Traveling Cross Country With Cats

Before I moved from Washington State to Las Vegas, Nevada, I scoured the internet to try to find resources for how people have traveled with their felines when they drove multiple day trips.  Blog posts, FAQs, etc., were virtually unfindable.  As a result, I'm posting MY experience for the internet.

THE SITUATION
Moving me, my STUFF, my two LARGE Maine Coon cats, and my car on a two-day trip from Washington to Vegas.  I was towing my small car behind a 17-foot Uhaul that my friend was driving with me.

Here are my cats.  Cosmo and Lockwood.  Cosmo is a svelte 12 pounds.  Lockwood, a full-figured 24 pounds.  This makes things trickier than normal!

You can see that when I put all 36 pounds of them in their carrier, they take up every inch of space.

 MY OPTIONS
-Let my friend drive the Uhaul and I drive my car with the cats in it.
     The point of her coming with me was to be able to do it TOGETHER.  It would have been increased gas, additional wear and tear, plus I'm not sure I could have driven 12+ hours a day for 2 days alone.
-Put the cats in a carrier in the front of the Uhaul with us.
     My friend is slightly allergic to cats.  She would have had a migraine.  Things would have been TIGHT if we'd done this.  It would have been possible... but difficult.
-Fly my cats.
     Expensive and a logistical nightmare.  Who do you ask to bring your CATS to the airport for you???
-Cats in the back of the Uhaul.
     BAD idea.  Things adjust back there, especially considering all of the mountain passes we went over.  Don't do this.
-Cats in the towed car.

I stuck the cats in the back seat of my small car.  It was NOT perfect.  It was a pain in the rear.  But... they made it.  Here's the whole process.

 THE SETUP

 It was tight.  Their carrier is really a dog carrier.  Lockwood is BIG.  Bigger than most small dogs.  They STARTED in there.

I went to Target before I moved and got a soft-sided kennel for $30.  I loved it and it was HUGE.  The sides were made from mesh, so the boys could see out if I left it open.  There was enough room in it for a small litter box and my monstrous beasts.

The first night I dumped the boys in the red kennel and that's where they stayed.  At night I had an old blanket that I threw away afterward that covered the kennel.  They were cold, but it kept them insulated, as did Lockwood's tubby body, and their 4-5 inches of fur.  It surprisingly worked REALLY well.

I would pop in and check on them at EVERY stop.  As the day would go on and the car would warm up, I'd pull their blanket off of the kennel.  I actually cracked the windows open for fresh air at times. 

FOOD
I fed them canned food for the whole trip.  Less than they normally would eat, but we were on the road 3 nights and 3 days. I used canned because it gave them higher moisture content.  Plus, when we stopped, I'd put a little bit of bottled water in a bowl for them to drink.  I just paid attention to how much they ate and gave them just enough.

I also purchased some natural remedies to help the boys chill.  I went to Mud Bay Granary, an amazing local chain of stores in Washington.  I highly recommend going somewhere like this and asking their opinion.  First, I used a dropper of something that I can't remember the name of to add to their food.  It was Nature Something... I think!  Anyway, it helped them calm down a bit.  Plus, I used an area spray that I would spray in the car to calm them down a little as well.  I needed everything I could get that was on my side!!!

LITTER
I have big cats.  Big cats means...  Big... well... litter was an issue!  I used a small box that I already had and (tried) to keep a liner in it.  Every morning, I'd take out the liner and the used litter and throw it away, then reline and add a little more litter.  The boys would often readjust the liner... but it was OK for temporary use.  The litter box was the same size as the width of the kennel, so it fit perfectly.

