Oregon and Florida

I got home from Vegas around 5 PM on Sunday. I would estimate that in Vegas I got 5 hours of sleep the first night and close to 3 hours the next night. I was shocked I didn't crash on Sunday night. On Tuesday I got up 4 AM which ironically was one hour before the time I went to bed in Vegas. I had to catch the plane to Oregon for a three day meeting for work. Normally we have our meetings at the work site but this time we stayed in Cannon Beach, OR. I am covering for my boss while he is off for 8 weeks and this was a big staff meeting. There are about 10 guys on the staff and one woman. So I am the second woman on staff for the next 8 weeks. I rode from the airport to the beach with the other woman, Julie. We also shared a suite because it was more cost effective. The meeting was pretty boring I must say. Very administrative which is a necessary evil for staffs. After several hours of this, we all went to dinner together and it was OK. I spent time in my room after that preparing for a big presentation to a VP that I had to give over the phone the next morning. That presentation went fine and then the rest of the staff meeting was again, really boring. In a way, I think I still had a Vegas hangover, meaning I went from all that excitement to something very boring. It picked up a little when we all went to this place on the beach and did a little hiking. It was really cold and invigorating. After this little excursion, Julie and I went to a nice restaurant and split appetizers and had wine. The wine got us very relaxed and we joked about meeting up with the guys saying "The Boobies are here!"

Julie did get a call from some of the other guys and they were at a brew pub so we joined them. We got a little silly and said a bunch of things you don't typically say to your co-workers but we were laughing so hard... we decided that we needed to build a bonfire on the beach so three of us went to the liquor store to get a few bottles of wine. We got back to the hotel, rounded up the other people and spent a while on the beach drinking, laughing and being stupid. This may not sound like a big deal but this group had seemed like the biggest group of stuffy nerds ever and our work environment is so politically correct that everyone acts so bland and boring. It was great to see everyone cutting loose and having a great time. The next day at the end of the meeting, one of the guys says "This was the best meeting ever! (referring to getting crazy the night before) and also says, "We DO need more diversity on this staff."

I got back Thursday night and got ready to fly to Florida very early Saturday morning with Jack. Brian and I decided that for trips to visit our respective families, it might be easier for one of us to travel with one of the kids versus all four of us traveling. So this was an experiment for us. This trip was to Port St. Lucie, Florida to visit my 87 year old grandmother. I brought my laptop with extended battery for Jack to watch DVD's. I didn't bring a whole lot else in our carry-ons because that is really all he cares about when we travel. We had a connecting flight in Atlanta and just as we were about to touch the ground in Atlanta, Jack said he had to go potty. Well, everyone knows you cannot get up when the plane is landing so I gave him a bunch of gummy bears to hopefully distract him. It worked for about 2 minutes and then he said he REALLY had to go. By then he had pretty much peed a gallon all over himself and the seat. Since he is potty trained, I hadn't brought any extra clothes for him. I was completely stressed out because I didn't know what he was going to wear and we had a layover and another hour and a half to fly. The flight attendant gave drink tickets to a couple who had a kid in exchange for a diaper. Then she managed to find a men's Hanes white T-shirt. So that is what Jack wore around the airport like a dress. He really didn't seem to care, even though everyone was looking at us very strangely. He even managed to flirt with some 20-something girls in the waiting area by the gate. So on the flight from Atlanta to Port St. Lucie, Jack said he had to go to the bathroom. This time we could get up but he went poop and I didn't realize that the man sized T-shirt was hanging down the back and that got covered in poop. Now I was panicked again because I still had nothing for Jack to wear and he couldn't wear a poop covered shirt. So I ended up putting my zippered hoodie on him. My parents had driven down from South Carolina the week before and took a cruise and picked us up at the airport. We had a 45 minute drive to my grandmother's. On the way down, Jack said he felt sick. Dad didn't pull over in time and Jack puked all over himself and the car seat. I couldn't believe it. At this point, we just took all his clothes off and he rode the rest of the way naked. The air conditioner had gone out in the car so he was warm enough. The moral of the story is to always pack extra clothes for kids, no matter what their age.

