Las Vegas September 2009

I GOT A FEELING, THAT TONIGHTS GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT!!! :O)

Shane and I arrived in Las Vegas on the morning of September 18th 2009. Upon arrival we walked around our hotel to check things out. We were staying at the Rio. We grabbed some lunch, checked into our room and hit the pool. Tim and Susie would not be arriving for about 6 more hours. The temperature was 105 and it was Hot Hot Hot. The good thing is that it was not humid. We laid out in the sun and then got in the pool. This went on for a few hours. A random guy bought us both a massage, so we enjoyed that as well. Tim and Susie arrived about 4. Susie and I snuck away in our bathing suits and went on a "small" shopping spree.

For Tim's birthday we went to Koi to enjoy dinner. The view was amazing. We got to see the water show @ the Bellagio from our seats. After dinner we went to see Holly Madison's peep show. We had front row seats. The guys sure loved this one. Holly was up close and personal. The night carried on afterwards, and by the end of the night Shane and I had fallen asleep on the table while waiting on our early morning snack! And yes Tim and Susie were on the other side of the table laughing so hard.

The next morning we set out for shopping and site seeing. We went everywhere. The Venetian, the Wynn, Cesar's Palace, The Premium Shoppes, etc.... It felt as if we walked for miles upon miles. This was actually Tim's birthday! And he was spending it shopping with us. YAY! We ended up at the Palms to make reservations for the night @ N9ne steak house.

After cleaning up and heading back out we were finally going to sit down for a relaxing dinner. As we were walking through the restaurants I looked to my left and saw NICK LACEY! HOLY COW HOLY COW!! haha. He was 2 tables over from us. Only in Vegas, right? Shane spotted a couple of boxers. The dinner was AMAZING...We did everything but lick our plates. We had a surprise dessert set up for Tim's birthday and it was mouth watering. By this time I was getting a little sleepy. Waiter, I need something to wake me up. And here is where I found my new best friend - The Expresso Shot! Yummo~ I was wide awake then. After dinner we headed to the bars in the hotel. First stop was the Ghost bar. Wow, what a view. We could see all of LV from the top. Glass all the way around and nothing but concrete underneath you! We took in the view with a few cocktails, and began to wonder to the next location. This was the Moon bar. Another bar in the Palms. There were soooo many people. Dancin, dancin, dancin... From the Moon bar we ended up at the Playboy Club. They only allow 75 people in at a time. So it was kinda "quiet" compared to the rest of the bars. We partied the night away, dancing and laughing. The guys got there pictures taken with the bunnies, yes they were on cloud nine! After this, we were McDonald's bound. Nothing works better than a little McD's on top of drinking all night. haha!

Sunday is now here - From the Rio we changed hotels. The next two nights would be spent at the Hard Rock Hotel. REHAB here we come. We got to Rehab about 11 that morning and didn't leave until 7ish. We consumed alot of different food/drinks during that 8 hour period. Once again there were sooo many people there. Tim played cards for a while and we soaked up the sun. We had lunch and then decided to roam around. Wow. That's all I can really say about that day. :o) We decided to go in and take a nap. We did. We didn't see each other again until the next morning about 9. Long nap huh?? There is so much to write about REHAB, but the easiest way to explain it would be for you to google it online! Speaks for itself.

