The Springs Preserve

Spencer and I have been meaning to go to the Springs Preserve since we moved to Las Vegas. A friend of mine from the dolphin habitat left to go work there and got all of us free passes and today was pretty much the last day we could use ours. Its hard to explain this place...its very intense. Its like an interactive museum plus with nature trails, animals, and gardens. I was very overwhelmed...there was WAY TOO MUCH to do and learn, but we managed to screw around have fun anyway.I did some digging and learned about erosion...Spencer went on an archaeological dig and found some fossils We went into the past and rode a train from Utah to Las Vegas and there was a little bit of hanky panky goin' on on that train!Spencer struck it rich with some oil...er something...!I found a new homeSpencer made a new friendAnd I got into a little trouble with some large lizardsAs frustrating as this place may have been to find our way around and see everything, it was a beautiful day with lots of beautiful views and we had a fun time!

She's At It AGAIN!

While I was in the shower, Spencer got up to get something and saw this:Neither of us let Noelle outside. Awhile back, you may remember a blog about a similar situation. Noelle had leaned against the dining room window screen until it was out just enough for her to escape. She hopped over to the porch and it seems she was trying figure out a way to get back in! Meanwhile, Layla has no clue what's going on...
Not sure what we're going to do about this little escape artist...but obviously she LOVES the outdoors!

"The Bean"

This morning I woke up and Spencer had already done 3 things...he started the coffee and filled the animals' water dishes with the same cup he uses everyday and was at the moment, outside taking the dog out. I walked in the kitchen to start breakfast and caught this:Apparently Layla wasn't interested in her water dish...this was much better...

Monumental Moments

It is no secret that I usually hate living in Las Vegas, but there are a few things I absolutely love about this city. Tonight I did some of them with Chelsea while Spencer was at work and had a blast. We ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (which I know is not JUST in Las Vegas but is much more easily accessible here than anywhere else I've ever lived). Then we saw "Love." Tonight was a monumental evening for me because I saw this show for the 10th time. And I'm STILL noticing new things that I've never noticed in previous shows! Its amazing...the ONLY show I'd see in Las Vegas more than one time! :)After "Love" we headed over to The Bellagio to see the fountains. But first Chelsea put $20 on black at the Roulette table, as instructed by Blaine...and lost! :(
We had better luck with the fountains...we got through the huge crowds and found a great spot just in time for the show to start! It was actually my first time seeing an entire display at night and its just awesome! Definitely one of my favorite things here. We also checked out the Paris afterwards. I don't spend much time on the strip, but there's something about the random Eiffel Tower in the middle of it that makes me smile and its so cute inside. And it very well may be the closest I ever get to the real thing! (But hopefully not!)
We had such a great time tonight and Chelsea's visit here flew by. I'm so sad to have to say goodbye to her bright and early tomorrow morning. The next time we see her will be Christmas and the little bambino will be out of her belly (and HIS name will be Austin or Brennan! Ha ha! I think its a boy for sure)! Time flies though so I know it will be here soon...I'll just keep that in mind when saying goodbye. But for now GOODNIGHT. :)

DAM!

Today was another low key and fun filled day. We slept in and then headed out to the Hoover Dam for some dam fun. We didn't take the dam tour and although it wasn't as dam hot as yesterday, it was still dam hot and dam windy out there! Chelsea had never been there and we hadn't been in over a year, so it was a dam good time.After all the dam fun, we headed back to Las Vegas and found the famous "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" sign and took pictures by it while Spencer sat in the car with his hazard lights on because he was basically in the middle of the road. I'm not sure why we didn't take this photo sooner...maybe because since we moved here just over a year ago, I haven't really thought Las Vegas was all that fabulous. Either way, it was fun and scary at the same time to run out and take this long overdue picture and then run back to the car!We finished off the evening just right with another yummy dinner made for us by Spencer and a movie. We're all REALLY exhausted (even those of us who aren't pregnant!), so we're all headed to bed a little early tonight! Goodnight!

