Prophesy Fulfilled?

When we first moved out here, almost 4 years ago, our recurring thought was "Man, why isn't there a gas station any closer?" I just wanted a place close enough to fill up my gas tank and grab a coke. Well, a few short months later, a Chevron sign went up, right down the street from us! Hooray! I entertained thoughts of walking there in the morning for exercise and for a morning coke... Well, much to my dismay, the construction never really started. Just the teaser sign Chevron sign was left. Kris made a joke and said "That place will open the day that our U-Haul drives out of town."

Ironically, this past fall, construction started up again on this gas station. Today it looks as if it is all ready to go. Only the barricades and a few caution tapes remain. If Kris is right, it will be opening this week.

Blessed Familiarity

Another name for this blog post could be "random places and random faces that I will miss." I wanted to devote some time to a few thoughts I've had recently on leaving here. There are just some things about having been somewhere for almost 4 years that make it "home" and that you know you will miss when you don't see them anymore.

• First, the Walmart Neighborhood Market. Totally a Love/Hate thing for me. I absolutely hate this store because half the time you can't even get a head of lettuce... But it's super close and I end up there a lot just because it's "there." That being said, I have certain cashiers that I have come to know and love. One such woman is Josie. Total sweetheart. I'll miss her. I purposely stand in her line, even if it's longer, because I think she's great. There's also a guy with terrible cataracts that works there that is super sweet too... Random I know, but I warned you in the beginning!

• Port of Subs, what will I do without you? Every week I eat at this particular store. By so doing, I have made friends with the owner, Mike (the mechanic); the manager, Dan; and a shift manager, Louie. Funny, funny guys, and I love them because they know exactly what sandwich I want and exactly what I want on it. Most importantly, when my kids spill a soda (and this happens almost every time), they don't act mad or give me dirty looks. (Haley will tell you that she likes "Dave" because he gives her a pack of Oreos when she finishes her sandwich, so now when she's done she yells "I'M FINISHED" throughout the store). I'll miss my "small #2 on white" and the guys who've made it for me for the last 2 years.
  
• Summerlin Library is amazing. Ok, so I still have not figured out what that statue is in the front of the building, but I'll still ponder that from afar... I've loved this place. We loved storytimes with Miss Jamie. I've enjoyed the dirty looks I get from the librarians when my cell phone rings and I sneak in a conversation. I hate the self check-in, but that's okay.
  
  
  
• Retro Bakery... Oh dear. Carrie and Brian own this fabulous little cupcake shop, and ever since I've discovered it, I've been 10 pounds heavier. Carrie is sassy and reminds me a lot of Pink. Everytime we have any type of excuse (RS event, baby shower, etc) we order cupcakes from this bakery. A quaint, unassuming store that I hope continues to do well in a bad economy.
  

• 7-11 and the "Refill guy" at 7-11 will be terribly missed (by my wallet! J/K). There's this 7-11 right down the street, and I've visited it quite frequently in the past 4 years. When I walk into this place, I truly look hideous. I'm exhausted. It's usually first thing in the morning as I head back from dropping Lindsey off at school. Pajama pants, hair in a bun, morning breath. But everyone is still so nice. Today I walked in without my kids, and the guy said "No kids this morning, huh?" I thought, "Wow - he really knows me!" (Yeah, maybe this isn't something to be proud of, I realize). Anyway, I started to notice that this particular guy would always only charge me for a refill ($.89) instead of for a new drink ($1.29). Sweet! He's the "refill guy," only recently he's started hooking it up on Wednesday mornings. What's better than a Coke in the morning? A free Coke in the morning. I'll miss that store and those workers.
  There's others I'll miss, but I could only make an a*% of myself in so many places by asking to take pictures with them. Really, this was slightly humiliating, but I wanted to remember these random folks. Grandpa John at Costco, the old-lady cashier at Carl's Jr, the sweet cashier at Cafe Rio, the big boy at the drive-in dry cleaners, the "toothpick" lady at Jason's Deli -- thanks for contributing to my happiness here in Las Vegas. I'll miss your friendly, familiar faces.

Out with a BANG!

Saturday was my last tennis match here in Vegas. We played one of our arch rivals, Lorenzi. All year we've fallen just short of them, and it's really bugged me! So, this time, my last match, we put together a strong team and BEAT them! It was sooo great. I played with Kristen, one of my favorite doubles partners.

Tala (a.k.a. "30-deuce"), me, and Alyssa.
Me and Stacy - I love this girl, she's hilarious. I will always remember her "That's what she said" remarks during practice.

