What Happens in Vegas...

The view of the strip from our 51st floor room

Valley of Fire

Crazy beautiful red rock formations in the middle of the white desert

Tapas and Sangria at the Firefly

A small part of the pool @ the Wynn Resort

Havin' fun in the Cabana @ the Wynn

I know some of you probably think we're insane for going to the desert in the middle of summer but that's when we like it best. What's better than hanging out at a swanky hotel (that's super cheap because no one in their right mind goes to Vegas in the summer), spending time in a poolside cabana with Nick waiting on you hand and foot, sipping frozen beverages delivered on your slightest whim, eating in 5 Star restaurants, enjoying fabulous entertainment and being warm even at 10:00 in the evening? Jana & JJ and Al and I spent 6 days taking advantage of all of the above. It was so much fun and even though it's only been 3 years since we've been there, Las Vegas is a city on the move. There are a ton of new hotels and the energy is so vibrant and exhilarating. When AJ and Maryanne lived in Vegas they made a point of finding new trendy restaurants so we took their advise and hit a couple of "off strip" places. Yum!!!

Needless to say, when Al and I are looking for a cheap, close to home get-away, LV is it for us!

Wedding # 3 of the Summer

Three days after my niece's wedding, the kids and grandkid and Al and I squeezed into the faithful minivan and headed over to Sisters for wedding #3. Julie Kendall, the daughter of my dear friend from High School, Nancy (Roberts) Kendall, got married on a cold and windy golf course. And even though it was cold, it was still beautiful. The mountains were snow capped and the sky was crystal clear blue. Julie's attendants were in gorgeous deep red dresses so the visual affect was stunning. Thankfully, the reception was inside the lodge and was toasty warm...in temperature and atmosphere. Nancy and Curt threw a great party! Yummy food, fun guests and great dance music. It was a delight to catch up with Nancy's younger brother, David, who when Nance & I were in high school, did nothing but bug us to death. We were uber-cool and he was a pesky but funny Jr High kid who lived to drive us nuts. Dave is now a structural engineer in SoCal with a wife and 2 darling teenage kids. As we visited, we decided we hadn't seen each other since Nancy & Curt's wedding 31 years ago and amazingly, neither of us had changed a bit :-) By all accounts it was a really fun day!

Best of friends for...gulp...43 years

Wedding # 2 of the Summer

On June 17th my darling niece Samantha (Jeff's eldest daughter) got married at the beautiful Abernathy Center. It was a lovely warm evening so the garden setting was perfect. Sammie was a gorgeous bride and it was fun to have almost the entire family together. We missed Randy and Robin from Phoenix but we knew they were thinking of us and celebrating this special occasion. Sammie and Austin will spend 2 months in Provo and then will settle in Beaverton. Hopefully we'll get to see them more often than when they lived in Phoenix.

Tip Toe Thru the Tu...maybe not.

My rose bushes were about to take over the house so Porter & I did some gardening.

Catching Up...Again

McNary High School in Keizer, won the State Baseball Championship yesterday. Dad, Al, AJ Maryanne, Porter and I spent a fun evening at Volcano Stadium watching the home team beat Roseburg 5 to 1. Porter stayed awake for the entire game so maybe he'll be a sports fan or a baseball player when he gets older.

Corban and Lauren at Michelle Gordon's wedding reception.

Porter wishing he could have some Mexican food with the rest of us.

My cutie pie great niece Lauran Bliss, plays softball for South Salem High School. She is their All-League catcher and her team made the State play-offs this year. After a fantastic game ending throw to second base, picking off a stealing runner, Lauran celebrates with Porter.