The Coffee Cup

If you've read this blog, you probably know by now that I'm kind of obsessed with trying new places to eat. And on the East Coast we could have tried a new restaurant every weekend and still not have tried them all-- sandwich shops, BBQ places, little Mom and Pop places, and pizza parlors are on every street corner. But here in Vegas, these unique one-of-a-kind places are much harder to find... "Foodie Experiences" basically boil down to 3 categories: You got your chain restaurants (Chilies, Olive Garden, Panda Express, etc.), your casino buffets, and your super expensive high roller restaurants inside the casinos, ie, NO KID ZONES (Wolfgang Puck).

But luckily "Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives" has been to TWO, count 'em, two places in Las Vegas that we've been excited to check out. The first of these is "The Coffee Cup," which is actually out in Boulder City (about 30 min. off the strip) towards Hoover Dam.

So when Saturday morning dawned rainy (yes! rainy!) we nixed our usual hiking plans and headed out for breakfast. It was a little tiny diner only open for breakfast and lunch, but with TONS of character.

We got way more food than we could eat and everything was SO good, for super cheap. Gotta love that! Jon got the special which was the Pork Chili Verde Omelet (what Guy tried), which was to die for. Lucy got the chicken fingers and fries.

Zachary enjoyed a homemade cinnamon roll, and I got an egg and cheese sandwich and the buttermilk pancakes came as a "side." And they were HUGE.

We decided to check out a little of the area, which was really fun with lots of antique and souvenir shops, old-fashioned candy shops, and some really nice looking restaurants-- geared towards Hoover Dam tourists, I'm sure. Anyway, it was a really great way to spend our Saturday morning!

Washington Vacation

Why does Lucy look so happy??

Because we just got back from a week long trip to Washington state to spend some time with our Cardon relatives. Jon's only brother Jeremy and his wife Kylene, recently had their first baby (a little girl named Sophie-- so if you hadn't noticed, we have 2 cousins named Sophie now!! One for each side.:). They planned to bless her over President's Day weekend and we didn't want to miss it.

We flew to Pasco, WA late Monday afternoon where Uncle Jeremy met and picked us up to take us to their digs in Moses Lake, WA. We got to meet little Soph and catch up a bit that night before bedtime. Tuesday the kids watched movies, played games, and colored, and then we met Jeremy for lunch at a little place called the Firefly Cafe.

It was kind of a country-kitschy place with great homemade sandwiches and soups, and TONS of toys for kids to play with while their parents can actually enjoy a meal. Why don't more restaurants think of that?!?


Lucy was totally enamored with Sophie and followed Kylene around wherever she went, "helping" with the baby I'm sure. She kept saying, "Mommy! Look at her little toes and fingers!!" She is definitely ready for another sibling, I just need to teach her how to change diapers first. Oh yeah!! And did you notice Sophie's onesie?? Guess who gave her that.:)

That afternoon while Zachary was napping Aunt Kylene let Lucy help her make sugar cookies, while I cuddled the Soph-ster. We had a yummy dinner, played Settlers of Catan, watched Glee, and headed off to bed.

The next morning Grandma and Grandpa Cardon drove from Selah to pick us up and take us to Leavenworth, which is this awesome little "German" town nestled up in the mountains. All the buildings look European with a Bavarian motif and German street names, and tons of European shops and restaurants. We love visiting Leavenworth, especially at Christmas when it's all lit up.

Enjoying some french pastries and homemade fudge while warming up inside.


Trying on some hats in the famous Hat Shop. Lucy had her hair in pigtail braids that day, so when she tried this hat on she looked at the Viking braids, and was like, "Hey! I already have these!"

Sharing some delicious Italian gelatto before heading back home to Selah.

But first, a good-bye hug for the Rocky Mountain Chocolate bear. Zachary wouldn't even go near!

Back home in Selah the fun didn't stop. Grandpa pulled out his old train set and Zachy was instantly inseparable from the "Choo Twain." He LOVED the choo-choos!! We couldn't get him to leave the house unless he had at least one of the cars tight in his fist. We couldn't get him back in his car seat unless we promised we were going back to Grandpa's choo-choo house. Basically, his week revolved around those trains!

We got burgers for lunch at Miner's, which is a pretty famous burger joint that we're petitioning to be featured on Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

It is an ENORMOUS, DELICIOUS burger!! Highly recommended if you're ever in the area...

Frosting Grandma's yummy sugar cookies! Zachary frosted one side of his cookie, and when he was done with that side he flipped it over and figured he'd better do the other side too for good measure.

Sophie's blessing day! Isn't she sweet?? Jonathan was able to get permission to take leave and fly in on Saturday afternoon to be a part of everything going on. We were so glad he made it!

Glad to have a new little cousin on the Cardon side!!

Three little Cardons...


Family picture after the blessing.

Three generations of Cardons all fascinated by the train set! The time went too fast and we were sure sad to go back home to Vegas on Monday. It was a great break for me (I got to sleep in, have my children entertained and cared for, and all my meals provided), fun for the kids, and a good change of scenery to chase away the winter "blahs." We can't wait to go back!!