Vegas, Baby!!

I've just returned home from a full week (yes, 6 nights!!) away with B. We decided to trade our timeshare week and take a road trip to Las Vegas...

My dad so graciously let us borrow his T-bird convertible for our trip. As we drove up I-70 with the top down and the sun shining, I fell in love with Colorado all over again. We saw snow-dotted mountains, blue sky, huge evergreens, bright green Aspens and beautiful mountain houses. It was so relaxing and breathtaking.

We drove about 13 hours and finally arrived in Vegas. Our condo was brand new and huge...the perfect place for us to settle in for a week. We went grocery shopping the next morning and unpacked. To some, these events seem boring and laborsome, but let me say that doing any of these activities without kids in tow is a vacation in itself!

We spent the next 5 days seeing movies (we saw "The Proposal"--super funny! and "My Sister's Keeper"--cried my eyes out and couldn't talk about it without crying for at least a day), sleeping in, reading books and magazines and laying out at the pool. One note on this last item: laying out in 110 degree heat is more of a chore than a pleasure. I don't recommend it!

We went "into" town to The Strip a couple of times. Now, Brad and I are pretty careful about what we let into our home as far as "visual stimulation", so this part of our trip was only partly enjoyable. If you've been there, you know what I mean. If you haven't been there, ask someone who has. I was struck by how much hurt is behind many of those faces and how God sees each of them and their story. There were several times I just wanted to stop and shake some of the women on the street and say "it doesn't have to be like this!!" It was heartbreaking. I enjoyed getting out of our bubble a bit and letting God work on my heart for these people. It was refreshing in a strange sort of way.

I enjoyed my time with my husband so much. We laughed and talked and really enjoyed each other. Our last night there, we went to the Venetian and he took me on the gondola ride. I've always wanted to ride one and this is the closest we've been...we haven't made it to Venice, yet ;) The woman sang to us and I just so enjoyed being romanced.

So, we made the drive home yesterday...faster than the drive out because we couldn't wait to get home and see our kiddos!! I think Paige grew about 5 inches while we were gone, Brooke is talking more (if that's possible), and Micah is starting to pull up to his knees and replace his army crawl with a real knees-and-hands version. Emma keeps squeezing me and Caleb has been talking with Brad non-stop about dinosaurs. I love my family.

A big thank you to my parents who lent us the car, gave us the timeshare and helped with my kiddos. My sister who took the trash out, Ross and Aimee for letting E and P stay a couple of nights, and Jennifer who let Caleb have some boy time. We love you all and thank you for allowing us to spend some time away. We awoke this morning refreshed and relaxed! And, if you know me, you know I've already got the next trip planned...