This is the girl I played singles against in the district play-offs. Her name is Sandra, and she is notorious for breaking all of my toenails off, even though I ended up beating her!

Alyssa, the captain!

Stacy, Kristen, Alyssa and I, part of the Glen Lerner "Heavy Hitters" club.

It feels good to leave on this victory.

Old Friends, New Moon

What a great day! It started at 9 p.m. on Thursday. I picked up all my girls and we headed to 7-11 for slurpees, and then to Red Rock for the big show! There were 9 of us.

"Bitten" baby!
Plenty of Diet Coke to keep us awake and excited. We ended up waiting for 2 hours in the theatre before the show started. We played "Catch Phrase" while we waited.

Lindsay likes popcorn, apparently! Good thing I shared my Coke with her.

We watched the show and LOVED it. We got everyone home by about 3 a.m. The next morning (6 hours later) at 9 a.m., our digiscrap group met for breakfast. Have you had a pumpkin bagel and pumpkin shmear from Einstein's? Sooo good! (Notice the exact same outfits on each person as the night before)

Las Vegas' Mayor Oscar Goodman joined digiscrap group for the week...

And a few parting shots, courtesy of the Burger King window decor.

I loved this day! What a great, great day.

A Few Reasons...

I wanted to give you something to think about when you are deciding where to take your family for vacation this summer (or whenever). My vote is for San Antonio, Texas. Here's a few of the things that it has to offer:

Sea World!!! Shamoo... C'mon!

Schlitterbahn's water park (as seen on the travel channel and other great networks)

Fiesta Texas - a Six-Flags theme park with roller coasters and a water park.

The Riverwalk in downtown... You've all heard about it. Good shopping, good eating.

And of course, the Alamo. You know the history of this place. You can still see the actual bullet holes!

The San Antonio Zoo

Lastly, always know that if you do choose San Antonio, we'll be there, and you'll have a place to stay!! Just a few reasons to consider Texas for your next vacation... I'm just sayin'...

End-of-Season Tennis Party

On Friday night, my tennis team threw a little "End of Season/Goodbye to Leslie" party. So sweet! So fun. Our host, Rose, made me and pregnant Janelle (below) these "special drinks" (a.k.a. "virgin"). But they looked like martinis! (Hahaha, maybe they were!)

Most of our team was able to make it. Not our coach though, cuz he can't even make it to play-offs, so why would he come for a party?? LOSER. He missed out on a TON of food, a round of "Catch Phrase", and a very revealing game of "2 lies, 1 truth." So many crazy secrets were shared, that I'm still laughing about them today. (That's the (only!) great thing about being the non-drinker in the crowd - I can remember them all! heee heee)
Kristen is my close friend and frequent doubles partner.
Me, Kristen, and Kristen's sister, Stacy have way too much fun together!

I LOVE these girls! I've spent every Tuesday night with them for the last 3 years! Now, I only have 2 Tuesdays left with them... :(

Veterans Day Surprise!

On Wednesday, the big kids had the day off. Lindsey's friends, Lauren and Aubree, decided to throw us a surprise/going-away party. Their moms agreed, and asked me if we were free that day. Well, what I thought would be a small get-together was a big-time suprise party! The Rowe's house was decorated with a "Happy Trails" sign and other cowboy decor. Everyone had a bandana to wear! Beyond... And out back, Ohmigosh - A huge bounce house!!!!

Judy, Alyson, Lana and Nicole (not pictured below) planned an amazing afternoon of fun for the kids and I.
And here is Lindsey with her friends, Aubree and Lauren, the "Party planners." For weeks they've talked on the playground about a "secret" and about some type of "surprise." But they never gave it up, and that's a big secret for a couple of 7-year olds!

Lunch was Port-of-Subs - our favorite. Then cupcakes decorated with cowboys.

Then, for 3 1/2 hours, the kids jumped and jumped and jumped in the bounce house!

"Hey Jude"

Ashley and Janers

Ashley with a ball in her shirt - what a belly. Goofball!

Squeaky and Ellie ate licorice - check out the 2 handfuls...

Spilling out of the jump house!

"New"

Go Nicole! Check out that split! (Not quite as good as Alan's though! hehehe)

Al, the mastermind behind the gig.

Here are all the kiddos - they would only stop jumping for a few seconds for this picture!

Coley told Jane "I can't wait to visit you in Texas." So we're holding him to it!

This was one of the best days EVER. Really, honestly, that was WAY beyond a simple "surprise/going-away party." Thank you Alyson, Nicole, Judy, Lana - you guys are AWESOME! What will we ever do without you?