Las Vegas On My iPhone

Over the weekend, I surprised my best friend Dan and showed up in a limo that his girlfriend rented to take him to the speedway to drive fast cars.  Max and I arrived in the city the night before and I decided to walk around and take some photos with my iphone.  If you like to people watch, this is one of the best cities to do it in, although the highlight of the trip was surprising Dan in the limo.  We both got emotional after the "surprise!" and I was glad I was able to capture that in a photograph.  During the day, I took Max to the dog park and we explored areas off of the strip but I did join the masses on the strip a few nights to soak in the atmosphere.  One evening for kicks, I sat in the lobby of the Bellagio and took pictures of the ceiling and then watched what happened after people watched me.  There is a chain reaction when someone sees you take a photo of something, they MUST do the same!  That was my excitement for the night.  On another night, we went downtown to see another side of Vegas.  All and all, it was a very interesting trip since I haven't been in years.  It's an adult fantasyland with some very sad undertones, in my opinion. Here are some images from the festivities.  Happy Birthday Dan!

How To Pull Off A Surprise Party

My good friend Jamie turned 30 the other day and Traci thought it would be a good idea to throw a surprise party for her at my home.  Well, I suggested to have it at my house.  It's been a few years since I've had a get together here since I've been traveling most of the year in my tent while the house is rented to vacationers.

We started planning this party about a month in advance and I don't know how she pulled it off.  Each time I would see Jamie, I wanted to talk about the party or tell her who was coming.  There were several moments where I almost blew it or freaked out that someone might blow it by accident in her presence.  Each time someone would bring it up around me I would say, "shhhhhhhh!!!!!"  People looked around and thought I was crazy.  That's not unusual but I just didn't want to talk about it out loud just in case Jamie was standing near by.

Durning the last few days of coordinating, I seriously don't know how Traci was able to pull it off.  Jamie would call when we were setting up or the taco man would call while Jamie was in the room and panic would settle in on whether or not Traci should pick up the call.  Then it was time to get her to the house.  That was another roll play on why I would want to bother them before dinner to drive all the way to my house when the restaurant they were supposed to eat at was in the opposite direction.

Everyone got to the house, Jamie walked in thinking I was going to give her a gift and as she walked in the door..."SURPRISE!!!!!" She was surprised...and very touched I might add.  Seeing her expression that moment was worth the month of stress and lies.

No slip ups. No, "I'll see you at your party" mistakes.  As soon as she was surprised and I snapped some photographs, it was time to relax.

This was Max's first party and he stayed put under the taco man all night and then coming in the house to beg for cup cakes for a while.

So, how do you pull off a surprise party?  A little mix of luck, faith and hope.