1. Mike and I went to Las Vegas last week for a mini trip to celebrate his entrance into his thirties. We had a great time. We saw almost everything we missed on our last trip out there, had some good eats, walked our butts off, ate some more good food, saw an awesome Criq show, met up with some old friend’s of Mike’s from high school and of course ate lots and lots of good food.

   

2. I didn’t take my good camera with me. Mike asked me to keep it home and just take the P&S. It was hard, but I managed. This was his trip, not mine, so I obliged.
3. Just our luck, the weather was 20 degrees colder than normal in Vegas when we were out there. At first I was bummed, but when I got out there, I loved it. The chiller weather is much more fashion friendly for those of us girls who like to eat on vacation. =) See a theme with our trip forming?
4. Our favorite restaurant on this trip was an eatery that Mike saw on the Food Network. It was this fabulous place tucked in the middle of the Imperial Palace called “Hash House a Go Go”. YUMMO! The food was outstanding and the portions sizes…well they were HUGE. Check out our fabulous breakfast… Sage Fried Chicken & Waffles for Mike (there is bacon cooked into the waffles) and one big ol’ Apple Cinnamon Pancake for me.

   

5. Apparently the slogan “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” isn’t true because all that food I ate came back with me as four added pounds on the scale. YUCK. Bring on the salads.
6. Last time we were in Vegas we didn’t get a chance to go to Fremont St. This time we did and I’m so glad! It was worth the expensive taxi cab ride. Old Vegas is so much different than the modern strip. Much more relaxed and vibrant. People dancing in the street, bands playing, just much more chill and less “stuffy” than parts of the strip can be. And the Golden Nugget has the best pool with a huge slide that goes right through the shark tank.

   

   

7. My favorite hotel in Vegas is Paris. It’s just beautiful. We took the ride to the top of the Eifel Tower and it was neat to see the city from that high up, but stupid me didn’t realize that it was as high as it is and I’m terrified of heights. I could only stay up there for a little bit then I told Mike we had to go back down. The sarcastic husband that he is jumped so the floor shook and I thought I was going to break out in hives. It was actually really funny and made for a great memory from the trip.

   
   
   

8. The NFL draft took place when we out there and what better place for football fans to watch the draft than “Lagasse’s Stadium”. It was an awesome sports bar at the Palazzo. They even had some NFL players and others associated with the game there. It was neat.

   

9. We were happy to get home to see our boys. (Mama can’t be away from them for too long.) One thing we weren’t happy to see when we got back home was our tiny Queen size bed. We loved the King bed in our hotel. Just loved it. Sleeping in our own bed just wasn’t the same. We had been talking about getting a new bigger bed for a while (keep in mind our 80lb baby girl, Maxie sleeps with us at night), and coming back from our trip sealed the deal that now was the time. So, after work on Monday, we bought ourselves a new fabulously comfy KING SIZE BED! It comes on Friday. I can’t wait.
10. And lastly b/c I keep forgetting to blog this… On Mike’s actual 30th birthday we spent most of the day together as a family. 2 days before his 30th, the Biggest Loser competition we were in at work ended. He came in 2nd place (YEAH!) but had been w/o pizza for ten weeks. Those who know Mike know pizza is a food group in his world so his one request on his birthday was to go to his favorite pizza joint. After stuffing ourselves with pizza, cheese steaks and Benny’s favorite BBQ chips, we went to the arcade to play games with the boys and he spent the evening watching UFC with his buddies.

    
    

    Now, all Mike’s birthday festivities are officially over. =( But, as Tim McGraw says “My next 30 years will be the best years of my life. I’ll raise a little family and hang out with my wife“. See Mikey… nothing but good things will be coming your way.

PS – and speaking of Tim McGraw, did you know he can marry you in Vegas? =) !!

Two weeks ago, Mike and I decided to treat Owen to his first ever movie in the theater since he had been such a good boy lately. There was finally a movie for little boys on the big screen (his first movie couldn’t have been “The Princess & the Frog”), so we snatched up the opportunity and we went to see “How to Train Your Dragon” in 3D.

First we went to McDonald’s for a “How to Train Your Dragon” Happy Meal. Owen was excited for the dragon toy and the happy meal box even turned into a Viking Hat which he thought was pretty cool.

From there we headed to the Cinema Center, or what Owen called the “Cinnamon Center”. HE HE! =) We got there early and played some games in the arcade, then it was into the theater to pick our seats. Owen’s as light as a feather so luckily they had booster seats for him to sit on. It was the perfect solution for him so he didn’t get folded up in the seat.

