Last Day Activities!!

So the last day of the turks trip turned out to be a long yet exciting and colorful day! It was finally sunny! WOOHOO! Hahahaha.

The day started off with a snorkling trip to the reef about 1 mile off the beach.














Then from there we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the beach. The winners of the tournaments throughout the week played with the pro’s or against the pro’s. From there we went back to get ready for “white night”. I must say, the whiteness really made everyone look clean and crisp. And it was ironically very tropical as a result!




We ended up having a VBV dinner to thank everyone from the vacationer’s to the pro’s. Pure fun :). After dinner we headed over to the trapeze area to watch their exhibition…pretty cool! After that we headed to Sharkies for the week end beach party…and can we say classic? Wow…getting in bed at 6A should say it all right?! Hahaha!!


And then it was off to our homeland…you ever wish you could stay just one more night?? Well I sure did!! BUT then again…the Cayman trip is right around the corner!! WOOHOO!





And here are a couple scenic pics (hehe) last I got recently!







Mid Week Turks action

So when you are at an exotic place for over 7 days, things start to blur together!! So I have decided to do 3 blogs about the turks…Day one you have seen, this one will be next, and My snorkling day/White night will be last…hahaha.

So the Sunday, Oct 28th was the start of the week for everyone. No “official” training started that day, but we were introduced to everyone and had some free play. This was also the day that we realized that a Tropical system (named Noel) could roll through the area. And apparently, the island where we were situated on never had a direct hit from a hurricane. So, needless to say, the weather started turning a tad bit grey. But the ironic thing about it being grey in the sky, is that the water was still absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen anything like that!









After the open play we headed back to get ready for the night’s theme. At club Med they do themed nights…the first being Jersey night. And this night was the ony night that I did not “officially” dress up. But it was awesome to see everyone supporting their fave pro teams!! Also, this was the night that Paige, JB, & Albert did the log pillow challenge, along with Ang, Al-b, Tbone, and Renee doing the singing challenge, AND Angela and Anthony doing the balloon race…the funniest thing I have ever seen in a while!

Monday brought the start of the King/Queen of the beach tournament, the start of our afternoon clinics, and gusty/rainy conditions. I did play in the Queen tourney, but can honestly say not only am I WAY out of shape, but my knee REALLY needs to be scoped. So between the fatique and pain, I was WAY frustrated. The 5 other girls in my pool were a fun group (and ironically, besides the girl who we all felt was the “best” non pro there, we had the strongest pool).








After the day’s play we headed back to get ready for Tropical night. Before we got ready I went to watch Amy do the trapeze…and right when she got up there to start swinging, can we say downpour? At least she tried! Now, I did dress up for this one. And thanks to Amy I had some cute flowers to go with the outfit. This was the night that we did the Roshambo shot game which turned into the finger up or down shot game. AND I WAS VERY HAPPY THAT I ONLY ENDED UP WITH ONE SHOT….unlike poor Katie who mist have had 5-6 shots from that game alone! And the shots, btw, were AWFUL. Hahahaa. Ahhh….the memories! Oh…and can we just talk about the flip cup madness that night! So funny to watch!








Tues brought the end of the tourney action and more afternoon clinics. Even though I made it out of my pool, I opted to not play. My knee was just painful to play on at that time, so I watched :)! I also was able to get the videocamera to start videotaping the clinics…A MAJOR WORK IN PROGRESS. Hahahaha. And after the finish of the afternoon we headed back to get ready for “dress down” night…an easy night to get ready for! Hahaha! But after that we headed back to the courts for some ACE action. I wanted to play but knew I couldn’t….so I settled for camera action!! Hahaha!






Wed was suppose to be a better day, BUT with the stalling of Tropical Storm Noel it turned out to be windy and grey. Very little rain though, so that was good! I also directed the doubles tourney (thanks to Renee and Tbone for the help the night before), which was different. Bascially I had to find a balance of the vacation element AND a true tournament element for this. And yet again I was winging things…hahaha. But for the most part it ran really smooth!!

And of course, after the clinics we headed back to get ready for Halloween! So yes, I was officially trying to be Britney Spears (and should have asked my sis for her cowboy boots but didn’t). Now I know I should have brought attachable babies too. But to be frankly honest, Halloween is not a holiday I usually go overboard on…so I was happy with what I did. And it was way fun to see everyone else in their costumes!! Straight classic!!