THE HILARITY
OK, you can't travel for this long without stories.
TWICE I went to the car to check on the boys... and they were nowhere to be seen!  The first time was at a gas station where my driver-friend and I desperately needed to stop for us to use the human litter box!  We RAN to the bathroom and I almost didn't even check on the kitties since we'd just stopped not long before.  Good thing I did!  I walked up to the car, looked at the kennel and noticed 2 things...  1) it was crushed a bit in the back and looked really strange, and 2) there were no felines in sight.  Then suddenly--a flash of black moving in the front seat!  Needless to say, I had to carefully open the door, grab the carrier, and get BOTH cats into the carrier outside without losing them!  When my driver-friend came out of the gas station store and saw me wrestling my 24-pound Lockwood, I'm fairly sure she thought, "WHAT have I gotten myself into!!!"

THE RESULTS
They made it!  We had very few problems.  They were SO happy to get out of the car that they didn't have much trouble acclimating to their new home.

If you have questions about our trip, let me know.  I'm happy to share what I learned!

The Microphone

I love the microphone.  Seriously.  Stick a microphone in my hand and I'm happy.  It doesn't really matter why.

 

"Do announcements?"  YES!  

"Emcee an event?"  ABSOLUTELY!  

"Preach a sermon?" COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!

There's so much more to life than holding a microphone, but I get that special tingle in my fingers and twinkle in my eye when I press the "on" button and take my first breath.  At that moment, anything could happen.  I could make people laugh or cry.  God could use the words He gives me to touch someone's life profoundly.  I could become an impromptu comedian when the schedule goes awry.  There is no end to the magic that can happen when you're holding a microphone.


That's why I was so surprised last night.  I was at my church's Believer's Gathering.  When the pastor called for testimonies of what God is up to, I raised my hand.  As an usher put the microphone in that raised hand, emotion swelled up inside of me.  That usually confident first breath felt shaky.  "I'm moving to Las Vegas!" I proclaimed.  I began to tell of what God was doing, both in my life and in my future home, and I felt the tears well up inside.

Tears of nervousness and fear.
Tears of excitement. Of joy.
Tears of gratitude.

When I took the microphone last night, my confidence was no longer in ME.  My confidence wasn't in whether I had a joke or anecdote to fill any awkward silences.  It wasn't in if I'd done enough homework about the city of Corinth or whatever topic I was teaching on.  My confidence was in an unseen and yet all-knowing Savior--the Lord of my life and of this move.

I've never doubted myself as much as I have over the last month in my entire life.
Can I DO this?
Will I have enough money?
What the heck am I THINKING?!
(BTW, the answers are No, No, and I have no idea!)

The thing is...  as much as I doubt myself, I don't doubt GOD.  HE has never proven Himself unfaithful.  HE is the one who can orchestrate everything.  He is the one whom I will follow.  No matter where He leads.  If it's to the desert, so be it.

So the next time I go to pick up the microphone, I get to remember this one astounding fact... My God has plans for me.  And plans for you.  And if that brings tears and shaky breath and sorrow and joy?  Well, what a beautiful story that will be.

The Pain of Preparation

SO.  I'm moving to Las Vegas.  What the heck???  I'm joining Sought Church while there and I'm super excited!  And a little nervous.  And wanting to procrastinate on the preparation, big time.

I have a 2 bedroom house to pack.  That means packing, but also giving things away, selling things, and throwing things in the garbage.  I've already made one trip out to the recycle bin, and have a bookshelf on my front porch to throw away.  Plus, I have to prep my house for the next phase of life--being a landlord.

I'm realizing that I'm VERY skilled at one thing through all of this... procrastination.  Seriously.  I just want to wiggle my nose like Jeannie and have it all done.  Then I can just MOVE and get on with life instead of living in the most transition I've ever thought I could be in.

But...  If I'm going to fulfill what God is doing in my life, I have to ignore my amazing skill at putting things off and work, work hard to get ready.  And I have to sacrifice things that... well, honestly I don't want to sacrifice.

Even though I live with a lot of THINGS that I don't necessarily want, they're comfortable.  They're mine.  When was the last time I sat in my rocking chair?  Ummm... a few years ago.  Yes, company has sat in it a few times, but at Christmas, when there's actually PEOPLE here, upstairs it goes to make room for the tree!  It's not important.  So out it goes...  Maybe I'll get a few bucks for it on Craigslist.