Dolphins, Weddings, and Baby Kicks

We started our day off today with a trip to The Mirage so Chelsea could meet a dolphin since she's a big dolphin fanatic! :) It was weird to go back there at first (since I'm no longer employed at the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat!), but its much more fun to visit when you don't work there I learned. Anyway, I digress...Chelsea met Duchess and Sgt. Pepper begged for her attention too. I think she really liked it and it was fun for us to watch! :)

After we were done at The Mirage, we walked...and walked and walked and walked because Spencer didn't go my way :)...across the street to The Palazzo. It was our first time checking out this new hotel too, so we were pretty excited...once we finally got there! It was really nice inside and we had a really good lunch at The Grand Luxe Cafe.After lunch we walked over to The Venetian (because it is connected to The Palazzo so Spencer couldn't take us ALL THE WAY around again!) and the first thing I saw was this guy:
And he led us to a wedding that was about to start. So even though we weren't invited, we joined in the festivities. It was a pretty cool wedding even though there were lots of uninvited guests in attendance. And I liked the bride's dress so much I was going to run up the stairs and interrupt the ceremony just to ask her where she got it. :) (Not really.) Here's our new friends just married:
Weddings make you do crazy things too, like kiss your boyfriend or call Canada to talk to your husband (Ok, Blaine called us, but still...)After the wedding, we were done with our adventures on the strip and started heading back to the car, but not before one more picture outside The Venetian:

At home, we just relaxed. Spencer cooked a tasty dinner for us and we watched Dancing With The Stars (I was so MAD that Kristi Yamaguchi won!). I also got to feel the baby kick and had the honor of taking Chelsea's 27 week belly picture! Spencer tried to help by being a comparison belly.We had a great day but now its time for bed so we can rest up for tomorrow's fun adventures! :)

She's Here! :)

Last week I got an email from Chelsea, Spencer's sister, saying that she thought she might be coming to visit this week. It was kinda last minute but such a great surprise! She's preggers (as most of you who get my monthly email updates have seen in the pictures) and can't fly for much longer, BUT just recently got all her Canadian paperwork so that if she leaves Canada, she can return, so she hasn't been able to travel in quite awhile! She's trying to pack in all the important visits before she's too pregnant to fly and we were one of them and so very excited. She's here all week and we are REALLY looking forward to spending some time with her, sharing some adventures, showing her around this crazy city, feeling her baby kick, relaxing together, and having someone around to take my mind off of all of my stresses! :) Hurray for Chels! :) We started off our evening right in the relaxing department. I picked her up from the airport (since Spencer is at work until after midnight) and we got Subway and watched Dancing With The Stars and some other funny tv shows. Now she's in bed (because apparently babies make you sleepy and she's adjusting to the time change!) and I'm waiting up for Spencer. We gave the pregnant lady our bed since we didn't think it was appropriate to make her sleep on the couch and we are camping out in the living room this week! It should be fun! :) And Tank already loves his new best friend...

I Have Yet To Meet An O'Neill I Didn't Like...

...and tonight I had the pleasure of meeting these two lovely ladies, Spencer's aunts, Kathy and Peggy.
And I also had the pleasure of having my ninth, that's right 9th, viewing of "Love" with them! :)

Multiple Sclerosis stops people from moving...

This morning we got moving to try to make sure it doesn't!

We walked for our heroes:
♥Jason♥JoAnn♥Stacy♥Bobbie♥Sherry♥Bonnie♥Louis♥

Our little team:

*Spencer**Heather**Tank*The walk was pretty short, only one mile, but that small distance meant a great deal to us! Thanks to our amazing family, friends, and co-workers, we raised $2075 which surpassed our goal! You can still donate if you visit: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/NVLWalkEvents?px=4355202&pg=personal&fr_id=8491
There were a grand total of 751 walkers and together we raised $103,000 so far! AWESOME! It was a beautiful day, there was food and entertainment afterwards, and we even made it home in time to take a nap since we had to get up so early (to beat the hot desert heat!)

Look at all those walkers!
Our "team" at the finish line!

To those of you who donated on our behalf or kept us in your thoughts today, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We couldn't have helped our heroes without your support so thank you for making a difference not only to us, but to those who are fighting this disease everyday!

