Viva Las Vegas!

The above photos are a few of the plants from our front yard.

This week has settled down a bit from last. Randall and I have unpacked and put away all the household "stuff", hung all the pictures, and even made the garage look half-way organized! We're basically ready to put up shelves out there, get my shop set up, and get back to business! I am definitely ready! My customers are starting to call/email as this is their busy time of year.

Poor Robert - he is exhausted from working everyday. Hopefully he'll decline any more overtime for awhile and take a break! He loves his new job and that it isn't a chore to get up and go to work! However, the move and then working everyday straight - he is feeling a bit on the tired side. He mentioned this morning that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed as there were things he WANTED to do at home and there just hasn't been time. )I used the

same comment on him as he has me so many times) "it will still be there tomorrow!"

Randall is still hanging out with me during the day. This will be his last week of "vacation" as job hunting starts! Unfortunately, the job he wants is not open until he turns 21. Most of the casino property jobs are like that unless you get into property maintenance (yard work) or food service......and we all know how much he ENJOYS that kind of work. NOT!

With school being the first priority, a job only needs to be part time and bring in his spending money. Hopefully, he'll not stress out on it and just choose something. It will get him out of the house a bit for the summer and give him a chance to meet new friends.

Speaking of summer - I'm thinking it has arrived in Las Vegas! Everyday has been sunny and warm.......however, yesterday it was 102 and today is forecast for 106! The house stays cool but dang, that is just getting up there in degrees! I can't imagine having to work outside in that heat. With all the construction going on around town - no wonder all them guys are so tan! (yes, I noticed).

We definitely have desert plants in our yard - the flowers have been in full bloom for two weeks now! I've posted pictures for you all to see! Amazingly beautiful for such a dry climate!

Haven't seen anymore of them ugly bugs - thank goodness! There was an article in the local paper a couple of days ago regarding this being ROACH season. After reading it, we will definitely use precaution to avoid inviting these gross inhabitants of nature into our home. LOL....even Randall is careful about leaving crumbs behind in the kitchen! :)

We did some brief exploring last weekend. First stop - a trip to the local WalMart for a few items on the list and discovered they have a NICE grocery store. We've never been Walmart fans as they tend to have the reputation of imported items. However, I was able to find "made in the USA" items for purchase. Even the produce was from California and Florida! The prices are extremely low compared to most markets so we may shop there from time to time.

Second stop - (with a lot of groaning from the boys) was a dollar store....or ($.99 Cent Store) as they are called here. This place was bigger then any I'd been in before. They have a full size grocery department that included not only the can goods but deli, dairy, frozen, and bakery foods! These were labeled local products - with the same brands as Albertsons and Safeway (Safeway is called something else here - I just can't remember what right now). There was also a nursery!! PLANTS!!! $.99 cents each!!! About a half hour later, I walked (or was gently pushed by my kid) out of there with an armload of cactus and a few other items we "needed". I will definitely be back. Oh.....the bill was interesting! We have tax here! 13 items came to $13.75. How strange after living in Oregon so long!

Third stop was a brand new casino/hotel that was only 10 minutes (at the most) from our home! Interestingly, all the hotels sport a type of theme or something that they are known for. This one is called South Point. It hosts a HUGE equestrian arena. Folks come from all over to participate in the action. This particular weekend, the events were sponsored by a horse breeders association. (Did I mention that there were cowboys everywhere?) The cool part about this was all the events are FREE! Apparently, this is the way some of the properties are attracting visitors!

They also host a wonderful buffet. We all had our favorite choices and took a brief tour of the facilities afterward to walk off some of our dinner.

This property has several movie theaters, a huge bowling ally, big arcade, a few other eateries, and of course the casino itself. While Randall checked out the arcade, Robert turned his $5.00 bill into $55.00 in about a half hours time. Lucky guy!

Well, it is time for me to get this posted, off my chair and busy! (In other words, run up and down them stairs a billion times). I'm behind in a few things as the darn flu bug hit me earlier this week. Took me off my feet for two days!! I'd sure like to know where that came from! Other then a raspy throat, I'm back to feeling great!

Thank you for all your comments! It is great hearing from everyone! Keep in touch and let me know how you all are doing! Sure miss everybody!!

We'll see you all in a few days via the "BLOG"!

Love,

Crystal