We were only at my grandmother's from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday around noon. My grandmother loved seeing Jack and she introduced him to chocolate milk. Jack thought that was pretty cool. We went to the beach one day when it was just gorgeous weather and blue water. But we didn't bring our swimsuits because usually it's cloudy and brown, rough and windy. So we went back the next day with our suits and sure enough, it was cloudy, brown, rough and windy. Oh, well. I did find out that my grandmother, who is very healthy and very slim, lives on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, pie and cookies. I'm contemplating this diet for myself.

We weren't there for long but it was the right amount of time because although Jack was in a pretty mood the whole time, he was a little clingy. I mean, he only saw my grandmother one time when he was 6 months old and then he only sees my parents a couple times a year... I guess it was like being in a house full of strangers to some extent. He didn't like for me to be out of his sight.

I packed just about all his clothes in a carry on for the trip back but of course nothing happened. It was good to get home. Brian is going to attempt a similar trip to Portland with Ty to see his mother. I think a man traveling with a 23 month old by himself will get a lot of positive attention. OK, this gets me to the first of May. More to come.

Vegas Baby

I last left off around mid-April. On Saturday April 21st, we got a visit from Brian’s Aunt Cathie and Uncle Pete who were in town from Alaska for some kind of car racing. They are really good with the kids so that is a nice diversion. The next day I had my brunch with Missie and was able to do a little bit of shopping before I met Kathleen, Lisa, Pam and a very pregnant Jeanette and Jen at Kona Grill for Kathleen’s birthday. Lisa and I had mojitos that were $9 each which I thought were expensive until I went to Vegas (more later). That afternoon JenDawg came over and we had fajitas outside. Jen seems to like the kids and tolerates their “high energy” behavior pretty well. I spent the whole next week worrying about what I would wear in Vegas on the three day all girls trip there.

I’ve never been to Vegas before which is amazing because I’ve lived in Phoenix for 11 years. Shannon kept saying that we would be staying up all night and doing a lot of walking so I was obsessed about finding some comfortable dressy shoes for Friday night and Saturday night. I was told that I needed a dress for one of the nights so I had bought a dress at Nordstrom Rack with the help of my friend Sarah, a several time Vegas veteran. I had a nice pair of shoes to go with the dress but I wore them to work one day this week and could barely walk in the them so I didn’t have confidence that they would hold up in Vegas. I left work a little early one day to go to DSW and I found some perfect dressy shoes. I selected the brown and black ones because they were so comfortable and when I got to the cashier I realized I didn’t have my wallet. Now I completely freaked out because I instantly thought that someone stole my wallet. I am the worst when it comes to guarding my purse. I will put my purse down gaping open on the floor in DSW and walk down the entire aisle to see if shoes are comfortable. I am too slack and trusting. The thought of getting a new drivers license and all new credit cards 2 days before going to Vegas was enough to just about give me a heart attack. I was already late picking up Jack so I asked them to look out for my wallet and put the shoes on hold and rushed to get Jack. I dropped off Jack at home with Brian and drove back to work, hoping for some reason my wallet was there. I raced into the building and into my cube and there it was sitting on the floor. WHEW!

Later that night I went to Target with Jack where I bought him a Dora suitcase for our upcoming trip to Florida and went to DSW to buy those shoes.

On Friday morning I got up super early, got ready, threw my suitcase in the car and went to pick up Tracy and Shannon. Shannon brought a giant suitcase which of course we teased her about. We drove to Annette’s and Todd then drove us to the airport. The flight to Vegas was uneventful and we rode the shuttle bus to the Mandalay Bay. We met up with Annette’s sister Michelle and her friend Ann when we got there. We first went to the Venetian for some shopping and had lunch there.

Kelly and Annette at Lunch


Posing in Front of the The Blue Man Group

Then we went to Caesar’s Palace for some more shopping. Caesar’s Palace had the really nice shops like Louis Vitton and Juicy Couture. I bought one top. After walking around all day, we ended up at a bar. I wandered around the casino while the girls smoked. I couldn’t believe all the different types of slot machines. It was finally time to head back to the Mandalay Bay to check in. The rooms were nice and I shared a room with Shannon and Tracy. We spent time getting ready to go out that night and I decided to wear my extreme push up bra because well, it was Vegas.


