Vegas Aftermath

Well. We're back from Vegas. It was a strange trip. The Manling was exquisite, the very model of good behavior on both flights. My mom babysat him so we could go out with D&N on Friday night. We went to dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen at the New York New York Casino, then had some drinks at this bar called the Slanted Oyster or something... Twisted Oyster maybe?

Saturday, we ate THE BEST Carl's Jr ever: fried zucchini, chocolate malt shake, jalapeno 6 dollar burger, santa fe chicken sandwich, and nectar of the gods: Dr. Pepper. I only mention this because it was literally the best meal I've ever had practically. Then we hung out with D&N again, meeting their son, G., who is 15 months old and complete dwarfs the Manling. The two of them together looked like models for the master race- both blonde haired, blue-eyed, which the 4 of us are not. Well, I guess Mark is, but still. It was weird seeing a small child who was still so small yet so much bigger than our little dude.

Sunday we went to D.'s parents' house in Henderson. P&B were always so nice to me when I used to camp out at their house and extended hospitality again to us. D.'s brother S., his wife, K., and their 15 month old daughter, M. were there too. It was like a crazy reunion. I almost expected the other 2 sons to come in too, but one lives in San Francisco and the other in New York City.

Monday we headed out with the Nance and Vidalias and the other PA NASCAR fans to the Valley of Fire State Park, which featured tons of petroglyphs and the ubiquitous red rocks. I've never seen so many petroglyphs in one area. Some day I'll learn how to add photos to this thing.

We did a little Strip shopping on Tuesday. We tried to park at the Venetian to go to Sephora, but they had it blocked off. Mark said that some guy who worked there that he talked to said there was a potential car-bomb there, but I don't know if I believe that. We left later that day, after splurging on eye-shadow, and the Manling was, again, the best baby ever on the plane. I was so glad to be home though.

Vegas is NOT a fun town to go to if you have a baby with you. It would have been intolerable if we hadn't had family and friends to visit with. I was in bed by 10 or 11 pm every night. Mark seemed to have a really great time, though, and since Tuesday was his birthday, I'm glad we had gotten to go afterall. Mark played in a few poker tournaments with his friend, D., who had moved to Vegas a few months ago to become a poker dealer. Oddly enough, this was the first year we've gone that Mark had a losing streak. Usually he wins enough to pay for most of the trip. He blew his gambling budget by more than he should have (think Clark W. Griswald) so he's grounded from gambling until 2007. The trip was so anticlimactic, much like this post.

And so lastly, the Shuffle Playlist:

Patsy Cline: San Antonio Rose
A Flock Of Seagulls: I Ran
Frank Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All
NoFX: Shut Up Already
Elvis Presley: I Got A Woman
Kings Of Convenience: Gold In the Air of Summer
Millencolin: A Whole Lot Less
Sting: Angel Eyes
Jesse Dayton: Don't Take Yesterday
The Smiths : I Want The One I Can't Have