Vegas Day 4

I thought I would share some pictures of our amazing hotel room. I have not stopped thanking the Lord for this opportunity for us to come and have such a lavish vacation. Day and I are always blown away and humbled by the many opportunities that working at Alcon have given us. We do not feel deserving, but hope that we can be faithful and obedient to what the Lord continues to bless us with. Today was much less busy. Day was in the conf. from about 8 until noon, then we met for lunch and he had more stuff until around 3:30. I spent the morning swimming, (the only free form of exercise they offer;) and after lunch went venturing out on my own to find a shoe outlet that I had seen advertised everywhere. I found some good deals and got some cute shoes. Later that night we decided to see the Blue Man Group show since we’re not planning on coming back to Vegas, probably ever. It started out pretty slow, but the last hour was awesome! Being our last night in Vegas and all…we had to try our hand at the slots. We had a $25 voucher from Travelocity, so we couldn’t let it go to waste. I think overall we left with about $40 or so dollars. Not to shabby! I think it’s going to take us a week to recover from this “vacation.” We head home tomorrow evening, so I’ll probably spend tomorrow packing and waiting for Day to finish up. Thanks for keeping up with our trip and thanks again to everyone who made it possible for us to come! We love you all! (Mom& Dad, Janie& Ernest, Jennifer, Natalie & David, Tracy & Charlie & Julia)

Vegas Day 3

We had a much more relaxing day today and yet very much fun. We skipped working out all together and headed straight for the breakfast buffet and noticed that the computer nerds were out in droves today! After we ate, Day went down to the conference to register and got to do some things he was looking forward to working on. A few hours later he came back and was now an official computer nerd, backpack, badge and all! Then we were off to the pool for some more r&r. Later on we got cleaned up and headed out to dinner and a Gondola ride. We had a 20% off coupon, but even still it was pretty over-rated. After the sun went down we went down to the Bellagio to watch the fountain show. It was very cool. I’m always in awe of the constant over the top nature of everything here. The hotels, the food, the shows, the entertainment…it’s all bigger, better, more exciting. Crazy really. We had another fun filled day, but now it’s off to bed. Day will be at the conf. most of the day tomorrow so I’ll have some time alone…sounds wonderful to me!

Vegas Day 2

Today we went to the Shark Reef Exhibit at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. It was really neat, and all I could think of was how much the boys would have liked it. We walked around a few other hotels then went to the Las Vegas Outlet mall and Day and I both got us some new clothes, and I got me some new running shoes...not that I'm getting a lot of running in here. We woke up and got ready to go run at the fitness center here in our hotel. After walking all over just to find it we were informed that it cost $35 per person per DAY to use the workout facility...ARE YOU KIDDING ME! If I run for 35 minutes that a dollar a minute...not to mention that I spend less then that a month for 24 Hour Fitness. "No thank you." we said and quickly left and went out to the pool area to see if maybe we could just run out there. After walking around to find a good pathway, we started jogging only to be quickly stopped by a very manly female security guard who informed us that we were not allowed to run out here and if we wanted to run we had to go down to the street. So, feeling very defeated and deflated, we headed back to our room, got dressed and headed to the breakfast buffet! So much for our workout, maybe we'll try running on the street tomorrow, we'll see. After our busy afternoon, we headed down to the pool for some r&r, then we got dressed for a night on the town with dinner at Maggino’s followed by the Cirque Du Soleil show called Mystere. It was amazing and we loved it. Day will start his conference tomorrow, so tomorrow should be more relaxing.

Sorry I had to resort back to the slide show method, but I spent over an hour trying to use bloggers format w/ a few pictures and Day even tried, but we couldn't figure out the issue, so slide show it is:)

Vegas Day 1

We started our morning at 4:30 a.m. and now it's 12:15 p.m. Dallas time and I've had my Tylenol pm and we're off to bed. I guess we're pretty lame Vegas tourists, since it's only 9:45 here and we're headed to bed. So much for the city that never sleeps! We said at dinner that it feels like we've crammed three days into one. A 2 1/2 hour flight, the craziness of finding bags, rental cars, hotels, hotel rooms...we've gotten lost pretty much ever time we walk out of our room...then lunch, MGM, New York, M&M store and a quick shower, dinner followed by a trip to downtown Vegas to see the laser light show and now finally to bed. Wheeeewh! I'm tired just typing all about it. We've had a great day, and a full day planned tomorrow! Just thought I'd share some pictures.




We're in Vegas, Baby!


The view from our hotel room window.


Mommy found her a yummy cowboy!


We had a delicious meal at Bill's Steakhouse...don't you love the velvet booths!

