Spring Break... girls' style!

Every year Melissa and I take a fun road trip or something for Spring Break... well, this year it wasn't in our budget so we decided to see what kind of fun we could have in town. After a few phone calls to Dear Old Dad who hooked us up with free show tickets and a hotel room, we knew that we would have a great time! We invited Erin to join us but she ended up being detained in Sacramento (I thought that would at least sound a little scandalous, eh Erin?)... It wasn't exactly our plan, but we rolled with it. Here are some photo highlights of Spring Break Oh Seven...

Melissa and I met for coffee in the morning...


Followed by scalp massages and hairstyles at the Academy of Hair Design...


And pedicures too!! We spent almost FIVE hours there!


Afterward as we had Hot Dog on a Stick for lunch, we learned that Erin couldn't get a flight out and we were totally bummed! So we called our pal Diedre who was more than happy to have a fun night out with the girls! All was going well until the babysitter called at about 3 to tell me that Violet was running a crazy high fever and just started vomiting everywhere. YAY. Back home I went to take care of her till Rick could get there... turned out she was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion cause the kids had all gone and spent the entire morning at the park but Violet hadn't had a drop of water to drink. And it was in the 90s. So we hydrated her a ton, gave her a bath, and let the meds bring down her fever. Back on the road by 4:30 p.m.

Melissa and I had to pick up our tickets to Ka at least an hour before the show - so we drove straight to the MGM. We wanted to get the tickets and then go to our hotel (the Luxor) to check in there and change before the 7pm show. Traffic was fine until we got to the left turn lane to get into the hotel. No joke we were waiting there through THREE lights cause people kept blocking the intersection. So I jumped out of the car, jaywalked across the road, and jumped a 3 foot fence (in heels! LOL!) to get into the hotel. I got the tickets, met Mel out front (she finally got through the intersection) and we went to the Luxor.

It was now just after 6 pm - we needed to check in, change, and get back to the MGM to meet Deidre at 6:45... we valet parked the car and told the valet we were just running in and would be right out after we got ready for the show. We got our room - a nice one on the 17th floor (yay! Thanks Dad!) and Mel and I got ready in our sassy dresses in record time. We headed down to the car when Mel realized out front that she left her valet ticket in her other purse. I told her let's hope the valet remembers us - and luckily he did!!! Not only that, he kept the car out front with the ferraris! LOL! By this time it was 6:45 and Deidre was waiting for us... so we got on the road (the hotels are really close, thank goodness!)... and it was when we turned onto LV Blvd that I realized that I left something in my other purse... THE TICKETS TO THE SHOW!!! AAAAAAH!!!! We had to turn back... and I ran out, went upstairs, got them, and got back into the car. By now Deidre is calling us saying "I look like a dork standing here all alone! Where are you???" and of course it is like a minute to 7. With all the crazy mishaps that had happened so far we were starting to wonder if this trip was meant to be a reality for us...

But it was. We got to the MGM and valet was open right up front - we made it to the show which had *just* started, and we had awesome seats... as you can see...

It was AMAZING. This was my favorite part. There is something about this crazy contraption that is so stinking cool. And when those crazy Ruiz-brother-looking dudes spin around in that thing - JUMPING ROPE - ON THE OUTSIDE - it is incredible!!!


Afterward, we went to the New York-New York and had dinner at the mexican restaurant Gonzales y Gonzales... mmmm! Margaritas!


Being completely silly in the bathroom after dinner...


And then having a completely random "photo shoot" in the fake doorways of the fake New York City... :)

Deidre is so beautiful!


*snort* this was the only acceptable shot of me... haha


This photo makes me insanely happy :)
We were having soooo much fun even though the people sitting at the table just to the right of Mel here were not as happy as us. Too bad for them!


Then we moved the photoshoot outside onto the bridge...


Woohoo!


Deidre let her hair down... hee hee


I wanted to try a slow shutter speed with Mel standing still and people walking around her all blurry. The problem is that everyone wanted to be a helpy-helperton and stop while I was shooting. sigh. Oh and then there were the random people that decided Mel must be someone famous or something cause they were also taking her photo. hahaha! But we ended up with one that I kinda liked....


