I've been out of town! On the other side of the continent to be exact - no wonder I haven't been blogging lately huh? Last Sunday (the 27th) Ben left for a work trip in Las Vegas (honestly, it was for work!) and I took the girls down south for a few days to visit
Kelly and Owen (very fun). Then Friday morning (the 2nd) rolled around and I was off to Las Vegas myself to spend a few fun "all alone" days with Ben! It had been nearly 6 years since I'd been on an airplane, and the first time I'd ever left either of the girls for much more than 24 hours. It would be an understatement for me to say that it was hard to go, in fact I woke up at 2:45am before my 8:00am flight hyperventilating and crying - I nearly backed out! I managed to pull it together though, and flew 4.5 hours, high over desert and canyons - the likes of which I'd never seen in person, to get to my hubs in Las Vegas! I made it, and it was totally worth the somewhat traumatizing start ;) Here are a few of my highlights and favorite sights...
We stayed at
MGM's Excalibur Hotel and Casino (look Evie, a castle!)
Ben in front of the
Excalibur
The first night Ben took me to the
Paris Hotel for a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It was very fun and romantic, only I was starting to feel sick and I forgot that I have a little "thing" for heights, I almost passed out after we came down - yikes!
Paris Hotel's Arc de Triomphe
The
Bellagio's gorgeous fountain show taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower
The Strip taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower (the tower is half the size of real one in Paris)
At the
NY NY with the Statue of Liberty made of Jelly Bellies (more delicious than the real statue in NY!)
The
Bellagio was gorgeous and had, by far, my favorite interior!
I loved this glass ceiling arrangement in the Bellagio. I have a thing for blown glass, I don't so much want it in my own house, but I LOVE it! I would have never thought to suspend it like this!
I LOVED The
Venetian, it was beautiful! Gondolas, sangria, chips and salsa, a high-end vintage jewelry store that let me play "dress -up" because they were hoping I would buy something (a $50,000 diamond ring? Maybe another day!)... very very fun!
At the fountain in front of
The Forum Shops (where I did buy myself a
treat ;)
On the last night we took a bus to Freemont Street, the original "Rat Pack" Las Vegas (so fun!) but on the way we passed the new
Encore Beach Club. I fell in love with it from the street! This photo doesn't even come close to showing how fresh, chic, and lovely it is, but trust me! I would love to go there if we ever go back!
On Freemont Street we explored the old Casinos and ate dinner at the Golden Nugget's
Du-Par's Restaurant and Bakery that opened in 1938. Ben had dinner there one night with the guys before I got to LV and he knew that I would love its charm and nostalgia. Other than the very very drunk family from Ohio, it was great!
Ben also took me to the
Titanic Artifact Expedition at the
Luxor, which was no joke, a total dream come true for me and probably my absolute favorite part of the trip! He was so sweet to pretend to be interested for as long as he did and to patiently let me read EVERY little thing - I love you Babe, thanks for the great trip! We had so much fun being away by ourselves, but it was so good to get home to our girls yesterday! I missed Evie and Annie so much that it physically hurt at times, I actually came very close to toting Anabelle along at the last second since her airfare would have been free - what can I say, I love my kids! We got home at about 5pm last night and spent the evening of the 4th at my Aunt Nicole's house for a cookout, I forgot to take pictures because I was so tired, but we had a really wonderful time and I was happy to spend part of the holiday together as a family. It's great to get away, but it's even better to come home!!!
FYI: I only took the photos from the top of the Eiffel Tower and the rest I located online after we got home, I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures!
We just returned home from a week long vacation in Pensacola. We had a great time and I have much to share on the blog - news from both before and during vacation - preschool graduation, dance recital, time with cousins, beach fun, pregnancy, etc.! I am going to take a day or 2 to recover and then I'll be back :)
On Sunday we started the day by celebrating our Risen Savior at my Uncle Clif's first Sunday morning service at his church plant Circle PCA, it was a special service and we were blessed to be there. In the afternoon, we had Easter lunch at my Nana's house and the girl's hunted eggs down by the water. It was such a lovely and relaxed day - perfect for reflecting on what Christ has done for us.
Before we drove home on Monday, we explored in downtown Pensacola and ended up having lunch outside on the deck at The Fish House. Right below our table in the water was a mother duck with her brand new ducklings - precious! Watching them kept us entertained the entire time. It was a perfect way to wrap up a wonderful laid back trip. We can't wait to go back soon!
The hubs finally offered to take a few photos of me on the last day ;)
So, here I am with my little ladies!
We met this cute little Viking girl that looked just like Evie!
Here she is with her lovely older sister (JK - it's actually William - fooled you!)
We celebrated Maisie's 4th birthday with a princess lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. It was so hilariously sweet that it deserves a slide show - COMING SOON!
Anabelle and I (just plum wore out) split off from the group to "globe trot" for the afternoon. We leisurely strolled through the World Showcase (here she is in Morocco), it was a PERFECT afternoon with my little girl. She fell in love with a little Steiff piggy ("Peepee") in Germany, and I simply couldn't resist buying it because I was missing Reed!
Finally, we finished off the day (and the trip) with a "bath" ;)
