Vegas!!

The first week of summer = girls’ trip to Vegas!!!  I had never been to Vegas before, and I loved it!!  I flew in and met Mom, my sister, and my eldest niece there.  They had all been there before, so they made it their mission to show me through all the major hotels and attractions in my short 3-day trip.  My favorite hotel was the Bellagio, closely followed by Caesar's Palace.  All of the hotels and attractions were beautiful.

Required photo op.After church Sunday, first stop: Hoover Dam.  This picture is taken from the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge.  The white line over the lake is where water used to be.  Water levels are about 40 feet low.  Walking the Bypass. View of the Bypass from the Hoover Dam.  TALL!!!  I loved walking that bridge, but it was so windy and I was sunburned by the time we got back to the car. In the hotels and casinos…Caesar’s Palace: lush, opulent, beautiful! These flavored oxygen bars were everywhere. So funny to me. (The Venetian)Living statue.  Amazing, but I always feel bad for the people that do this as a job.  Maybe it’s just me, but standing so still like that for 45-minute stretches seems horrible.Ahhhh… Nathan!  I missed my boys!  (Forgive the red eye… no time to fix it.) MGM GrandCaesar’s Palace, again… I think.  Just beautiful!   Fancy store… one of many.

I expected everything to be big and bright, and I wasn’t disappointed.  We saw the Cirque du Soleil “O” show at Bellagio.  Oh. My. Goodness!  AMAZING show! 

We stayed in a lovely timeshare resort and spent some time swimming and floating in the lazy river.  I’m very cold-natured and it was not hot the week we were there, so I was too cold to enjoy the pool.  I preferred just sunning or hanging in the spa. 

We had a fantastic couple of days.  I look forward to going back again!!! :-)  Thanks, Mom for including me on the trip – I’ll never forget the fun time we had or the dancing in the bathroom at The Cheesecake Factory. Ha!

Nikki’s Vacation

My dear friend, Nikki, visited last week.  I lucked out because her husband had some work that brought them out of Tennessee and to Houston for about a week!  We had such a fantastic time just hanging out!  Nikki has 2 little girls that stayed with their grandma back near their home, so she wasn’t at all fazed by my busy toddler twins.  I can tell she is a fun, interactive, sweet mommy.  She even spoiled my boys with books, cars, and lovies!  But, she won them over with her fun ways, sweet tone, and especially by reading to them. 

Nathan likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so he thought Nikki is pronounced “Mikki”.  He called her Mikki or Mikki Mouse all week.  So cute!

Todd was very kind to keep the boys several times so Nikki and I could hang out, just us girls.  And, Mamaw even kept them so we could go to a movie – a rare treat! :-)

I wish I had taken more pictures… 

Nikki, Thank you for coming to visit us!!  We love you!

DeMontrond Volkswagen Show

We went to the DeMontrond VW show today and had a really great time!  It’s always neat to see all of the VW hobbyists showing their cars, and talking about the ins-and-outs of the machines that bring them together.
 
We didn’t have a lot of time to browse the cars outside, but we were very impressed with the array of VWs that were presented.  Todd was drawn to the “Things”, especially the neon green one in the background… Something about an 8-way oil cooler bypass that caught his fancy.  Mom and I couldn’t help but compare many of the VWs we saw to those that are in Dad’s collection.
We headed in for the awards ceremony and got to cool down a little while I drooled over the new VWs.  You know, the ones with a/c!

Nathan and his usual: “Up, Up, please, hold you, up…”

He won.

This show was special to us, since DeMontrond and the North Houston VW Club established and presented the annual Tim Drachenberg award for the first time today.  Mom did a fantastic job sharing a few sentiments and presenting the award.
   
The plaque presented with the award says:                 
The Tim Drachenberg Award was established by the North Houston Volkswagen Club in memory of long-time member Tim Drachenberg, who passed away in early 2011. Tim was a member of the club for a number of years and always was open with enthusiasm and advice concerning vintage Volkswagens.
Tim's impressive Volkswagen collection included a variety of cars and busses, but he was particularly fond of vintage, totally stock VW's from the 50's through the 70's. He drove his classic cars on a daily basis and enjoyed doing so with an unbridled passion.
Tim was a retired tennis coach, and was passionate about the sport, but his Volkswagen cars, and especially, his friends in the Volkswagen community were his true love. Whether it was discussing an obscure part, or advice on something as simple as adjusting the points, Tim was glad to share his experience and knowledge with other VW friends.
The Tim Drachenberg Award is presented yearly to an individual displaying a Volkswagen of a variety that the North Houston Volkswagen Club feels typifies a car that would be of most interest to Tim. It should be mostly bare-bones stock, with an eye to the unrestored but still handsome. Board members of the club will make the decision on the award based on the idea that the car would be the favorite of Tim's at the award event.
Though gone, the spirit of Tim's appreciation of all things Volkswagen will live on through this annual award presented by the North Houston Volkswagen Club.

The winner and his beautiful car.

North Houston VW Club Honors Tim Drachenberg

Show Time and Location
DeMontrond VW
14101 North Freeway
Houston, Texas

Registration - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Awards at 2:00 pm.

This is a free show for all VW's.
Free Lunch at Noon provided by
DeMontrond

On June 18, 2011, DeMontrond will host a NHVW show at their location in North Houston on I-45 N. Ruthie Smith now representing DeMontrond has approved the show this year and will provide trophies similar to those in the past, as well as providing the hot dog, hamburger lunch for all in attendance.

Awards Include:

People's Choice

DeMontrond's Choice

* Tim Drachenberg Memorial

Best of including decades,

Beetle, New Beetle, Bus, Ghia,

Daily Driver, Display, and other VW's

* Denotes new award this year in memory of Mr. Tim Drachenberg, a long time member of the North Houston VW Club and clubs throughout Texas and the U.S. Tim passed away early this year and his array of classic VW's represented the very best of the Volkswagen community. His attention to original stock items and detail always made us all marvel at his reproduction and skill when it came to rebuilding a VW. The winner of this award will show a VW that Tim would be proud to own.