My Valentine Present...better late than never;)

I know this is way past due, but wanted to share these pictures and brag on my sweet husband. This year Day planned for us to have our pictures made together, without ANY children in them...only the two of us. I was very excited about it and felt it was a very sweet and thoughtful idea. I had found a dress awhile back that I had planned on wearing for our anniversary, but it came and went and we never got to go out...probably due to a sick kid I'm sure. Day had not seen it, and so it was part of my Valentine surprise for him. I know it's a bit on the revealing side, but I knew that's why he would like it. So, here are our pictures. I'm sure in 20 years from now, our boys will be cracking up at how silly our hair looks but most of all, I hope they see how much their parents loved each other and worked hard to keep their relationship fun and exciting. I'm lucky to have such a sweet Valentine.

Picking strawberries at Gniser Farms...

Today for playgroup we went to a farm in the middle of the big city to pick some yummy strawberries. It was a very windy day, and since they didn't open until 1 it was quickly approaching nap time, we didn't stay very long. Poor Carter was stuck in the stroller, since knowing him he'd be in the middle of Bowen picking what car he wanted to get hit by before he'd pick a strawberry. Either that, or he'd be eating the leaves instead of the strawberries. He just likes to be different, and that's what I love about him, but not at the strawberry patch...so he got to watch us pick them. He and Allie kept each other company. The boys had a good time, and we had some yummy snacks for the next few days. We LOVE strawberries!

Ranger's Opening Day

We have had a tradition of going to the Ranger's opening day since Cooper was a baby. He and Day went the first year, I've been the past two years and this was Conner's first year to go. The boys have been talking about it for over a week, asking every morning..."Are we going to the baseball game today?". Finally yesterday was the day, and the weather was great! It never got above 79, with a great breeze and we were in the shade the whole time. It was about the 3rd inning when Conner said he wanted to go home. I was a little worried, but he was great and we made it to the 8th inning before we headed out, mostly to beat the crowds. We had a great time and look forward to many more games this season. We've already gotten our press pass free tickets for the April 27th game, so we'll have lots of baseball this summer! Mabye Carter will get to join us next year.

Our visit to the Botanical Gardens

Our playgroup went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to visit the Butterfly Exhibit and to have our Easter egg hunt. Carter was very hard to keep up with inside the butterfly exhibit. The did not allow strollers, so I had to try and keep up with him and keep him out of the water. He kept running back to the waterfall and trying to climb in. Cooper really liked it, but Conner didn't like how hot and humid it was in there. Then it was off to lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The boys did really well. Even Carter did better finding the eggs than I thought, except for when he shoved a foil covered egg in his mouth and tried to eat it, foil and all. Doing outings like this is a ton of work, but I hope we are making memories that are real and meaningful to them.

Cooper turns 5!

Despite my denial, I am now the mother of a five year old. For some reason five just sounds older and bigger and more grown up than four. When someone has a four year old, you think...toddler, can't tie his shoes, can't wipe his bottom, still at home with you all day. Now, I have a five year old. He's no longer a toddler, he still can't tie his shoes, but thank God he can wipe his own bottom. And the saddest part of all is that he'll only be home with me for 6 more months. The idea both excites me and terrifies me. I'm excited to have a little more time and sanity only having to deal with two kids all day, but I'm terrified to think how much I'll miss him, how I'll have no control over what he see, hears, learns, says, touches, eats and God only knows what else! Will he be a good friend? Will other kids like him, will they tease him? Will he obey, behave, learn? My eyes are filling up with tears as I type, but I also know that he is smart, funny, well-rounded, self confident and a natural leader. I stand on what I know is true, and that is that even if I can't be with him, Jesus can be and will be with him every step of the way. Good grief, he's not even in school yet, chill out! I'm sure there will be a much more tearful post come August! So be prepared!

These are some pictures from his birthday celebrations. Every year since his first birthday, we go to Chuck E Cheese on his actual birthday and then he has a separate party with all his friends. We had his party at the YMCA swimming pool for the third year in a row. The kids think it's cool to swim during the winter and it's cheap and easy for me! Win Win! Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

The Trains at North Park

On Friday we took the boys and my mom along with our good friends the Smiths (Zack, Julia and Mac) to see the train display at North Park Mall in Dallas. Our playgroup went a few weeks ago, but I was really sick and we didn't get to go. I knew that Conner would love it, since he's always loved trains, but I was actually very surprised at how much Cooper and Carter enjoyed it! They were in awe of the endless kinds of trains and all the little 'people' and city life that was going on around them. No, it's not huge and only took us about 20-25 mins to walk through it, but the expressions on their faces and the fact that Conner is still talking about it made it well worth the trip. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a fun holiday tradition to do with your family! Here are some pics of those expressions I was talking about.

"CHOO CHOO!"







"Wow!"

Carter spotting some candy!

Our first trip to Mt. Rushmore!

Conner was in train heaven!

Carter spotting a familiar face...Thomas!

Our stop in NYC!

Mimi and Conner in NYC.


A group shot!