Sin City and Back

The trip to Vegas was a whirlwind that has left me running for the rest of the week. TGIF! I planned to post a blog when I was there, but clearly that didn't happen.

To the highlights, we go!!~ Loews Lake Las Vegas was very nice and extremely pet and kid friendly. The accommodations were also stunning...with a view of the lake from the 9th floor.

Part of our assignment was to tour the Lake and see the home, shopping, other resorts and water activities Lake Las Vegas has to offer. We set sail on an 83 foot yacht for this assignment. And while it was 110 degrees it was still amazing to learn that the lake took 10 years to fill up and it's home to Celine Dion, who's son's "play house" is a full-sized (bigger than my house) home next door to her house!! I got to snap a picture on the helm of the boat, but didn't pull a Titanic moment...even though I was tempted to!!

After of several hours of shooting segments ...in the crazy hot weather, we were treated to the most amazing and delicious sushi I have ever eaten!! It was prepared especially for our table by the master chef Fugi Fugimara at Marssa restaurant at the resort. I knew I was in for a treat when the first entree was a dry ice smoking dish with cubed tuna in the most amazing ginger dressing!

Look at the rose of sashimi tuna. Each layer of "petals" was a slice of primo tuna!!

On Tuesday, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the lake, which was wonderful for a little quiet time. I can not remember the last time I had peace and beauty alone like this. It was a moment I had to remember.

But, call time for us to be at The View at Caesar's Hotel was 7am!! So, it was an early "up and at 'em" for us. The View was in Las Vegas through Wednesday of this week three live shows and two taped shows. We were at Tuesdays live show, but in the green room when the guests for the 10:30am taped show was about to begin. David Cook and David Archuleta were the guests for the show we saw and I interviewed them immediately after they performed.

And then after the show was over I interviewed all five girls from The View as well as the producer of the show. I was much closer to them than the pictures shows...but I moved to get out of the audience and more "behind the scenes" to shoot my pictures.

The Cliff Notes on the Ladies:

Elizabeth ~ while I thought she would be the warmest and most approachable, she was very reserved and formal, but still polite. Also, she is extraordinarily thin!!! Far thinner in person than she already appears on TV

Barbara ~ She was kind, friendly and spoke EXACTLY the way she does on TV. I told her I had a milestone moment interviewing her via satellite after the release of her book, Auditions. And she said, 'Yes, Stephanie, I remember". Truth is...I know she didn't. She did dozens of interviews that day. But, she was gracious enough to say that and I'm going to pretend until the day I die...that she actually meant it! :)

Whoopie~ Very nice and exactly what you see on TV. Laid back, chill and when I told her people were screaming her name from the street at the beginning of the show she said, "After 20-something years, Stephanie, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that." Then she proceeded to show me the ugliest little doll made of pipe cleaners I've ever seen. Apparently, a viewer gave it to her.

Joy ~ Based on her views on the show as well as her blunt comedy and biting demeanor, I fully expected her to be the most difficult to talk with. I was absolutely wrong!! She was the nicest gal, and the most "normal" ...next door neighbor type!

Sherri ~ Sooooooo beautiful in person and MUCH smaller than she appears on TV. She's got the tiniest little hips and great legs (she was wearing shorts). But, her chest on TV makes her look 3 sizes bigger! Her smile is radiant! But, she was a little worried because she said her son was sick back at home.

Before we left the Green Room ...I saw Heidi Montag and Spencer walk in. She's also a toothpick. These celebrity TV types are itty-bitty!!

In all, it was A LOT of work in less than 24 hours but a totally memorable experience! The one major disappointment was not being able to take a picture with the girls because they were whisked away back up their hotel rooms to get re-styled and change clothes for the second show which was being taped in an hour from the time I interviewed them. Maybe next time. :(

By the way...not even time for ONE bet!!!

Vegas Baby!

I've got a little trip I'm heading out on tomorrow for work. Just a little 2 day trip to VEGAS, BABY!

I'm heading to Sin City, to do a couple segments for Sonoran Living on Loews Lake Las Vegas. We're also going out on a boat/yacht for a sunset story on marine rentals on the lake.

Then, the really fun part of the trip will be a trip to interview the girls from The View. We'll be behind he scenes before the show and during part of it. Then, afterwards I'll be interviewing them. Tuesday they will be taping two shows...one at 8am and another at 10pm. All week long the shows will be in front of Ceasar's Palace.

I'll take pictures and try to blog when I'm there or when I get home!

Until then, as the girls say...take a little time to enjoy 'The View'!

By the way...sorry no pictures. I forgot to take my camera to the birthday party we went to today. :(

20 Tiny Fingers, 20 Tiny Toes & 1 Curious Little Boy

Today, Landon and I set off to Traci's house to visit her twins and let Wade & Landon play together. It's been about a month since they've gotten to get wild! (Blame it on Wade's new sisters!!)

What a treat to watch the little guys play and get my own little baby to cuddle and get cozy with all day!

I wondered how Landon would react and to my great surprise he was veeeery interested in the babies! He tried to pick them up, asked to hold them, talked with them, followed them to the bedroom when they went down for naps and even asked to feed them!