Thurs was the last day of the doubles tournament…which turned out to be very interesting. All it took was 2 people to screw the entire experience up. People seriously need to get over themselves when they screwed up and did not follow instruction….enough said. Besides that the day was good. The weather was trying to get better too…we did have a couple peeks of sun!




That night was the conch shack dinner, dress to impress night, and the vb hardcore exhibition…another thing I opted out of due to my knees. The Conch was gorgeous and fun as usual. Can we talk about the rum punch?! Pure Yummo! Hahaha! It was also fun to watch everyone play 6’s again…something beach players rarely do!





And before I forget I need to give props to Ken Delgado for all the photos he took this past week!! Thanks Ken!! And Nina…u rock :)! Let me rephrase that and say thanks Ken & Nina! To view ken’s website go to kendelgado.com!


Ceviche’s Day at Dland

You know, I am OFFICIALLY a Disney freak (my obession is crazy), but I definitely learned about the little things this past weekend with my niece! Savannah, aka Ceviche, turned 5 two weeks ago and my gift to her was a trip to Dland (and only Dland). Ceviche has a tendency to not like anything in the dark (rides, lines, etc) or boats (even Small world) so you would think that the day would be limited…right? WRONG!!



When we got to the park, I decided to buy Ceviche an Princess Autograph book for signatures. We headed into the park, straight to Fantasyland! Ceviche loves the Merry-Go-Round. It was a start to an amazing day :). From there we walked to the Autopia, passing by the HUGE Nemo line/ride. Ironcially, at first Ceviche was like “NO”, then changed her mind later…so there is hope! We fastpassed Autopia and headed to meet Ariel! And to be honest, I felt like we were special and Ariel talked to my niece for 5 minutes!! And yes, there was still a long line behind us…and in front of us no one talked that long…so I was happy for my niece!










After the meet and greet we jumped on the teacups. Wow, Ceviche loves that ride!! Actually, Ceviche just likes being in control!! Hahaha! Anyways, from there we headed to Toontown. We went to Mickey’s house and standed in line for 1 hour!! Oh yea, a really long line! Patience is not a virtue when it comes to kids…it is REALITY with kids! Wow, the things you learn! Haha. Anyways, we got the photo with Mickey and headed to Goofy’s house. And of course my dream guy never ceases to amaze me! :)! And of course Ceviche played in the playground behind Goofy’s house!! 🙂
















From their we headed back to Autopia, where Ceviche was a driver (and on the ride) for the first time! So classic! Haha! After that we grabbed food and staked our spot on the parade line. And not a bad spot, if you ask me! To see my nieces’ face when character’s smiled, waved, and talked (oh yes…classic) to my niece. Probably the best part of the day for me! It was priceless!









After the parade we headed back to the Merry-Go-Round and got sidetracked to Dumbo! And Ceviche wanted to ride it!! That has NEVER happened!! So we rode Dumbo! I was so proud of her! She actually controlled the “up & down” motions too!! After that we headed to the Merry-Go-Round for one last spin…







Then it was home for us…a long day (oh yes I was tired) but so worth it and amazing!! 🙂

The SD Dinner party

So, every chance we get (which is not that many) we, the Phillips, try and head down to see our Aunt Chloe at the Viejas Casino in Alpine (San Diego). We were able to get down there a week ago to celebrate Kara’s belated bday and our Aunt’s 70th bday. And let’s say, we are never sad when we are “forced” to eat that gourmet at the Casino Steakhouse!! Haha! Anyways, one of the funnest moments EVERYTIME we go down is our car ride down! Lastyear I was able to videotape the car action (which was QUITE HYSTERICAL).

My fabulous sisters

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This time it was all about the camera!! Hehehehe!

The drive down







Our “coffee break”










Dinner 🙂


Luge it or Lose it! The New Mexico Chili fest…

So, this past weekend I was able to attend the infamous Redondo Beach Chili Fest, at Sarah Straton’s house :)! Greg, her fabulous hubby, is from New Mexico and has those fabulous chili’s shipped west every year for this event. CAN WE SAY YUMMO!! And not only did we get our grub on, but we got to partake in the Luge events. Freaking classic! Yes, I am newbie at the luge! And I must say, whoever invented the ice luge…PROPS TO THEM! And, for the highlight on the luge that night we had someone do the green chili, vodka, jello shot luge…YUCK, but funny!! And let’s just the company did not suck!! Hahaha…From my fabulous HS friend, Michelle to the AVP’ers Marcia, Fitz, & Dave, to the Players (Sarah, Barb, The Holdren’s, The Nygaard’s) and everyone else who rocked (who doesn’t adore the Wachtfogel’s)!!

