We're Back!

We had a great time in Vegas. There is no way I could blog about every detail, but I'll tell you a little bit. As my friend Joe says, "If you can tell people what you did while you were there, you wasted your trip." So I'll keep a few secrets to myself. A lady never kisses and tells, right? Ha!

Here's the basic gist: Eating. Drinking. Sigma Derby (LOTS). Walking. Shopping. Margaritaville. Piano bar. Walking. Pool. Napping. Champagne. Bellagio. Toby Keith. Shopping. Walking. Nail art. Walking. M&Ms. Dresses. Fountains. Kiosk workers hawking everything. Mizuno's Japanese Steakhouse. Chocolate every day. Karaoke, good (Sean) and bad (mine). Second City. Jubilee. Hummingbirds outside the Bellagio. Freemont Street. And lots more drinking.

Oh, did I forget to mention walking? On Tuesday afternoon, we gave up on walking (buzzkill) and decided to taxi the rest of our trip. Tuesday night's taxi driver thought I was crazy when I said we wanted to go from MGM to the Tropicana across the street.

Highlights: I think one of our best nights was Monday when our friend Stacy took us to the Paris buffet. Our awesome waiter taught us how to crack crab legs the easy way ("Melvin style"). And the best part was the creme brulee. To die for! I thought I was in heaven. Mmmmm. Afterwards Stacy drove us to Freemont Street, then took us to see Jubilee. It was lots of fun!

We had a little stowaway on our trip. We took Katie's Curious George stuffed animal with us, and had fun taking his photo at some of the sights. When we got home, we developed the pictures and put them in an album and gave it to Katie. One of the photos shows George with a large pink gorilla. I told Katie that while we were gone, George went on a trip to see his mommy. She was so excited!

On Tuesday night we walked through the Bellagio lobby and conservatory, and I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the flowers (the glass ones on the ceiling in the lobby and the real ones in the garden)... and just the joy of being on vacation. I took one last look at it while we were leaving, to lock away in my memories so I can draw on it later. (Thanks for the tip, Danielle!) Then we walked outside and caught the fountain show, and the moment couldn't be more perfect. Beth and I stood there with the wind blowing our hair, watching the fountains dance to "God Bless the USA," and I knew (without a doubt) that God has blessed me. I am a lucky girl!

We got back late Wednesday night, while the kids were still at Grandma and Poppy's. They took the kids to Parents Day Out on Thursday, so Dan and I had one last day to decompress (read: recover) and do laundry and unpack. Then we picked the kids up Thursday afternoon, and my heart just about exploded with the joy I had in seeing them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Jackson saw me and his face broke out in a huge smile. I picked him up and he hugged me for at least five minutes straight. He kept pulling back to look at me in wonder, smile again, then hug me again. His little feet kept kicking, which is what he does when he's really happy. Oh, my heart was overflowing! Then I got to hug Katie, and my sweet girl squeezed me back so tight. It felt so wonderful.

It's good to be back home, refreshed and ready to be a mommy again. I loved being "just" a wife and a friend for a few days, though. Not that I ever stop being those things, right? But it's nice to concentrate on just one or two things at a time.