By this time it was midnight and we were ready for some dancing - Studio 54 was open in the MGM so we headed on inside :)


Lots o dancing - lots o scantily clad ladies... and this little bit of eye candy for us. We called him the Michael Jackson guy. He danced really well... and he really REALLY loved his own body. haha


We danced till about 2:00 and then decided to call it a night cause our feet felt like they were going to explode. Fortunately there is a 24 hour Starbucks at the MGM so we stopped there to rest our weary feet. And while we were sitting there some creepy guy that was waaaay too old for us with a fake foreign accent decided to try and strike up a conversation with us. So we all gave him fake names. We weren't Deidre, Melissa, and Jessie. We were Audra, Michelle, and Stevie. HAHAHAHAHA He finally left us alone after we gave him major hints that we were in no way interested in talking to him.

Finally we started feeling the effects of the night and knew it was time to get to bed - Deidre had to drive home and Mel and I went to the hotel. We closed the blackout shades and crawled into our respective beds. And didn't move from those spots till 10:30 in the morning!! I woke up and thought to myself how annoying it is to have to pee in the middle of the night... till I looked at the clock and saw the time. Let me just say that the blackout shades at the Luxor are freaking AMAZING. We had no idea it was daylight outside!!

Unfortunately, check out was at 11, so we didn't get to have a leisurely morning at the hotel - we packed up, checked out, and went to breakfast at a local restaurant called "Egg Works." I had lots of coffee ;)


After breakfast, we headed to the local tattoo/piercing parlor for my Spring Break Oh Seven souvenir...




No, it didn't hurt any more than when you get a needle prick from giving blood... but my eye and nose wouldn't stop watering afterward.


Here I am giving advice to my piercing dude on how to change the f-stops on his camera :)


After the Great Nose Piercing of 2007, Mel and I went to the movies and saw Blades of Glory. HAHAHAHAHA that movie is soooo stinking FUNNY!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA Seriously completely hysterical. And even better when afterward we stop at DQ for some Blizzard action ;)


And that, my friends, is how Girls Weekend goes with Jessie.
Don't you want to join me next year?? ;)

Easter Eggs & More

Violet decided she wanted bangs for Easter... so we visited Trisha at the Academy of Hair Design for a real salon haircut!



New look for a cute girl! Little a-line wedge cut with cute sassy bangs!


Carl & Liane came over on Saturday morning for homemade waffles and egg coloring. Jim & Val had sent them a care package with egg decorating supplies and a sweet card, passing on the tradition of coloring eggs with their fake grandkids on to the Auntie and Uncle. We had a fabulous time talking about Easter and making pretty eggs :)


Even Rick got into it...


There was excitement all around the egg cups, wondering what would happen next!


I tried to sabotage Carl's fancy design, but Liane thwarted the plan!


Riley telling us how Jesus wasn't in the cave anymore cause He was alive. But now He has flown away to heaven to be with Moker, Guard Dog, and Mommy's Friend Who Died. And they are playing games.


Happy Easter Mr. Jim and Miss Valerie!!


Sassy fun eggs :)


Easter morning - the kids wore their clothes they got for Liane's wedding. We figured it would be a good idea to get at least one more wearing out of them!! :)


We attended the 7 am service. *yawn*


Awww... Liane and Carl are so cute!!


Doesn't Rick look like Secret Service here? All he needs is an earpiece to complete the look.


Happy Easter again! Someday I will explain to Rick that the prompts we use to get kids to smile are not necessary for grownups too. Sigh :)

Spring break.

Playing outside with friends...

getting really dirty...

and losing another front tooth :)

Que vida!

Oooh fun!

80s pop music trivia! yay! It's a bit of a long test - and mind the spelling of your answers, as I learned *afterward*... but I got an 85. Let me know your score!! Click below to go to the test.

Today's the last day

And a dear friend, Ali Edwards, is raising money for a very very good charity. It is sponsored by SixDegrees.org - Kevin Bacon's foundation - and the top 6 fundraisers get a $10,000 grant from Kevin Bacon. It's based on the number of donations, not the amount of them - so all you have to do is contribute $10 (the minimum) and it counts toward her goal. She's trying to get 2000 donations before midnight Eastern time tonight.

So take a look here, and if you are so inclined, add a ten spot too :)

St. Patrick's Day...

So Violet decided that she was going to make a trap to catch a leprechaun... hahahaha

Of course this was decided at about 7 pm on Friday... which means Mom had to think fast on this one to see how it would all work out.



Violet covered a cardboard box with paper and created a "for sale to leprechauns" sign, complete with clovers adorning it. Then she created a playground for the leprechaun out of tinker toys, cause come on - who can resist?? Finally, she left a trail of fake gold coins to trap him in his house.



