Fun trip, but I came home a loser...

We had my daughter's competition fundraiser on Saturday and it was a bus trip to Motor City Casino in Detroit, MI. We managed to sell 3 buses with at least 35 - 48 people on each bus. This is the squads 3rd time having this fundraiser but my first time attending, let's just say I'm a fan now! My brother, his g/f, and my MIL joined Jason and I for the festivities (THANKS GUYS! and THANK YOU to my Mom for watching my kiddos!). We were supposed to leave the school parking lot at 3 pm, but this was the day we got the surprise 6 inches of snow, instead of the 1, maybe 2, inches of snow. We didn't end up leaving til 3:30 and the fun started before we even left the parking lot. lol We had coolers of beer, soda, water, and jello and pudding shots, we had a 50/50 raffle going, and lots of laughing. I'm not a big drinker, but those jello shots sure did taste yummy! (If you ever have to make jello shots, go with the green jello and tequila - YUMMY!)
The normal ride up to the casino is about 45 minutes, with the nasty weather we encountered, it took 1 1/2 hours. My brother won the 50/50 raffle, I did a bang up job being banker and taking care of the manifest for the casino, and my beer sellers rocked! We were told to board the buses to go home at 9:45 (an hour later than originally planned due to the weather and that the casino wanted us in the casino for 5 hours, which is normal for a bus trip). I was in search of food, but we headed to the bar to catch up with the other buses and grab a drink. We decided against the buffet and just found the food court. Talk about price gouging! A slice of Little Ceaser's pizza = $7, turkey sandwich = $9, chicken salad = $9.00. It was good, but a cheaper price would have made this tight wad a bit happier. After we ate, my MIL, my brother and his g/f started walking the floor in search of cheap slots. My brother's only request was that it had a slot handle and not just a button. We finally found one and none of us understood how the game was played. Talk about a bunch of laughs, but we did get excited when the machines started flashing and making noise. None of us walked away a winner on those machines. MY MIL went to some other machines and came away a winner though. I tagged along with my brother and his g/f because I wanted to learn how to play roulette. We finally found a computer one and I actually made $12.00! I doubt they've seen anyone hit the cash out button so fast!
At 8:15pm I get a text from a friend on a different bus and she said all the buses are loading. Come to find out every bus was told a different time to board. Talk about major confusion. Between a friend and myself, we managed to load everyone back onto our bus, but not before 9:45. I was supposed to stop back at the desk and pick up a birthday gift but I totally forgot :( Hope it wasn't a check for million$!
The ride home was quieter and calmer, but I was the one that won the 50/50 this time around! I had a blast actually getting to have grown up time with my brother and his g/f. She's a great girl, who seems really comfortable wherever she's at, whatever she's doing, she's got a good head on her shoulders and I really enjoy seeing my brother smile again. Even though I "donated" money to the casino, we raised over $3,000 for our girls, this will go towards the rest of their competitions and hopefully a trip to Nationals as well!
On Sunday, I had my family over to celebrate my birthday and to watch the Super Bowl. We ordered pizza, made way too many appetizers, and just enjoyed the day. My one brother couldn't make it (he had to plow snow for the schools), but my sister-in-law and my nephew came, which really made me smile. It was just nice to have everyone here, listening to the cousins playing, watching my step-dad snooze like a really old man, and enjoying the last football game of the season. I would have loved for the Steelers to win though, that would have made for a perfect weekend.