Vegas Baby!

Thanks to several great friends of ours, Brent and I had the most amazing vacation for our 10 year anniversary. We went to Las Vegas and stayed at the best hotel in the world (my opinion, of course). We stayed at the Signature at the MGM Grand. It is an incredible hotel and if you ever have the chance to go there, you need to!

We got to take a ride on the gondola at the Venitian, eat at Tin Torettos, take a tour of the wax museum, see Fremont street~ where they do an amazing light show over the street every night. We saw the pirate show at Treasure Island, a car show, went to M&M world and got to do a bunch of other stuff. We were extremely exhausted when we got home, but we had a wonderful time together.

A Post for the Movie Lover in me

So, anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that right under the surface there resides a first class lover of all things cinematic... buttery popcorn, milk duds, theatre seats, the dimming of the lights...ok, so maybe i don't love previews...but ahhhh...give me a good movie and for 2 hours (give or take) life is fabulous. I am sure that this love of movies was bred while I worked behind the concession counter at a movie theatre~ and it probably grew bigger than life when I learned how to run a projection machine. For the time that it lasted, there was nothing better in this world to me than those moments right before the movie began when I would dim the lights and turn the machine on and see the movie hit the screen! I loved every second of it.

For no real reason this morning, I was thinking of all the great movies I have seen. You know the kind that I am talking about, those movies that you could watch again and again because they spoke to some part of your life, or they are just that great that you have to see them again. Maybe get one more chance to relive that moment... So, I have compiled a list. A list of must see movies. You don't have to see them , and if you see them you don't have to like them...but These are my must see movies. The ones that I have loved time and again.

Shannon's Must See Movie List

1~American Flyers
2~Beauty and the Beast
3~Braveheart
4~The Breakfast Club
5~A Bug's Life
6~Coach Carter
7~Chronicles of Narnia~The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
8~ Dead Poets Society
9~Eight Below
10~End of the Spear
11~Facing the Giants
12~Finding Forrester
13~Hoosiers
14~Invincible
15~Kate & Leopold
16~The Last Samurai
17~Lean on Me
18~Notting Hill
19~Rocky Balboa
20~The Ron Clark Story
21~Scent of a Woman
22~Titanic

A fun filled July

This last month has been a whirl-wind of fun! We have seen a bunch of movies {and yes, you should go see Walle, Indiana Jones, and if you are an adult you should see The Dark Knight}, gone bowling, been to Tonkawa Falls, had a huge family water balloon fight and read some great books...and the month is not even over yet. Mikey and Lissi are leaving tomorrow to go spend the week with Brent's parents~ and I am sending them with cameras! So, when they get back we will be putting up some of the pics that they take. AND, Brent and I are leaving on Wednesday to go to Las Vegas...Vegas, Baby!! Woo Hoo..

Some of our friends decided that we needed a trip for our 10 year anniversary~ and they are sending us to the place that we most wanted to go. I cannot wait to leave. We are tremendously blessed. And it is going to be a blast.

And with that, I am going to let the pics tell the rest of the story:



Brent trying to decide if he should continue to lift weights at the YMCA~ or if he should switch to curling the kids instead... lol

Mikey getting a little love from his friend Jen.

Madison and Tate.

Mikey and Maddy at Tonkawa Falls.

We spent three hours at the bowling alley letting Brent beat us all!!!

Giving a few pointers...

Lissi-loo rolling a strike.

4th of July on top of the Wells Fargo parking garage.

Ducks & Stuff...

In the midst of the ungodly heat in Texas, we decided that we should venture down to the river and check out the ducks. It has been almost a year since we have been down there just to see the ducks...so it felt like it was time. And let me just say that I have the best kids! (as I am sure you do also)

We had such a good time that I thought I would share...maybe inspire you to brave the heat to go play down by the river, too!

A tribute to Rye, cause we miss her a lot...
Feeding some ducks...

And a turtle or two...

Doing a little dreaming about something we would like to have...

More duck feeding...

A little skateboarding...

Fun picture taking...

And the teens, doing what they do best...

For some things there are no words...

The Best Weekend...

I am in love my husband. Yup, I said it...I don't just love him. I am in love with him. And this weekend I got to spend three days alone with this wonderful man. Mike, Rye and Lis went to camp Friday morning, and Brent and I left for Dallas right after we dropped them off at the church. We spent the weekend there, being tourists; riding the train, seeing a movie, doing a little shopping and just being with each other.

Seeing as how we are within 20 days of our 10 year anniversary, it was amazing to me that not that much has changed between us...he still treats me like I am his princess. He is always more concerned about my needs than his own, he goes out of his way to make me happy. He makes me laugh, and the way that I feel when he intertwines his fingers with mine tells me that no matter what life may bring, it all comes down to this~ this feeling that I get when I see him. And that my friends is Love. This truly was one of the best weekends that I have ever had, and I got to spend it with the man of my dreams...my husband.

Just for you...a little peak into our weekend. Starting with the train. Brent had the great idea to travel around the city on these trains. They went almost everywhere we needed to go, so we went for it. I have to say that at first I was a little nervous, but it was so fun!

my man...

We went to the book depository, from which JFK was shot. We did take the tour, it was so sad and fascinating to be in the place where history was made in our country.

This is where we had dinner Friday night. They have the most amazing bread.

And yes, we did go to the zoo without the children. It was so much fun. This was one of my favorite characters housed at the Dallas Zoo~ Mr. Penguin, who was more than happy to walk up to the glass and check us out.

The waterfall we went under when riding the monorail.

The monorail.

And here it is. A thing of beauty. For any one who knows me at all, you have to know that this was one of the highlights of the trip. As I am a lover of all things cinematic~ going to a three-story movie theatre has to be one of the best things I have done. It was wonderful...from the smell of the popcorn when we walked in the front door, to the sight of the larger than life wall murals promoting the movies.

The New Bass Office