Las Vegas, Nevada

Two weeks ago Am and I headed out to Las Vegas for a food vacation (no, not a vacation from food but a vacation solely dedicated to food).  I had to be in Vegas for a finance conference and it seemed like a good opportunity to head out a few days early and to bring Am with me to check out the city.  Neither of us had been before and Vegas definitely would not have ever made it onto the list of places we would want to go on vacation but they do have one thing that Am and I both love...great restaurants!

I know what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas but I just can't bring myself to not share our experiences.  Our first stop upon arrival was the hotel that we were staying at for the first two nights.  We cashed in some of our Marriott Rewards points for a great room at the Cosmopolitan.  Our room was incredible!  It had a great bathroom with a huge glass shower (love those!), a jacuzzi (not that we used it), two big flatscreen tvs, and a balcony overlooking some of the strip.  The coolest feature was that you could turn any light in the suite on or off (or dim them) using either the television or the alarm clock!  You could control all of them at once, just the ones in an individual room, or an individual light.  You could also change the temperature in the room and how hard the fan was blowing...all from the comfort of your bed.  I could get used to that pampering!  Here are some pictures of our hotel, our room, Am having roomservice lunch in bed, and us living the high life in our complimentary robes and slippers:

The primary purpose of our trip was, of course, to eat!  We made a list of the restaurants owned by Am's favorite celebrity chefs before leaving but knew that we would only be able to hit a few of them.  Our #1 priority was going to Mesa Grill which is owned by Bobby Flay but we kept being told that they were completely full.  Friday night we decided to give Michael Mina's Seablue (in MGM Grand) a try.  The food was great but VERY expensive and the restaurant requires business casual dress which is a pain when you are walking in very hot weather.  Am went with the salmon and I went with the scallops.  Here we are at Seablue:

The next morning we headed to the Paris Hotel & Casino to find some breakfast.  We ended up at Mon Ami Gabi and ate out on the patio overlooking the Bellagio.  The food was fantastic and very reasonably priced.  We would recommend!

After breakfast we decided to just walk south down the strip to see the sites.  Here are some pictures of us in various places on the strip:

Am with the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace in the background.

Am at the New York New York Casino.

Am at the Luxor Casino.

Next up was shopping and just hanging out at M&M World and the World of Coca Cola.  We bought some really cool M&M souvenirs and tasted coke products from around the world.  Unfortunately we thought we only had one baby on the way so we only bought one M&M baby outfit.  I guess we are going to have to go back to get another!  It was a very fun afternoon.

Am talked to her mom and found out that a lady that she used to work with has a son who works at the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill in the MGM Grand.  We found out he was working lunchtime on Saturday so we decided to do lunch there.  We ate some great food and had fun meeting Jeremy.  We were treated like royalty and left with very happy stomachs!  Here is our feast and us posing with Jeremy:

We decided that we would go to one show while we were in Vegas.  I gave Am the choice of which one we would attend and she decided on Elton John.  Elton was playing at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace (the Colosseum was built for Celine Dion).  The concert was okay but not great.  The band overpowered the piano on most of the songs and the sound just wasn't all that fantastic.  If our expectations had been low, it probably would have been good.  But our expectations were high and the concert did not meet them.  Here we are before the concert (I still stink at taking a picture of the two of us without a tripod) and a picture from the concert:

Our final day was Sunday and it was a little more low key than the previous days.  We moved from the Cosmopolitan to Caesar's Palace where my conference was taking place.  We had some breakfast at Starbucks in Caesar's.  We didn't get to the big Las Vegas sign so we had to settle for Am getting her picture taken with the Starbuck's Vegas sign:

Finally for lunch on Sunday we were able to get into Mesa Grill...and it was worth the wait!  When we were in Ireland I had the best hamburger that I have ever had.  Ever since then I have been on a quest to find as good a hamburger in the United States but every place I have tried has come up short.  I didn't know much about Bobby Flay but I kept seeing articles about him and burgers so I decided to give it a try.  And Bobby succeeded!  The burger I had was unbelievably good!  Our appetizer was great too.  We had a great bowl of sweet potato soup.  Here is our awesome soup and a picture of us at Mesa Grill:

After lunch we headed to the movie theater next to MGM.  I know, I know, why would we go to a movie while in Las Vegas?  We were totally and completely beat by this point and were wanting to see the new What to Expect When You're Expecting movie.  The movie was hilarious and it was nice to get off our feet and out of the heat.  After the movie we stopped back by the Paris Hotel & Casino to grab some crepes.  I made the mistake of going the fruit route.  Am went the nutella route and hers was way better!  Here are the crepes:

By the end of Sunday we had hit a point where we were done with Vegas and ready to head back home.  Unfortunately I had to send Am back without me so I could attend the conference.  We can now check Vegas off our list.  Neither of us really has a desire to go back (with the exception of Am's desire to go back with Veronica to see Celine Dion in concert) but now we can say that we have been there.

