The annual Yard Sale

Let's face it...Summer is expensive! So, maybe it is just life in general that is expensive, but in summer there is a solution...have a Yard Sale!!! Last year Boo and I decided to clean out a lot of our old junk (I mean A LOT) and have a yard sale just to get rid of it...well, after a two weekend, everyone collecting together as much crap as they can, huge money making event, we realized we might be on to something. Needless to say, we knew we were going to do it again this year!

This year the yard sale was even more of a multi-family event. We had stuff from all of the ZPO's except for Charing, who did a yard sale the weekend before with her mom, plus my parents, grandparents and my friend Laura. The amount of stuff was truly overwhelming. How did we have so much stuff when it seemed like we sold everything we didn't want last year?!?!

Boo and Missy worked especially hard to get a ton of stuff priced and some kind of organization to the madness. Boo made wonderful signs that we will be able to use lots of times! On Friday at six am (that's right!) I met Boo, Missy and Chris at their house to get signs out and everything set up. When we opened the door at 6:30 to start pulling things out...there were people waiting in their car's! They came running up to start looking. crazy.

I was off to work a little later in the morning, but Boo and Missy were there to work the sale. Cory brought Wes to Boo in the late morning, so he was great entertainment. Mom came by on Friday to help out after Missy had to go to work. Candice came by when she got out of class, and Liz and Cory came when they were off work. Thank goodness for Boo...she was there the entire time! That night Liz, Cory, Wes, Nick and I were all at Boo's for a half-way done cookout. It was really nice, but we were already so tired!

The next morning we were back up and at it by six. Liz and Wes came by with delicious breakfast around 10:30...God bless her! Mom and Dad dropped by to check on us, and Laura came with Rice Crispy treats. Candice was also back in there to help and helped us bring it all back in. It was so nice to have so many people help out when they could!

All in all the sale was a HUGE success! We made a lot of money for our trip to Vegas, or for whatever everyone else wants to use it for. The funny thing was...once we pulled it all back in the garage...it looked about the same. SOOOOOO...we are doing it again in a couple of weeks! Why not?? It is all priced and organized. Might as well make some more money!

Getting Pumped for Vegas!!

It is time to start planning our Bachelorette get away weekend in Vegas! Boo has done an amazing job putting together an agenda for the trip, and well ... with all this wonderful work it seems like something we should save on the site! Seriously ... she could do event planning for a living! We are staying at New York New York ... clearly a great choice!

About NY-NY: " When you see the hotel you cannot imagine how they transformed the New York Skyline into a hotel right on Las Vegas Blvd, they drove up the Brooklyn Bridge and right past the Statue of Liberty. The detail that was put into the design of this resort is fabulously Las Vegas. They did get one thing wrong though; the rooms are much larger than a New York City apartment! Apparently, out west people cannot understand city living. If you want to have a drink in Times Square, ride a roller coaster or have a large deli sandwich they have it at New York New York. The Village eateries have a ton of great food and allow you to stroll through the sidewalks of New York. If you want to have a loud evening of dancing and hollering walk over to Coyote Ugly where the girls dance on the tables and the place gets packed. "

Here is the agenda for the weekend. Of course it is VERY flexible since I had to estimate a lot of times. We might get up earlier or later than I predicted, site seeing could take more or less time, meal times might vary, etc. The Plan is subject to change but it is a basic idea of the weekend since everyone knows how we looooove a plan! If there is something you really want to do in Vegas ( place to go, eat or see) and it's not on the plan, please let me know and I’ll rearrange. If there is a "review" about somewhere we're going that means it was on the "Top Ten Things to do in Vegas" list!! Can not wait to be there!! Wooohooooo!!!

Agenda

Friday

• 5:00am: meet at the airport with luggage galore!
• 9:06am: (Vegas time) arrive at the Las Vegas Airport! Take a van taxi to our hotel (NY, NY), check in, drop stuff in our rooms, and change into pool gear.
• 10:30 - 12:00: Explore the hotel, gamble some, ride the roller coaster (for those brave enough!) Manhattan Express Rollercoaster " Of all the Las Vegas attractions this one will get you moving the fastest. Located in the New York/New York Resort this Roller coaster will take you to heights of 203 feet, drops of 144 feet and speeds up to 67 MPH, It features the world's first "heartline" twist and dive maneuver, allowing riders to experience the thrilling force of negative g's! The ultimate Las Vegas attraction. "
• 12:00-1:00: Casual lunch at Coney Island in NY-NY
• 1:00-3:00: Pool time!
• 3:00-6:00: Take a nap to get refreshed for the evening.
• 6:00-7:30: Shower and get ready for a night on the strip!
• 7:30-9:00: Dinner at Emeril's New Orleans House in MGM "This is the Las Vegas Restaurant that you are dreaming about. If you make it past the oyster bar, good luck. Emeril Lagasse has brought his neo Cajun style to the MGM Grand and it is intoxicating. I can live on the gumbo and peel and eat shrimp. Its addicting so be cautious of this place."
• 9:00-10:00: Gambling & drinks (You get free drinks if you are gambling so it's penny slots and free drinks to get the evening started!). Also check out the MGM Lion Habitat "It is not much, but, you can take pictures with baby lions at this attraction or just watch them walk around. I always seem to find myself standing there for twenty minutes watching a cat sleep. I don't know why, try it and explain it to me. This is the Las Vegas attraction where you can get a picture with a huge cat"
• 10:00-???: Clubbing!
  Starting at MGM where we can hit Studio 54, Tabu, & Teatro. Then moving on to Coyote Ugly in NY-NY or possibly to Mandalay Bay to hit Forty Deuce & House of Blues.