I see the same thing happen in my life.  Sometimes the traits that I cherish as part of ME are really something that God is saying, "Hey, Kid... it's time to throw that in the dumpster."  Perfectionism.  Sarcasm.  Control.  Anger.  Whatever it is, He reminds me that it's always time to do some rearranging in my soul.  That "couch" that I've sat on for so long?  It's dirty and disgusting and filled with negative self-talk.  It's time to toss it in the dumpster and instead go on a prayer walk.

You don't have to physically MOVE for God to remind you of this.  What is rattling around in YOUR head, comfortable and known, but toxic to who you are supposed to be, that God is telling you, "TOSS IT OUT!"??

Freefalling

Sometimes I think I live a very boring life.
A life of predictability.  Of normalcy.  Of average-ness.

And then God says, that He will direct His angels to guard me wherever I go (Psalm 91:11).  I still wonder...  He's guarding me, but... I'm so average.

And then something crazy happens.

God says, "Take a leap of faith!"

And I jump off the hugest building I've ever jumped off before and find that I somehow landed higher than I started.  But my life is pretty boring.  Still.  It's normal.  At least, that's how it feels.

But in between the excitement and the normalcy, He reminds me that no matter the season, no matter the time, no matter the anything, He remains the same.  A constant.  And that is certainly not boring.  (Hebrews 13:8)

And all the while, I get to climb up the stairs because the elevator is too full.  I think my life is average.  But truly... it cannot be average because it is the Lord who is leading.  Step after step I climb.

Finally, I come to a rooftop.  A building much higher than before.  It's much more frightening to look over the edge, but I know the only way up is to jump down.

And so...
              I leap.

I'm freefalling right now.
My heart is in my chest.  I can't breathe.  Everything is a whir around me and inside me.

And I know that no matter what happens... I will land higher than I started.  And I will look around and see all the buildings that are taller than I am...

And start climbing again.

Peace

Sometimes you just have to go where you hear Jesus the best.

Where you can pause...





































The place where wandering isn't just acceptable, it's the norm.





































The place where you feel completely at home.


The place where you stand and simply... breathe.

When I Think of Haiti...

...here's what I will remember.

Teenagers

We spent a week in Haiti, Saturday to Saturday.  There were 12 of us on our team... 8 high schoolers, 4 leaders.  Our teens changed in that week.  They grew by leaps and bounds, in boldness, joy, maturity, and worship of the Lord.  Our nightly prayer meetings reflected the day's work - these kids pushed during the day, and they pushed at night.  They love our Jesus with a fiercer love than before - and I am so very proud of them.

My Inabilities

Philippians says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  That was proven this week - with a reminder of the opposite... I can do nothing, at least nothing of consequence, without Him.  This is my prayer - that I remember this in all things... That HE is the source of all my abilities AND my inabilities.  I can do nothing without His power working through me, and all things should point to Him.

The Worship

Have you ever sung in Creole?  I have...  I LOVE it.  Worship at the Mission of Hope church was infectious... even if you didn't know what you were singing, you knew you were glorifying the Lord - and joining hundreds of other believers, belting out the lyrics.  These people show no restraint in their worship.  If they want to praise the Lord, they do so with every ounce of their being.  They sing loudly, dance exuberantly, and shout His praises from the beginning to the end.   

