Vegas!

Yes, this happened while we were staying AT HARRAH'S and were probably eating breakfast or brushing our teeth at the time. Like I have told the friends I was with (Alena & Mike) - - I think they were not the only one's robbed (joke). And like Alena said - - that's how they re-cooped their loses - - machines were not good to us. So this guy probably took all winnings we could even dream of! Steve got a little lucky on Sunday night hitting a 3 of a kind at 3 card poker. I joined Brian, Matt, Mike, & Steve for a lesson in blackjack. . . and actually it was pretty fun. I started with $100.00 and played for an hour and a half and thought my chips looked pretty good - - - so cashed in. Left with $100.00 - - so that was fun. (Anytime you can play in Vegas for an hour and a half and not be down is a good run! :)


Steve and I ventured back to the restaurant that Diane, Rose, Vickie and I went to when we did the girls Vegas thing. I really wanted him to experience it. It was WONDERFUL again. If anyone ventures to Vegas is in the mood for Italian GREAT food - - go to Battistas -- ( http://www.battistaslasvegas.com) - behind the Flamingo. It's a short walk from the back doors of the Flamingo. Wow, the food was to die for. For your $20 - $30.00 entree you get wine (as much as you want), great Italian Salad, Garlic Bread to die for, Entree, and a cappuccino to top it all off! It is going to be a "go back to" place for me. Steve loved it too.


Friday Night: While Michelle was busy watching Oz dog, (thank you!) A whole gang of people met up in Vegas and of course the first night started off at Toby Keith's bar (where Brooke and Matt met up with wedding guests who were arriving a while back). Steve and I got to visit with Brian's mom and dad and almost all that were in for the bowling tournament were there. It was great seeing all and we had a great time.


Saturday: The next morning we met up with Alena and Mike, had breakfast - - then ran into the rest of the bunch. We walked the strip and ended up at an Irish place called O'Shea's. I went directly (do not pass go) to the penny slots in the back that I had been lucky at ($200.00 winnings at this point). . . .and wow - - they were still nice to me. Another $100.00 - - and it plays great music. . (I play machines for the music - not the odds, then I can kind of look at it as a juke box! lol) Brian, Teri, Steve, Alena and Mike ended up at our hotel (Harrah's) where we just hung out for awhile, ate dinner and went to bed.


Sunday: (love Vegas) - - got up at noon - - ate breakfast at 1:00 - - and just relaxed and relaxed. Met up with Brooke, Matt & Brooke's Dad at Flamingo at which point Steve and I went to that GREAT Italian place - Battistas! We came back to Flamingo and walked to Harrahs where we were staying. I was wiped by this point (too much fun for one weekend) so I went up to bed. While laying in bed I was watching the news and the Vegas news reported that there had been a robbery at Harrah's! Well, between Alena and I we figured out we were probably still sleeping in when this happened. . . so guess we missed it. We, do (however) think that we got robbed also - - the machines just went DEAD! (making up loses from the robbery?) Okay, we really don't believe that, but we have to have some excuse for the slot machines not paying off!


It was a great weekend with the best of friends & family. A big thank you to Claire and Michelle for taking care of the Oz dog. A big CONGRATS to Lindsay Roberts on her upcoming marriage. . . (sorry I couldn't make your shower - - too busy getting robbed in Vegas. . lol)


FLY YOUR FLAG FOR LABOR DAY! Everyone have a great holiday weekend. Steve and I are off to Peoria next Thursday. Can't wait to see fam and friends!


Until then - - I'm signing off. . . . scroll down for pictures of Vegas (sorry - - only took a few) and video of Ozzie's new tricks - - lol - -NO REALLY!


Good bye until next time


Sunday:

Harrah’s robbery suspect sought

By Mary Manning

Mon, Aug 25, 2008 (3:08 p.m.)

Surveillance video image

Metro Police are asking for the public's help after a man robbed the main cashier's cage at Harrah's at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

The man took an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

The suspect is described as 35 to 40 years old, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8, 160 to 175 pounds, very short hair and last seen wearing a white and brown striped, short-sleeved shirt, light-colored shorts, black and white tennis shoes and prescription, wire-framed glasses.

The man was last seen on Las Vegas Boulevard South, flagging down and getting into a white cab with red markings, heading southbound.

Police said the man should be considered dangerous.

Anyone with information can call Metro's robbery section at 828-3591 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555. A cash reward may be available to the person providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

Steve and Teri outside of Harrahs

Mike & Alena with the "big joker"

Steve and Brian at Harrahs

Alena and Mike in front of Harrahs

Teri & Steve again at Harrahs

Mike & Alena outside Harrahs

Mike & Alena

Mike & Alena

Teri & Steve out in front of hotel

Returning to Peoria and stuff

Steve and I will be returning to Peoria for Gay and Ernie's wedding. We are really looking forward to the celebration. The wedding is September 6th.

Summer has found us lounging around the pool with family & friends. As seen on earlier posts, we recently replaced our front doors and they look great. We now have "invisible" screens on the front door, which allows a nice breeze to go through our house. Our living room used to be the warmest room in our house and now it's more comfortable watching TV at night without having to run air conditioning.

