Vegas Weekend!

It's Vegas time, baby!  This past Friday, Jared and I hopped on a plane to Las Vegas for a much needed 48 hours of fun with two of our best friends.

We stayed at The Palazzo for the first time and were impressed from the beginning.  The room was ready at 11am and we were all set to go have lunch at the pool by noon. 
And we got a view of the strip--very cool.

After a relaxing afternoon where this mama actually took a nap (yes, a NAP!) we were ready to go do dinner.  We went to the Delmonico and were so happy to be back there with the Rachavongs.

The last time we were with them in Vegas was 8 years ago.  Adam proposed to Hayley right after we had dinner at the Delmonico!  This time we toasted to great friends instead of an engagement:)

After a fabulous dinner of steak and halibut, the hubdog and I headed over to see Garth Brooks!

This guy put on a heckuva show.  Seriously, one of the best we have ever seen.  He is so talented and rocked it for 2 1/2 hours!  His wife, Trisha Yearwood, even came out and sang with him, too, which was an added bonus for sure:)

With the time difference, it was 3 am to us when the show ended, but we were so stoked about it that we could have couldn't have cared less.  I am so glad that we went!

Meanwhile, Gigi and Boom were holding down the fort at our house.   A cold front blew in and it was cold here on Saturday morning.  Jackson had a baseball game at the same time as Maddie's soccer game, so they had to divide and conquer.

I heard that Maddie did great!  She was right in there trying her best.

Even though she didn't score a goal, she told me that she definitely will score one the next time!

The Angry Birds tied 6 - 6, but Madison's #1 cheerleader thought that they were for sure the best team.

After the games, they met back up at our house to warm up and get ready to head out to the lake.

Around the same time, Hayley and I had just arrived at Cabana 141!  It was a little bit different scene than the one in Murphy, Tx.  Sunny, 90 degrees and a waitress bringing us drinks.

Love this girl! 

We had a blast.  There was another pool with lots of loud music coming from it nearby.  We imagined that this was what people in there must have been doing:)

Most of the time the guys stayed near the cabana so that they could watch as much college football as possible.  They did venture out after they both won big, though.  They did so good on picking the winners of all three games.  Way to go, hubs!

It was the all around perfect day.

That evening we got ready for dinner and a little casino action.  When Lila saw this picture, she asked me why we went to Chuck E Cheese!  I guess it's not all that different.  Just much crazier people, though.

We ate dinner at Dal Toro's on the strip--lots of good laughs and the perfect night to dine outside.

That night the kids were living it up at the lakehouse with their grandparents.  Lila was busy taking care of her babies...

there was some horseplay on the couch...

and two ninnies being silly after bathtime:)

The next day they drove over to the ranch.  I'm almost 100% positive that Jackson did not drive on any real roads!

They got to see the llamas and found out one of them is pregnant. 
I wonder when we'll get to go see the baby llama?!

Words cannot describe how cute I think this black cowboy hat is on our kid.

They also got to see two new baby calves. 
 Since there is one girl and one boy, they named them Fancy Nancy and Jaden (the red power ranger).  So fitting!

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for taking such great care of our kids. 
They had such a fun weekend and we did, too! 

Let's Go Rangers!

Sunday morning we set off in the car for a day at The Ballpark in Arlington.  Jackson has been counting down the days ever since we bought the tickets 3 weeks ago.  He woke me up and said, "No more days, Mom!"  It was so stinkin' cute.

We got there early so that J could get some autographs.  No dice, though.  Seems like the players were too focused on winning their double-header.  We never saw any of them before gametime, but we tried!

Since we struck out on autographs, we headed over to the Kid Zone in center field.   Jackson got to stand next to a larger-than-life Nolan Ryan...

and then go play games inside.  We thought Lila would get a kick out of seeing us and Mickey Mouse.

Pretty soon thereafter, it was time to get some lunch and find our seats.  This kid promptly devoured his first hot dog of the day.

We were excited to see Yu Darvish on the mound.  He ended up pitching 7 innings.  Way to go, Yu!

My dad went with us while my mom stayed home with the girls. 
They're not what I would call "baseball game material" just yet.

We had fun cheering on our other favorite #32!

It was the perfect day for a baseball game--70 degrees with a light wind...perfection.

Around the 3rd inning we got the big guy some popcorn.  He was grinning from ear to ear.

Not too long after the popcorn, though, he said he was still hungry and would like another hot dog.  So, two hot dogs, one box of popcorn and one sprite later, the kid was full and happy.  Too bad the Rangers lost in the last inning!  It was still a really nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We were really glad to see them win the second game last night, though, and are ready to cheer them on in the post-season.

Go Rangers!

SHS Homecoming

Yesterday I picked Maddie up early from school so that we could go watch Karlie cheer at a pep rally. 

It was Sachse High School's homecoming and we thought it would be fun to see her favorite baby sitter in action!

We spotted Karlie right when we walked into the gym. 

I must say, it was very different being in the stands during a pep rally!  It's also different not being in my old high school gym.  We got there early so that we could get a good seat...

and waited for all of the action to begin.  Pretty soon the gym was filled up and the football team began walking in while everyone clapped to the fight song.  Ah, the memories!  Too bad it wasn't the GHS fight song that I know so well!

Karlie was front and center when the cheerleaders took the floor--I know we're biased, but we think she's the best one:)

Maddie thought it was fun watching the cheerleaders do stunts...

and I got a kick out of watching the teachers dance.

My favorite part was the end of their routine when they finished with "Gangnum style."  Ha!  It was pretty darn funny.  I guess they were moving so fast that little my camera couldn't keep up. 

We had fun and were so proud of Karlie.  She did a great job at organizing her senior homecoming pep rally.  By the end of it, the whole school was really pumped up. 
We heard that SHS won big last night, too.  Way to go, Mustangs!

The Birthday Crew

Last weekend we were back on the party circuit, but not for kiddos this time. First, we helped my dad surprise one of his best buddies at his 60th birtthday party.

Dad and Alex have been friends since at least high school (probably before that) and Alex just finished his last round of chemo a week ago.

Since it was also his 60th birthday, his family decided to throw him a
"The Big 6 -0 and No More Chemo!" party.  Everyone is really thankful that he's doing so well now.

Jared was in hog heaven hanging out with these two.  My dad and Alex used to raise quite a ruckus back in their younger days and we have grown up hearing all of their crazy stories! 

Things are a little tamer now.  The wild parties are long gone and have now been replaced with kids and grandkids.  In fact, Alex's daughter is about to have her second baby girl any day now.  And, if this isn't crazy, she lives down the street from me! 

We had such a fun time with their family--Alex's sister and brother-in-law make and fire their own pizzas and they were so good.  We told them just to let us know when their pizza business opens up in Farmerville, Tx.  We will be there!

The smiles on the grandkids' faces say it all.  It was a really great night of celebration:)

The next night, we headed over to wish Meme happy birthday, too.

After chowing down on Babe's (yum!) it was time to bring out the ice cream cake. 
 Do you think they were excited?!

Two candles is tough, but no worries, these three munchkins helped out their great grandma. 
Those candles were no match for them.

Although we did give Meme a gift, I think she probably liked these homemade cards the best.  All three kids worked hard on theirs.  Lila asked for days afterwards why the the cards were still at Meme's.  Guess she thought that the "Lila loves Meme" card should have come home with her!