serendipity

yesterday, we returned home
from yet another trip down to las vegas
this time, for granny's funeral.

it was a nice service.
though i didn't know granny very long,
i'm told it was just how she would have wanted it.

and it was fun to spend time with branson's family.

i met all of the cousins and shared lots of laughs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

but on the flip side,
my brilliant plan to go to serendipity 3
was a
c o l o s s a l
f a i l u r e.

it had just just opened in vegas two weeks ago
and kendyll and i thought it would be perfect to go
and bathe in frozen hot chocolate,
dark double devil mousse and lemon ice box pie...
(ok. i never intended to bathe in it. i just wanted to submerse myself in the
serendipatiousness and pretend that i was momentarily
in a romantic comedy where all my dreams were coming true.)
but vegas had different plans for our evening.

oh, we still had frozen hot chocolate.
and it was better than i was hoping for.

however, there was a long line when we got there...
mildly expected.
the wait was over an hour.
and we were told that they could not/would not
accommodate our large party.
(they said could, but all i heard was would)

luckily, there was a order/pick up window -
vegas style foot-traffic "walk thru"
as opposed to drive thru
so we got a couple menus and decided on our delectable,
well-deserved desserts
with a few orders of yummy appetizers for variety.

but when the order-ers of our party got up to the window
they were informed that there were only a handful of things
available through the window,
forcing everyone to change their orders.
we were not happy.
it had been a long day.
we were all tired -
not to mention hungry for something yummy in our tummies.

so we grumpily changed our orders and settled on
frozen hot chocolate and spudnicks (waffle fries)
to share.

oh and don't worry.
our frozen hot chocolate came in plastic cups.
not the cute ones in the movie or inside the restaurant.
yup. cheap, plastic,
might-as-well-be-mcdonald's cups.

but, the fries were i n c r e d i b l e.
i'd go back just for them.
and the frozen hot chocolate put everyone in a better mood.
no wonder it's their signature.
i just wish i had gotten an actual cup.

but all in all,
our/my plan failed.

but now i know what to expect and will plan ahead.
and i won't invite 11 other people to with me.
oh, i'd still invite everyone i did in the first place...
but i will split them up into smaller groups-
thus, giving myself the opportunity to partake of
serendipity
several more times.

yes, that will be much better, i'm sure.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

but i'm glad we had the opportunity to go down.

it was nice to pay tribute to branson's granny
and hear everyone reminisce
about the wonderful times they spent with her.

she was a great woman.
very independent and lovable.
and she will be missed.
but at least we know we'll see her again.
and we're all comforted by that.

but for now,

i'm tired.
and there's tons of laundry to do.
and bags to unpack.
and lots of things to catch up on.