Saturday

• 10:00: (very flexible!!) Wake up, crawl to breakfast
• 11:30-3:30: Site seeing.
• Bellagio Fountains & Conservatory - A reviewer says, "I'll come clean, I can be a romantic guy at times and this place has a tendency to make me soft. The music gets going and the water dances back and forth. In the early evening the light show along with the fine mist that fills the air is magical. This is the romantic Las Vegas attraction". Shows every half hour
• Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace with lunch at Chinois - "If you can only go to one restaurant in Vegas, this is the one. It is far and away the best place for a meal. If you consider quality and price this is the place to eat. Honestly, I cannot live without Chinois. I don't know how. When I think of a Las Vegas Restaurant to send my friends to I almost always list Chinois."
• Mirage volcano
• Treasure Island pirate show, then drinks at Kahunaville in Treasure Island where we get 2-for-1 Margaritas
• 3:30-6:00: Catch monorail back for nap time
• 6:00-7:30: Shower & get ready for Round 2!
• 7:30-9:00: Dinner at the Eiffel Tower in Paris
  "This Las Vegas attraction gets you high in the air above Las Vegas. The replica Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas is an exact reproduction of one of Europe's most famous landmarks, only at 1/2 scale. You can to ride to the top, and experience a panoramic view of the valley, from 460 feet above the ground. There is also the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, located on the 11th floor. Las Vegas attractions do not get better than this."
• 9:00-10:00: Gambling & Drinks
• 10:00-???: Clubbing!
  Start at Risque in Paris
  Moving on to ...? Possibilities include:
  Bellagio's Caramel & Light and Caesar's Palace's Pure
  

Sunday

• 10:00-12:00: Free time (that's right!) Possibilities include sleeping in, laying by the pool, gambling, shopping, eating, etc. I figure after 2 nights of parting people will need a flexible, relaxing morning to recuperate and not everyone recoups in the same way...hence the "free time".
• 12:00-4:00: Meet Aunt Carole & Aunt Cheryl in the lobby ready for a fabulous day! Head to the Venetian for lunch on the patio at Postrio, Gondola rides, and shopping at the Grand Canal Shoppes.

• 4:00-6:00: Mystere at Treasure Island
• A whimsical, surreal, production with astonishing circus arts, powerful acrobatics and breathtaking dance. "It's Cirque du Soleil and it never disappoints. Many will tell you that "O" is the best show on the strip and I am here to tell you they are wrong. Mystere is far and away the best way to spend your entertainment dollars. So much happens on stage and in the air and in your ears that you cannot possibly believe your eyes. But it's all real and very entertaining. If you see one show, you should see this one."
• 6:00-8:30: Rio Buffet A reviewer says, "I know, it's a buffet, but I have to be honest I love the place. It is out of this world, just imagine all you can eat lobster tails, crab legs, shrimp, salmon, Mahi-Mahi. You can never go wrong if you are a seafood lover. Never."
• 8:30-10:00: Gambling & Drinks
• 10:00-???: Clubbing
  Palm's Ghost Bar & Rain
  

Monday

• 7:30-9:30am: Wake up, clean up, check out of the hotel, head to the airport
• 7:48pm: Arrive home

Wesley Ray gets Baptised!

A couple of weeks ago Liz, Cory, Wes, Boo and I all piled into the Explorer and headed up to Wisconsin for little Wesley's baptism. Liz did a three part series on the trip, including all the pic's and what not which can all be seen on her site, linked to this site on the sidebar under "Baby Wes"(for some reason blogger's link button is not working, and I am tired of fooling with it!). She did a wonderful job, and it seems really repetitive to do the same posts again, but I did want to do a post about our sweet little boy and how far he has come since he joined us back in November!