Monday - Shopping and site seeing once again. Shane and I walked around the hotel to see what we could encounter. Shane spotted Dan Spitz @ Starbucks. (lead guitarist to Anthrax) That was pretty cool. The Stratosphere would be our next stop. I wanted to see the view from the top and everyone else wanted to ride the rides. Uh-not me. CRAZINESS!! My friends are crazy, along with my husband. I stood on the side lines while they went off the edge. We headed to Cesar's palace to have lunch at the Palms with one of Tim's buddies. We let him order our lunch, and he said it's gonna be a light lunch but we will manage. BURGERS AND LOBSTER?? Holy Moly! Seriously, I don't believe I have every ate Lobster for lunch. It was mouth watering. The burger was good too. :o) From there we went to the Wynn. We wanted to do a little shopping before we headed to "old downtown". Susie and I shopped for purses, while the guys sat back and watched. We contemplated on a few and I was head strong that I really didn't need one. But Shane says, "lets go buy that purse for you" Nah - I don't need it really. Yes lets go... after this went on for a few minutes I gave in. We headed back to Lous Vuitton and purchased my very first LV!!! Yay, and yes I did cry a little. My honey loves me. We then headed to old downtown to watch the Fremont Experience. A 15 minute show and it was all over. We made reservations at the "wine angel" Aureole restaurant. The wine cellar is stories high. The girls hook themselves on harnesses and cable themselves up to pick the wine of your choice. Pretty neat. Here too the food was spectacular. We ate, I had an expresso shot..haha! and then we headed to Mandalay Bay. Minus 5 degrees was our next stop. This too you will need to google. There is just too much to tell. It was literally 5 degrees in this bar. You had to wear coats, boots and gloves to be able to enter. Everything was made of ice. EVERYTHING!!!

This was our last night in Vegas, and of course we were all fighting going to sleep because we didn't want to leave there, or our friends. We headed back to the Hard Rock. Shane and Tim played a little craps and Susie and I chatted over cocktails at the Center Bar. By 3am we were all exhausted!

This will be an annual event for the Kushings! We loved Vegas, and loved it even more by sharing it with good friends!! Can't wait to go back!

3 Hour Tour - Sailing August 2009

When Shane and I arrived to Duluth for the christening weekend, Tim and Susie were full of surprises. One of those would be to sail on Lake Superior, on a "Sail Boat"!! This would be a first for us all. Very excited!

We went to Hell's Kitchen that morning before we set sail and decided to get breakfast. Who would have ever thought it would have taken over an hour to get served...Needless to say, we left and headed to the sail boat.

We loaded up the sail boat with our Captain and his Skipper and set sail. Our three hour tour was under way. We had a blast. Tim got to drive the boat and so did Shane. Susie and I hung out and took in all the "lingo". The missen, the jip, the main sail, the bow, cockpit, overboard - - wow so much to remember.

At one time the waves were huge. We almost lost the captain. "Overboard" would not have been good!

We ended the tour by having traffic in Duluth get "bridged" by us! YAY! The Duluth bridge was actually raising up for our little sail boat. We felt special.

Thanks Tim and Susie! You guys are always FULL of surprises!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from a tropic port

Aboard this tiny ship

The mate was a mighty sailin' man

The Skipper brave and sure,

Five passengers set sail that day

For a three hour tour!

The ship's aground on a shore of this

Uncharted desert isle

With Gilligan, the Skipper too,

The Millionaire and his wife,

A movie star, The Professor and Mary Ann

Here on Gililigan's Isle!!

Godparents of Kendra Kush August 2009

Our most recent adventure was becoming Godparents. What an experience. Kendra blessed this world on April 18, 2009. Her parents, Tim and Susie, are friends we made while on our honeymoon in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. Since our honeymoon the Kings and the Kushs have been inseparable! They are truly wonderful friends. The FATE that brought us four together is the FATE that made this worth while. Kendra is a miracle. She and her mom had a real hard time getting her here. If it weren't for the wonderful doctors that took care of them both, the alternative would not have been enjoyable.

Tim and Susie asked us to be Kendra's Godparents while we were in Chicago after a Cubs/Twins game. We were flabbergasted! What an honor! We couldn't stop smiling when they asked us, and they couldn't stop smiling when we told them, of course we would.

On August 9, 2009, Shane and Jodie went to Duluth Minnesota for the christening of Kendra. However, we were very nervous. The ceremony was beautiful and Kendra didn't make a sound. I believe she enjoyed it just as much as we did. We look forward to spending an eternity of love with Kendra.

Cubs/Twins Game Chicago June 2009!!

