Vegas, Baby!

Every now and again, it is fun to get a bunch of your crazy friends together to cause havoc in Vegas.  We recently did just that!  We had eleven of us take some vacation, find gma/gpa/sitters to watch our kids and scrounge the couch for Pai-Gow money.  Too bad Kasey found all the quarters first.  Oh well; I know how to break into his piggy bank (Kidding, people!  I broke into our own Vegas Piggy Bank!)

Planned activities included... um - no plan.  Our only plan was as follows:
1.  Enjoy friends and catch up on stories
2.  Enjoy beverages (maybe one too many for some of us)
3.  Soak up the sun by the Lazy River
4.  Come home with some of the Casino's money

Lets see - did we meet all of our planned activities?  Check, Check, Check and ... Ok... maybe not all those activities happened, but the Cannode house was only down $25 and trust me - Kris TRIED to lose more than that.  Ha!  Pai Gow was the game of the weekend.  Angie and Kris were the newbies and both did rather well!  Amy was too intimidated as it has a poker hand base and she doesn't know poker.  She has vowed to study up before the next trip though.  Everyone looked like they were having a Blast!

Vegas really only starts one way.... We are all in Trouble when Karsten starts counting.  He was kind enough to buy our first drink in Vegas and it was quite yummy too.  We tend Not to share all the stories after that first drink, but I will try to share just a few...

The Crew:
Jim, Carey, Kendall, Karsten, Josh, Emily,
Kris, Sarah, Angie, Amy & Tracy

Sarah, Amy, Kendall & Emily ready to play on the first night in Vego

Since there were eleven of us, we decided to purchase a Cabana together.  It came at no charge... As long as we met the minimum food/beverage amount.  Um - have you met us.  No Problem!  Cabana No 9 was our home away from home!  We had our own waitress (who rocked!) a host who would get us anything and plenty of chairs for our crew to soak up the sun.

I wonder what the poor people are doing today

Now make sure I don't burn Tracy

The view from Cabana #9 - our crew enjoying the river

Look! Super-Jay joined us for 24 hours of craziness!

Not-Jamie, Standby and Oscar Ready for the pool

Day 2: So this is how the other half lives without a cabana

We had a couple of nights out on the town and boy did we paint the town red.  We got dressed up, had a dance party in our room, headed out for sushi (YUM!), tested our luck at the casino tables, danced with strange foreign men, ate breakfast at 4am and were asleep by the time the kids would normally be tapping us on our shoulders.  Well, actually that isn't fully true.  Kris didn't even quite make it home the second night!  He was having too much fun playing Pai Gow!

Ready to hit the town

"... Here's my Number... Now, call me .. .Maybe!"



What? - You Don't practice crossfit moves at
a 4am breakfast?

Yep, Kris 'All Dressed Up" for Breakfast
Proof he didn't make it home! ha ha.

We decided to come home on Saturday night to give us some time to recoup.  Some recouped more than others.  Karsten enjoyed wearing the hat daddy brought home from Vegas (actually belongs to Big Karsten!) and Kasey hammed it up while Daddy Slept.  Amy didn't miss a beat and captured the moments.  Her favorite was Kasey building a rope bridge using Daddy's slipper, an ice cream cone toy, and a car.  Smart kid even put the car in the box so it wouldn't roll away.

Look at my cowboy, Mommy



What? It was this way when I got here



Look what I did Mommy

Is it Spring yet?

The start of spring was over a month ago; however, we Keep getting snow!  In fact, that past three weekly softball games were canceled due to snow!  In fact; it is snowing as I type.  OK, enough of this.  I am ready for the sun and done with this snow.  All four of the Cannodes are Ready for boating season! The great news about Colorado is that it can snow one day and be 70 degrees the very next!  Two weekends ago, we decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and take a bike ride at Chatfield.  Since this is where the Cannodes are staying; we made it a dual purpose.  We parked over by the swim beach and loaded up the carrier with the kids and a few items we had promised we would bring George.

The ride was beautiful and the boys were hollering about how fast we were going right from the start.  Nothing like hearing the gleeful cheers to push you on.  Then, it happened.  We hit yet Another Large Hill and Amy started slowing down.  Karsten politely asked his mommy if she was going slower.... then asked again... then asked again... followed by a "Come On, Mom ~ Lets Go!" in an excited and cheerful voice.  Yep, that was the motivation Amy needed to start going a bit faster.  Only problem was - her legs would not let her.  It was at this point that Amy started calculating the weight behind her.  Lets see; 6o for the boys, 5 for the coats and skill saw (what - you don't take a skill saw with you on a bike ride? Ok; maybe a delivery for George), 5 for the camera and 10 for the beer (yep; we were delivering beer too) and don't forget the 10 lbs for the carrier itself.  All in all; I would guess 80-90 lbs behind her.

We finished up our ride and saw Gma and Gpa were outside eating lunch, not suspecting any guests were going arrive.  Amy hollered at the unsuspecting couple and George turned to look - only to turn back quickly.  She hollered again and again he looked at her like she was crazy and turned back to Pat.  On the third time; they realized they had surprise guests!  I just wish we had a camera ready to catch the smiles on their faces when they realized who it was!

Cheers to Another Beautiful Colorado Day

Of course while we were visiting - we had to go over to the Cannode's Personal Playground.  Yep - We are That Cool.  The kids got to use the slide, climb like monkeys and even swing a little.

Oh - Oh, Grandpa! That Swing is too Loud!
Fix It, Please!

Hey - I meant fix it so the "kids"could swing on it!

While we were there, we got lucky with a little wind and it just so happened that Gma and Gpa picked up a couple of kites for the boys!  The Boys Very First Kite!  What an Experience!  We had fun getting them up in the air and by the time the wind took control - we realized the kids got bored and cold and it was only the adults left flying kites like they were little kids!  Oh well, We had a Blast!

This is going to be so cool! You ready, Brother?

Whoo - Hoo!!! Look at Me!

Ok, Grandpa - Give it back now!

Daddy, I wanna fly it now

Who knew 'Kiting' was so dangerous

I got the hang of this now, Dad.

Hmm... Where are the 'kids'???

Oh - And this last pic is just cause Amy thought it was the Best Pic of the Day!  It explains our Family to a "T"!

Rockies bring home a Win!

Rockies opening day was April 5th and although we didn't make the first home game of the season, we did make it during opening weekend.  And what a day it was!  Annie, Alan and Braylon all drove down from Sterling and met up with us, Jim and Sarah for a beverage at the Molson Coors lounge before the game.  In fact, we had quite the crew at Molson Coors lounge as Sarah's friend, Bernida, and Frankie also joined us for a cold one!

Alan, Annie and Braylon

The day was nice and warm and we had Super seats (Row 20!).  The view, the company and the game could not be beat!  Rockies won all three home games this weekend.  Here is to hoping for a strong season!

I'm ready...hit the ball to me

Kasey and Jim enjoying the Rockies game

Jim is So Uncooperative in this picture

As you can see in the pic above, Karsten was toast and ready for a nap.  What a better way to rest than a quick 20 min nap in the sun.  The funniest part was Karsten awoke suddenly, popped his head up and Said "that baseball players wearing a helmet".  Yes, Karsten... he was.  Glad you didn't miss a beat!

Some people just can't stay awake for the whole game

After a quick nap, it was back to the game.  Since we were so close, we brought a glove to catch any fly balls.  Although we didn't get any chances during the game, Karsten was definitely ready.  Just check out how his hand fits perfectly in that glove.  His index finger is even in the correct place ~ This kid is going to play for the Rockies!

I'm ready to play