Happy St. Patrick's Day

Next to Christmas - this is one of my most favorite days of the year! 

Nothing better than a sea o' green in the streets!  The months I spent in Ireland were truly some of the most fun days I have had so far in my life and today reminds me of everything I got to experience in Eire. 

The picture below has a story to it.  This was from when we were on the Aran Islands and there were a bunch of us who walked to the cliffs to see the sunset.  We took turns taking pictures overlooking the water and then took a couple group shots.  Normally - I loathe taking a picture by myself.  I hate awkwardly standing - not sure where to put my hands, etc.  But I really wanted to get a picture with the stone walls so I just sucked it up.  After the picture was taken, and thanks to the invention of digital cameras, I got made fun of for the rest of the night for this J-Crew-esque catalog shot.  

Cool sweater around the shouders, Kathryn.  Even better pose! 

But naturally - I am wearing green -  as I am convinced every Irish person looks great in green - and the stone walls really are awesome! So the picture was worth taking. :)

And here's an Irish blessing - as everyone is Irish today:

"May the road rise to meet you, may the wind always be at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face,  the rain fall softly upon your fields, and my God hold you in the palm of his hands."

Now - go do a jig! :)

Happy Birthday Daddy

Hope you have a good birthday in Heaven 

...and that you are preparing a great St. Patty's Day party tomorrow :)

I love you and I miss you.

Vegas, recapped

Las Vegas is a place like no other place I've ever been to and - I would argue - there is no other place in the world like it.  With the themed hotels, casinos, shows, bars, and restaurants - there is so much to see and do and for a first-timer, it is a lot to take in on one trip!  But - we had a great time and here are the highlights!

We stayed at the Wynn on the 58th floor - so we had a beautiful view and the rooms were awesome!  The Wynn is one of the nicest hotels located on the one end of the strip.

After settling in after the long flight, we began to explore.  First, Brett went to a roulette table and put a hefty bet on black and after watching the ball jump in and out of the numbers on the wheel - the ball did, in fact, land on black and he was up big within a minute!

Little did we know, the big winner of the trip was Jenelle who won $1700 in one night playing "Let It Ride."

Then, we walked through some of the hotels to really see what Vegas had to offer!

We stopped at the Venetian that has the gondola inside the hotel! 

The boys were a little thirsty, so they stopped to get some drinks! 

Then on the first night we went to dinner as a big group and then went out to one of the clubs in Wynn.

Tom and me at Blush!

The next day we started at the pool - which put me right into vacation mode!

Just one of the pools at the Wynn

Then, we went to see more of the hotels!  My favorite was Paris...

After a long day of walking, sightseeing and gambling, we came back to our hotel to get ready to go out!  We went to another club in the Wynn called Tryst - it was such a great time!  

Girls at Tryst

My favorite from the whole trip

The next day we went to the most amazing brunch - just take a look at some of these desserts!

We did a lot of gambling after we took a rest by the pool and then Tom and I got ready to see a show called Le Reve.  It was an amazing water show where the performers did the most amazing athletic stunts.  Here are a few shots from inside the theater.  

On our last day, we took the bus all the way to the end of the strip and then walked our way back.  We stopped, of course, at New York, New York...

And then stopped for some pictures as we made our way down the strip...

We all went back for one last dinner together and then stopped at a piano bar for some drinks and live music.  That night we went to the casino for one last night of gambling and went to bed knowing that we had made the most of our trip!  

Vegas, you were good to us - see again soon! :)

Mamma Noons on the upcoming Vegas trip...

"What happens in Vegas....no, I still want the 'deets'." 

Lucky for you, my loyal readers, you all will receive a full recap of our trip! 

Roulette tables, here I come! :)