The Girls Friday Night


A Couple Hours Later

We went to the Rum Jungle first and this was my first exposure to how expensive the drinks were relative to the size. I ordered a mojito and it was $13 for a tiny tumbler of it. Very disappointing. I was eager to gamble but the girls weren’t too interested in it so they went to the next bar while I tried to find a less than $15 minimum bid black jack table. I had no luck so I found the girls at the bar drinking $10 drinks that were even smaller than the first place. At 11 PM we went to dinner at a Mexican place where I had a big Tecate and some ceviche. After dinner we went to a lounge called the Foundation Room at the top of the Mandalay Bay. I just wasn’t really quite feeling the whole Vegas thing yet and was a little bored. So I went out on the terrace which had an amazing view of the strip. I started talking to a local named Joan. Joan decided that I needed to flirt and called over this guy and made up a story about us being sisters and a bunch of other crap but I ended up talking to this guy (also a local) for a long time and he bought me drinks and was attentive so that made me feel good. Shannon and I believe that you should not be buying your own drinks in Vegas! Meanwhile, this guy David had all his friends there and they were being drunk and rowdy and kept Tracy, Shannon and Annette entertained. It kept me entertained to watch all of this going on. All the girls went back to the room and I stayed with Shannon until we were kicked out of the lounge around 3 AM. We hung out at the casino for a while, again looking for a cheaper black jack table, but no luck. So Shannon and I went to bed around 3:30 AM. We woke up around 9 AM the next day and lay in bed laughing about the night before. I had a bunch of details written but I’ve decided that that I need to adhere to the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” rule. After the complete review of the previous night, I went down and got Starbucks for everyone and then we got ready to go to the pool.

We get down to the “beach” area and there are a thousand bodies and no chairs. Yikes. And no shade in sight. We ate lunch there and fortunately found a smaller pool. The girls laid out in the direct sun and I found some shade to hang out in. It was awesome just vegging out without a care in the world—no kids to feed, no work to be done, no laundry taunting me. It was heaven. After we get back to the room, we got ready for the night thinking we should start earlier than we did the last night.


Kelly Pre Funking (Drinking) Before Going Out

Kelly and Tracy Ready to Go

Kelly and Shannon Ready to Go

We had a little party in the room for Stephanie, who the trip was in honor of—her 40th birthday—complete with cake and vodka/tonics. After the party we headed to the Hard Rock Café where Stephanie and her friend Nicole went to a concert and we ate at the Pink Taco. By this time, I had gotten pretty disinterested in eating which is a side effect of Vegas. After eating and having a martini, Shannon and I tried our hand at a black jack table. I was out $75 in 7 minutes with the $15 minimum bid. The dealer got 20 and 21 all 5 hands. That really sucked. We played some slots after that and then found a bar to hang out in to wait for Stephanie and Nicole. We ended up at a lounge at the Wynn, maybe around 11 PM… and I went to bed at 5 AM. So yes, 6 hours of details are missing… but that stays in Vegas. Ha ha.

The Taxi Line at 3 AM

Even after going to bed so late, we still woke up at 9 AM and did another post-mortem. On my way up the elevator with the coffee, a woman goes, Hey weren’t you in the elevator at 5 AM? We checked out and did a little more shopping and walking around and then got our luggage and headed to the airport. I still felt pretty good even after getting just about no sleep. Then when I got home, I felt like I was so ready to see Brian and the boys but then the boys were all over me the second I got home and it was really overwhelming. I decided you cannot go from a place like Vegas where reality is suspended and then come right back into reality where you left off without going into shock. What I loved about Vegas was just the opportunity to be Kelly and not a wife, a mom, an employee and to flirt and feel attractive. Everyone is so friendly in Vegas…everyone is there to have a great time. And they do. So it was a little shocking to immediately get back to wife and mom. But I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it because I had to work the next day and then head to Oregon for three days…