The only thing we were worried about before the movie was if the loud sound would bother O b/c he doesn’t like loud sounds. At first he covered his ears, then he got use to it. Good thing because he needed those hands that were over his ears often throughout the movie to keep the 3D glasses on his face. Unfortunately, they only come in one size and they were a tad big for Owen, but he made it work.

We had no idea what the movie was about before we saw it and it was actually really good. We all enjoyed it. Owen was mesmerized and sat still the entire movie. He was such a good boy. He also made us laugh b/c during the previews for Disney Nature’s “Oceans” he yelled “WOW” really loud. He was in awe. Mike and I were smiles from ear to ear watching the reaction to his first movie on his face.

Next on deck is Toy Story 3 which comes out in June. Now that we know he’s so good at the movies, we’re going to take him more often.

Mike and I have been Duke fans for as long as we can remember knowing about college basketball. I’m convinced it’s in the genes. Benny now loves to where hats and just before the tournament started, he took a liking to Mike’s old Duke hat. He always wanted it on. Even to sleep. The dude’s got taste and knows how to pick a winner… as we all know, last week they took home the crown.

PS – and we’ve come a long way since that first picture was taken a few weeks ago… Benny is now BINKIE FREE! It’s a been a week since he’s used one to sleep. We told him “Binkie went Bye Bye.” He asked for it a few times, but then started to understand it’s not coming back. He LOVED his binkie and I thought it was going to be awful when the time came to take the bink away, but he’s doing good. He hasn’t even been using it for naps at school. I’m kind of sad though. That was the one last thing he had that still made him a “baby” in my eyes. =( My Benny Boo isn’t a baby anymore. He still has his blankie though!! =)

I’ve always been a person of faith and my parents raised me to be gracious and thankful for all of God’s gifts. The one thing I didn’t have growing up though was a strong relationship with my church, but Michael did.

It’s important to me, and Michael, that we give this to our children. They need to know there is more to life than “things” and they need to know where all the things they love came from. To give thanks for all they have and to learn to lead a good life.

Now that Owen’s old enough to understand things deeper than surface level, we felt it was time to start taking him to church. As I type this now, Mike and Owen are off to church. Benny is too young and would be too much of distraction to Owen and those around him so we’re going to take turns taking Owen each week.

I also got Owen a book this weekend called ”Thank You, God.” It puts why we give thanks to a higher being in a very simple way that kids can relate too. Perfect for this stage in his life.

Easter has come and gone. It was a beautiful Sunday full of family fun.

Saturday night Owen wanted to stay up late but we told him if he doesn’t fall asleep in his own bed, the Easter Bunny will think he’s not there and skip our house and that means no goodies. Within seconds the kid walks up the stairs, opens his door, closes it, and puts himself in bed. Too bad I couldn’t use that tactic every night at bed time! =)

The boys woke up early Sunday to see the treats the Easter bunny left. The grill was a big hit! In fact, when we asked Benny if he wanted to find the eggs the Easter Bunny hid around the living room he said, “No. I’m cookin’!” Owen thought he won a jackpot of riches when he found chocolate coins in the eggs; and of course, he was super excited about “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. We’ve watched that movie more times then I can count since Sunday.

Next we got all dressed and headed up home to visit my sister and her in-laws for a big Easter feast and egg hunt. It’s the first holiday in what seems like forever that I’ve spent with my sister and her family and it was WONDERFUL! Not only did we have a nice visit, but the boys had a blast playing… and finding the 70+ eggs we hid in the back yard.

The hit of Easter Sunday though was the EASTER BUNNY! She made her grand appearance for the egg hunt and the kids loved it! Yes… my mom, the most fabulous Mimi that she is, rented a bunny costume to give her grandson’s the ultimate treat on Easter… their own bunny! Benny was shy at first, but warmed up before she left and gave her a BIG hug.

Unfortunately, I’m not good with secrets and I called the bunny “Mom” and Alex heard me. He called me out on it too! OPPS… he said, “Aunt Stacey, that is Mimi. I know because you called her Mom. “ Luckily he’s not a huge believer since he’s a very grown up almost 6 year old and he was nice enough not to spoil it for the rest of the boys. Lesson learned. I need to be careful next time!

I’m sorry dear blog readers. I have totally abandoned you over the last…. ummm.. month! =( I’ve been so busy with work, home life, you name it. But we’ve been having lots of fun that I need to blog about. I’m going to try and catch up this week. I have lots on tap:

* My roommate from college’s wedding
* Benny’s 1st day at Owen’s daycare at our work!!!!!! =)
* Mike’s 30th Birthday
* Alex’s wrestling match
* Owen’s first movie
* Easter

I’m sure there is more, and I promise I’ll try my best to give you all some blog love this week.