On Tuesday night, we had a worship service...  Mostly songs, some prayer--a lot of time praising the Lord.  After an hour and a half or two hours, it came time to take the offering.  After about 5 minutes of worship, things started to be dying down... a few of us looked at each other, ready to take our seats.  All of a sudden, the music ramped up again--louder and a little faster.  Something was happening.  People began pouring out of their seats and into the aisles, dancing, singing, laughing, until sweat was visible on every single person there.  On and on and on the music played, increasing intensity, building joy and laughter.  After about 10 minutes, Justin stepped out to video the intense worship, as the rest of us just kept moving with the music.  We were clapping and laughing, singing all of the "Oooohs" and as much of the Creole as we could figure out.  Our students joined in a conga line.  The people around us danced and sang, shouting out thanks to God - "Meci, Jezi!  Meci, Jezi!"  20 or 25 minutes in the music finally finished... worshipers flushed and hoarse, filled with laughter.  I suspect it will be a long time before I experience this intensity in worship again!

God's Orchestrations

The things that seemed so little when we started this trip out became vitally important.  God planned each of the 4 leaders to head to Haiti with these teens--2 men, 2 women.  Each of us was needed, with our own abilities and strengths.  Who knew that we would need the expertise of each at one time or another?  Only God.  I feel so very honored that I was chosen as one of these leaders, and that I was able to serve Him not only by ministering to the Haitian community, but also to the youth of our own church.

There were other times when I was amazed at how God would place one person in a position to minister and it would be the perfect person.  One example: We were in a village on our last ministry day, talking to the people in the street.  The afternoon was hot and muggy (as all are in Haiti).  Women were washing clothes in the river on the other side of the bridge.  Children came running to us calling out, "Blan! Blan!  (White! White!)"  A group of men were resting in the shade of a huge tree, right next to the river.  One of our students, an evangelist at heart, grabbed one of our translators (yes, they're interpreters, not translators, but down there that's what they're referred to as), and began asking these men if they were Christians, if they believed in Jesus, if they wanted prayer.  He made the rounds... then stopped at one man sitting by himself.  The older man lifted up his left arm to show our teen the scars from where the bullets of a gun ripped through his body.  Our young evangelist adjusted his shirt to show where the bullet of a gun ripped through his own body--putting him in a place to recognize the reality of Jesus.  Young boy and old man--connected with an awareness of how precious life is and how it needs to be used by God.  The old man gave his life to Christ that day.  God used two very horrible situations to bring His glory into the lives of His children.

Greetings and Language

When I see someone here in the US, I still want to greet them with "Bon Jou" or "Bon Swa!"  I want to tell people, "Meci!"  I want to ask, "Komen ou ye?"  I still hear our teens shouting "Jezi vivan!"  In telling stories to some of my Deaf co-workers  today, I signed things in ASL, but mouthed them in Creole--because things happened in Creole.

The Sweating

OK, it had to be mentioned. At multiple points during the week, everyone's shirts were soaked with sweat.  It was hot.  And working hard in the hot means that your pores start leaking.  I can still see David on the ladder inside the school, painting the corners and edges, both shirts soaked and hair plastered to his face.  There were shiny faces all week long - but loving Jesus means you get to sweat sometimes - it was worth it!

The Healings

We serve a God who likes to do miracles.  One of the teens on our team went to Haiti with very bad asthma.  While there, he had a massive, get-him-to-the-hospital-or-he-could-die asthma attack.  Those on our team who were with him at the time started to pray - and instantly he was healed.  Not just healed in the moment, but permanently healed.  There is no more asthma in his body.  God is amazing!

The last night we were there, God told me to ask the teens for prayer for my knees.  I've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left knee, and there are times when the pain is debilitating.  This was their trip and I didn't want to take away from that, plus I'm so dang prideful, but God was clear... so I asked.  They prayed.  I stood up and went to the stairs... going down about half of them, turning around, and coming back up...  Something was different.  There was no grinding.  No grinding.  My knees have been grinding every day since last January - and often before that.  The grinding was gone.  I had no idea how to respond.  My knees felt weird, different than they ever had.  I yelled out, "There's NO GRINDING!"  I went up and down the stairs - again with no grinding.  How do you respond??  My prayer the whole time was, "Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!"  It still is!

