Long week in Vegas

Acumatica Summit 2024 was long, and a bit fun. The first few nights were rough since there was a porn convention in town and my 'neighbor' had a party that started at 2am each day.

Remnants of the first night with beer, donut holes, and a stolen CVS basket

On Sunday morning (after 3 days of partying) I awoke to a very loud and very heated discussion through the very thick wall. Seems that some man was confronting some woman about her promiscuity. I was thinking, "Dude, you are dating somebody in the porn industry, what did you expect?" 

View from room was nice - sunrise and moon-set

I did manage to catch the $6 Deuce bus to Fremont Street and the Municipal Pool. I qualified for the senior citizens discount (over 50) so I only paid $2 instead of $3!

Dad's Gone

Finally Doug was gone ... so Sara, RJ, and Julia could really live it up ...

Jan 26, dinner at Coastal Flats

Jan 28, Monster Trucks!

Return to McLean

The driveway was covered with snow when we returned from our weekend of skiing.

RJ shoveled the driveway, Julia shoveled the walkway, Doug chipped the icy spots

"Polie" a stuffed polar bear enjoyed the snow

Whitetail with Friends

Big weekend in Whitetail. Good snow, lots of friends, snow tubing, and half of the DC metropolitan area.

Friday night featured free Mountain Dew at the lodge

Kids table, with Adam the conversationalist

RJ was up to his usual shenanigans.

Snow Day

Sara and the kids got a snow day. Bradley came over for sledding/snow-boarding ... and was outside for over 10 hours.

Julia makes a snow-man with limited snow

 

Girl Scouts visit animal shelter

Girl scout troop 60280 visited the animal shelter. Everybody learned about the adoption process and got to see some animals ... although most animals were already adopted ... yeah!

Girl scouts / third grade friends

Both RJ and Julia are NOT happy that we do not have a pet

Stuffed Animals

Julia arranged all her stuffed animals in bed. Finding room to sleep might be a challenge for her tonight.

One of these animals is not stuffed, can you guess which one?

 

Most Annoying Puzzle Ever

Aunt Debbie provided us with a chance to win $2M this Christmas. All we had to do was build a puzzle. The puzzle was a picture of QR code that you could scan and win.

After working for 40-80 hours (I sort of lost track) and rebuilding pieces which were started incorrectly (many pieces were interchangeable), we were ready to take the picture.

Sara had to stand on a chair to get the picture

Net result: $1. A special thanks to Sara's sister Anna who got us off to a strong start.

In case we get a similar opportunity in the future, here are some notes on how to make the process easier and more enjoyable.

• Step 1: throw out puzzle
• Step 2: send thank you card with booby trap to Aunt Debbie

Weekend in Whitetail

Whitetail re-opened. Mother Nature helped with 8 inches of snow.

Day 1 was snowy, visibility was very low

The Kovac men joined us for some snowy fun

Snow scared away the crowds. Notice the lack of a lift-line!

Day 2 was clear with good conditions. The entire DC Metro area showed up. With long lift lines, Rocco and RJ took advantage of the terrain park. The first time RJ over-spun, this one was slightly under.

Billy Goat Trail Hike

Last day of vacation. RJ says, "I don't want to spend the last day sitting inside." Sara was working, so RJ, Julia, and Doug tried the Billy Goat Trail in Montgomery County, MD. By going on a cold day when public school was in session, we mostly had the trail to ourselves!

Group consensus: 10/10, two thumbs up, top notch

Julia - on the edge of cliff to the Potomac River

RJ climbed down to water ... and didn't get his white shoes wet!!

Julia near trail marker ... there were LOTS ... and the 'Billy Goat' bleated at each one (and twice if somebody announced it first)

Lots of rock climbing and great views