UPDATE ON PREGOS: Heather Nelson (my sis-in-law, Eric's wife) is due any day - as is Claire Adams (Michelle's good friend) . She's ready to pop! Brooke is next in line with an expected due date of November 28th. . .then comes Michelle who is due on December 1st. Then Courtney (Michelle's friend) and I can't remember her due date. So babies, babies, babies - all over the place. (Guess it was a boring winter?) Other than the normal aches and pains of pregnancy (ribs hurting, back hurting, indigestion, tired, going to the bathroom all the time) - everything seems to be moving along for all. Michelle & Brooke are majorly feeling the activity in their bellies and I even felt Michelle's baby when I put my head near her stomach to sing to him. (I don't think he liked it - he kicked me in the cheek! Kind of like Simon on American Idol saying "Get a real job").

We will venture to Vegas this weekend for the annual bowling tournament. This is always great fun because of all the people going. Alena & Mike Raby, Bob and Linda Elrod (Brian's parents), Doug & Debbie (Brian's aunt & uncle), Mark & Nick Roberts, Lindsay (Nick's fiancee and Brian's cousin), Matt & Brooke, Brian (no Michelle this time, she opted out knowing that she probably wouldn't have any fun in Vegas while pregnant - so she's watching our dog). Dan King, Steve Adams (no Claire - she's ready to pop! We just hope Steve is there for the whole weekend and doesn't get called home because Claire is in the hospital.) So, as you can see it's a big group of people and we always have so much fun. I'll try to capture some of the moments in photos and post to this blog later.

We received an e-mail from Anna (our former exchange student from Iceland) and she is trying to plan to come stay with us next March or April with her family. We can not wait! We had such a wonderful time with them the last time they were here. Nothing written in stone yet, but she said they're looking into tickets.

REST OF THE FAM: Matt remains working for Enterprise and Brooke remains layed off from her former job doing mortgage lending. Michelle continues to work for University of Phoenix as a Enrollment Trainer. She positively loves her job and it is right down the alley of her degree in Speech communications. She is often training students in a class and speaks in front of them for most of the day. Brian remains at Elrod Fence (his Grandfather's company) as a crew supervisor. Steve and I do our daily grind at Rey Nelson Printing, Inc.

For those in Peoria - we'll "See you in September" (if you're old enough, you'll remember the song!) Can't wait to see everyone. That's our news! Please e-mail to share yours!

Michelle & Steve say HI!

Here's Michelle, Steve and Grandson to be saying hi!

My Well Trained Dog

 Watch Ozzie's new tricks!

Boring Day at the Dickerson home

Chelsea doing the whole "text thing" while Steve sleeps in the background

Guess I wasn't good company on this night.  Jokes didn't go over so well!

New Front doors!

Steve and I had new front doors installed - - boy what a difference. Here's the before picture:

Here's the after picture

Here's the detail - - love the windows!

Earthquake, Dee, and a REAL BLOG

Hi All - - Just writing this time!

We survived the Earthquake, although - - it was a SHAKER! (wow!) I was 1/2 way out the door at work when it finally settled down. Rey Nelson Printing is about 8 miles from Chino Hills -- so it was pretty brutal! Corona is about the same (for those who attended Michelle's wedding - - THAT'S THE EPICENTER! YIKES! from us.) We came home tonight to find plants still on plant stands and Ozzie not dying of a heart attack, therefore all was good (except for work - - that was pretty weird). But we survived all.

Dee (of course, as she always does after tuning into CNN - - called) I'd like to start a group prayer for her for next Tuesday (is that right Dee?) Major surgery and a few concerns, therefore would appreciate any one's prayers who read this. If I could be there I would (as she was for my first pregnancy (tubal) and did an "On the spot - baptism". I will never forget Dee for that one. Somehow it helped the pain subside. We're with ya and will be thinking about you and praying for you.

I went to go see Mama Mia with my good friend Shelly last night. If you haven't seen it - - it's a "go see'r" A lot like the play that I so enjoyed with Rose, Vickie, and Diane. LOVED IT. But you have to be willing to do the whole "blast to the past" to the Abba age and love music. It's FULL of music. My mother so loved Abba - - in her final days I used to watch a video that my dad bought.With her and we'd sing and tap our feet. Now it's such a great remembrance of her for me. (Not even to mention that I have two sisters that are as crazy as the one's in the movie and play! So, I guess I kind of identify to it all.)

Well, thank you for all the calls about the Earthquake - - all okay in So. California for another day (at least!) - - Still wouldn't trade it for the world.

Babies are a coming - - Kim, Michelle & Brooke are getting fat bellies (don't know about Kim, but I'm sure she's happy and sassy!) But Michelle and Brooke are popping. My only problem is shopping!!! (yikes) - - I went to Babies R US and I didn't have a clue (to even try to help my daughter) on all the new fangled stuff. When I had a baby - - we "wound up" the swing and the noise was obnoxious and woke the baby up. All this new stuff is kind of confusing - - what help can I possibly be to my daughter and daughter in law??? Oh, well, I'll try anyway.

Love to all. See you in September when we will visit in Peoria for GAY AND ERNIE'S WEDDING - - wippppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Take care all - - and remember your prayers.