Remember when I said FATE was what brought the Kings and the Kushs together. Check this out.

Shane and I were packing up on a Thursday night in June to head up to Chicago for my CEO's anniversary. We had already planned on scalping tickets to the Cubs game while we were there. Shane pulled out his Twins Tshirt and says "we should take a picture while we are the and send it to Tim and Susie" Just as he got that out of this mouth, Susie texted me and said "Thinking about you guys while we are in Chicago at the Twins game!"

We headed north with a vengeance. Not only for the party but to see Susie and Tim!! The party turned out great on Friday night. Shane and I got up bright and early for the drive into Wrigley. We met up with the Kushs and headed to Cubbie Bear. After a few cocktails and some catching up, we headed to the game. The game was awesome. After the game we headed to Wrigleyville. This was a site to see. We ended up spending a pretty good amount of time at Sluggers. This is where Susie wrote a "two free airline tickets to Duluth" on a napkin and asked us to be Godparents of their new baby girl Kendra. WOW! Yes of course.

The kiddos! Dogs that is!

There's nothing like having three babies to come home too!

Below please meet Gidget (picture 1), Maya (picture 2) and Lil Buddy (picture 3)

We are blessed with dogginess! We love coming home to our babies. They do keep us busy!

LA, California Girl Trip 2007

Summer Lowry, Sarah Harrison, Susie Kush, and Jodie King! We had an absolute ball in LA. We were all celebrating our birthdays. My first trip to a Tiffany store paid off. We all bought matching necklaces. Rodeo drive was a sight to see. We shopped for hours upon hours. We all come home with new jewelry and a hot new purse!! We visited the Beverly Willshire Hotel, home of Pretty woman. We had mimosa's at The Beverly Hills Hotel where we ran into Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart. Rebecca was actually in the restroom while we were all in there! Pretty cool! We girls will be back here soon! You can count on it!

Minnesota Fish Fry, Labor Day 2006

Awesomeness! It was wonderful spending Labor Day 2006 with our new found friends. Their lake house was amazing. The Wali was wonderful! This was our first introduction to "pull tabs". Here is when we learned that Susie was preggo with her first child. Cannon would soon be his name!

Tim picked us up at the airport in Minneappolis. It's about a 2 hour drive to Duluth. We hadn't seen each other since our honeymoon. Tim remember exactly what we looked like! haha!! We all met up with Susie at Grandma's. We caught up with each other for a few minutes and then Susie says "we have a surprise for you" (Susie is FULL of surprises!) They had reserved us a hotel room for our anniversary. Aw too sweet! When we got to the room there were chocolate cover strawberries and champagne, with a little note from Susie saying: "Celebrate a little early! Thanks for coming to see us!" The room had a wonderful view of the city, and the biggest fresh water lake in the world. Yes, that would be Lake Superior!

The next few days were full of excitement. We all loaded up and made the trip around Brainard. Stopping for a few cocktails along the way. Then back to Island Lake for the Fish Fry!

Indian Head Mtn, 2007

But first we had to meet Cannon. Susie and Tims little man.

Snow Skiing with the Kush's, New Years Eve 2007! (and Summer, Sarah, Gundy, Leslie and Glenny)

I think I can, I think I can , I think I can....Nope I can't, meet you at the bunny slope! These were the words that I was telling Susie as I was trying to make it down the BIG hill. Never been on skies in my life, but I was trying to be a dare devil! Nope didn't happen. Shane caught on to his snowboard rather quickly! He and Tim were having a blast. After a long time, felt like forever, I finally got the courage up to go down the hill. Normally only takes like 5 minutes to get down, but I took FOREVER! Good thing the bar was at the end of the hill! Made the trip down not seem so hard after all!

After all the hard work, we all celebrated New years! Too much fun! We laughed, we drank, we told stories, listened to the band, danced on the bar, and had kisses at midnight...Good way to bring in the new year. As Tim stated "It was a good year so far!"