Vegas Part II

The night of Kelsey's birthday, we figured it was most appropriate to visit the Piano Bar.  

You know the place.  Afterall, remember this post?  And this one?  It's pretty much safe to say that we are there every time we visit the city.

And of course poor Kelsey has heard many stories about the place, but could never place them. 

Until now.

And I think that in the end, she enjoyed it!



September 11, 2011

Today obviously marks a big day in history. 

Today people are grieving, even harder than they were before.

And today, everybody manages to share their own stories of where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. 

My personal story?  Not that exciting.  I was 14, getting ready for "another day as a high school Freshman." My mom was watching the news.  I remember watching a little with her, but I can definately tell you that I didn't understand how severe the whole thing was at that time.  Afterall, I was a brand new high school freshman, and getting ready for school and making sure everything was set up right for that day was more what I was thinking about.

I obviously could hit myself now for not realizing how big this was at the time. The fact that a huge part of history was being made in front of my eyes, and I really had no idea.  

I suppose looking back now, at the same time, it was probably a bit of a blessing to be a naive 14 year old.  I was in my own little world.  I really had no idea how scary the situation was.  I hear about people talking about how terrified they were, thinking that the world was ending that day.  Even on the other side of the country.  I missed out on that feeling (something I know I would have felt if that happened now) and I am somewhat thankful for not going through that emotional rollercoaster.

But regardless, I do remember watching the news all day (and many, many days after that).  I remember sitting in Spanish class when we heard that the plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.  

I remember later that evening, starting to hear of specific stories of people trying to find their loved ones.  I think those personal stories started hitting home for me a little more.

And for the days to come, seeing what seemed like endless pictures of missing  people.  Stories starting to devleop of little survivors.  The truth of what a big hit this was was managing to slap America hard across the face.

I normally don't tend to reflect on these types of things.  But this time, I think it hit everybody one way or another.  Even being that little naive teenager, I will always remember where I was and what I was doing, just like everybody else.  That is a story that I will always be able to tell, so to write it out is actually kind of nice.  Knowing that I still have those details engraved in my head.

I've been watching quite a few documentaries over the last few days.  Most have been sad (I have to say the "Children of 9/11" being one of the worst).   There are millions of heroes in Heaven.

But it is also reassuring to hear those few stories of the survivors.  That there were some (although very few) that were able to return home to their families.  To say that they survived the fall of 9/11.  And to be called a hero, directly to their face.

I think I could endlessly sit and listen to the personal stories out there. I've figured out that this is one of my ways of dealing with tragic events.  But some of the stories are so amazing!  But unfortunately both for the good and for the bad.

One that sticks with me specifically is one we learned of while visiting Washington D.C. one year and touring the Pentagon.  Did you know that the specific spot where the plane hit that day was the office of one man?

Can you imagine?  Having that plane hit your office specifically?

Well, luckily that man happened to be out of the office that day.  Not planning to be anywhere near that building on September 11, 2011.  Something I would call fate itself if you asked me.

But then, we learn that not only was this man out of office, he was on a flight.  A flight to travel to a business meeting across the country.

And unfortunately, a flight that crashed into the World Trade Center that very day.

Now if that isn't fate, I'm not sure what is.  And there were so many of these stories they had to share!  Of people who happened to go across the building, at that very minute, to get a coffee. Who managed to miss that crash by just seconds.  Or unfortunately the other way around, people who happened to walk the other direction to meerly make a copy or something.  People who normally wouldn't have been at that specific spot.  Really makes you think that there truly is a plan out there for all of us, doesn't it?

Anyway, I do enjoy hearing everyone's stories.  From those that were more prospectors like myself, to those that were directly affected.  So please, feel free to share.

And as the years pass, I will still remember.



Vegas Part I

Our first day in Vegas was spent doing a lot of things, including a lot of walking in the 100+ degree weather. So to cool down a bit, we decided to do something indoors for a while.

After some discussion at the half price ticket counter, we decided what better way than to go to the wax museum?!  Afterall, where else can you meet Bon Jovi, Will Smith, Oprah and Jennifer Lopez all at once?

I've never been before, and let me tell you that we had an awesome time! See for yourself . . .

Catching Up . . .

Wow! A couple people have recently reminded me how much slacking I have been doing here, but I suppose I hadn't truely realized it had been that long! I suppose that shows how fast life has been passing by . . .

It's hard to believe it's September already, and that the holiday season is, again, quickly approaching. And trust me, I am ecstatic about this, as I'm sure you all know how excited I get during this time of the year. But I won't bore you with that rant again :)

So for now, let me update you with some things that we have been up to recently. Most will soon be followed by some more detailed posts, but here's the jist of things in the Cline household:

As you probably know at this point, we went to Vegas at the end of July to celebrate Kelsey turning 21. We had a fantastic week, and were happy to celebrate with my mom, dad, good friend Jen, sister-in-law Krista, brother-in-law Kyle, and good friend Judy. We also had a pleasant surprise of Joel's parents joining us for part of the time as well. Like I say, we had a wonderful time, and I look forward to the next trip with this awesome group of people. There will definately be more to follow about this . . . trust me, I have way too many good pictures to let slide by.

After some time in Vegas, we headed to Clovis, CA to celebrate my cousin Alex's wedding. It was great to see mostly everyone (we missed those who weren't there!), and on top of it all it was a lot of fun to attend our first wedding since our own! (I think . . .) Again, more to come on this.

Once we returned, it was amazingly August already. I can't tell you many specific things we did to tell you the truth, but I can tell you that the month was filled with time spent with good friends, baseball games, spending time on the boat, a trip to the local fair and rodeo (so much fun!), working (of course!), and a friend's wedding (congrats to Brian and Stephanie!). Overall a fun and busy month!

And now we find ourselves in September. It's only nine days into the month, but we have already been to a wedding (congrats John and Cianna!), multiple baseball games, celebrated the first pre-season hockey game, and I've traveled to Spokane with a friend for a class (work-related). Looks like things aren't slowing down anytime soon . . .

I'm sure I have so much more to say, but for now this will do. I will be back to the blogging world . . . I enjoy keeping everyone updated (if anyone is still reading!), and plus I've noticed that I haven't been taking nearly as many pictures when I won't be blogging about certain events. And of course, we can't have this . . .

So thanks for stickin' with me!