Cherry!......Cherry!!!........Lemon :-(

Hey all,

It's Bruin, the other half of this blog. Nicole has been bugging me to blog about my trip to Las Vegas for 3 weeks now, so I figured I'd oblige. (Of course, I think it's because she can only blog about Cricket so many times before you guys get bored and stop reading.) For those of you who didn't know, I went to Las Vegas recently for........uh.......a christian men's conference? a Retreat of Silence? Ummmmm, no. I went with a couple of friends from work to gamble (on a budget!), eat (buffets galore!!!), drink (Waitress: "Here's your bourbon and coke", Dealer: "You've got blackjack!", Me: "Hit me!") and be merry. What I didn't plan on was the LVPD being so darn strict. She told me she was 18!! HA! I kid.

The only lady I paid any attention to all weekend was Lady Luck, and she is a coy mistress. We landed in Vegas at 7, and by 10 pm, I'd already lost $60 of the $300 I had budgeted. But I'd had a plate of Volcanic Nachos and a Perfect Margarita at Margaritaville, so I was okay with the outlook of coming away with nothing but memories (consequently, I pitched the idea of Shirley Templeville to a Casino manager. He was not impressed). But Lady Luck smiled, and I didn't lose much more after that. In fact, after winning $20 at Blackjack the next evening, $40 at Texas Hold 'Em one afternoon, and $200 on a penny slot machine (how bout those odds!!!) I ended up leaving Sin City with a full belly, a clean conscience, and $20 extra dollars in my wallet, even after paying for all my food, chotskies, and some Las Vegas wear for me and the missus.

Bruin-1, Las Vegas-0.

Here's some pics of the trip:

The Excalibur, where we stayed.

The Strip at night.

The Buffet at the Wynn. Best $35 I've ever spent. I think I'm still full from it.

The best burger place ever. I can understand why Paris would drive drunk just to get a Double Double. If your computer is fritzing out, I apologize, that's my drool coming through the blog.

The fountains at the Bellagio. I was hoping they'd play Clair de Lune from Ocean's 11. Unfortunately, they played Celine Dion "My Heart Will Go On." I still felt like the King of the World.

The front of the MGM Grand

The Lion exhibit at the MGM Grand. I can NOT believe how big these things are in real life. Craziness.

Bruin's 3. Danny Ocean, you got nothing on me.

So that's my trip. Thanks for checking in. You stay classy, blogosphere.

Bruin

Over the river and through the woods

To Papa, Nana and Grama's house we go... Mommy and Daddy know the way to steer the car through the lines and lines of... traffic?? Okay, maybe I'm not the best at nursery rhymes yet but I'm learning! So, as I was trying to say, Mommy and Daddy and I drove up to Papa and Nana and Grama's house for Thanksgiving. We did a lot of sleeping and eating and reading and sleeping and eating and watching TV. This was my first Thanksgiving at Papa and Nana and Grama's house. It was fun but Papa and Nana and Grama don't like me to sleep on the couch, so I was happy to come home. Although, I DID get to sleep in the bed with Mommy and Daddy. But it isn't all that it's cracked up to be - Mommy hogs the bed and Daddy moves around a lot. I was better off in my kennel. Anyway, we are back home, safe and sound. I've got my great big yard to run in and my nice comfy couch to sleep on.

Nap time with Daddy.

Daddy and I reading.

There were lots and lots of leaves to play with.

I knew I smelled something good!!!

Mommy loves me so much.

Are you SURE I can't come up there with you?

And then there was grass...

After 9 months of staring at dirt and weeds (as well as the River Robinson when it rained), we now have grass in our backyard. The Lord blessed us with a perfect day and even more with amazing friends who volunteered a Saturday morning to help us out. With 6 people helping, it took us 2.5 hours to finish. Not too bad if you ask me.

The whole process started yesterday when the builder's landscaping company came and re-graded the yard so when it rains, the water will now run down along our fence line instead of right through our backyard. But in order to maintain this swale, we had to put down sod.


The white mark around the trees indicated the area we wanted to keep 'natural'. I.e, we plan to put mulch in that area and figured we'd save on the sod. We also marked off an area right off our deck that we plan to cement in to make a little patio (for a table and chairs).


Matt and Wes enjoyed some homemade Hashbrown Casserole before we started.


We started at the back of the yard and worked outwards. The landscaping company was nice enough to drop the pallets in the backyard so it was easier to grab the grass.


The guys were just rockin' it... I couldn't believe how fast things were getting done.


Bruin is quite proud of his grass.


Almost done...


What a nice backyard!!!!


My beautiful view (from my Kitchen window).

Cricket's Reaction:

I think he likes it :)