Vegas Birthday

About two weeks before my 40th birthday, Mom had planned a birthday trip to Asheville, or so I thought.  When I showed up to her house to pick her up to go, she surprised me with the news that we were in fact going to Las Vegas!  She had hired a driver to take us to the airport, and as we sipped our champagne, I got to call Jason and surprise him with the news... yes, he was as surprised as I was!

 It was a long travel day, but when we woke the next morning, this was our view from the Palazzo!

 Mom had arranged for a Pink Jeep tour of Red Rock Canyon, but because of the government shut down, we had a quick change in plan.  Instead we went to the Valley of Fire State Park, which was absolutely incredible!

 

 

 

 

 Cabins built by the CCC in the 1930's

After a little rest, we headed to Caesar's Palace to explore and to see one of my favorites, Elton John, perform. I have now seen him three times, once with my dad and Jason, once just with Jason, and once with my mom... that man never fails to entertain!  He will always be a favorite!

The next morning was a beautiful one!  Mom and I had an incredible brunch, followed by exploring Vegas itself.

We walked all day, saw lots of crazy people and things, and lost a little money in the slot machines!  Vegas is definitely a town of extremes... everything is extremely large, loud, and bright!!

I don't think I could have been any more surprised... what a treat to celebrate my big day! Thank you, Mom, for all of your thoughtfulness and for all you did to plan for such an amazing get-away... I had so much fun and loved my quality time with you.  Happy 40th "Birth" Day to you, and let's go exploring again soon!

Begin Again

 Hello?  Hello?? Are you there?? Anyone still out there?

 We are still here... I promise, we are.  It has been an interesting year (or two), and blogging has taken a backseat to just about everything else. 

 We are good... really good.  It is amazing how much my boys have grown.  It is amazing what incredible people they are becoming.  It is amazing how big my heart grows when I am with them.

 I really, really, really want to make an effort to pick blogging back up again.  I hate that I have not put down in words for my kids what has been happening in our little world.  I am not making any big promises, though.  I am going to try, but I need to figure out exactly what I want this to be. 

I am thinking that as they get older, it is probably time to make my blog private.  If you are in fact still out there, checking periodically, and still would like to keep reading, please comment or send me an email... I will be sure to make sure you are included.  My plan is to do it October 1, so please let me know by then. 

If you are still here, thank you for hanging in there with us... hoping to see you here again soon!

Merry Christmas 2013

Good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul, and voice;
Give ye heed to what we say: News! News! Jesus Christ is born today;
Ox and ass before Him bow; and He is in the manger now.
Christ is born today! Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye hear of endless bliss: Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened the heavenly door, and man is blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!

Merry Christmas!

Gatlinburg

"Such a tourist trap!"

"Just like Myrtle Beach in the mountains!"

And my favorite, "It's just like Myrtle Beach threw up in the mountains!"

Yes, all of those are true, but it didn't stop us from having an incredible spring break!  I'm not sure what possessed Jason to choose Gatlinburg, but we went, had a great time, and crossed it off of our list of places to visit.

We did some super-touristy things, like the Ripley's Aquarium, the Guiness Book of World Records Museum, WonderWorks, and putt-putt (I don't think a trip to Gatlinburg would be complete without a game of putt-putt and a breakfast at a pancake house!).

 

 Our best times, though, were the hikes and exploring the Great Smokeys National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We kept track of all of the license plates that we saw, looking for all 50 state tags.  We came up with 31 of the 50 states... not bad!  The boys were sure that we wouldn't find Alaska and Hawaii, but to their surprise, we found both. Definitely a tourist-filled location!!

 

 

 These two critters were hanging out right near where we were walking... hadn't even thought about snakes until we saw them.

We saw lots of wildlife out and about, including these turkeys.  The boys were asking why one of them was all decked out and the other was not... it was interesting to hear Jason explaining that the boy turkey was showing off so he could marry the girl turkey.

This is my turkey acting like a male turkey.

Really, for as crazy as Gatlinberg/Pigeon Forge is, we had an incredible time together over spring break.  The super-fun, no-stress, carefree time was just what our family needed.