A little bit about cars, Vegas, and basketball.

Only 3 weeks since my last post!  I'm quite proud of myself.

When we last left off, I was hopeful that Sarah's car was finally fixed!  But alas, after all that work it exhibited the symptoms two more times.  Granted, both times, it was very short lived.  Meaning the problem happened and then quickly stopped within a few minutes as opposed to taking 10 to 15 minutes to resolve.  However, when I texted my service advisor (which is the main way we have communicated) there were crickets.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip. Zero. Zilch. Zed.  

And the same when I contacted our contact at the Better Business Bureau.  Crickets. Nothing....etc.

So, I guess we are on our own at this point.  We purchased a lemon and had we started the lemon law buy-back  request 5 months earlier they would have purchased the car back from us.  Too little, too late on our part.  We were just so hopeful that each fix would be the last. It's just so disheartening...

In addition to Sarah's car issues, mine continues to give me problems.  It currently needs two new catalytic converters to the tune of over $3,000.  Guess what we are not going to replace?  The catalytic converters.  So now we are in the process of trying to find a replacement for my car.  We aren't in too big of a hurry though.  My car just passed inspection so we have a year...assuming nothing else breaks down on it.  It is 12 years old and has over 227,000 miles on it so I'm just holding my breath at this point.

In more exciting news... Peter had a GREAT time in Vegas with his friends for spring break!  

Here's a quick, choppy rundown of some of the things they did.  I was getting updates in the family group text as the trip progressed but since I wasn't on the trip, I can't list everything they did on the exact days they did it.  That's my preferred method for blogging about a trip but this is the best I can do...

They gambled as soon as they got there but quickly realized they didn't have the money for the big casinos so they eventually made their way  to the old strip and gambled in the old casinos there.  Apparently the tables are $5 there versus the $25 and up tables on the strip.  But this group of guys really enjoys The Sopranos and The Godfather and all those mafia type shows so Peter said the old strip was better because it felt like somewhere the mafia would have hung out back in the day (and they they probably did) versus the new casinos. He said his favorite of the old casinos was Binions. 

The boys were on the trip to celebrate his friend Cal's 21'st birthday and Cal's parents were there as well as some aunts and uncles and cousins.  Peter said it was great having Cal's family there because it kept them from getting too wild!  HA!  So I guess I'm thankful they were there too. :)

One night Cal's parents took the boys to an Hofbrauhaus which is an Octoberfest restaurant.  Peter said they had a great time there.  There was a live band and the waiters went around playing alphorns.  And then another night, they went to a different restaurant together and one of Cal's cousins order a ton of appetizers for the table to share.  Peter was very impressed by the quantity of appetizers he ordered as well as how tasty they were. (Not sure of the name of that restaurant.)

One evening they went to the Golden Knights hockey game because they all love the Carolina Hurricanes.  It's hard to get Hurricanes tickets but they had no problem getting Knights tickets. 

Among the many famous casinos they visited was the Tropicana.  I'm glad they got to visit there because it just closed it's doors yesterday.  It was the third oldest casino in Vegas.  It was built in 1957 and was operated by someone with close ties to the mafia.  They will be tearing it down to make way for the new Oakland A's baseball stadium.

One day they went to the Hoover Dam.  Peter was very excited to see the dam but no one else wanted to go.  He basically said he was going by himself if they didn't go with him.  So they caved and went.  Their original plan was to Uber there and back but they ultimately decided on a bus tour.  That ended up being a great thing because not only was it ultimately cheaper than an Uber, the tour guide was very informative and they got to see a lot of the dam up close. And they had lunch at the DAM Gift Shop!  HA!  We were making lots of DAM jokes that day in the family group chat. :)

Here are some of the pictures he texted us during his trip:

Boxing with Joe Louis at Caesar's Palace

Posing with a knight at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino.

This group of guys really enjoys hockey so they went to a Golden Knights game one night.

Peter really enjoyed the tour of the Hoover Dam. He had to convince his friends to do it but he said they were all glad they went. 

View from a roof top bar.

In front of Hell's Kitchen.  No, they did not eat there.  They didn't have the budget for that!  :)

In front of Caesar at Caesar's Palace!

Peter with the World's Largest Gold Nugget at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino!

Peter got a DAM hat!  HA!  I can't stop making DAM jokes!  :)

Peter was excited to try In-N-Out burger since we don't have those here in NC.  He said it was delicious!

Peter's trip was awesome and I think he suffered from trip letdown when he got back to school.  It was such a great trip for him and his friends.  I'm thankful Cal's parents arranged the trip and paid for the hotel rooms (they stayed at the Aria) and were there to just be around in case the guys needed anything. 

But one of the most exciting thing that happened while they were in Vegas was the run that the NC State basketball team went on!  The boys watched all three games at the Aria at the Sportsbook. There were 200 220 inch TVs.  When they beat Carolina to win the ACC Championship Peter texted us that it was the best day of his life.  I was thrilled for him.  He has spent a lot of his youth pulling for very bad teams (Carolina Panthers and NC State Football to name a few.  And now that he's finally in to baseball and watching and pulling for the Red Sox, they are horrible too! ) so it was so nice to get that win.  Also if NC State didn't win the ACC Championship, they were not going to the NCAA tournament.  The only negative for Peter was that he wished he was on campus so he could storm the Bell Tower.

But alas!  NC State proceeded to the NCAA Tournament and has won 4 games to make it to the Final Four so he's been able to storm the Bell Tower a lot! Here's a couple of pictures:

 

And here they are after they beat Duke to make it to the Final Four!

Peter took this picture.  Whenever State wins they light the bell tower red.

And this is a screen shot I took of the live feed from the  Bell Tower Web Cam after they beat Duke.

Peter was wearing his NC State hat and a pair of jeans when he was in Vegas and they won.  So for the next two games in Vegas he went back upstairs before the game and put on those same jeans and that hat.  And guess what he's worn (without washing!) for all the the NCAA Tournament games as well?  Yep! Those exact same jeans and that hat.  And guess what he will be wearing on Saturday when they play number one seed Purdue?  I'm sure those jeans are probably able to walk on their own at this point! 

And I would also like to point out that the NC State women are also in the Final Four!  That's crazy to me!  

And don't just think it's the college kids who are getting excited!  This is a picture of my mom at her senior workout class the day after beating Duke!  There were quite a few Wolfpack fans working out that morning!

Look at my beautiful mom in the middle sporting her NC State gear! 
 

That's it for me now.  Looks like I'm basically blogging once or twice a month at best.  But honestly, if the kids aren't doing something, I've got nothing to write about.  I think I need some hobbies.

And for all of my blogging friends, I'm sorry I'm not getting to your blogs regularly like I used to.  I'm trying to get back in a schedule of sorts and I'll try to do better!