Vegas - Hoover Dam

In the weekend of St. Patrick's day, a few of my friends and I went to Vegas for the weekend. We stayed at the Red Rock which is a new off strip spa and casino resort. Its more for weekend getaways and more locals. A different feel from the typical strip casinos. I had absolutely no luck at any of the casinos that weekend. Lost mostly playing Blackjack and a little Roulette. It was my first time driving out to Vegas which was nice for a change. About 5 hrs door to door. Driving across the Hoover dam adds about an hour to the trip....would only be about 4 if we didn't have to sit in traffic. I don't have pictures from Vegas, but here are some from the dam.

This is of the construction for the new bypass bridge that is about 1/2 mile up from the dam. The bridge is extremely high and probably built too close to the dam. Traffic will most likely be a little faster going over the bridge, but people will probably slow down just to see the view from the bridge anyway. From the looks of it...not so sure I'd want to drive across that anyway. Its a long way down and this picture really doesn't do it justice.

I was told the white rock face in this picture below is from where the water line used to be. Not sure if that is true.

Expecting

Most of you already know, Tiffany and I are expecting our first child and are very, very excited!!! We found out in January and Tiffany will be about 4 months along at our next trip to the doctor. She is doing very good, and is much happier now that she has some more energy back. Our next doctor's visit is in about a week or so and we may be able to find out if we are having a boy or girl. If not, we will have to wait until the next visit.

We have already started picking out things for the baby's room and have bought a very nice crib set and matching changing dresser. Tiffany has spent many of her evenings making her own decorations and other artsy things for the room. We picked out some more neutral paint colors for the room the other weekend and will probably get started on painting this weekend or the next.

Tiffany was able to book a flight to Cleveland for a weekend in June for a baby shower which will be nice. Everyone will have the opportunity to see her and spend some time with her before she has the baby in September...26th is the expected due date. Hopefully we will have lots of visitors this coming winter since it will be cold in Cleveland and the new addition to our family will be here!

Tombstone

Dad and Lorrie came out to visit in March and had a chance to go to Tombstone. We weren't able to make it, but we did get to spend some time with the two of them. Love when the family comes out to visit. We went out to dinner at Firebirds (a steakhouse that Tiffany and I go to frequently). Then we took a day to hang out in Scottsdale at the Kierland shopping area. Very nice, unique stores. It was nice to visit with them both.

Here are some of Dad's pictures from Tombstone:

Interactive Exhibits at the Super Bowl

There were tons of exhibits around the stadium at the NFL Experience. Most of them were geared up for kids so we didn't participate. The lines were long as well. You could attempt real field goals from 15 yards, 25, and 35 yards out. A lot of quarterback drills and passing exercises, strength exercises, etc. This video below is from one of the wide receiver route-running exhibits.

Drummers

These guys were drummin' all around the Westgate area making money from all the fans....

Super Bowl XLII

Some pictures from our Super Bowl here in Glendale:


Giants fans partyin' Saturday before the game:

Clint, Me, and Brad:

Clint, Zach, and Brad:

Super Bowl Pictures

Some pictures from the big game and the NFL Experience setup all around the stadium.


This is in a collector's tent where they were selling all sorts of autographed memorabilia:

The Lombardi Trophy:

The NFL Experience and the stadium:

Barrett Jackson Auto Auction

On Saturday, Tiffany and I went to the Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale. This is the most renowned car show in the country every year. Last year we weren't able to go because we were moving from our rental home that day. They showcase some of the highest valued collector cars anywhere. The highest priced car went for $1.6 million, while most cars that night were auctioned for about $3-500,000. Last year a record was set for a car selling at a price of $5.5 million.

The auction runs for 7 days straight, but Saturday night is when they show the best of the best. They also auction a few other rareties, such as Robosaurus-the giant robotic dinosaur that crushes cars at monster truck competitions was auctioned off for about $500,000. They also sold the speed boat from the Miami Vice movie along with a Miami Vice Hummer. It was a pretty cool event, but extremely crowded which made it hard to get up in front of the stage. Once we found seats, it was better.

This Mustang looks brand new. I believe it was a '67.

Chevy Muscle

Check out the sound of this car as it pulled out from the auction. This Chevy sounds like a Harley...makes you want to get in and ride.

Quarter Mile Drag Race

When we first walked into the show, the first exhibit was two new 2008 Cobra's set up to race for a 1/4 mile. Audience members were able to race each other on stage and the dyno would display the top speed and race time for each driver. Pretty cool for me, but not exactly Tiffany's cup of tea.

1963 Corvette Rodine Concept Car

This car was the most highly valued at the show. It is a concept car that was made in the 60s, and only one was made. It was in perfect condition and sold for $1.6 million. This video was taken as the auctioneer passes $1 million.

1928 Duesenberg

This car sold for $1 million, although the auctioneer was trying to convince people it should be worth twice that amount.

