messy spaghetti

When Carly eats spaghetti, it's not just her that gets messy...

...even Lola needs a bath on spaghetti night.

Carly Cuteness

Carly is stinkin' cute. And I know that isn't just me that thinks so.

She did some cute things while I was on a blogging hiatus.

She LOVES to clean the fridge. She asks me to spray it with the cleaning foam and she goes to town for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. If only she were interested in doing floors, windows, base boards, fans...

And she finger paints with her food (berries mostly). Should this be cute to me?

Happy Birthday, Claire!

Melanie's daughter, Claire, turned FOUR! And she had the most adorable party - Pancakes and Pajamas!What kid wouldn't want to party in their pj's?!

They ate pancakes (of course) with cake and ice cream (of course) for dessert. They even decorated their own pillow cases with their names on them. This party was no yawn.

I had to check with Melanie to see which pajamas Claire would be wearing. Our taste in clothes for the girls is so similar that their closets are nearly identical and I didn't want to have a "Who Wore It Best" blog post.

Of course Melanie and I had to take a pic of us and the kiddos - minus. Brady. Where was Brady?

Vegas Part 2

Did I tell you about the celebrities that we met in Vegas?...

Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Carly thinks that we are sooo cool now! Not that she didn't before, but you should have seen her light up when she saw this picture. I won't tell her that they were likely drunken, middle-aged men down on their luck and making ends meet by dressing up in filthy, stinky costumes on Fremont Street. No, I will let her believe that mommy and daddy are so cool that they know Mickey and Minnie personally.

So, this year we made a point to make it down to Fremont Street because the blisters on my feel kept us from making it there the last time we were there.

It was totally worth the cab limo fare.

We were tourists to the 100th degree. Cameras were out in full force.

Austin won a little money betting on football. And betting on football was one of the reasons why we chose this particular weekend to go to Vegas. Freddy really wanted to go during the NFL playoffs.

Of course the girls did some more shopping. And more Sex and the City slot machines.

Of all of the wonderful things to see in Vegas, this floral...picture?...was one of my favorites. I thought that it was SO COOL!

 

The girls (minus Mandy who still wasn't feeling up to par) near the end of our day of shopping.

And, yes. Yes, I did buy Freddy that ipad. We had to haul our cookies to the mall at the end of the strip and wait in a very long line, but I got it. I did not, however, get a good picture of me at the apple store thanks to the swarms of other apple customers that were in and out of the store.

And then we got picked up in style - a stretch hummer limo that our hubbies took back to the hotel from the golf course. Lucky for us they sweet-talked the driver in to picking us up ALL THE WAY at the other end of the strip from our hotel. Our feet were very thankful.

Of course we went out later for a nice dinner together and I busted out the camera to take pictures of everyone.



Andrew

Austin and Sara

Mandy and TJ



Leslie

Kacie and Leslie



Freddy and Hag



Freddy and me



Sara and me

Freddy, Hag and Andrew

Andrew, Kacie and unborn baby Jaxon

We liked to hit the slots together - strength in numbers, right? Or maybe it was because when you were watching someone else bet their money, it meant that you were holding on to your own - at least at that moment.





Me, Kacie and Brittany

Me and Hag - people-watching buddies. It's what we love to do together.

So there you have it, four months later - that was our super fun trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Freddy's 30th birthday with friends.

Vegas - Part 1

Waaaaay back in January, we headed to Vegas with some of our friends to celebrate Freddy's 30th birthday. Yes, you did the math correctly - that makes me 28.

We started the festivities at the airport with the Finley's (Sara and Austin), the Garcia's (Mandy and TJ) and the Hangman's (Brittany and Hag John).

As soon as we landed in Vegas, I lost Freddy. Where did he go? To the nearest slot machine, of course.
This is where we met up with the Connally's (Andrew and Kacie) and Leslie.

When we booked our trip, some of us purchased packages that came with free tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show - Zumanity. A little ticket-trading and the purchasing of a few extra tickets and the girls ditched the guys for a (RACY!) girls night. Seriously, don't see this one with your mother.

If ever you couldn't find me, you had to look no further than the closest Sex and the City slot machine. Those beasts are addicting! "I have to get a bonus. Have another 20, you stupid machine. I am not getting up until I get a bonus".

My persistence paid off and I on just over $240, which I quickly raced up stairs and locked up in our safe.

Freddy and I have been to Vegas before, but it was still fun to do all the normal sight-seeing. And people watching. Who doesn't love the people watching in Vegas?!

 

Hag and Brittany

Kacie and Andrew

Leslie and Kacie

Austin and Sara

TJ without Mandy. She wasn't feeling well. Isn't there always someone who gets sick on vacation?

Me and Freddy

Of course we hit up the stores for some serious shopping. Since we sent the boys on their way, we were free to buy whatever we wanted. I contemplated all day about whether or not to buy Freddy and ipad for his birthday (with my winnings). I can't ever spend more than $100 without serious contemplation - and to have to do it without bouncing it off of Freddy first made me ever more anxious. Stay tuned to see if I cracked...