, but it was certainly impressive. Let's see, we also visited Old Las Vegas, which was okay, but probably would have been better at night. And, shopped, gambled, ate, ate, and ate. What else is there to do?

So, here I am back home. I had tons of fun. Probably more fun that the first time Kevin and I went after 9/11. After 2 weeks of travelling and having fun, I'm not quite ready to be back in the real world again. But there is one thing that I was anxious to get to. You know who.... :) I'm so glad to see my baby again!

Off To Visit Isa!

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

Well, I must say that I am pretty damned proud of myself. I decided to brave taking Gabriel out onto his first airplane trip to visit Erick and El's new little girl, Isabella....alone. Besides a little bout of a temper tantrum due to a lack of naptime, Gabriel actually did fairly well. Now, don't get me wrong. It wasn't easy, but it certainly wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Here we are before we board our plane to head to Orlando. Pre-tantrum. Pre-passengers turning around and glaring at you. Whatever, get over it...

You know, I really noticed a difference with Erick and El. When Gabriel was first born, they both looked so awkward and nervous holding him. Now that they've gotten used to holding their newborn, I see that they actually look more natural interacting and playing with him. Attaboy, guys! See, you just had to get your hands a little dirty first! El and I both had to hop into the showers before we left to go meet Rachel, Ricky, and Donna for brunch, so Erick had baby duty x2.

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

Here they are in deep conversation before Gabriel realizes that I'm standing there, and then starts freaking out again cause he wants me to pick him up. Brat.

I loved sitting in the back seat with the babies. It's so awesome to see the cousins meet. Gabriel took very well to Isa, and even tried to comfort her when she cried. Either that, or shove her head into the couch cushions. So, did I mention this was a dual trip? Oh, yeah....Rachel's birthday was this past weekend, too, and Ricky and Donna were also down from Atlanta. So, we were all able to hang out, meet the new addition, and celebrate Rach's 37th! Sorry I don't have more pics, but I got a little slack with keeping up with my camera.

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

Here's a one of Isa getting back at him for being a bully. Sweet kid.

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

Here's Erick and El's livingroom that I had to rearrange and clear out to keep Gabriel's busy hands off of. Erick's whipping out his camera to catch a shot of Gabriel's unintentional plumber's crack as Isa looks on. (P.S. Anna, those are the jeans you bought him. I think we have a little more growing room left in them... ;-) ).

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

It was a great visit meeting the new Pineda addition. Looking forward to when both kids are running around.

Daddy's Boy

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Originally uploaded by xosunnydaysxo.

I just had to post this one. This was one of Kevin's Christmas presents to Gabriel, and I couldn't wait to dress him up and take him to work.

His daddy is so proud. Future blackbelt in the making!!