Carolina Winds - Myrtle Beach, SC

On our recent trip to Myrtle Beach, we stayed at the Carolina Winds condominiums for the first time.  We chose a 3 Bedroom Oceanfront Deluxe condo in hopes that we would end up with great views.  By visiting in May, the prices were still fantastic so the room upgrade was not a big deal...and we were definitely not disappointed!

We stayed in room 1203 on the top floor of the complex and had stunning views of the ocean.  The appliances were modern, there was a great washer and dryer and the balconies were massive.  From our bed in the main bedroom we could look out over the ocean without even lifting our heads off our pillows.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Here is a look at where condo 1203 is located in the Carolina Winds complex from down on the beach:

And here are some views from the balcony:

While visiting, the garbage disposal in our unit stopped working so we called down to the front desk.  Within an hour, maintenance was finishing up installing a brand new disposal.  The service was absolutely fantastic.  Our housekeeping staff was warm and accomodating and made us feel extremely welcome.  I can't say enough for how wonderful our stay was.  We will most definitely be back to stay in the same unit!  Here is a rough video tour of condo 1203:

And the baby is a...

Am and I went in this morning for our very first ultrasound of her pregnancy.  Since she is at the 18 week mark (in her 19th week), we were hoping that they would be able to determine gender at this visit.  Am was convinced she was having a girl and I was convinced she was having a boy so we have had a good competition going.  What we were not expecting was a tie!  Yep, we were both right!  God has blessed us with one of each.  Here they are:

I don't think either of us is over the shock yet.  While we have twice the joy to look forward to there is also the need for two of everything!  But we are definitely overjoyed!  Both babies are 18 weeks and 2 days old and both weigh about 8 oz.  The doctor said they appear to be in perfect health.

Twins also explains why Am has been having such a rough time physically.  That means two babies needing nutrition and her body has had to produce two placentas, etc.  That is a lot of work!!!

So I owe an apology to all of you out there who I have been calling crazy for predicting twins despite the lack of twins on either sides of our family.  You were right!

Correction #1:  My mom just talked to my aunt who talked to my grandmother who told us that her father (my great grandfather) was a twin.  Oops!

Correction #2:  Apparently I am not alone in my lack of knowledge of twins in my family.  Apparently Am's great grandfather on her mother's side was also a twin (and a boy/girl twin).  Pretty amazing that neither of us realized this!  Also pretty crazy that for both of us, it is our great grandfather on our mother's side!!!

Here is our baby boy:

And here is our baby girl:



Myrtle Beach Days 4 - 7

So my first post covered one day, my second post covered two days and now this post is going to cover four days.  While 90% of this is due to laziness on my part, the other 10% is because each day looked an awful lot like the day before.  So here is a brief summary of how the rest of our week went.

We spent our days going for walks and simply lying out on the beach.  I listened to almost an entire Tom Clancy book on tape while gazing out at the ocean.  Am read a book borrowed from the condo.  We ended up with some beautiful sunny days in the latter half of the week and soaked in every minute of them.  Here we are enjoying the beach:

(Notice that I am in the shade...I was banished here after not wearing sun screen the first day)

We had some great meals with Am's parents and uncle and aunt at the Marriott resort that they were staying.  The hotel had some outdoor infra-red grills that Am's dad used to grill burgers one night and a pork loin another night.  They were mouth watering delicious!!!  Here are the burgers:

After long days lying in the sun, we relaxed by (or in) the Marriott pools and hot tub (yes, Am stayed out of the hot tub...didn't want to cook the baby).  Below is a view from the balcony of the Marriott room:

Evenings were generally spent watching movies in the room before Am and I would head back to our condo for the night.  These were some late nights but fortunately I am a morning person so I was still able to catch the sunrise each day (or I guess this could be viewed as unfortunate from the standpoint of my lack of sleep).  I was frustrated throughout the week with mornings with either too many clouds for the sun to shine through or no clouds for the sun to light up.  Finally my great sunrise arrived our last morning.  The very top picture is one of the resulting images and the below is from after the sun came up.  The deep orange was unbelievable.

The Marriott crew had to check out Friday morning so we finally had some company in our condo for Friday evening and Saturday morning.  We had a final dinner out at Carolina Roadhouse and then walked around the massive Broadway at the Beach complex before hitting the sack.

