2014- Las Vegas in January

 2014

 Started with a BANG!!

 Las Vegas- January

Clint decided to give me the gift at Christmas of flying to Las Vegas for about three days to see the famous hotels, dine and watch a show there.  I never had the desire to go there because of my memories of driving through there 24 years before.  The smoke filled Casino's and traps to get people to spend their money was not my idea of a destination place.  

Over the years,  Clint would attend the Consumer Electronic Show on business for Walmart.  He always said he wanted to take me there.  So we were off.  He found a great deal at a hotel on the "Strip" and we walked everywhere to see the amazing sights and sounds of Las Vegas.

The Hotel New York, New York was incredible.  It was like New York City on the Outside, and the inside was like the streets of New York.  A roller coaster around it made it even more fun.  We got up one morning and rode that around much to my delight.  I love roller coasters. 

Lady Liberty wasn't quite as tall as the one on Staten Island in NY city.

 The Excalibur Hotel was right next door.  At night, it reminded me of something out of a movie, or Disney World.

The VENETIAN HOTEL with like being in Venice for real.  We were in Venice so fast, who knew we would be able to spend more time there in Las Vegas.  The canal was quite a bit smaller though.

Ceilings and Floors were very much like Italy.

Clint was the perfect tour guide around Las Vegas.  The ceilings at the drive thru were like the original in Italy.  Awesome to say the least.

Italy had these people sprayed white in Florence and I'm sure other places that stood for a very, very long time like a statue.  Sometimes they would pose in a funny position for tourists with cameras. This guy stood for a good hour without hardly blinking an eye.

The Grand Canal in the Venetian had the Gondoliers

Look at this Hotel, the architecture was incredible.  It was better in person of course...especially with Clint.

They had shops all over just like Venice.

Love Italian Painting, sculptures and architecture !!

We decided one night to go over to Freedom Street in the older part of Vegas.  It was one cold night, but the lights were stunning.

Jonathan's 12th Birthday party

Erica took a bunch of action shots of Jonathan's Birthday party over at our church. I was trying to figure out a park for the football game Jonathan insisted was going to be his party. Then I remembered the big field the church owns and the pavilion there. It was perfect and the weather was in the high 70's. Could not have been a more perfect day. Clint and Steve Webb our neighbor had a blast with the boys. I finally got them to stop after 1.5 hrs. for cake and gifts. They didn't want to stop. It was the most cost effective party ever. Boys are easy!!

Jonathan's First Band performance

Jonathan did very well with all the other band students in the First 6th grade band performance of Spring Hill this year. He is excited to play the trumpet like Tyler and his Dad have done in past years.

Halloween 2009

Halloween was fun this year. We were working in the yard raking and blowing leaves when we realized we had about 20 mins. before the little trick or treat kids would start their adventure. Problem...we had not carved pumpkins. So, I helped Jonathan, and Clint pulled out a trick with a jigsaw tool. He was done in plenty of time. His comment was, "why haven't we been using this to do the job all these years?" Jonathan went out with his neighborhood buddies, Ethan Webb and Chase Smith. They were back in no time with hoards of goodies.

Erica's Fall Acapella Performance

ERICA WHITNEY BLAND

I am so happy for Erica to ask to try out for Acapella choir and make it. Her teacher said she is an advanced student. This is great because she never took choir except in 6th grade. We kept telling her to take it. She has a beautiful alto voice. We loved watching her performance at Bentonville High School's Arend Art Center

Rich Family Found on Atlantic side of North Carolina...

Wow...found we have rich family that lived on plantations in Eastern North Carolina...not far from the Atlantic. We visited the Foscue Plantation in Jones County, NC. The home was in pristine condition...tours are taken there, and it's on the National Historic homes list. The quilts on the beds and the cross stitches...most everything in the home was our family's original belongings. Mom loves flowers and we found this bush out in the front of the Plantation home. I am still wondering how our family got left out of all this land...we must not have been the chosen ones!!! :(

My 6th Great Grandfather's Legacy

Men in black with guns chasing us through the military park...we were careful to hide behind the trees as not to be detected!!! Genealogy is more than you can imagine!

• Big Revolutionary war battles on Family property!!!
  Me & lady liberty at Guilford Military Park. Notice I am dressed in black clothing as to not be conspicuous in the dark!!!
  

Delisa Hargrove my cousin and I snuck up to the Guilford Military Park in Greensboro, NC to walk on the land our 6th gr. grandfather (Robert Mitchell) owned. A major Revolutionary War battle was fought on his land. Delisa was leaving for home so she didn't get to see it in the daylight. We had fun hiding behind trees and discovering black men with deadly weapons in the forest. Our cell phone lights helped us find the way. Our sharp senses and sensitivity helped us avoid arrest for trespassing after hours. We did find General Nathaniel Greene and lady liberty. .