Extra special thanks to: ♥Mom (Aleta)♥Mom and Pop (Tricia and Craig)♥Chelas Kronenberg and Chelsea Clapham♥Barb Scott♥Dad (Joe) and his Anzelc Welding co-workers♥The Langel Family♥Uncle Jay and Aunt Mary♥Jessica Dunn♥Dexter Bryant and Family♥Heather Poma♥Monika Balter♥Kathy and George Edwards♥The Nackovic-Kline Family♥Grandma Harriet and Grandpa Bud♥Christa♥Sarah Hohimer♥Jen Andrews♥Lorie Zanelli♥John Schornberg♥Aunt Janice♥Megan McCormick♥Emily Carlson♥Georgia Parks♥Barb and Don Witt♥John Janota♥Kelly Leypold♥Amy Hafenrichter♥Robert, Kathy and MaryElizabeth Fejer♥Sara Wunder♥Margaret♥Sandy Huff♥Alan Miles♥Kari Muladore♥Philip Nieto♥Jack LaCorte♥Shimali Premaratne♥Kathy Gard♥Ian Fuller♥Matt Obernesser♥The Nordman Family♥Amy and Stafford♥Shirley Spence♥Eliza Beauchamp♥Lisa Fritz♥Shelby Bossert♥Matt Thulson♥Katie Muladore♥Tracey Starkovich♥Colleen Berczynski♥Heather Haupt♥Clarissa Smith♥Ashlee and Jon Linneman♥Jason Rusin♥Olivia and Joshua Felker♥Jen Phelps♥

And That's Final!

Today was my last day at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. It hasn't sunk in yet that I don't have to go back to work there. Despite my many frustrations there, I left today on a good note. I got a chance to share my frustrations about my job with the curator of the animal care department and he seemed very receptive to what I had to say. My hope is that some of the things I shared might make what has the potential to be an amazing job, actually an amazing job for those that still work there and those that work there in the future. My great boss Amy was there to send me off as well as some other really wonderful co-workers. It is very hard for me to stand up for what I feel strongly about or for my own happiness sometimes. Especially when it puts me in an awkward, uncomfortable or difficult situation or causes me to put others in that kind of situation, so while this wasn't by any means the easiest thing I've ever done, I feel proud of myself for finally following through. I don't leave there with a lack of positives or lessons learned either. I made a lot of great friends and had a lot of rare experiences. I learned a lot about myself, people, Las Vegas, and the world in general. This job gave me the escape from Tampa and the adventure to Las Vegas that I so needed. I leave there with no regrets for having worked there and no regrets for leaving there. I look forward to what the future holds for me even though I have no idea exactly what that is right now but I guess that is what taking a leap of faith is all about! We shall see where life leads next...until then, more adventures I hope! :)

Crash!

Its been over a year since I worked with those amazing rhinos at Busch Gardens (which is hard to believe!), but today I got a very exciting text message from Michelle my belle (who doesn't work with the rhinos but is a rhino fanatic!) that Mlelani gave birth to a baby boy, her third calf and her first son! Katie, one of the girls from my old team emailed me a few pictures that I just had to post on here! He's so tiny and so cute! Yeah for baby rhinos! :)

(Katie says in the third picture he is falling asleep standing up! Its tough being a newborn rhino!)

Escape Artist

Spencer sent me these 2 text/picture messages today while I was at work:

"So I'm leaving the house and I hear a meow and I see this..."
(That would be Noelle OUTSIDE on our porch!)

"So I take her back inside and I find our bedroom screen like this. She left the bedroom and walked over to the porch to hang out."(Apparently she leaned against the screen and popped it out so she could escape. Guess we won't be leaving our windows open while we're not watching anymore!)

Time flies!

This afternoon my Mom sent me some pictures of my adorable nephew Parker. I get emotional when I see these. He is my first nephew and I'm the only family member who isn't right there to watch him grow up. It makes me sad that I can use my two hands to count how many times I've seen him in person.When he was born, I went home for 2 weeks to spend time with him and my sister.I went home just to celebrate his 1st birthday with him and my family. He visited me in Florida twice.












I saw him at both of my sister-in-law's bridal showers

And at both of my brothers' weddings.
After my two weeks with him right after he was born, I made my mom or sister send me a picture of him every month so I could watch him grow. He never really seemed to get much bigger at first, just got less and less chubby. After his first birthday those pictures tapered off, but I still get them at random. So I'm not sure if this is the age where he grows super fast or if its just because I get pictures less often, but every time I see a new picture of him, I can't believe how much bigger he is than the previous time! He'll be 3 in September and that's craziness! Here are a few pictures that my mom sent of my not-so-little-anymore-nephew.
Even though I don't get to see him very often, I, of course, love him to pieces. He apparently recognizes both Spencer and I in pictures my mom and sister show him. And occasionally I even chat with him on the phone which is always funny. He's kinda devious like his mom...especially now that he can talk! :) I think he associates me with jumping on the bed since I taught him the "5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed" song. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...I guess it depends on how often he actually jumps on the bad and/or sings that song!) I'm counting down the days until I get to see him again in August on my next visit home. Until then, keep the pictures coming Mom and Lauren! :)