Secret birthday

I'm going to omit names in this post to protect the privacy of my very dear friend, but wanted to capture some of the lovely time we had in Vegas. 

Here's the list: 

• The guest of honor went to see Barry Manilow, and was down for a quick, sequin jacket photo shoot in the gift shop afterwards. :) 
• Valley of Fire State Park w/ big horned sheep and gorgeous views! 
• Noticing that they all sleep the same in the car ;) 
• Shin Lim magic show
• Michael Jackson One cirque show
• Sweet Gondola ride in the Venetian 
• Celebration dinner at Buddy V's

There was also some gambling, walking, time to connect, time to decompress, and I got to have a little side visit with Pam and Kim and their squirmy cute doggies! 

Grandpa

My dear grandpa passed on December 2nd at 99 years old. It was very Betty White of him to still have spunk and seem like he was going to live forever, and then leave us just before 100. 

I'll always remember mornings with my grandpa. When he would visit, he'd often say over breakfast, "last night, I slept so hard I had to get up three times to rest!". I was never a morning person, so he would also come into my room and wake me up singing, "Up in the morning, be happy and gay, and drive all your troubles away!". 

I'll miss his sense of humor, how he loved to give people a hard time, his handsome smile, and the way he always made me feel so special to him. One of the last things he said to me was, "I don't know what your parents did right to deserve you". 

The last time I saw my grandpa was at my grandma's memorial in May... my grandma was the love of his life and he was deeply devoted to her, even after her passing. In his last days, as his mental capacities declined, he would tell my mom that he'd been looking for my grandma and he couldn't find her. 💕😢

I miss you so much already, grandpa. Rest in peace.