Post Mardi Gras

I'm going to change this blog to a travel blog! Seems like I've been gone alot the last few weeks. My parents and I took a quick trip down to New Orleans for a few days. None of us had been there before. We waited until Mardi Gras was over but there were still plenty of signs that it had just happened. We all got a kick out of the beads hanging from the trees.

It looked like they all tried to out do each other decorating their balconies. I liked these two!

Mt. Charleston, Neveda

While in Vegas, Steve and I drove to Mt. Charleston. It's only about 30 minutes away, but it's nothing like Vegas. You aren't able to drive to the top of Mt Charleston. You have to hike up there.

They had snow!

When you get to the lodge, that's as far as you can go by car. We went in and had some hot chocolate. It was 30 degrees outside!

It was a nice little trip. Good to get away from the neon lights, cigarette smoke and clanging bells for a little while.

Soup!

Ahh, soup!

Sorry boys...

After Chris, Sunny & Olivia left Vegas to head back to LA, Steve and I went out for dinner. Being big fans of Top Chef, when we saw this restaurant we had to try it out for dinner.

Sorry boys. The inheritance has been spent! When I saw the fleur burger, well of course I had to try it. But really. Who would buy a burger and wine for $5000?

I do have to tell you though. The lighting was so dim in here that I couldn't read the menu. I jokingly told the waiter that I needed a flashlight. He pulled a magnifying glass with a light on it out of his pocket!

I actually had the strip steak with the worlds smallest baked potato.

Steve had the braised pork ribs.

And then we retired to the hotel to watch.... The Bachelor!

Red Rock Canyon

On Sunday morning we headed up to Red Rock Canyons. On the way we passed by Blue Diamond and saw a bunch of wild burro's. Even though they were wild, it appeared that they were used to people being around them.







We made it to Red Rocks, but it was rainy and cold! We drove the 13 mile loop and stopped a few times to run out, look and run back to the car.






Those 2 tiny black specs are Steve and Chris. They had planned on doing some hiking, but due to the weather this is as far as they made.

Vegas style

Look who showed up in Las Vegas!


I was very impressed with her patty caking. Her parents didn't know she could throw her arms up in the air like that. Aunt Jena says I do patty cake wrong - that it should be "shove it in the oven" not "up in the oven". I do agree that her version makes more sense, but it's not as fun as throwing your hands up in the air!

Transportation Museum

Last week, I went with Mike and the kids to the Transportation Museum. I haven't been there in about 20 years. They still have all the trains, but they also have a building with old cars. It drizzled on and off, but it didn't faze the kids. They enjoyed climbing up and down the stairs to the trains, looking and touching everything and most of all ringing the train bells.

Here's a quiz for you!

1. Name the one sport in which neither the
spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the
contest ends.--

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly
moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to
produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables
must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial
vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear
brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and
ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How
did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin
with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of
them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English
grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is
never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form
except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on
your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'


--Answers To Quiz: --

1. The one sport in which neither the
spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the
contest ends: Boxing.

2. North American landmark constantly moving
backward: Niagara Falls .. The rim is worn down about two and a half
feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush
over it every minute.

3. Only two vegetables that can live to
produce on their own for several growing seasons: Asparagus and
rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside: Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy
bottle? It grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear
buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The
bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears
are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.--
6. Three English words
beginning with dw: Dwarf, dwell and dwindle...

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English
grammar: Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe,
question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets,
parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8.. The only vegetable or fruit never sold
frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh:
Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your
feet beginning with 'S': Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers,
skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.