Vegas Baby!

Once again, I"m the last sister to document something we all experienced together. I guess that's what comes with this stage of life though. 3 little ones leave little time for blogging and social media. Still, I'll take what I can get. :)

Jenn and Courtney already did a fabulous job recapping our fantastic time in Las Vegas last weekend.

Since I don't want to be too redundant, I'm just going to post some of the pictures that haven't been shared yet, and quickly share the highlights for me.

So, if you want a more detailed story, be sure to check out the sisters' blogs. :)

Oh, by the way, something that was NOT a highlight, but has to be mentioned, is the trip to DIA that almost made us miss our flight to Vegas. That was the MOST stressed I have EVER been when it comes to making a flight, and the closest I've ever gotten to missing one. I don't want to experience that again. No bueno!

I should mention that these are in chronological order, not in order of significance. ;)

Highlight #1, arriving safe and sound in Las Vegas. I didn't know if it would happen, but here we are in front of the famous "Welcome To Las Vegas" sign just happy to be on the ground and not running around like crazy people.

Highlight #2, eating at the delicious Gonzalez Y Gonzalez inside our NY NY hotel (the hotel with the most character, in my opinion). It was our first meal since breakfast, and it was already dinner time. Everyone enjoyed the delicious food and ah-mazing margaritas!

Highlight #3, the fountain show in front of the Bellagio. SO fun!

Highlight #4, the Soul2Soul concert with Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw. I could listen to their voices all day. 

Me with the birthday girl, my little sis Alli. 

She (and her hubby Brian) were the reason we were in Vegas to begin with. :)

And of course, the 4 sisters. :)

Highlight #5, Vegas during the day, walking along the strip, and visiting the M&M store.

When I saw Buzz and Woody from Toy Story, I simply HAD to get a picture with them to show Ethan. 

He's obsessed with these characters right now. 

Highlight #6, lunch at Max Brenner's with my Aunt Dareth and her friends. Loved the food and company!

Highlight #7, dinner at the Stratosphere or "top of the world" restaurant. Maybe the most fancy restaurant I've ever eaten at. Here's the whole "gang". :)

And, last but definitely not least, highlight #8 is winning $100! Never thought that would happen.

Really, the best part was getting a little vacation with my mom and sisters. We had a wonderful time even if, like Jenn said, there was too much "naked" in Vegas. Did not like the naked or the smell of smoke everywhere. ;) The rest of the trip was a blast though, and it was a weekend to remember. 

And, Happy 30th Birthday to Alli and Brian this month! You two are great sports for letting us crash your Vegas party! ;)

P.S. Caleb and Jon are the best husbands for letting Jenn and I get away and for taking care of our babes while we were gone. As much as I loved this trip, I was happy to be home and hug/hold my babies.

Austin & Friends

This past weekend Caleb, Emsley and I flew to Austin, TX to visit one of our favorite families!

I mentioned in a previous post that Joe, Caleb's best friend, moved his family to Austin about a year and a half ago and it's the longest we've gone without seeing them. 

I only wish I had more pictures from the weekend, but of course we discovered our camera was dead as we were rushing out of the house to make it on time for our flight. There was no time to charge it. :( Any pictures you see of us on here are courtesy of Kim. 

We flew in late Friday night (midnight in Austin) but that didn't stop Caleb and Joe from playing games until 2 AM. 

It's always so good to see these guys reunited. :)

This picture was taken many years ago, long before Caleb and I were married.

The weather was GORGEOUS (upper 60's and low 70's) and made me even more anxious for spring to arrive here in Colorado.

Saturday Joe and Kim took us to The Salt Lick, a famous BBQ restaurant that has been on The Food Network. It was an awesome place. It's one of those restaurants that isn't just a restaurant, it's an experience. 

They have fresh squeezed lemonade, a winery so you can go and sample wine while you're waiting to be seated (no matter what time of day you go, you can expect to wait a minimum of 45 minutes), 

lots of land with outdoor picnic tables, an outdoor small stage for live bands to come and perform, 2 large fire pits and a playground for kids. 

The food was to die for! It was such a fun experience!

Other than experiencing The Salt Lick, we just spent most of our time enjoying being together.

We drove through and around Austin, seeing where Joe works and learning all of the Austin hot spots. 

In the evenings after the kids were down we spent our time watching the Olympics and playing lots of card games and board games.