See...  There's still pain in my knee--specifically my left knee.  but... it's different.  I'm not sure how to describe what's different about it.  The grinding is gone.  I'm going up and down stairs now and not crunching--something I wasn't sure I'd ever experience again.  I have an appointment later this month with a knee specialist--something that got scheduled before I left for Haiti.  My endocrinologist (who made the appointment) suspected that there may be more than just arthritis in there.  I'm tending to agree...  I'm wondering if God DID specifically heal the arthritis, so the doctor will be able to see what the OTHER problem is clearly.  I don't know how our Lord works - I just know that I will continue to pray and thank Him and be so very excited!

 That's all for now.  God is GOOD.  He is FAITHFUL.  I am so in love with Him.

My Heart is Happy

I cannot believe how God is moving in my life.  Honestly, I'm not sure I've ever been so happy or grateful for the things He's doing!

Very soon I'll be in Haiti, with a crazy group of teenagers, sweating all over ourselves.  It's going to be phenomenal.  Some of these teens I've just recently met, others I've known for awhile - but I love them all!  I'm SO very excited to see what God works in their hearts and lives!

I'm also developing a love for the Hatian people...  especially their Deaf community.  If you get a chance, check out Kyle Reschke's blog...  I read what God is doing down there, how He's empowering the Deaf community, and I have tears of joy.  He truly DOES take the lonely and set them in families.  He truly DOES care, desperately, for those that society calls the least.  He truly IS far greater than anything any of us could imagine.

Life is so... unpredictable.  Who knew?  8 months ago, my life was fairly status quo.  Today, I've seen my future.  I'm undergoing major heart change and the renewing of my mind.  I'm going to HAITI.  Life is good.

I'm going to HAITI!!!

Dear friends and family,

This spring I have the incredible opportunity to join a group of youth and other adult leaders on a short-term mission trip to the country of Haiti.  I am unbelievably excited, and cannot wait to see what God can do through us as we love on the Haitian people.

We will be involved in drama, music, evangelism, rebuilding, and a myriad of opportunities presented to us, especially as Haiti is still recovering from the earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince two short years ago.

The trip itself costs approximately $1,800, which doesn’t include the immunizations required to travel to this area of the world (adding up to a few hundred dollars more).  I have already paid for my plane ticket, but still have the other half of the money to raise.

If you would like to be an integral part of this opportunity, there are two things you can do.  I would be extremely grateful for any financial assistance you would like to contribute.  If you would like a tax receipt for your donation, please write your check out to Faith Assembly of Lacey, and attach a note including my name and indicating that it is for my Haiti trip. 

The other way you can support me is through prayer.  I covet any and all prayers over this trip—for our safety, for the organization we will be working with (Mission of Hope: Haiti, www.mohhaiti.org), for the Haitians we will encounter, and for God to work well through us.  We can’t do this without your prayers.

Thank you so much for your support.  I hope that you can sense a bit of the excitement I am feeling!  I am nervous, but cannot wait to see what happens on this trip!

God bless you, and thank you for everything!

(PS - Let me know if you'd like to donate - I can get you addresses and info off line! :))

Wheels of Pain

I went to Idaho this weekend for a wedding. It was for my sister's best friend from second grade, Katie. Katie was stunning (of course), the wind was CRAZY (it was an outdoor wedding on the top of a mountain), and Katie and her groom looked supremely happy. It was also a great time to see Serry, since she lives about as far east in WA as she can go, and to spend a little last time with Gentry before she heads off into the big wide world of California.

While we were there, we had some down time and decided to go kayaking. We were staying on a river/lake (FEET from our door) and the place where we were rented kayaks. These little red boats were rather frightening looking... I'm used to sea kayaks where you sit IN the boat... these were river kayaks (which are shorter) AND the kind you sit on TOP of.

