Weekend in Vegas

Towards the end of September, I made a 4-day weekend trip to see my sister in Vegas.  She moved there with her family at the end of the summer, and I was so excited to see her new house! (Plus, after spending the entire summer together, I'm not sure who was going through a worse "Larson withdrawal"--me or Jake. haha)

I just went alone with the kids, since Wesley was in the middle of midterms (another reason behind the trip..I thought he could use the quiet space to study)  The drive took about 5 hours, and I lucked out big time--the kids were so excited to just watch DVDs, play games on the iPad, and eat lots of yummy snacks. Really, it couldn't have gone smoother.  The kids were strapped down and entertained, and I enjoyed an audio book the entire drive--both to and from Vegas.

Jessica's house was beautiful, and as per usual, she had it decorated so perfectly.  I couldn't believe how much she accomplished in just a few weeks--not only unpacking, but she sewed curtains and made a bunch of small furniture pieces and shelves and stuff.  She really has an amazing eye for putting things together, something that doesn't come as easily to me.  I secretly (or maybe not so secretly) wanted to cry out of jealousy at the perfection.  Martha freakin Stewart. :) Way to go Jessica, I just hope you'll be there for me when I get into my own house someday.  Because I'm gonna need help. (Mom, Syd--you too... why am I the only one who didn't inherit the decorating gene!!???)

The weekend was really fun--We spent an afternoon on the strip, checked out the botanical gardens at the Bellagio, and exposed our kids to a nice healthy dose of secondhand smoke ;)  Other than that afternoon, we mostly just hung around the house, went to a couple parks, and enjoyed each others company.  I even got to see a bunch of my cousins for a brief 20 minutes! (They were doing a couples trip and stopped by)  So that was a neat little coincidence :)

Overall, it was a fun weekend, I hope to do it a few more times this next year while they still live so close!

Happy to be together :)

Botanical Gardens--look at the size of that pumpkin!!

Living floral impression of a Monet. Crazy huh? (not as crazy as the 2 boys in front of it.. this candid is hilarious)

Silly boy!

Aquarium in the Forum Shops

Mia is obsessed with fishies lately so she thought this was awesome.

Church! always ridiculous awesome with the 4 kids together.

The house that Jess is renting has a backyard thats completely rocks, bricks, and fake grass.  Um, it was fantastic!!! Mia is allergic to grass, mulch, flowers..so pretty much--backyards are a nightmare for me.  She had such an awesome time playing back there--with no itchy consequences :)

I'm so glad they are becoming such little buddies, just like their brothers!

Thanks for a great weekend Jess and Nate--we'll be back at Thanksgiving!!!