Hoover Dam and Home

On the way home from Vegas we also stopped at the Hoover Dam just long enough for a few photos. After all the playing we were pretty anxious to get back home. I'm sure the Dam Tour had lots of interesting things to learn, but maybe next time!

We made some friends from Detriot who snapped this picture of us. They told us what a horrible place it is. I can't wait to move there this summer!

Eventually we made it home in one piece and have relaxed for a day or two. Tomorrow morning we head off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for more fun! Adios Amigos!!

Viva Las Vegas

So if you haven't figured it out yet, we're on a massive 6 week vacation. On the way home from Utah we decided to stop in Vegas for a few days and try our luck! We visited the hotels/casinos, ate great food, caught a show, went shopping and just enjoyed the city and everything it has to offer. Well, not everything, but we had a good time. The crazies were out in full force being New Years and all.

Here I am just minutes after my proud victory in the New York, New York Casino. I won $55 in the dime slots off 2 dollars!!! Not bad for my first time back in Vegas when I am actually old enough to gamble!
Here's Jose on the strip with our hotel behind him. We stayed at the recently re-imaged Planet Hollywood. We did lots of walking on our trip and at one point had to stop and buy Jose flip flops so he could make it back!
And we of course made time to catch a show of the fountains at the Bellagio. We could actually see it out our hotel window. Ocean's 11 anyone?

And here I am doing a little people watching in the shops at the Palazzo (the new part of the Venetian). We went to see "Jersey Boys" there (HIGHLY reccomended!) but we were a little early. We didn't quite realize that UT & NV were in different time zones. Oops!

On a side note, Vegas is a great place to go right now with the struggling economy. Rooms are super cheap and we even got our seats upgraded free at the show because it didn't sell out. And if you can manage to win some money, it makes it even cheaper! : )

Skiing

While we were in UT, we went up to Deer Valley for a fun filled day of skiing. There had been massive amounts of snow and it was a gorgeous day. Jim was a great teacher for Jose and he picked it up pretty quick. The first hour was a little rough, but it was smooth sailing after that. It felt great to get out there on the snow and it was fun to enjoy it together for the first time.

Here's Jose trying on his boots. They take a little help the first time around.

Here we are on the tram up to the lodge! Do they look excited or what?

We started the day out easy with some basics and technique. (See the little line of toddlers behind us?). And wow, I look awesome in goggles.

One of the many gorgeous views up on the mountain.

Relaxing on the "beach" chair after a fun long day of skiing. We never thought we'd make it all the way until 4pm!

Thanks Jim for a fun day, great tips, and for being brave enough to keep taking of your gloves to snap pictures!

I'll post more "action" pictures of the skiing when I get them!

S.L.C.

After a great trip to Dallas, one day later we loaded up the car and headed to Salt Lake for Christmas!

The first part of the trip was beautiful (see above: the edges of what leads to the Grand Canyon) but it got down right treatcherous after we hit Kanab. Jose was a champ and safely navigated us through miles and miles of white to reach SLC. At one point I think I went about 60 miles without breathing. We were very happy to arrive, and so was the Volvo!

Luckily, we were greated by lots of smiling faces and happy hosts to make our holiday so special!

Sorry Jim & Laura...seems I missed the photos of you two! And sorry for some of the blurry shots - I'm still figuring out how to best use my new camera.

We know there was Christmas cheer because Anna even got Jose to play a game (and I got the picture to prove it)!!

Jose also got to enjoy his first White Christmas ever! The snow was beautiful, especially once we didn't have to drive in it.

We also spent time visiting my Grandma Pugh who is in her late 90's. We took this picture of her house (the house my dad grew up in) after the big snowstorm on Christmas Day.

And we also went to a Jazz game with Jim & Laura. They played Jose's fave team, the Mavs, but sadly the Jazz won.

We also took Jose skiing for the first time, but I think it deserves its own post! Thank you to all of our wonderful hosts and hostesses!! WE LOVE YOU!

The Castanedas Do Dallas

Last Monday night (the 15th) Jose and I decided we wanted to go to Dallas to visit his family and our friends. We booked our flight at about 11pm and flew out at 6am the next morning. We didn't tell his family we were coming and surprised them that morning. We had such a great time and we were happy to spend some time with them. Here is the highlight reel.....

Christmas Shopping and seeing friends at the Neiman Marcus Flagship Downtown. This holiday window was made entirely of cards.

Three of my favorite Mexi-mans...Jose, Ron, & Gilbert out to dinner.

Seeing Katie and Issac and meeting sweet baby Laura (who was sleeping during this picture).

We had an early Christmas with the family and had fun opening presents with the kids.

We also got to spend some time with Jose's sister Sonia & her husband Carlo who are moving to Italy in January. We love you guys!

Our Christms jammies were quite a hit! Who knew that both of us could still fit in the kids section!?!?! You wouldn't belive how comfy these things are!

We also took a tour of SouthFork ranch up in Parker. That's where they filmed the TV show Dallas.

Don't we look like the Ewings?

Making Bunelos with my mother-in-law Martha. They are a traditional Mexican dessert to eat on New Year's Eve. We celebrated a little early.

The finished bunelos. They are fried and covered in cinnamon & sugar. How could they be bad?

All in all it was a great trip and we had so much fun surprising everyone!

My Sincerest Apologies...

For my incredibly lame blogging during the month of December. I'm promise a real post(s) when we get back to AZ. Hopefully it will be awesome enough to make up for abandoning the blog temporarily. Sorry!

Hard Work

Isn't it amazing how good a little old-fashioned elbow grease can make you feel? Well today was one of those days where I woke up with a bee in my bonnet and just felt like cleaning (they don't come that often, so I have to give it the gusto when they do!)

I turned this:

Into This: I took everything out of the pantry and washed the shelves, made new liners, and scrubbed the floor. Then I reorganized it all, and put it back in. I was so happy with it I ended up cleaning out and reorganizing every cabinet and shelf in the kitchen! It was a solid days work and I'm tired, but I feel great knowing everything has a home. I am my mother's daughter...