Here's the difference.
This is me in a Tugboat Annie's kayak. Not too flattering, and a cheap kayak, but you get the picture:

This is Serry in one of these little, on the top, kayaks. YIKES.So when I first saw these on the top kayaks, I thought... "I'm gonna die." But you must understand... I love kayaking. It's my new favorite sport--the only one I've ever felt slightly good at! So... I tried it. The people there that helped us get in dropped it into the water on the side of the dock. Now... keep in mind... the dock is a foot above the water. My family said that I got to be first... Oh goodie. I had to figure out a way to heave myself into this tiny plastic leaf while not tipping over? Ummmm... yeah, that didn't work. The kayak went left, I went right and I went 3/4 of the way into the water. Great fun. I also scraped up my arm a little.

I was a little shaky, but was still willing to give it a go... even though it felt impossible. We moved over to the boat launch area (why didn't they do that in the first place?!?!?!??) and I made Serry go next. She got in ok, but I could even tell she wasn't totally comfortable. I tried it next (keep in mind, water is POURING off of my clothes still). I made it out all right, felt how tippy it was, and every single muscle in my body was tense. I was already shaky enough... I knew I couldn't last 20 minutes feeling like this, let alone an hour. Everyone else got in the water (we had 2 singles and a double--the double was a sit IN) and i tried to paddle around the marina. I gave it my best shot and then realized that I was miserable and it wasn't worth it. I made it back, dumped myself out, and sloshed my way back to our bungalow.

By the time I'd showered and changed, the scratch on my arm had become a big lump that was quickly turning all shades of blue and purple. I was more than happy to sit on the porch with my dad, take a few pictures, and play around on my laptop. No more sit on tops for me!!!

Today, I still have the bruise. It's quickly turning from the deep purple it became into a nauseating shade of green. My arm doesn't hurt as much, thank God, but I have a big lump under the bruise. When I told this story at the wedding on Saturday, a friend told me I needed a better reason. He said that it must have been a roller derby injury... and we decided that my name is now Wheels of Pain. Nice, eh?

Next time you see Wheels of Pain around, you watch out... I'm not afraid to give you an elbow to the face. :)

Have you done this?

An excerpt from Walking with God by John Eldredge:

(John has been journaling about prayer and talking with God. He's discussing praying about a decision here...)

"Now, if I don't seem to be able to hear God's voice in that moment, sometimes what I will do is 'try on' one answer and then the other. Still in a posture of quiet surrender, I ask the Lord, Is it yes, you want us to go? Pause. In my heart I am trying it on, letting it be as though this is God's answer. We should go? Pause and listen. Or is it no, you want us to stay home? Pause and let this be his answer. We should stay home? Pause and listen again."

A friend pointed out that she does this with daily life decisions. I realized that I do, too... Do I want a chicken sandwich or a burger? Get the taste in my mouth... which is more satisfying? I have never, ever done it with prayer, or with something more important than that.

In praying this prayer today... I think I heard an answer. I don't know how, when, with whom, or any of the other myriad of details... but I heard, "YES. DO THIS."

I want to cry with the joy it brought me. Thank you John Eldredge for the prayer support. God thanks you, too. :)

Fluffy white clouds

So at this exact moment I'm laying on Gentry's couch, typing on her laptop, waiting for her to get home in ten or fifteen minutes. I'm on a mini-vacation folks. :)

The drive up here was fine... until it started POURING just south of Bellingham. Torrential downpour. HOWEVER... just a few minutes ago I got a call from BJ thanking me for bringing the sunshine--it's gorgeous outside now!! :)

Today is my brother, Scott's, birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Someday you'll all know him as a famous... well, something famous related to movies or tv or something. we'll see what happens when he grows up.

It's really quiet here. I like where I live well enough, but the road outside my house is LOUD. this is really peaceful.

If you haven't had the chance, make sure you check out Monday through Wednesdsay's Focus On the Family with Dr. James Dobson. Steven was on it all three days... and his story just proved what an AWESOME God we serve. You can find it online... One of these days I'll include the link for you. I ended up downloading it and puting it on my iPod... listened while I drove up here.

