Las Vegas- Part 2

February 26th- Day 2

We headed about 10 mins down the road to Henderson for breakfast, Coffee Bean coffee and a quick stop at a gun shop while Laurie went to pick up Steve from the Airport. Afterwards we headed over to Mandalay Bay to see the Aquarium. The girls loved it!

After the aquarium we got lunch with Steve, Laurie, Chris and Colton, and then headed over to the Silverton to meet up with everyone else. The Silverton has a huge fish tank and has mermaid shows and fish feedings and we managed to see both! We also walked through the Bass Pro Shop that is attached to the casino and it was huge! Our Cabella's here in Grand Junction has taxidermy but it's mostly things like ram, antelope and stuff like that, but the animals they had there were crazy! Lion packs, a giraffe, a two-story waterfall...We never did find out if they were real but it was pretty cool!

We ended our night getting together with everyone for cake and presents for Steve and Laurie's Anniversary and Laurie's Birthday.

Las Vegas- Part 1

Day 1-February 25th Our Vacation started with a weekend in Las Vegas to celebrate...Chris's return from Iraq, Laurie's 50th birthday, and her and Steve's 25th anniversary! The girls were so excited to be going to Vegas and Craig and I got a few laughs leading up to the trip over the fact that our little almost 4yr old couldn't wait to go to Vegas! The drive started out alright, we got a later start then we planned on but the real trouble started 2 hours into our drive when the girls DVD players just stopped working! We tried giving them other toys and snack but those didn't go over so well. So much for non stop movies and a nice quiet drive! The girls did well considering they were completely bored and thankfully didn't start crying until the end.

Our first night there we all went out to The Rainforest Cafe, we had been telling the girls about it all week and they couldn't wait! Since the restaurant was inside the MGM we stopped and saw the lions on our way in. They were getting ready be taken home for the night and it was super busy but the girls managed to get a quick glance. At the cafe Aubrey had some issues with having to hold it in the car and poor girl really get to enjoy it but thankfully she was fine by morning.

After dinner we walked over to the M&M factory and the girls got to walk through and look at everything. The movie theater portion was closed so it was mostly just a giant candy store but they had fun looking at merchandise and even got some M&M's to take home.

After getting back to our room, we got the girls to sleep and Laurie watched them while Craig and I went out. Since there isn't much to do in Vegas at night without an ID (which I have been since Nov) and we had already gotten dinner, our options were pretty limited. Thankfully the Coffee Beans in Vegas are open 24/7 so we opted for a coffee date and walking around the Miracle Mile shops, which I don't think were there when we went to Vegas in '06.

After walking there we crossed the street and went inside the Cosmopolitan. We were blown away at how high end it is and at how under dressed we were. All the men were inside were in suits and the women in little black dresses. just to gamble. The people who were in line for some show or nightclub were even more dressed up. Lol and then there was Craig and I, Craig in his work boots because after wearing shoes all day his feet were killing him and his custom arch supports don't fit in his shoes, and me wearing uggs and a big hoodie since I left my jacket at home since I wasn't counting on it being freezing in Vegas. I tried to find a photo to show just how crazy this place was but even the hotel website doesn't have any. This the only one I can find and it doesn't even began to do it justice. Before even making it outside Craig and I had already agreed we need to stay there next time we go to Vegas, which hopefully will be a kid free trip very soon! Since we were getting tired and so under dressed we got outta there pretty quick and headed back towards the car, which was through the Paris Hotel. That hotel is so deceiving and really well thought out! The minute you walk in you're hit by the 75* heat and the bright blue sky painted ceiling! You'd never think of the time, much less that it's 2am because you're so wide awake! So we ended walking around there for a while before heading back. It's was a nice, much needed date night :)

...For some reason I didn't take ANY pics the first night :( but there are some for the rest of the trip.

Yay!!!

We used our tax return to get our hard drives fixed (Finally!!) and they just arrived today! Not all the pictures were able to be recovered but the majority were and I am soo thankful for that! The girls and I spent the morning going through their baby pictures and remembering our favorite events. Once I get our blog up-to-date I'll go through and post some old pictures :)

Also just a reminder- REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!!!

Back in Ca!

So after a get together with Craig Dad's family in Vegas last weekend for Laurie's birthday and her and Steve's anniversary, the girls and I are spending a few weeks in palmdale and of course will be making a few trips to Ventura! When we get back to Co I'll make sure to post plenty of photos!

Also the girls were fully recovered from RSV and the ear infection in time for our trip and are back to their happy, energetic self's :)

Poor Baby!

On top of RSV, Evelyn also has her first ear infection :( She started complaining about it from the moment she woke up yesterday until she finally took an early nap around 11 but hasn't complained since. By the time we saw the Dr. today I thought maybe it was just an ear ache since she's seemed fine since but Dr. Lamb confirmed it and said it was so infected most kids would be crying, so she couldn't believe she wasn't even fussy! She's been started on some antibiotics and also has some drops for the pain so hopefully she'll get over this soon!

RSV

Aubrey has had a persistent cough since she got sick after Christmas. All there other symptoms went away but the cough has lingered and at one point seemed to be slowly getting better until a few nights ago when she seemed to be in pain with each cough. Poor baby would lay on my lap and whine that she didn't want to be sick anymore, which was absolutely heartbreaking as a parent. We found the girls friends came down with strep throat a few days after they were here for Evelyn's party so I was worried that that's what was causing Aubrey's recent throat irritation.

Well we scheduled her an appointment and after dealing with a nurse who didn't interact well with children and never explained anything she was doing we managed to get a throat culture, nose culture and a breathing treatment done. It really surprises me that some nurses are so oblivious to the fact that while the things they are doing are routine for them most kids aren't used to having a giant q-tip put down their throat or up their nose and that that mask and pump that make crazy noises and has "smoke" coming out of it seems pretty scary when you're 3. When our first nurse realized Aubrey was going to kick, scream and fight the breathing treatment she just left me with it, thankfully though a second nurse came in and she was wonderful! She explained to Aubrey what it was and that it would make her better (which of course held more weight than when I tried telling her that :)) and got her calmed down. After the breathing treatment we got the culture results back and while it was negative for Strep, she did have RSV. Since RSV is so contagious Evelyn either already has it or will get it too.

Both the girls we're prescribed Singular and an inhaler symptom relieve and should get better in about 7-10 days. Hopefully we won't go crazy being stuck at home that long!

Bed time

Bed time around here has been horrible lately! Evelyn had always been a good sleeper, even when we took the side off her crib to make it a toddler daybed, but ever since our first night in our new place it has been a constant battle with her. Here the girls are sharing a room (and Aubrey is actually sleeping in it!) which we though might be a problem but that isn't the case, Evvy just refuses to go to bed before 11 or 12!! Even when we start bedtime around 7 like we used to, it still takes hours for her to fall asleep. Normally that wouldn't be too bad because I've always been a night owl but during the move my sleep schedule changed and I am exhausted by 8 or 9. Aubrey has been doing great in her bed, she whines for a few minutes and than falls asleep and will sleep through the night.

Evvy on the other hand won't fall asleep despite trying everything we can think of; letting her fall asleep watching a movie, laying in her bed with her, taking Aubrey out of the room...I would just bring Evvy to bed with us but I don't sleep well to begin with and adding a squirming toddler to my bed only leaves me EXHAUSTED when I wake up even after 8+ hours of sleep! And while I am thankful that Aubrey has been going to sleep early, because she goes to bed early she also gets up early which means I can't even sleep in...It's a vicious cycle and I really hope the end is near because both Craig and I are starting to loose our patience and are missing our time together after the girls in bed.