Sunday we visited their ginormous (but awesome) church with them and then went to get donuts and coffee.

Really, the best thing was just getting to talk for long periods of time. Even though Joe and Caleb were the original friends, Joe's wife Kim and I have become great friends too. I have an enormous amount of respect for her and really just "click" with her. She is such a genuine person with a huge, servant's heart. She's one heck of a mama too! 

Their boys are the same ages as our Ellie and Ethan so it was fun spending time with them too. They are seriously the sweetest boys!

 This is our Elliana and their Ben 4 years ago when they were our only children. :)

We finally got to introduce the newest members of our families, our Emsley and their Madison.  

These sweet baby girls are only 2 months apart in age. Emsley is on the right in case you can't tell. ;-)

We headed home on Monday morning. As much as we wished we could stay longer, we were also ready to see and hug Ellie and Ethan. 

It's so crazy to me how much our relationships and families have grown over the years. I can't for the life of me figure out how we don't have any pictures of the 4 of us because we've done so much together! 

Anyway, we had such a fun weekend and it was hard to say goodbye. I can't wait to see these lovely faces again. You can bet we won't let so much time slip by next time!

A Lot To Look Forward To

Caleb and I love to travel, but this is the longest we've gone without a vacation since we were married. I know it sounds spoiled since not many people get to travel as much as they want to, and with 3 kids and living on a teacher's salary, I feel very blessed.

Other than a one night get away, our last vacation was almost 2 years ago when we went to San Diego with Caleb's family. Since then I got pregnant and our 3rd baby came into the world 4 weeks early. Juggling a preemie baby, Ellie's new preschool schedule, Caleb's volleyball schedule and our wild 2 year old boy left no time for vacations.

But now there are so many vacations up ahead (some of them are small, long weekend get-aways) that I can't stop thinking about all of the places I'll get to cross off of  my bucket list.

First up is a long weekend escape to Austin to see this beautiful family. We'll leave on Valentine's Day and come back on President's Day.

Joe is Caleb's best friend and I adore Joe's wife Kim. We were not thrilled when Joe moved his sweet wife and boys to Austin. I haven't seen Kim and the kiddos since that move a year and a half ago. Since then we have both added a baby girl into our families. I'm excited to meet their little Madison and we'll be bringing Emsley with us so the girls can play. :)

Then, on March 8th, my sisters, my mom and I are flying to Vegas to celebrate my sister Alli's and BIL Brian's 30th birthdays! This trip kind of happened overnight and was totally random and impromptu. What started out as a hypothetical "Wouldn't it be fun if we joined Alli and Brian in Vegas?" turned into reality and it's going to be SO much fun! 

We'll only be there for 2 days and 2 nights, but we're going to enjoy every minute of it. I already know the highlight of our trip is going to be the Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw concert we officially have tickets for. 

I.can't.wait!

Brian and Alli will be staying at the Monte Carlo and Jenn, Courtney, Mom and I will be staying at the New York, New York.

We owe the husbands BIG time for encouraging us to do this and for watching all of the little ones for us while we're gone.  

And then, speaking of New York, New York, Caleb and I will be going to New York in the fall!!! Pinch me now. This has always been a dream of mine and at the top of my bucket list. I can't believe it's going to happen.

This past Christmas Caleb's parents surprised each of their sons and daughter-in-laws with a card saying that their gift to us was a trip to go anywhere in the U.S. with them. It didn't take long for me and Caleb to come up with New York!

We'll only be gone for 4 nights since it's hard to leave these 3 beautiful babes behind for too long. 

We had fun doing our own little photo shoot at home today. :)

It's going to be really hard to prioritize what to cram into those 4-5 days since we can't see everything in that time. I do know that we will for sure be seeing a Broadway play (I'm pushing for Wicked),

seeing the Statue Of Liberty, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, etc. Basically, as many tourist stops that we can fit in. :)

I'm sure I'll talk a lot more about this as it gets closer. :)

As if all of this wasn't enough, next year (2015) we'll have a few more vacations. Caleb and I are planning on going somewhere tropical for our 10th Anniversary. Probably back to Riviera Maya where our honeymoon was. I can't believe we'll be celebrating our 10th Anniversary next year. Where did the time go?

Anyway, with all of these vacations up ahead, I am one excited and happy girl!

Oh yeah, and before I forget-  GO BRONCOS!! SO excited to watch the Superbowl this Sunday!