I'm reading Judges right now. Just started actually. Just finished Deuteronomy and Joshua. I think after Judges I'll pick something in the New Testament.. actually, next weekend will start reading through Luke and Ephesians with the church--one chapter a day. So I'll do that and then just stick with my trip through the Old Testament right now. It's possible that I'll get the whole thing read through this year. Lately a ton of people have asked me how many times I've read the bible through... it's such an odd question to me... because it's not like I normally read from Genesis to Revelation over and over. I can be pretty random when I'm reading... and sometimes I've been "stuck" in a short book like Ephesians for an extended period of time... reading and rereading. Depends on what God's doing!

What are YOU reading right now??? :)

So I have a bunch of pictures I could post, but won't do that yet. I'd like to see Serry's first - we both took probably 230-300 each of the camping trip - I love digital cameras.

today was our first chilly day in... well, in a long time. Wait - it wasn't chilly. It was probably something like 70. But compared to the past while... it's cool. and right now it's 58--cooler than *I* have seen it at almost 9:00 in a long time.

I'm reading Anna Karenina... still. ;) It's really good, just really slow. I'm in the second half now--I'm just happy that Levin stopped farming. Farming got boring. I hope that he doesn't farm any more. You should read it... just make sure you give it time and keep going... the names get confusing and VERY Russian at first, but I think it's worth it. The sad thing is, I know what happens... but because of that--I need to finish the book.

Lime Kiln State Park and Lighthouse

I just love the dragonflies! :) This is from San Juan Island... Sadly, no whales... they swam by at 4 and 5 that morning--too early for us!

The Vegas Update

OK, this is the post you've all been waiting for.... ;) The story about VEGAS! :)

My mom and I arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon... a HOT saturday afternoon. We were met by several of J.D. Hass' crew--he was in charge of the trip I won from KMPS. We made it to the Tropicana and tried to figure out what our plans were for the weekend. Have I mentioned that it was hot?

Anyway, that night started the country music fun. :) We went to the MGM Grand for the New Artist's Party for a Cause. Click here for videos of that night (click New Artists in the middle)--and imagine that someone paid $60,000 for tickets and meet and greets with Taylor Swift. That's a LOT of money, fyi. ;) We were told we couldn't bring cameras, so we didn't... so all I've got is some fuzzy cell phone pictures. It was a phenomenal show, though... and money was raised for music education and music healing -- very cool.

Day 2 started our 11-hours of concerts. We headed over to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay and were warmly welcomed!

There's no way I could post all of the pictures we took of all of the people we saw that morning on here. I'll try to get them on a photo hosting site or something so you can see them all. Heck, I have a list of them and I can't remember all of their names. ;) Here are a few highlights...

Andy Griggs:

Mom and I meeting Carter's Chord - a group of sisters. Very nice girls and they sounded great. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Me and Jack Ingram, New Male Vocalist for this year.

This group is called Whiskey Falls. I included two pics of them because they were my FAVORITE of the whole morning. They sound fantastic--I hope to hear more of them on the radio! (Tony Thomas--are you listening? :))After our morning of concerts and Meet and Greets, we got a few hours off. FEW. ;) It was HOT. We just crashed for a little bit, then got dressed up for the evening. We headed over to the MGM again for dinner - and that's where I met Rodney Atkins' drummer. Nice guy.

After dinner... SHOWTIME!!! The Academy of Country Music Awards!!! WOOT! :)

This is the view from our seats. My favorite performance of the night - Carrie Underwood. Yes, Carrie - I voted for you. ;) She performed Last Name - quite appropriate for Vegas! :)

I've got some great pictures of the show, too. But I'm only going to share some of my favorite performances... because it's my blog. :)

My second favorite performace was Garth Brooks... wow. I have never in my life heard SO MANY people singing SO LOUD for one performer. It was amazing!!!Third favorite (but close behind) was Taylor Swift. She sang her angry song, got her clothes ripped off (no wardrobe malfunctions, thank you very much), and then belted out the song in a waterfall with words in it. Yeah. She's just that cool. What you all only got a glimpse of was that waterfall... it had SO MANY words in it... almost continuous "NO" "NO" "WE" "NO" "ME"... it was CRAZY! John Rich was right - she DID rock the house. :)

The award show ended at 8 and we booked it down the hall a ways to where the All-Star Jam was happening. A great night of music was just beginning... and we'd already been at it for 3 hours--not to mention the HOURS earlier in the day just for the trip winners!! Again here... just a few of my favorites...