Erin's Visit to Phoenix

Erin came out to visit us in early January for a few days. She said she was coming out to see the Rose Bowl, until she was informed that the Rose Bowl is in California, and Ohio State was not playing. We then did the next best thing...and watched the Ohio State National Championship game at the OSU Alumni bar in Scottsdale. It was a good time even though the game wasn't...maybe the 3rd time is the charm. Go Buckeyes: 2009!

We also went out to dinner at Abuelo's before Tiffany and Erin had a night of inebriated haze. Lots of fun! The weather was somewhat cool though...a chilly 60 degree high and even some rain. I guess that beats 3 degrees with snow and ice though. Super Bowl in early February is only 5 minutes from our house this year! We can't wait.

At Abuelo's:

Tiffany and Erin back at home:

Ohio State thugs:

Decked out in all our OSU garb:

Happy Holidays

Christmas

We missed everyone around the holidays. Its tough to be away from everyone at Christmas, however we had a wonderful time together. We actually volunteered at the dog shelter on Christmas day, cleaned out all the cages and put in beds for the dogs. Then it was back home for gifts. I took lots of video...here are a few.

Christmas Video

More Christmas Video

Mountain Biking

This video is from my ride on Christmas Eve. Not very safe to ride while holding a camera in your hand, so the video is of a flat section of the track. This track is about 7 1/2 miles, lots of technical terrain, and then some areas like the video shows where it opens up. There is a race on this track Feb. 9th that I may enter. I have been riding quite a bit...love the bike, and riding out in the mountains is pretty breathtaking at times...very peaceful at the same time.

More Visitors - Next Up.....Alitia

Alitia is due in February and this is her second trip to Phoenix to visit. Lot of relaxing. We did go out to dinner a couple times and she cooked lasagna on her last night...wow! some good stuff. Eggplant lasagna for the ladies, italian sausage lasagna for me. It was nice to hang with her. I know Tiffany had a great time. With the second baby on the way, I am sure it will be more difficult for them to visit. Next up, hopefully and trip for Tiffany and I to get to Cleveland together.


At BW-3:


Going out to Abuelos for some Mexican food:

The ladies went to the dog park, except for Kaiya:

Finally, I can add video to the blog now! Just to start, here is a video I took the night Alitia came in. We went to BW-3 as we were starving. She didn't get in until about 10:30 Friday night. Tiffany and Alitia thought I was taking a picture with the digital camera...so they are posing...not realizing I was recording video.

Mom's Visit

Tiffany's Mom came out to visit two weeks ago. She was only able to stay for a few days, but it was very nice to visit. Tiffany and her Mom literally shopped till they dropped. I had my boss's Christmas party that Saturday night as well. We went to dinner at Cucina Tagliani, a new Italian restaurant just down the street from our house. That went great, except for the fact that they did not have a liquor license yet...no drinking...booooo! We also ate at Abuelos, a very good Mexican restaurant. Good enough that we went back the next weekend with Alitia. All I know is that we must have pretty good thrift stores out here in Phoenix, cuz Mom came a very, very long way to hit all the stores with Tiffany. I was definitely on my own as I prefer the mall!


In front of Cucina Tagliani:


At Abuelos:

And we also exchanged gifts while she was here:

Browns vs. Cardinals

When I was in Louisville for work and then in Cleveland, Tiffany, Zach, and Nicole went to the Browns game here. The stadium is about 5-10 minutes from the house and they had a great time...lots of tailgating. The Browns lost on the last play of the game, and the Cardinals fans were not the nicest. Here are some pics...this is from late November.

This picture is from the lot of the stadium. In the background is Jobing.com arena, where the Phoenix Coyotes play (NHL).





View inside the stadium...this is where the Super Bowl is this year. Same stadium that Ohio State played in for the National Championship game last year....this year - New Orleans!!!

Hanging Christmas Lights

For the second year in a row, I hung Christmas lights outside. Its very nice to do since its still warm around Thanksgiving time. I used an animated blow up Santa this year too. More lights every year I guess. Anyway, this years' look nice, but the pictures didn't come out so well since they have to be taken in the dark. Tiffany and I had the same ritual of putting up the tree, decorating the house, and torturing the dogs with fake reindeer antlers, and other Christmas costumes that they find extremely irritating.

Thanksgiving 2007

This year we cooked for Thanksgiving. We were joined by Zach, Nicole (friends we have met out here in Arizona), Zach's cousin Nick who recently moved here from Virginia, and Brad who moved out here from Parma probably 4 yrs ago now. It was nice...lots of food and football...and nice weather too! Working the next say was NOT fun.

Hangin Out

Here are some pictures of Zach and Nicole after one of the OSU games. We met them after moving out to Avondale. They are both from Ohio and Nicole went to Ohio State.