Back From Vegas Baby!!!!!

We're BACK!!!!!!!! It has taken me two full days to feel half way recuperated from this trip....holy cow, was I worn out!!!!! We had a blast!!! I won't bother with a big narrative description before I get into the pictures. There are so many, it was hard to narrow it down to the ones I wanted to post. So, I'll just tell you all about them as we go................
This one seems pretty obvious to me......Ryan gambling and drinking. We played slots off and on all weekend, but I prefer the other stuff. I lose a lot more when I play slots, it seems. My favorite is Texas Tea!!!!!
Not a very good picture, but I HAD to make an attempt when we saw an Elvis impersonator. He actually sounded really good. To be honest, I can't even remember which hotel we were in when we saw this guy. We just happened across him, so I had to stop for the photo op!!!!
Just playin' around!!!!!
Do you like Ryan's big balls?!?!? he he he That necklace was fifty bucks!!! Needless to say, we didn't buy it!!! We just shot a pic real quick and took off!!!! He said they were really heavy!!!
This picture is outside our hotel in the garden area. The whole hotel was georgous, especially outside.............

This was inside Ceasar's Palace. We were just out site seeing.
The first full day we were there, we got up and spent a few hours out by the pool. It was awesome. It was about 105 degrees in the heat of the day that day. That was actually a little cooler than it was when we got there. It was 109 when we landed Friday afternoon.
My baby cooling off with a cold brew by the pool
This guy that looks like Michael Jackson was hanging out by the Bellagio. We wanted to get our picture taken with him, but he was charging people, so I just snapped one of him and this random stranger. The MJ impersonater was pretty impressive, and not quite as creepy as the real thing :-)
This was outside a club called "Revolution." They had lots of cool Beatles memorabilia. I'm sitting inside the first "O."

We just happened to see this inside of Sahara as we were walking down to the Stratosphere. Being the little hippie I am, I couldn't resist.....................Lovin' the Joe Cocker album in the window.....It's one of his best!!!!

We got to see Pete Rose signing autographs insided a little shop at Ceasar's Palace. We both thought it was a little ironic seeing him in Vegas considereing his gambling habits...OOPS!!!! But, it was really cool to see someone famous!!!!!
This is Ryan just outside the Bellagio. I was disappointed in the music they chose for the fountains. I don't even remember what they were playing now, but it was a country song, and it didn't fit the elegance of the fountains at all.

Here's a few more pics of our hotel and the pool. Man, it was nice!!! I could've spent my whole weekend in that pool, but it closed really early. I think it was completely shut down by about 5:00 pm each day. I would have loved to take a swim at night, but we couldn't.......boo hoo...........

These pictures didn't turn out very well, but I wanted to post some from The Orleans where we went to see the comedian George Carlin. It's off the strip a couple miles, so I had never been there before. That hotel was amazing....even in the standards of a Vegas hotel. Everything was very colorful, and reminded me of Mardi Gras. The outside of the building looked a lot like the French Quarter.
We went to The IN & OUT Burger before we headed over to The Orleans for the comedy show. Ryan was just dying to go there. I was happy to go there just because we could actually eat for under ten bucks. Wish we had one of those here.....................
This picture was taken just outside The Orleans while we were waiting on a cab.
Ryan tried to tel me this is where circus peanuts come from......so that's what we called these orange things all weekend.
This was also inside The Orleans.
And this one..................
And this one..................actually, this face was at the end of a bar hanging over your head. It was really cool!!!

Once again, I wish my camera worked a little better.......these two pictures are of the ceiling in the Tropicana where we stayed. This is over the main entrance of the casino. All stained glass, and just enormous!!!!!
These next few pictures are all from the walkway over Las Vegas Blvd. That was on the corner where our hotel was. The hotel with the Statue of Liberty is New York New York. Ryan and I wanted to ride the roller coaster there, but we never got around to it.This is looking south towards Madalay Bay, and you can see one sign for Tropicana to the left. This is the walkway going across Tropicana Ave. looking East. The big building on the left is the side of MGM.
This is west over Tropicana towards New York New York.This is another view from the walkway over Las Vegas Blvd. facing north down the main strip.
This is one of the lions at MGM. The cats they have are all direct decendants of the lion that we all see and hear roar at the beginning of MGM films.
So, there you go folks.......that's the trip in a nut shell.

Ryan's birthday bash

OK. I gotta try to make this quick. My shift is almost over....and then I'll be heading to Vegas baby!!!!!!

Ryan's 28th birthday was Sunday, August 19th. He decided that he wanted to throw a kegger for himself. Sounded like a good plan to me, so that's what we did!!!A friend of Ryan's bought him "das boot" for his b-day gift. It's a HUGE boot-shaped glass that holds 54 ounces of liquid. Ryan emptied it several times that day :-) It's from the movie "Beer Fest." Pretty ridiculous movie, but ridiculous in a good way!!We had a plethora of yard games. So many, I didn't even get to play them all..................Ryan's dad made him a cornhole toss game for his birthday. It's got handles on the sides for easy transport. We will be carrying this everywhere with us!!!! That is my friend Cindy in the scrubs, and Jeff throwing the beanbag. He plays in a band out in West Middleton with our buddy Bobby Blue.My girls Ashley and TeShannah were the last ones standing at the end of the night with Ryan and me.Ryan was trashed and had the camera, so we were all laughing as he was snapping picutres.....I love those girls!!!!!Shake it TeShannah, shake it!!!!!Ryan looks like a wild man, doesn't he!!!! I believe he was winning the game they were playing....not sure why I get that idea, but that's what I think!!

This is Monday morning at about noon when everyone peeled themselves out of bed......looking pretty good considering.............................

