The rest of August/Vegas

The second half of August has flown by pretty quickly for us. We had a relaxing week after my mom left followed by a week that included a business trip to MN for Alex, my ultrasound, a new patio cover, and a trip to Vegas!!

My ultrasound went really well, everything looks good, and the tech gave me a ton of pics since Alex wasn't able to go with me. So, I'm already halfway through and feeling good...no complaints about the whole pregnancy thing, couldn't be better.

A little park just opened in our town that has the water stuff for the kids to play in. I found it was open when I randomly drove by it while Alex was at the Angels game with his dad, and I stopped to let Alicia play in it. Then we had to go back the next day with Alex, so that he could play in it with her...and they both had a blast!!

We all went to Vegas for a couple of nights this past week and had a great time!! Before I get into the trip, I have to say a little bit about the drive!! I've done my share of roadtrips and every one that I can remember used to have signs as warnings before long stretches without gas stations, but there we were driving through the desert when our gas light went on...so we started to look for a station. As we got farther along and were watching the fuel gauge getting lower we were getting a little concerned. Finally, we started to see signs that a town was about 30 miles away, but we were pretty concerned that we wouldn't even make it that far, so we went into gas conservation mode. We turned off the AC and started driving 55. The car didn't take long to heat up approaching the outside temp that was easily over 100, and the 30 miles seemed like it would take an eternity at 55...we were literally so concerned that Alex was putting the car in neutral and just coasting on down slopes, and I was waiting for Alicia to start freaking out in the heat as I watched the sweat starting to bead up on Alex's forehead. Finally we saw a sign for a station in one mile and we quickly threw on the air and were laughing about our near disaster. The station was so in the middle of nowhere that they were charging 5.59 a gallon!!

We stayed in a great room at the Mandalay Bay that overlooked the strip, but was also right next to the airport...and Alicia loooovvveeess planes!! So, we were able to set up her little seat right in front of the window and she could watch the planes while she ate.

Another reason that we chose the Mandalay Bay is that they have some of the best pools and a lazy river. We spent most of our pool time in the lazy river...Alicia couldn't get enough of it.

We also tried to get in all the sights, pushing Alicia to the limit, and she snoozed through a bunch of it. We had a great time despite the heat...it was over 108 and Alicia was the best behaved baby in Vegas!!

I think that Alex's favorite part was the endless king crab legs at the buffet dinner the first night!! Alicia enjoyed the buffet too. She ate like a little queen and really enjoyed the desserts!

Grandma Linda Was Here

My mom was here to visit for a whole week, but we were too busy painting to blog while she was here. We painted basically the entire house...the living, dining and family rooms, the kitchen, hallway, laundry room, and Alicia's playroom. I fit into every stereotype of a grumpy, moody, starving pregnant woman while she was here, because I was so exhausted from painting that I was on the verge of losing it constantly, and I did lose it once or twice on unsuspecting individuals like store clerks...letting them know that I was pregnant and starving and past my coping limit. Fortunately, my daughter makes up for her mother's moodiness, and I think that Grandma Linda enjoyed her visit as much as we enjoyed having her, and we are enjoying our new paint every day and thinking of her. At the same time we were working indoors, the landscapers were building our wall in the backyard. I took the after shots at night so they didn't turn out well, but our yard went from looking like this... to this...and you might just say that it still looks like a lot of dirt...and you'd be right, but this is a huge improvement for us, and makes getting the sod in a much less formidable job.

This is a picture of a recent visit to the pool that we had, but not with my mom.
My mom with Alicia showing off one of our new hangouts and a view of the hills around our area.
I am definitely feeling pregnant, and my mom was shocked to see a full baby in my belly when my doctor did a little ultrasound for her at my appt, but it is just starting to show to the general public...you can see it a little in this shot. I'm still in regular clothes, but I'm not snapping my top buttons anymore.
Alex giving Alicia a little ride on his shoulders.
Alicia playing in the grass, this is really exciting for her because we don't have any grass in her yard yet!

Grandma Linda, Alicia, and I showing off the sunset and the mountains.Here is a shot of our newly painted playroom, it is a light blue almost periwinkle color that is a little brighter than this picture makes it appear.A shot of the new paint in our family room...againl, the paint is brighter that it looks in the picture.Alicia loved having Grandma Linda here to read to her and practice her numbers and colors, and her little vocabulary is quickly taking off!! She was sad to see her Grandma go bye-bye on the airplane, but is looking forward to her next flight when she will get to see Grandma at the other end!! Thanks Grandma Linda for all of your help!!