My children have been all over Las Vegas from private to public. We have continued to look for the spot which fits them well. Short of the big issue with the pesticides the public school close to the house has done well. Although I haven’t liked having 20-21 students in their respective second grade classes they both seem to be thriving. I went to the school last night for a meeting about the budget cuts and it’s all bad news. The class size for the smaller grades will rise but there is no mandated number for 3rd through 5th so their existing 30-35 pupils per one teacher (yes, that is the real number), is going to go up. It’s already too high at where it starts. I’ve never been a private school snob but I feel like I pay for the smaller class size. These two aren’t self starters, they need extra help and there’s no way they can get the proper foundation with 30-35 students in the classroom. Won’t work … got to get through second grade this year first.

We came back on Sunday in the motorhome determined to venture again to Laughlin. It was a pleasant surprise and far more crowded than one would think this time of year. Nice to be around the water. Monday was my sister’s birthday and I surprised her with a quilt of Hayden’s clothes. I had taken his clothes and sent them to this deal lady who has been working tirelessly for months on making quilts and pillows out of them. I didn’t tell Kathleen I was taking Hayden’s tee shirts and quite a few things, as it turned out, that Kat had handed down from her youngest Daniel. The seamstress was able to incorporate a blue jean jacket and a couple of sweaters that both our sons had worn into the quilt. Kat said it wasn’t fair we made her cry on her birthday, so it was a nice gift indeed.

I love kids, all kids, every single child is blessed in my humble opinion. I believe God gave everyone a gift and tell my children sometimes you have to dig hard to find their gift but everyone has one. We spotted the place we wanted on the beach of the Colorado River this weekend and we wanted to “mark” it while we went to eat. Surprising they didn’t designate spots so it was really a free for all. Sierra and Lincoln decided they could make signs and hang them across the spot. Sierra, the artist, wrote out 4 or 5 signs, all saying “The Tyner Family” “This spot is taken” etc. Lincoln carefully wrote out one. “What’s it say L?” I ask. He holds up a sign which says NOT STEADY. Man did I laugh. The spot was plenty steady he just figured that would be a bigger deterrent than please don’t take the spot. Spot was still there when we returned.

The week was hectic with lots of business meetings, calls and more stuff I don’t always want to do but such is life. We decided to take the motorhome out as it had been since Christmas, but the battery was dead. After fixing that Friday we headed out early on Saturday. Vegas was cold and blustery and I really thought Laughlin (90 miles away) would be too .. but much to my great surprise it was 75 degrees and great. We were able to park on the beach, facing the water, of the Colorado River. Great spot indeed. Gators swam and we had In and Out burgers. Got up Sunday and headed back home. Great nice relaxing break.

Well I know the day will come when the brutal beats subside. Following a mega where I was able to enjoy the ebb and flow of the game, the Main Event was all ebb. I had QQ vs KK on a five card low board, where i truly lost the minimum possible. Then i raise with JJ, get one caller. I put him on a high hand with the smooth call and determined to play it careful, which meant get a set or get out. Any over cards and I’m gone. Flop is 7 5 J rainblow. The absolute stone cold nuts. He checks, I bet and he smooths. I know now I am facing an overpair to the board. The turn is a deuce. He bets i raise he reraises me all in (he had more chips due to the $7k I lost with queens vs kings) and I am happy to go the distance now. He turns over QQ and I have top set and a queen hits the river. “nice hand sir” is all you can say as you gather your belongings. Played both hands perfectly but early in a tournament youve got win one of those. Sigh.

The Wynn Main Event is tomorrow. $5k entry. I decided to see if I could win my way in. Go to Wynn, register and commencd playing. There was a complete wild person at the table who played Q 6 amd K 9 like they were aces. Finally have 10 10 and get called by Ms. crazy with K 10 and we know what came on the turn. I was going to leave then but I had this nagging feeling about playing the Main Event tomorrow. So I sign up for a single table satellite, 10 players $540 each and one winner. It took the better part of three hours but I beat all 9 men. Now I know why I felt like I was supposed to stay and play. The crazy …. well they didnt last much longer …