Sydney and Olyvia are 1 month old today..and just the best little babies! No crying, no fussing, just content and on a perfect schedule of sleeping and eating! Enjoy the baby love!

SYDNEY

OLYVIA

All Boy...Oh Boy!

I just had to giggle a little tonight watching Landon be all BOY!

I bought him a little plastic car last weekend at for 5.99...a steal, how could I resist. Who know the hours of fun a six dollar purchase would result in for both Landon and ME!

He was climbing on the top and saying, "I'm doing my exercises ...ON TOP OF THE WORLD!"

And literally, hanging his feet from the back...

and climbing on the side!

And finally, his new phrase...which has me embarrassed and giggling at the same time? I say t to him, "Landon, you're so cute!" And he replies, "You cute too Mommy! Your bottom cute!"

Okay, brief explanation here. He was taking a bath last week and I pinched his bottom. He turned around and said, "Hey!! Moooommy!", I said, "Sorry! Your bottom is just so cute!"

I'm going to have to figure out this parrot syndrome quickly!

Father's Day Fun

Father's Day started in the sandbox, like most weekends do around here these days.
The boys building sandcastles and kicking dirt around!



From the sandbox to the sprinklers and hose. On a day when it was supposed to be 110 it's about the only relief we could find!







Carlos considered leaving town on a road trip on his motorcycle to the mountains. But, decided he'd stay close to home. We're glad he did.

I made reservations for Flemming's steak house and thought that might be a yummy meal without any work. But, in the 11th hour Carlos put in a special request for my Pan-Seared Pork with Spicy Citrus Sauce.



How could I say no? And as a special treat...Landon happily watched a movie while Carlos and I enjoyed an adult dinner and a meal so good, I know Carlos was tempted to lick his plate!



But, also part of that dinner included a trip recalling memories of our fathers. Carlos remembers his father bringing home his first little motorcycle when he was about 7 years old. He says he saw him carry it up two flights of stairs. I remember sitting by the stereo on Saturday afternoons listening to records for hours! Linda Ronstadt, Barry Manilow, Willy Nelson and Kenny Rogers! Ha! And I remember he rarely if ever missed a softball game. Sweet time. Times we still remember decades later! Happy Father's Day!

Heart and Hands

I've been working on a little project that I can finally show you! This year, Carlos didn'want me to buy him a Father's Day "gift". So, I decided to make him something. I tried to make my first ever Mini-Album.

A project like this calls for reinforcements so, I enlisted the help of the Pretty Paper Princess, herself, Heather. http://pppaperprincess.blogspot.com/ She showed me the ropes for a few hours on how to make this special gift. But, then...it was up to me to see it through. 13 hours later, two cuts on my fingers and far too little sleep...it is complete!! Well, almost. There's one page left for pictures from this Father's Day! :)

My craft room is back to looking like the previous blog. But, that's just part of the creative process...especially when you're making someting from the heart, with your hands.

Creative Chaos

So....I've been a little busy lately whipping up some crafty chaos! The paper, adhesive, paint and more...have been flying all over my craft room.

So many projects ...so little time. There's this delicate balance between the scrappy mess that sparks inspiration...and then just a crafty implosion.

I've officially reached the latter!!

It's part baby gifts, part Father's day surprises and part obsession. No worries though...it will be back in order in no time!!

In the meantime, I thought I'd show a few of my creations.

Finally, a little Landon story to end this blog entry! :)

He's starting to enjoy "imaginary play". And he came to me, with his hands cupped...said, 'here Mommy"!

I put my hands out...and received, well, nothing. But Landon said, "here Mommy, it's a kitty. I'll be back. I go get the doggie".

....I'm still pet sitting.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fightin'...

I apologize for not blogging in a while...but we'll just roll right into our weekend in review!

I thought this picture paints a perfect picture of the mood of our weekend! Silly, simple family time! Like everyone else in the country we spent part of the weekend watching a pudgy panda do his kung fu thing on other animated animals. Boy, the things I do for love. The boys loved it, I chuckled a bit...but, fell asleep the last 20 minutes when the Master Panda was saving the city!?!

Did I mention how madly in love with my hubs and son I am. I must be! Carlos and Landon came out doing karate chops and doggies Ruth and Tootsie have been paying the price today.

So, before we went to the movie, we tried out Benihana. So much fun! It never gets boring watching someone sling knives and spatulas feet from your face! And watching Landon's excitement was awesome!

A little oddity, however, was our master "Japanese" chef, Gabriel. :) ...who, spoke with a heavy Spanish accent.

He pushed the handle of this spatula up and down repeatedly...to make the heart pump! And he also stacked a pile of sliced onions to make an onion volcano...poured oil and water and made smoke come out of the top. Landon said, "I can't go in the vol-cano, Mommy". Out of curiosity I asked why not, and expected him to say, 'because I'm too big'. Instead, he said, "because it's too dark".

Stay tuned for more Family Date Night Adventures to come!!

Here are a few more pictures I snapped this weekend when Landon decided he wanted to ham it up in front of the camera!!