(Another) Family Vacation

I think we can officially dub September of 2010 as "Family Vacation Month."  From Wisconsin, we went to Las Vegas for Gregg and Sarah's wedding.

Our hotel, The Mirage

Of course, what's Vegas without a little gambling?  I'd be lying if I didn't say that we spent an ample amount of time hanging out at The Sports Bar of our hotel playing the 5 cent slots while sipping on some "complimentary" drinks.

Ok, I'll admit.  I was probably the only one playing @ 5 cents.

But, there's more to Vegas than gambling (thank goodness), and we had a bit of time to stop and see the sights.

Paris!

The gondolas at The Venetian (excuse my lack of fast shutter speed...I'm still learning)

Shopping at The Venetian

Outside The Venetian (I am beginning to think that I only took pictures at The Venetian...??)

The Bellagio, right before the fountain show

And although I don't have any pictures of it, we had a great time at Sarah and Gregg's wedding. All in all, it was another great family vacation.

...But, Vegas still isn't my "thing."  Sorry, fam!

Musky Hunt 2010, in a Nutshell

As usual, Musky Hunt was fantastic.  I read 4 books, people.

FOUR.  BOOKS.

I know, I know.  Unheard of.

The trip didn't start out so uneventful, though.  There were problems.

Bearing problems.  On the boat trailer.  (GASP!)

Towing was involved.

To a town called Augusta...

Waiting, and cigar smoking, commenced.

But we finally made it.

We were greeted by a "friendly" fox...and a dead seagull.

The first fish was caught...

...even though it was a Northern, and not a Musky (I apologize to any of you faint of heart, but I'm just keepin' it real).

Lots of time was spent on the boat

And it began to feel like vacation after all.

Patti taught the boys to never underestimate listening to your gut instinct

and had quite the trophy to show for it (even though the boys lost it as they were getting it out of the live well).

And me? I caught this little thing...barely bigger than my bait.

HOWEVER! Not all hope was lost! I FINALLY got to visit the giant Musky!

And even stand in its mouth. (And, yes, it was pretty darn cold that day.)

We attempted to take a picture using the self timer, precariously perching my prized camera on a trash bin...maybe next year :)

We even learned that this is what the early fishermen looked like (???).

And after a day of rain and cold, the sun came out over our pretty little cabin.

We were able to resume our favorite past time.

And take some adorable pictures...

But, no family gathering would be complete without playing Catchphrase...

Yes, everyone looks confused. I think we all know why.

Until next year, Musky Hunt!

Blogging from the Road: Mackinaw, Days 2 &3

The majority of my pictures are on my actual camera, so we'll wrap this up (for now) with a few quick pics from the past 2 days. As you can tell, I'm having trouble uploading blog posts because I wrote the previous post 2 days ago!


I had this exact diary when I was 7. I can still smell the plastic cover.


Sunsets over Lake Michigan are breathtaking. I remember seeing my first one when I was in high school while camping, and they are everything I remember them to be.


We made this bonfire on the beach last night. Anyone thinking that women can't start fires obvs hasn't met us.

...there may have been lighter fluid involved.

Blogging from the Road: Mackinaw, Day 1

Mackinaw. Is. Beautiful.


This is the view from our balcony. (too bad it's only 50 degrees out)

The Mackinaw bridge is gigantic, and beautifully lit up at night.


And the stores have interesting products...


That's something you don't see every day. At least not in the stores I visit!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:S Huron Ave,Mackinaw City,United States

A Wedding Present with a History

It seems only fitting that my 100th post (wow!) be about a wedding present we recently received from Theresa.


(Let's not mention that this is only 100 posts in over a year, mmmkayy?)


As most things go within Hubs' family, our wedding present from his sister became a bit of a competition.  As a joke, Stephen didn't give her a wedding present until after the "standard acceptable" timeline of one year from the wedding, and that meant that she did the same thing to us.


Luckily for us me, it was worth the wait...and it wasn't a PS3.

These little lovelies are antique decanters.  Given Hubs' infatuation with his fully stocked bar, and my infatuation obsession with antique glass, this present was the perfect compliment to both our interests.

Plus, they're just pretty darn awesome.  I love how they are etched with Scotch, Gin, and Rye.

Thanks, Theresa, for such a thoughtful wedding present.  We'll cherish these for years to come!

RaviniYUM

If you've never been to Ravinia before, take some lessons from us.  It was our first time going, and I'll admit that I'm pretty impressed with us.  And judging by how many people came to our picnic table asking about our food, I'd say other people were impressed with us too.

Lesson 1:  Toast to the night.

Any epic evening with fantastic company deserves to be properly recognized with a proper toast.  In our case, we toasted with wine and pomegranate spritzers.

Lesson 2:  Set the mood.

Once the light fades, all you'll have is candlelight to eat your food by.  Ravinia even sells these awesome wine bottle candelabras that plop right in your empty wine bottles...which means you'll have to polish off a bottle prior to it getting dark.  Oh, darn!

Lesson 3:  Feast!

The crowing glory of the night was our 3 course fondue spread.  Salad and cheese fondue with crusty French bread, broccoli, and apples for an appetizer.  Oil fondue for cooking shrimp and chicken with various dipping sauces (peanut, BBQ, and raspberry chipotle, to be exact).  Chocolate fondue with fresh strawberries, apples, and rice krispy treats for dessert.  Use one less fondue pot by simply putting a Crock Pot bag in the fondue pot for the cheese fondue, and remove it for the chocolate fondue (yes, sometimes I am smart).

Lesson 4:  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere.  

Yes, Ravinia is CROWDED.  But grab a picnic table near the back (forget sitting on the lawn when you can have an entire table to yourselves!) and bask in the glorious success of a perfect night.

Who was playing, you ask?  Carrie Underwood.  You can tell where our priorities were.