Unfortunately our week came to an end and we had to head back to reality.  Fortunately for Am and me, we have a short week before heading to Vegas this upcoming weekend!  We captured some final images of the crew out on the balcony of our amazing condo.

Our final task was to pack up the cars before the journey home.  Am's dad had borrowed a Suburban from work which should have provided more than enough space for a one week vacation for just four people (Am and I drove separate), however, you can see that they used up every last inch of the space.  Fortunately Pappa Breen is a master car packer!

Thus closed our 2012 Myrtle Beach vacation.  We shall return (and next time with a kiddo in tow).

Myrtle Beach Days # 2 & 3

The past two days have been absolutely wonderful days of relaxation.  Our typical vacation is generally spent trying to cram as much into each day as humanly possible.  This usually results in a comment when returning home that goes something like "wow, I am exhausted, I really need a vacation".  This Myrtle Beach trip is the first in a long time where the goal of each day is to do absolutely nothing.

We have been going for long walks on the beach, sitting on the beach watching the waves, making an occassional venture into the ocean or just floating around in the pool.  My ADHD personality generally hates doing stuff like that but it was so needed and I am loving it.

We have had mostly cloudy days thus far this week but the sun peaks through occassionally and I have still managed to scorch the top of my feet.  The water has been warm and the days have been closing out with enough sun to get that beautiful sparkle across the water as the sun sets behind.

Sun rises have been non-existent due to all of the clouds.  This morning was the first morning that I was able to squeeze any light out of the sky.  The image above was the result but I had to go a little overboard in processing.

Am and I headed out yesterday to the Hard Rock Cafe.  I have collected the pilsner glasses for years and have a collection sitting above my desk at work.  While my collection is small compared to real collectors, I do have glasses from 14 different cities and was excited about scoring number 15.  The food at Hard Rock was great (as always) but we were told that they have discontinued selling the pilsners.  I was completely shocked as that is a huge collectors item.  I guess I am now collecting pint glasses?  Here we are at the cool pyramid shaped Hard Rock:

We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner to celebrate Am's parents' (Mike & Patti Breen's) 35th wedding anniversary. We collectively decided that there are good Outbacks and bad Outbacks. This was a good Outback. The food was great and our server was very good. Here we are at Outback:

We headed back to the Marriott after dinner and watched a movie before retiring for a night. Day 2 and 3 were good days but day 4 was about to be awesome...

Myrtle Beach Day #1

We arrived at Myrtle Beach yesterday for our first beach vacation together.  We ended up reserving a room at Carolina Winds; a huge building full of independently owned condos right on the beach.  When I made the reservation, I asked for the room with the very best view and was assured that all of their oceanfront rooms had great views.  I explained that my wife was pregnant and had gone through a rough patch in the first trimester and I really needed this to be an awesome vacation for her.  Apparently my spiel paid off because we ended up in what, from the outside, looks to be the best room in the entire massive complex.  We are on the top floor, directly facing the ocean (other rooms have just a slanted view) and have the only room on the floor with a wrap-around balcony that allows for views down the beach as far as the eye can see in either direction.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think our view would be anywhere near this good.  My next post will have a picture from the outside showing the balcony.  But here's a picture of us beginning our journey:

After getting checked in and relaxing for a while yesterday, we headed to Carabbas for dinner and, like always, Bertucci’s delivered.  The food was fantastic.  Here we are about to devour our meal (if you haven't eaten there, the lasagna is out of this world!):

After dinner we made a quick stop at a local grocery store.  Last night was the Super Moon which is when a full moon happens to coincide with the closest approach that the moon makes to earth.  This results in a moon that appears slightly larger and brighter.  When we arrived at the grocery store, we could see this awesome moon against a deep blue dusk sky.  And, of course, this super moon would be setting over the ocean right outside our balcony.  And, of course, we were not at our balcony but at the grocery store.  We grabbed some quick food and raced for the condo.  It was a little too late to get the shot I would have wanted but fortunately I was able to snap off one quick one before the sky became too dark.  The result is the top image above.