John Rich was our emcee for the night. I was pleasantly surprised... despite the bar backstage, he did a GREAT job. :)

This picture (and the several others like it!) was for my mom. :) This is Randy Owen - you might remember him as the lead singer from Alabama? He's on his own now... did a great job.

Montgomery Gentry... What can I say? I went up to the front to get a close up and ended up staying up there rocking it out with everyone!

This was really sweet. John Rich commented that Taylor Swift's performance was his favorite of the whole night. Taylor was touched and came out to tell everyone how nice John was!
No show is complete without Kenny Chesney.We stayed through the whole show. It lasted till midnight, then there was the 18 mile hike back to the hotel... next door. ;) We were exhausted, but the whirlwind of a weekend WAS a dream trip. We were extra blessed, however... we were able to extend our stay a few more days!! :)

Monday we checked out of the Tropicana and went to our Worldmark timeshare. That day we did a little goofing off in town... Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! OK, just lions... The Lion Habitat in the MGM!
The M&M store - Yellow was there and we took our picture with him! Yes, we look HOT. It was 108 degrees. You'd be hot, too. Melt in your mouth and not in your hand... or perhaps all over the pavement...
Later in the week we went to see Mystere by Cirque du Soleil. WOW. It was INCREDIBLE. After Mystere, we tried to see The Sirens of TI (the pirate show), but it was too windy. Fun pics, though...

The next night we saw Blue Man Group. Again, WOW. SOOO good. They performed in the Venetian.. so after the show, we went upstairs to Italy and ate some gelato. Yum! :)

Here's a picture from our balcony at the timeshare! Gorgeous!

And that's the end of the trip! It was wonderful... everything about this trip was blessed... from actually WINNING it, to getting tickets on sale... just everything! So thank you Jesus, thank you KMPS, thank you JD and crew... it was FANTASTIC!!!

I'll post more soon, but...

...to whet your appetite for SOMETHING from Vegas...

I am FAMOUS! :):):)

http://www.kmps.com/pages/236789.php

Scroll down to "Congrats!"

And watch the ACM's on Sunday at 8! :)

I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been procrastinating getting tickets to Blue Man Group - because we had to decide whether or not to spend extra CASH on Orchestra seating. So... I called to see if it was worth it. Look at the deal they got me!!!!!!!!!!

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Seeing the Blue Man Group is often a top priority for a Las Vegas vacation. That's why we're happy to see this great offer from these ground-breaking entertainers.

When you purchase a Balcony seat for $91.85 to see Blue Man Group at The Venetian by May 31, you will automatically receive a FREE upgrade to an Orchestra seat (reg. $132).

That's over $40 worth of savings on the best seats in the house.

Only 11 days till VEGAS--including today!!!!

Getting everything finalized.... shopping........ gathering sunscreen, etc......... WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm getting excited

I got more information about our Vegas trip today... and I'm really getting excited. :) Mom and I are going to change our return tickets and get a condo for a few days down there after the show. That way we can do some fun Vegas-y things (Blue Man Group, here I come!), and still get some time to just VEG by the pool in the hot summery air... mmmmmmmmm, it sounds lovely.

Loverly

It's midnight so don't want to type much, but vacation? It's loverly. Despite the weather (gray, rainy, misty). Went to Camp 18 for dinner tonight. Google it - its amazing. It has an 85-foot ridge pole!!!

Ok. Bedtime. Night!!
Emily