The Kid’s Jumpy thing…yep we were in there!!




The Luge Action










AVP SF…the end…hehe

So, as the 2007 season was ending I was getting ready to move on to the next chapter of my life…SCARY RIGHT? For me change is scary, but sometimes needed. The San Fran weekend was a great weekend to end things with the AVP…there was good, bad, beautiful, and crazy all rolled into one!!

The nice thing about San Fran (like Chi and NYC) is that it is a walking city. We were lucky to stay in the Hilton Fisherman’s Wharf, near Pier 39 and Ghiradelli!! YUMMO!! Hahaha! The view to Alcatraz, aka the Rock, and the Golden Gate were breathtaking too!! But let’s get to the site….FREAKING GORGEOUS!!! We were located on Pier 30/32, practically under the bay bridge, on the bay. And the weather was amazing too!! Did I mention that we had the first sold out event of the 2007 season on Sunday too??! WOOHOO! Nice right?!

Site Seeing


Our Site



Nightlife













Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple!

So before I start on my adventure in the lovely city of New York, I want to thank marvelous friends for letting me say with them! It was a well needed 36 hours of relaxation and good comapny! D & K you both rock….and I heart your baby!! My doggie nephew rules! 🙂





Now, lets get back to the day at hand…good times in the city! :)! My day started off with a train ride back to Penn Station at 5:40A…of course (Kris you will love this), being tired I hopped on the Hoboken train first and had to do my first transfer (with suitcases mind you) on the NJ transit! Hahaha! One stop later I was on the Penn Station bound train :). And from Penn Station I hoped back on the LIRR to Jamaica and on to the HGI JFK. When I arrived there my sis, Cheri, was waiting for me in the lobby. She took a redeye in from LB because she has a conference in the city. We got our room and crashed for a couple hours 🙂

Now our hotel is by JFK and no where by a subway line…so let’s just say that it is an adventure (with a lot of patience) to get to the subway!! Haha. You have to take the Airport shuttle to Federal Circle and hop on the Airtrain…which will take you to Jamaica or Howard Beach where you can grab the subway. Me and Cheri choose the Howard Beach route so we could start our adventure on the lower West side of the island.

We decided to head to Chelsea Market so that I could see where the Food network studios were. But before we went there Cheri had to make an appointment at Blow, a hairblow blowout place. Cheri SWEARS by it! CLASSIC RIGHT? After that the market was 2 blocks away. So we walked over and as we were walking (and I was talking on the phone at this time) we walked by Kristen Johnson (3rd Rock from the Sun) walked by us…Cheri totally nudged me and I only saw her back, but just started laughing! Classic right? So we entered Chelsea Market, a upscale market in the meatpaking district. So cute in there! Apparently, MLB, Oxygen network, & the Food Network have places in that building. So we walked around and grabbed something to eat. YUMMO!



From there we hopped back on the subway so we could check out the hotel/convention that Cheri was attending. It was in Times Square (which is one of the 2 places I need to visit everytime I am in NYC) at the Marriott Marquis. Such a beautiful hotel AND next to MTV…classic! We had to have fun in the elevator system…hehehee!

After we walked around there we headed to Rockefeller (the other place I need to see everytime I am in town). SO BEAUTIFUL! Winter or Summer! We kept moving towards 5th Ave..oh the shopping and money loss that can occur on that street! Hehehe! We kept walking north on 5th ave towards the marvelous Central Park. I had wanted to take a rowboat on one of the lakes (next to the Bethedsda Fountain…but it was misting….so it was a no go…:(. BUT we at least had a drink along the lake at the Boathouse Central Park.






We then met up with my Co-worker, Fitz, and Jobe (a Crocs employee) in the park and headed to dinner in the Upper East Side at Piu Piu (a Peruvian joint). YUMMO! After that we headed downtown to Union Square and hit the other Grey Dog for a drink and a cookie…hehehe!








After that we headed home on our long ride…wow…it was long too!! But a great day was had FOR SURE! Cheers to NYC!!