Jester Music Festival

Oh what a crazy weekend we just had!!! I know it's Wedensday already, but I really needed these last few days to recuperate before I tried to even think about it again.

Saturday was the Jester Music Festival at German Park in Indianapolis. It was a festival with several local bands and Ekoostik Hookah as the headliner. The Hookah boys don't come to Indiana very often, so I was exstatic when I learned they would be in Indy this summer. I have been looking forward to this for months now!!!!

Ryan and I got up Saturday and started getting things ready for his birthday party which was Sunday. So, of course, we got off to a late start. I know that is a huge surprise that I'd be late for anything :-) So, we had our friends Matt, Liz, Dave and Kelly all waiting on us in Indy. Matt was the funniest about it. He kept calling Ryan and harrassing him about everything. They're both really good at giving eachother a hard time!!!

Finally, at about 2:00, we started heading to Indy. When we got there, we went to Dave and Kelly's house and hung out for a little while before we left for the show. The guys all drank a few beers, and then they were ready to go.

The park was gorgeous. I really liked it a lot, and I think I'll take my mom there sometime soon. Kelly told me they have live music every weekend, and sometimes have polka dancing going on. I think Mom would enjoy that a lot. They also had a German restaurant that I would like to take her to.

Ryan played designated driver Saturday night, so I actually drank. It's not often that I can just let loose and get toasted at these shows. I'm usually the sober one :-) Needless to say, I had a blast!!!!This is Dave, Matt, and Ryan before the show.Here's Liz, Matt, Kelly, and Ryan again.......Matt is always poking his head around to get himself into the pictures :-)It's always great to hang out with Liz. It seems like we hardly ever see eachother. I love her!!! And once again, there's Matt poking around behind us. Adam is the kid on the far left. It was his first Hookah show. We kept calling him a Hookah Virgin. I'm pretty sure we've got him hooked!!!

Hopefully this guy is starting to look familiar to most of you. This is the guitarist/genius, Steve Sweney!!! He rocked my sock off!!!!This is Nick Reynolds and Ryan. Nick is showing off Ryan's sexy, soapy legs. There was a giant foam pit that Ryan and Kelly jumped into while we were waiting for Hookah to start playing. My batteries in my camera were trying to die on me. I think that's why these next couple pictures turned out so dark.So much for that nice new pair of blue tennis shoes....they were a nice hue of brown by the time he got out of the pit!!!!!I wish this picture would have turned out better. The pit had a big bubble dipenser overhead, and lots of plastic around the trees to contain the bubbles. The kids at the show were all having a blast in there.Dave on keys. He's absolutely amazing, and a huge inspiration to me.And Cliffy on bass. He's the kid in the band. It seems like he's always the one dancing around acting silly. I love it!!!Here's a pretty decent pic of Eric...MY man. OK.....my OTHER man :-) But thats OK, 'cause Ryan knows, and he says it's OK :-) I was really happy to be able to get behind the stage. I danced back there for a little while. It was awesome to get a few good angles for photos that I can't get very often. It sounds totally different when you're back there. The sound is much better out in front. But the view back here was awesome!!!!Ryan and I hanging out on the hill in front of the stage.I think this is the cutest picture of Kelly!!! Aren't her nails pretty?!?!? I really wish we had more time to spend together too. We always have so much fun!!!!This is John Mullins. We actually had a chance to hang out with him for awhile after the show. It was a lot of fun. He doesn't drink while he's on stage, but by God, he does afterwards. He was hilarious!! In fact, he and Ryan both ended up in the middle of a hula hoop before the night ended. And remember, Ryan was sober :-)!!!!!Ryan and Matt....cuties!!!!!This is my friend Dani. Ryan and I met her threw some mutual friends at other shows. She was along with us for the trip to Atlanta last fall. We've really had a chance to get to know eachother over the last year or so. Once again, I am thankful to Ekoostik Hookah for bringing another great person into my life!!!!

This last picture is of The Max Allen Band. They're a local band, and have become a pretty common name throughout the music scene in Indy. They actually came outside during this picture, and were playing on the patio outside the German restaurant. I really enjoyed seeing them. There were a couple cops sitting in front of the bathrooms inside who looked totally bored out of their minds. They normally don't have to do much as far as crowd control at the Hookah shows. These crowds are just a bunch of tree hugging hippies who would rather hug you than cause any trouble. So, since the cops looked so bored, Max decided to go play directly to them. He walked to the foyer in between the reaturant and the bathrooms and starting ripping his guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughn or something. He gave them a very exciting personal show. It was pretty entertaining to see him in all his arrogance trotting around the cops like they were little kids or something.............................good times!!!!!

Anyone from Indy, or nearby, you should check the Max Allen Band out. I think all of you would enjoy their music.

Our friend Adam, AKA, the Hookah Virgin, lost his wallet during the show. He was freaking out when he realized it at about 1:00 AM. We were all just getting ready to head home when he ran up in a panic to tell us. I felt really bad for him. I have lost my stuff before, and I know what a huge sense of panic comes over you. The funny thing was, I had heard someone talking about having found a wallet while we were hanging out after Hookah got done playing, and I knew the guy had turned it into the bartender. I still don't know for sure if it was the same wallet, but sure enough, when Adam went in to inquire about his, they had it!! He was amazed. There was a little over three hundred dollars in there, and it had not been touched. THAT is why I love these people so dearly. Even when you think you're with strangers, we all look out for eachother in some way. And in turn, it seems like a huge extended family. Wow....I am so fortunate to have gotten to know such great people through this music. I love this scene, and I would be completely lost without it and the friends and family I have accumulated over the last few years because of it...........................................

Next up....the birthday bash......................