You gave a real scare when you decided to come so early! Look at how tiny you were on the day you were born!!

You were so strong though! You amazed us all with how fast you grew.By Christmas you were nearly ready to come home from the hospital! We all finally got to hold you once you got home. You were so much bigger, but still so tiny!Soon you were a regular at ZPO events, and you and Carter became fast friends!

Charing nannied you for a month when your Mommy first went back to work, and now Boo has you for the summer. You love all your ZPO family!

You have such a sweet smile that warms my heart. I cannot imagine life without you now, even though you have only been here seven months.

And here is me and you at your Baptism...I don't think it is possible for a Godmother to love her Godson anymore that I love you my precious little Wes!

Happy Birthday Missy!!

Our dear sweet little Missy turned the big two-four yesterday!!! No matter how old she gets she is still the baby, so she always seem young to us!! The poor thing had to work all weekend, and didn't even get to go out and celebrate. We will all have to make it up to her and take her out really soon!! Missy, we love you and hope you had a great birthday and you get everything you wanted!!

Beach Bum!

I have just returned from vacation at myrtle beach where I had a great time but I missed all my fellow ZPO's terribly. So anyway here is a little taste of what I did on my vacation...It was a blast!
The house we rented actually has a pool so throughout the week we actually spent more time at the pool than the beach...y'know sand and all. I have a tendency to get up early so nearly every day was spent basking in the sun and watching the boys (my brothers) act silly. Justin built a weird contraption called the submersible which involved camouflaging himself with all the floats and the trying to torpedo us with the beach ball...However he could not aim well so then he built it on Josh. The unsuspecting tanner got a blast of cold water when they came near.
We did spend time at the beach, mostly walking/jogging to the pier and back but on the day we spent the whole time on the sand there were actually sharks in the water...I thought they were cool! They were little but Josh was afraid of them...That's right he carries a gun and defends our country but he is afraid of sharks...Go figure.
Night time was the most fun for me because we chilled and went out and did stuff...One night we had music night until around 2am..Music night involves dancing, debating lyrics, and me finding out that my dad wants to be a saxophone when he grows up...Not a saxaphone player a saxophone.
We also went to medieval times one night and watched the knight competition.I have been before when I was in high school but Josh really wanted to go...He loves knights. It was awesome...Our knight clearly should have won but he got stabbed in the stomach and lost after a valiant effort and winning all of the other competitions also he was pretty cute. Josh wanted to joust but he was not allowed...If he had a cape I am sure they would have let him. That night was the most fun!!

Sadly my vacation had to end and I had to return home to Kentucky...However I brought my beautiful tan with me so its not all bad. Here is a random sampling of my trip Woo Hoo!

May Meeting...just a little late

What's that you say...I am fired from being the ZPO blogger...but no wait!!! I can explain why there has not been a post in WEEKS..really...I can. I wont even use the "I was busy" excuse which I always have hopes of it filling your minds with me being extremely productive and expecting to see "Local Biologist finds cure to AIDS all because she held off posting on her sororities blog!" in the local paper any day, but when in reality"busy" means that I am to addicted to the X-files with Nick to pull myself away from the TV, or I am with some of my fellow ZPO's taking care of a bottle of wine and gossiping, or I am playing with one of the two cutest babies in the world. Not this time though...nope. I have been sick. I don't mean just a little sick, I mean full blown flu into a bacterial infection in my lungs into severe bronchitis/possible early pneumonia. SO...I have been in bed. for days. It was not cute, but at least it is over. Now that I am done making excuses...the May meeting!

The long introduction is to also mask the fact that I don't really remember a lot of the details from the May meeting...a real shame! Here is what I do know. First off, we held the meeting at Charings house again, because...well, it is 100% with out a doubt the best place to ever have ZPO meetings! There is plenty of room for all of us inside or out. The kids can be there, the babies have plenty to play with, not to mention the food...oh good lord. This month Charing really out did herself. We grilled out kabob's on their new grill while we hung out on the patio. She made so much wonderful food! The deserts were to die for! Charing, thanks so much for putting in so much hard work and having us all over!

When we all first arrived we sat outside, ate some chips and dip, had some wine and caught up on each others lives. Missy had to work, so we were so sad, but she had to miss the meeting! Boo had her work party for the end of the year, but she was there in time for dinner. She had eaten, but she was able to hold Wesley and get a little practice in for being his nanny this summer! Morgan, our junior member, was there with us and she was so great! We always love having her around! After dinner, we had coffee and desert. We laughed and talked into late into the night. It was a wonderful meeting! (I am sure there were some really funny stories that could be in this post...clearly indicated by this picture of Candice and I...but it was a couple of weeks ago, and I just cannot remember! Sorry everyone!)