Vegas Vacation

Paul and I went to Vegas to celebrate out 4 year anniversary.  We went during the weekend of record breaking heat.  So if we were outside, we were in the pool.  Otherwise, it was indoors with a/c.  We had so much fun.  We were there alone for one night, and the next morning we picked up Mara and Aron at the airport and spent the rest of the time with them.  We had a couple days to hang out and then we attended the Weekend To Remember conference.  I may or may not post more about the conference another time, but overall I'd give it a B-.  If we hadn't already gone through the Love and Respect series, I would have probably enjoyed it more.  But if you're looking for a marriage tune-up, I'd highly recommend Love and Respect.  It's awesome.  Weekend To Remember was just more little reminders for us, not so much life-changing information.

I love all white bedding.  Love. it.  I'll never have it, but when I stay in a hotel with all white bedding I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud.

 We stayed at the Redrock Resort.  It was awesome.  We'd highly recommend it to anyone not interested in the strip in Vegas.  It's a ways off the strip but it has everything you'd ever want.  Spa, bowling, food court, gambling, lots of pools, movie theater, tons of restaurants, shops, etc... It's beautiful.

 Aron broke his finger at Lake Mead the day before meeting up with us.  But he's strong, so he fixed it himself.

 My big penny slot payout, I started with a dollar.  Big money.

 We played BINGO, a lot.  I'd never played casino bingo.  We didn't win, but it's lots of fun.

 Mara and I were hanging out at the pool one morning and she was doing most of the talking.  At one point she said, "Is there something on your mind?...or are you tired?..."  It made me laugh because I was a little distant.  The reason was this: Whenever I had a bad day or a sleepless night with my babies, I'd imagine laying in the sun, by a pool, at a resort, looking up at the breeze in the palm trees, sipping a cold slushy drink.  And just chatting, dozing off, reading...anything but chasing kids.  It was surreal to be experiencing that in real life.  It was awesome.  But it made me think back on some of those rough nights, and ya know what?  Looking back, even the hard stuff on this parenting journey is pretty great.

 Four person selfie taken by Mara... So close!

 I love this women. She and Aron live in Atlanta and we miss them a lot.  She and I talk almost everyday, but I love being with her in person.  She's an amazing friend.

This was the first time ever leaving both kids. (My mom flew out and stayed with them.)  We missed them, but it was so good for us and we had a great time.  And it was so awesome being with some of our best friends.

Even in the insane heat!