Right after we plopped in bed from exhaustion, a huge thunderstorm moved right over the ocean outside the bedroom.  Our room has a door out onto the balcony and we had left the door open so we could hear the loud waves while we slept.  Being so close to the water, this allowed us to watch the lightening strikes on the horizon...all while lying in bed.  I finally could take it no longer and bounded from the bed and out the door with my camera.  The strikes weren’t close enough for a fantastic shot but here is a small strike:

It was awesome to be able to lie in bed and watch the storm…and then to wake up to the sound of the waves and to be able to look out and see the ocean without even getting out of bed.  I love this room! Here is the view from our bed:

Neither of us slept great last night.  The downside to leaving your door open is the other noises you must endure.  We had some loud obnoxious people walking on the beach and some late night (or early morning) fireworks to contend with.  And then the smoke alarm kept beeping in the condo.  I finally got up to remove the dying battery only to find that it is hardwired into the electrical system and the battery is only a back-up for power outages.  So the loud beeping continued with the battery removed.  I got back in bed and tried to ignore it but it was no use.  I finally wandered down to the first floor and found a security guard who was able to find a 9 volt battery.  At that point there was no going back to sleep so I waited on the balcony for the sun to rise.  There are no great pictures from this morning as the clouds hid the sun but it was still fantastic to enjoy those early morning hours.  While I will always call myself a mountain person, I most definitely do love the beach.  Off to enjoy day 2…

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Am and I joined up with my brother Dave and his wife Shelley on Saturday to attend Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Beethoven's Last Night performance at the Hampton Coliseum.  We drove out to Hampton Saturday afternoon and checked into a great Marriott hotel that was just .4 miles from the Coliseum.  That meant we didn't have to fight traffic to find parking before the concert and then fight traffic trying to get out at 11 PM after the concert - very nice!

After checking in, our stomachs starting calling so we set out in search of food.  Dave found a cool Hibachi place near the hotel.  We had a blast visiting and being entertained by our chef.  And my scallops were absolutely delicious!  I love me some Hibachi!!!

The tickets to the concert were a gift to each of us from our mom for Christmas.  I had been to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas performance years back and was blown away with the light show and the awesome music.  My expectations were definitely set high for this performance.  Am, Dave and Shelley had never been to a TSO concert.  Our seats were dead center and only 11 rows back so we had a pretty good view...well, with the exception of the large guy in front of me whose head was blocking a pretty large portion fo the stage...

That just meant that my neck got a good workout.  TSO is wicked talented when it comes to music but they are probably best known for the aweome show they put on live.  They use tons of lights, fire and lazers to make the show entertaining and they always try to make it better and better each year.  Last time I saw them, I had my good camera and was able to get fantastic shots.  I have been 0 for 4 the last four times I have attempted to bring my camera to events so I decided to just bring my little point and shoot.  The walk between the hotel and the Coliseum may have only been .4 miles but I was not walking all the way back to my hotel to drop off the camera after being told I could not bring it inside - been down that road too many times!  This will still give you an idea of what the show was like:

We left with everyone's expectations exceeded.  We crashed at the hotel and enjoyed a nice morning of sleeping in.  Dave and Shelley wanted to hit the road early so Am and I took our time and found a Cracker Barrell for breakfast.  You can see Am went fairly healthy with yogurt and a small muffin.  Me...not so much.  I scarfed down four INCREDIBLE slices of french toast!  It was a fantastic trip - thanks mom!

We are back to work this week and then off to Myrtle Beach this upcoming Saturday for a week of down time!  And then on May 18th we are off to Las Vegas (I am going to a conference there so we are making it a little mini vacation - everyone keeps telling us to get them in now because once the baby comes...).  Add in our first ultrasound on May 29th and you can see that we have a busy month ahead of us with lots to blog about so stay tuned!

A New Adventure Begins - Baby #1

We found out a few weeks back that Am is pregnant with our first child!  We are officially in week #11 and our due date is October 28th.  We couldn't be more excited...despite the nausea, vomiting, and lack of energy.  We are definitely looking forward to putting the first trimester behind us in hopes of Am feeling more human again.

We had our first check-up on March 21st and all looked good...too good, actually.  I was hoping for an ultrasound that I could include with this message but the doctor felt there was no need for one.  We were confident of the due date and there was nothing alarming in Am's symptoms so she felt it was just a waste of money.  So we will have to wait until our next appointment on April 18th to get that first glimpse of our little one...and maybe we will even get to hear the heartbeat this time :) 

We will keep you updated as we know more but, before I go, I will answer a few of those questions that EVERYONE asks.  Yes, we will be finding out the gender at our very first opportunity.  No, we have not selected names yet but we are making lists.  We plan to have the baby at MCV and are leaning toward using a midwife.  We don't really have a strong preference on gender (the usual "we just want a healthy baby" answer) - we go back and forth depending on the day (but I am convinced it is a boy).

We have been thoroughly enjoying the weekly updates on the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" website.  They give a play by play of what is happening each week in the development of your baby and the symptoms mom is enduring.  Every week I sit back in awe as I read about the miracle that God is performing in Am's womb!!!  Here is a link to week 11.