[ Scrapbook Retreat ]

This past weekend, I went to a Scrapbook Retreat at the Palouse Divide Lodge outside of Potlatch, ID with Amy, Melissa, Jessica, Martha, Janet, and Peggy. I was really nervous about going - I didn't want to be out in the middle of nowhere for two whole days and I really wasn't sure I wanted to scrapbook for a whole weekend, when I haven't done it in over two years. Anyway - I ended up having a really great time and I got 34 stinkin' pages done! :) I was surprisingly happy with how they turned out and I've even made two more pages since I got home! Here's some pictures of what I accomplished:

[ jennifer roberts ]

D E D I C A T E D

to

my friend

JEN

Let's just play phone tag a little longer, eh?

I MISS YOU!!!

Just another Friday Night

Just spending Friday night with the family...playing Guitar Hero with Kleinbach's, and watching Miss USA (they are in VEGAS!!)...

They're showing a lot of the sights of Vegas...it's fun to see!

We were cheering on Miss Idaho, since she's a fellow Whitworth-ian (Hello Pink!), but she didn't make it into the Top 15. Bummer.

(Melissa and I always saw her around Spokane and she was always wearing Pink, so we started calling her "Pink". Clever nickname?!)

[ Spring Break ]

I have thoroughly enjoyed my three days of Spring Break at home. The first day back from Vegas, we were lazy, lazy bums. We cleaned up the DVR, caught up on rest, and reunited with the puppies! I went to the Tri-Cities yesterday for a dentist appointment and lunch with Jamie, Jen, and Leah. I'm back home today...I absolutely love being home, having no schedule, watching Samson plop his head down on the couch pillow, and blog-stalking on my laptop!

I also have gotten a project done that I've had in mind for quite a while. This may not sound exciting to most of you, but once I got it done last night, I was thrilled!

I bought these file labels on ebay a while back...there is one for every color of paper that Stampin' Up sells. I put them in order by color family, two colors to a file. I got a great rolling file cart (not my 1st choice, but it will do for now) so I can roll it around the craft room! I gathered all my Stampin' Up paper from various locations around the craft room and...get this...filed them by color!! Yeah! I'm super stoked... Now I know what colors I have, what colors I need, etc. This is so exciting!!

So, today is Friday...offically the last day of Spring Break. Boo. Not that I haven't had a great time...I just look at my calendar for the next two months and want to go back to bed! It's going to be a crazy ride, but I'm looking forward to the best reward at the end of it...PRIEST LAKE!!! I can do anything when I can see Priest Lake as the light at the end of the tunnel!

LAS VEGAS!!

We're back!

We had so much fun in Vegas! We got to see and do so many things in such a short amount of time...I'll try to take you through our trip in a nutshell... :)

We got into Vegas around 8pm...Melissa had arranged a car and driver service to take us to the Bellagio, so we arrived in style!! We got checked into our room overlooking the Bellagio water fountain. We got to watch a few fountain routines and then got ready to go out for the night. We walked accross the street to Bally's and went to Jubilee! (a typical Vegas showgirl show - with the feathers, sequins, costumes and headdresses). It was a great show! Afterward, we played a few slots - including the biggest slot machine I've ever seen! :)

The next morning, we got up and walked the strip...we walked from Bellagio to The Venetian, then took a cab to New York, New York and walked back to the Bellagio. It was a lot of walking, but we got to see a lot and do a lot. We went to Margaritaville, shopped along the canals at the Venetian, played Video Poker and I Dream of Jeannie slot machines at the Venetian, went to Madame Toussard's Wax Museum, Starbucks at Time Square at New York, New York, more slot machines at NY,NY, enjoyed an oxygen bar (so great!) at NY, NY, visited M&M World, and watched more fountain routines at the Bellagio!

That night, we went to Cirque de Soleil "O" at the Bellagio. It was incredible. It was all about water; there were synchronized swimmers, divers, etc. I loved it!

The next morning, Melissa and I set out to get a tattoo! She researched it online and decided the best place to go was Hart and Huntington at The Palms. It opened at 11am and you can't make an appointment. It's a really popular place and information Melissa read online said that if you're not there right at 11am, a line starts forming and you might not get in at all. So, we took a taxi to The Palms, played a few slots, and were there when the door opened. We explained what we wanted, our man Jerome drew it up, and we got inked! (This all took 3 hours...!!!)

The rest of the afternoon, we went to the Miracle Mile at the Planet Hollywood resort. We got daquiri's to go while we shopped - the best way to shop! :) Melissa was so excited the whole time we were planning the trip to go to H&M. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a big disappointment. Oh well - the money she saved, she got to gamble with! :)

That night...our last night...Melissa and I surprised Mom with a limo ride! We went up to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign and down the strip all the way to the Saharra. It was such a fun experience!! The limo dropped us off at The Mirage, where we saw Cirque de Soleil "Love". It was so great! Melissa had seen this last year when she was in Vegas and all year she's said we had to go. I enjoyed it so much...I also enjoyed the 32 oz Pina Colada I drank during the show!!

The next morning, we got up and packed :( and then went to explore around the Bellagio. We walked through the pool area - so gorgeous! - and then enjoyed gelato, bagels, and crepes from a delicatessen with a 15 foot chocolate fountain. Yum!

We got our bags, checked out of our room, and played some last minute "Deal or No Deal" slot machines and BlackJack. I won $20 and enjoyed one last "free" Marsica! (Shirley Temple with Vanilla Vodka) That one's for you Jessica!

There you go....that's our 3 night, 4 day trip to Las Vegas in a nutshell. It was a lot of fun and a great Spring Break trip. Now, we're back, relaxing and catching up on the TV we missed and snuggling with Samson and Coco.

Happy Spring Break!!