Long Hauled in Vegas (and thats not naughty talk)

So Brodi and I went down to Las Vegas and partied for a few days celebrating that she has finished the initial draft of her second book of the Everneath series. We stayed at the Wynn Resort on the strip. It is a great place...I looked into it and realized how insane money spending is at times. It cost almost $3 billion to build it. Are you frakkin' kidding me? But when you have a golf course, 1600 seat arena, huge casino, two hotels with 60 stories (We got to stay on the 58th floor), but sheesh...that is oodles of money.




We spent the couple of days hanging out at the pool, winning huge on the nickel slots (hello, we raked in $6...that is not a typo, $6...its like the Wynn casino paid us to stay here with winnings like that), seeing Le Reve production which was pretty amazing with dancing, acrobatics, etc., and a fabulous albeit too expensive steak dinner, along with lots of other side things like visiting a Tab-less CokeWorld. It was a nice relaxing trip.



When we arrived in Vegas, we took a taxi to our hotel. I hadn't flown in to Vegas in years, since I worked for the government. I couldn't remember how much it cost. Well, it was $38 and it seemed to take a lot longer than I remembered. We then took a taxi on our way home and we we took a whole new way to the airport. I was a bit confused at first, but Brodi caught on...we got to the airport and it cost us $14. I asked our taxi driver why it was so much cheaper and he explained that we must have been 'long hauled.' Driven further to get extra money. Nice. It is illegal in Vegas though. I called American Express and explained it to them...they filed their claim and it was settled and I got my money back. Yay for us. Boo for us though to have it happen in the first place.

She left the country

I got this text from Brodi last week: "I'm in Zimbabwe." I was a bit surprised because I had just seen her a few hours earlier. I had gone in to get some dental work (thank you Dr. Dan) and when I came out, I noticed that text. Good thing she clarified though and said she meant 'Zumba.' You gotta love autocorrect. I have to say though, I will be wondering next time I get a text where she says that she is at Zumba if she actually means Zimbabwe.

Butter on a Stick. Sign me up!

You may have seen the stories on this...but the Iowa State fair is offering a tasty treat for everyone. Fried Butter on a stick. Yes, you read that right. Fried Butter on a stick.

You can youtube a video of how they do it, but basically they stick a cube of butter on a stick. Dip into a honey and cinnamon batter and then deep fry it for 3 minutes. The butter pretty much melts into the batter. So you are eating a donut or a scone with a cube of butter melted inside. That could be yours for $4. Or make it at home. Its a party. And it probably only has around 1,000+ calories and nearly 100 grams of fat. It takes quite a treat to make my poptarts look healthy.

World of Coca Cola - WHERE IS MY TAB?

Brodi and I spent a few days (partying it up like it was 1989) in Las Vegas last week. I will post more on the trip later, but I had to talk a bit about our trip to Coca Cola World down there on the Strip.

You walk in this store on the Strip, and it is Coke products everywhere you look. Diet Coke, Coca Cola, etc. I went to a worker and asked him about Tab. He then takes me across the store to a guy and says, Here he is. I then explain to this other Coca Cola worker that I am looking for Tab. He gives me a confused look and says 'I'm Tab.' I was ready to start saying 'Whose on first?' I then clarified that I was looking for Tab cola products. He informs me that they do not have any Tab products (shirts, glasses, etc.) but I can find some online. WHAT? I am at the world famous Coca Cola store and Tab is one of their products and they don't sell any of that stuff in the store. He did say though that I could probably find a bunch of stuff on Ebay. Thanks for that insight, genius.

Brodi and I did try out the Tastes from Around the World. Basically, they fill 16 cups full of Coca Cola's different products from every where (Peru, Mexico, England, China, etc.). We happily tried a bunch. But it nearly killed me. We tried the drink called 'Beverly' from Italy. Egads...truly a horrific experience. It was like liquified black licorice dipped in coffee blends and black tar added to sweeten it. Wowzers it was brutal.



We also went to the huge M&M store right next door. Yes, its chocolate...but not the same awesomeness of Coca Cola World. We did, however, get a bunch of coconut m&m's handed to us about every 10 steps.

So, it begins

It is time for the obligatory 1st day of school pictures. Carter has now started the 3rd grade and Becks has started Kindergarten. Absolutely crazy. It really just seems like yesterday, I was taking them down to a little park to crawl around and play.

Now, they are gone all day. Sheesh.