And the Madness Begins!

We've been busy! First we took Tony's dad out for lunch for his birthday on our way up to Phoenix on Sunday 10/2/11. We went to Famous Dave's BBQ, it was our first time there, and we liked it quite a bit. Tony's dad made the mistake of ordering a burger that was supposed to be really spicy and then putting extra hot sauce on it and making it devilishly spicy. The rest of us did not do that and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals.
Then we headed up to Phoenix to spend the night and leave the kids with Dorothea. Of course I made everyone (except Tony) stay up too late playing games, but was well worth it in my opinion. I lost, but what else is new? We also had some yummy dinner from Filibertos. I love me some egg, sausage, and cheese breakfast burrito! Below is a pic of Allison, Tony, and Alex. Alex just moved back to Phoenix from Kansas City a few weeks ago. It was really good to see him again and spend some time with him. The last time he saw Nola she was just a few weeks old.

After we got up the next morning, we headed off on the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas. It was actually a relatively pretty drive with different desert landscapes to look at along the way. When we got into the outskirts of Vegas we tried to look for the 'Sister Wives' but had no luck. ;) We met my friend Kristy and her husband John at their hotel and went to eat at the Mandalay Bay buffet although we weren't super hungry since we had been snacking the whole drive up there in order to stay awake. I was impressed with how much food we were able to pack away even so.

Tony and I went out to eat at Serendipity that night while Kristy and John had a date to see the Lion King. The food was alright and we spent a lot considering it was supposed to be a cheaper restaurant. We met up with Kristy and John the next day and went to the Freemont Street Experience (I might be wrong about what that's called) which is the old Las Vegas strip that they put a sort of covering over. Basically it was casinos (surprising right?!) and shops so we just kind of wandered around and I found a few presents for people.

Tuesday night Kristy and I went to see Le Reve while John worked at the conference and Tony hit up the casinos. It was pretty fantastic, like a cirque de soleil show, but in water. There were lots of cool stunts and pretty props, but it left me wishing I was more flexible. I'm not entirely sure it was worth $120 each, but it was pretty special none the less.
On Wednesday Kristy and John had to leave in the afternoon, so we walked around with them for a bit and grabbed a bite to eat before they left. Shortly before they left, it started to rain. Apparently all the traction on the bottom of my flip flops had worn off because I was sliding all over the strip. It was terrifying. So I stayed put in between the M&M and Coca Cola shops while I made Tony go get the car to pick me up. I'd say that was a better option than breaking my hip. We came home on Thursday, got to Jamie's house around 4pm to pick up the girls, and made the drive back to Tucson. Thanks to everyone for watching our kids, we really appreciate it!

We've been wanting to try out this new biking/jogging/horse back riding trail just south of our house (by Tony's work). So we finally went on Saturday afternoon. I took the girls in the bike trailer for the first time and they really enjoyed it, Nola even fell asleep. I was ready to give up about halfway through the trail (it's 2.6 miles) and turn around, but Tony had me go another 1/4 of the way. I survived and I have a really sore butt to prove it! I'm hoping now that it's cooling off, we'll be able to go every other day and I won't have to pay to join a gym until it get hot out again in the spring.
Then yesterday (10/9/11) we had Nola's dedication at church. Lots of our friends and family came along to support us and most of us went out to eat at Culvers afterward. We basically introduced our families, said the dedication vows, and read what we wrote on our 'homework assignment'. Here's what I wrote:

My wish for my girls is that they grow up to put their whole trust in God. I don't want them to fear the future or dwell in the past, but to realize that God's infinite wisdom and love will guide them through any hardships that come their way. I wish for them to be independent, passionate, kind, caring, and responsible. But most of all, I want them to know how much they matter - to me, to their dad, to each other, and especially to God. I want them to know that they are valuable, important, and loved wholly and unconditionally.



Oh and today is my 28th birthday!