When morning rolled around, there was no leprechaun to be found. But he left something behind - HIS CLOTHES!!! And in his pocket? A teeny tiny golden key - probably the one he used to get into the house in the first place! ooooooo!!!!


So if you are out and about and happen to see a little naked leprechaun running around, let him know that his clothes are safe and sound!! :)

The end of Hawaii...

The last night in Waikiki we went to a fancy dinner at a restaurant right on the beach... the sunset was gorgeous and made for some lovely lighting by which to take photos. :)

Kris and Mel are so cute!

Oh yeah - so are Rick and I :)

Lovely dinner - I competely forgot to take a photo of what I ate, though. I had the fish though, and it was wonderful.

And then, Rick and I went out for a little after-dinner adventure.

WARNING: The next several photos include Rick topless. Small children and those who are jealous of his manly physique should turn away now! As a side note, you'd think that he would be a little less pasty seeing as how he's spent the week in Hawaii. lol

The artist applying the decal to Rick's arm... Rick chose a custom designed tattoo of an endless knot cross... a slight modification of the design my dad created.

And the artwork begins!

Rick said it didn't even hurt that bad. I was totally impressed, since his fear of needles runs long and deep.

The finished product... before getting bandaged up. This artist did a GREAT job and was really fast. They told him it would be about an hour and a half, and he was done in just about 45 minutes!

Rick getting the lowdown on the proper care and feeding of your new tat, as he gets bandaged up...

The next morning. Look how tough Rick is now ;)

Our final day in Hawaii was beautiful! One last shot of the view from our balcony...

Sigh. I don't want to go home.

As we packed up the car to head the airport, Rick & Mel's facial expressions summed up how we felt perfectly:

Hawaii. Definitely an amazing place to visit. We will have to go back. Hopefully it won't take us another 12 years of marriage ;)

Guess where Rick went...

on our last night in Hawaii!

Here are your hints:

More later! :)

Hawaii. Nearly done!

Sorry about the delay in posting. Here are the pics from when we got to Waikiki beach!! :)

The first day we got there we had leftover food from our fridge at Ko Olina. Of course this hotel room didn't have one... so we kinda tried a makeshift icebox in one of the bathroom sinks... but the ice cream wasn't holding up. So Mel & I made oreo shakes for the boys ;)


The view from our hotel suite on the 15th floor of the Sheraton Waikiki...
we rented that lone little umbrella down there!


This beach was quite different than the one at Ko Olina. Very tourist-y and very crowded. If you didn't get to the beach at sunrise, chances are you wouldn't get an umbrella.


The boys spent most of their time napping... either on the beach, at the pool, or in the room.
Mel and I decided to go take surfing lessons! We did so completely great! Of course this beach is perfect for learning to surf. The waves are loooooong and low... and the water is warm... and the instructors are very adorably cute ;)


Mel also insisted that a trip to Hawaii is not complete without having the Shave Ice experience. So we found a shave ice stand and got some...


Mine was strawberry, mango, pineapple! mmmmm


Rick wasn't feeling well the whole time we were in Waikiki. I think the Slimers from the luau got to him... but he still put on a happy face when I requested (demanded!) it... ;)


We had dinner at a fun restaurant called Cheeseburger in paradise the first night we were there. I had a pineapple guacamole cheeseburger. YUM YUM YUM


After dinner we went to a nightclub! It was pretty fun... well for me, Mel, and Kris anyway. Rick wasn't feeling so hot.


One more post and Hawaii will be done! Stay tuned!! I promise I won't wait so long before posting again... really!!!!

OK.

I know - I need to finish Hawaii.
But the thing is, the next set of pics is on Rick's camera.
And I don't know where it is. And I keep meaning to ask him where it is so I can get the photos downloaded... but I keep forgetting. Cause he comes home and it's dinner and softball practice and playing and cleaning up and watching movies.

Rick and I have decided to watch at least one movie a week.
I signed up for Blockbuster Total Access last night.
I know, I used to have Blockbuster online - but that was before I could return the movies to the store right away. Which is way cooler than having to mail them in. And since the store is right around the corner from us, it's perfect. And now they offer free game rentals once a month... and since Liane & Carl have a Wii now... well, it seemed perfect.

Did I mention the Wii yet? I don't think so. It's freaking AWESOME. We did the sports one over at Liane & Carl's place. It was fantastic!!! Ask Rick about how rad the boxing is ;)

Okay. Really. I am going to find the camera so I can finish Hawaii. I swear!!