Las Vegas Trip

First night out at the Pink Taco at the Hard Rock Hotel...all the girls: Charlotte, Eva, Rachel, Jami, Sam, Shelly, me
Shelly and I in the VIP area at the nightclub

Shelly, Jami, and I


Getting Jami's hair ready for the wedding

The beautiful bride

Mr. & Mrs. Kalmbach

Jeff & I at Jami & Kris's wedding

Saying their vows

First kiss as husband and wife

The MGM Grand Hotel

One of the lions having a snack

Standing right below another one

Our huge, golden hotel Mandalay Bay

The turrets of Excalibur

Jeff & I rode this roller coaster at New York New York...one of the best ones we've ever been on!

The replica of the Statue of Liberty on NY NY

The show in Caesar's Palace Forum shops about the Roman God of water, Neptune

Jeff & I in front of the Trevi Fountain in Caesar's Palace

The fountain show in front of the Bellagio




After the water show some random guy made us balloon hats


Kris wasn't thrilled about wearing his

All of the guys in front of the Bellagio

Whitney, Jami, and me

A rockin' cover band that played at our hotel



Putting on jackets, gloves, and boots to go inside Minus 5, an ice bar inside Mandalay Bay. Unfortunately we couldn't bring a camera inside...but the whole bar was made from ice: the glasses, chairs, table, bar, walls, everything but the floor!Jami and I laughing and warming up outside of Minus 5

The fabulous wave pool at Mandalay Bay




Our visit to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

Touching sting rays at the aquariumA lion fish

The jellyfish tank
A reef shark swimming fast

Jeff & I had a great time in Vegas! We saw many of the hotels, dined at yummy restaurants, and enjoyed our time with friends and family! It was an average temperature of 112 degrees there every day, which made walking outside (even at night) very hot. We rode the tram and took cabs whenever possible to avoid heat stroke. We also enjoyed swimming in the wave pool and floating in the lazy river at our hotel. Jami and Kris's wedding was beautiful and we feel so lucky that we could be there to celebrate their special day with them. It was a memorable vacation and so nice to get out of town for a few days, however, we we thrilled to come home on Saturday and see our baby boy who we missed so very much!

Jami's Bachelorette Party

Dinner at 360 Pizzeria...cheers to the beautiful bachelorette!

Waiting for the show at Darcelle's to begin...


Wait, is that a woman?

Liza Minnelli look alike

Darcelle him-, er, herself

Walking to destination #3

"Um, what do I do with this stuff, you guys?"

The bride-to-be, me, and step-sister, Chantel, at Envy nightclub

Relaxing in the VIP area at Envy

Every bachelorette needs a bj shot on her night out

Jami, I hope you had a great time! Eva & I truly enjoyed planning this evening for you! 4 more days until your wedding!

Wedding In Vegas

In exactly 5 days, Jeff and I will be flying off to Las Vegas for Jeff's sister's wedding. We are so excited considering we haven't been on a vacation since August 2007! We didn't even go on a honeymoon after our September 2007 wedding, so in light of that we are considering this Vegas trip our "mini-moon." While it may not be a full fledged-just you and I-romantic getaway, it will be our first trip since alone since Nicholas was born, thus making it a honeymoon of sorts.

I am so excited to be in Las Vegas with Jeff and experience it with a group of friends and family who will be there for Jami & Kris's wedding. The only other time I have been there was in 2004 with a group of girlfriends and we had a smashing good time, but did not get to see much of the attractions. This time I am wanting to walk through more of the hotels, ride the roller coaster on New York, New York, and have a romantic dinner with my husband on Friday evening after everyone else has flown home. I am also hoping we may have time to squeeze in a show, however we haven't purchased tickets for anything, so we have to see about that when we get there.

On the other hand, while we're away, my mom & dad will be watching Nicholas for us. Nicholas spends two days a week with my mom while I am at work so they are very close, but I know I am going to miss him terribly while we're away. I can't stand to be away from him for very long-6 hours (while I am at work) is about all I can handle-so 3 days is going to be torture! I know he's going to enjoy his time with Gramme & Grandpa because they spoil him like crazy, but I have a feeling this mama is going to be calling home quite often just to hear his sweet little voice!

Braces & New Baby

We started off our morning with a trip to Shriner's Children's Hospital so Nicholas could be fitted in his new Knee Ankle Foot Orthopedics (KAFO's).
Adam marked off the parts to trim so that they would fit Nicholas perfectly...first time standing up with a little help from mom
After we left Shriner's, we had a yummy lunch at Gustav's. Who doesn't love a little cheese fondue for lunch?
After we arrived home Nicholas and I walked over to our neighbor Erin Darling's house to visit her, Mason, and their new baby, Bella. She is quite the cutie and Nicholas just kept saying "hi" to her over and over again. Mason is such a proud big brother!


After we got back from the Darling's house, Nicholas was so exhausted from the long day that he promptly fell asleep.


I so enjoy all these wonderful days with my little man!

Independence Day

Nicholas wanted to wish everyone a happy & safe 4th of July!!

Fun With Nick & Vic

Yesterday morning my good friend, Holly, stopped by for a quick visit with her 10-month-old son, Victor. Victor and Nicholas had fun playing office together. Nicholas was the excutive sitting at his desk doing very important work (mostly sorting), while Victor spent some time on the computer and took a few calls. It was a very productive morning.

So great to see you both! Thanks for visiting!

Pool Time

Mom, I just want these sunglasses off!
Ahh, finally!
Cute lil' feet


Nicholas from mommy's point of view

Nicholas and I had the most relaxing day...after slathering on a lot of sunscreen, we headed to the backyard to enjoy some water time in the 3 ft. swimming pool Nicholas's Aunt Jami & Uncle Kris gave him for his first birthday. While the sun's rays have warmed up the temperature of the water in the last few days, Nicholas still thought it was a wee bit too cold for him and enjoyed relaxing on mommy's air mattress instead of sitting in his floaty toy. I brought out some of his bath toys and he enjoyed throwing them in the holes of the air mattress and pulling them back out again. We stayed outside together for about 45 minutes until I noticed the sun had taken it's toll on baby and he was ready for a nap. Then mama went back outside to enjoy some more of the 95+ degree weather!

Cheers to beautiful, sunny summer days!