Vegas

We got back yesterday from a long-weekend trip to Las Vegas.  Our family always does the get up and leave at 4 am thing. The more time with sleeping kids the better!

Our trip to Vegas was really fun, but not what we had planned. Steven's parents are on a mission in Germany, so we haven't seen much of Steven's family. We planned the whole trip so that the girls could play with their cousins who they have been missing.

Well... sadly, right when the car was packed and we were getting ready to go, we found out that their cousins all had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Instead of hanging out with cousins, we did a lot with just our little family. The girls still had a blast. Aubrey really loved staying in "grandma and grandpa's really big house" when she was the only one there to run wild.

We visited the Las Vegas children's museum. The mini grocery store was by far the biggest hit. They are girls through and through.

After the children's museum, we decided to play tourists. We did the Bellagio fountains, walked around the strip, and visited the wildlife habitat in the Flamingo. And that... was enough of the strip for me. Too many crazy people.

With my mini-me. Aubrey loves my shorter hair because "we are twins."

We were excited to get to see Tyler and Katie, and hang out with Jason and Shanna. Even if the kids all couldn't be together, it was great to see the adults. Jason and Shanna were so good to the girls, and came swimming with us on Saturday.

We also spent Saturday getting family pictures. I'm just a little bit excited to see how those turned out. I'm becoming the crazy mom that makes everybody dress up and do family pictures all the time.

Cora and Royal (second cousins) also decided to see just how wet non swim diapers could get during an impromptu kiddie pool session.

We got to eat all the food we have been missing. I love the Bay Area, but my favorite restaurants are not here. Cafe Rio, Zupas, and Firehouse Subs were delicious. Oh, and Steven also enjoyed an all-you-can eat sushi lunch with his brother. I guess he is used to the fancy food eating at LinkedIn every day :)

The car trips even went really well. My girls are so good in the car, and so horrible on airplanes. I will always remember the flight when 18-month-old Aubrey chucked a cup of ice water all over the man in front of us. I will take a 9 hour car ride over a 2 hour flight any day.

We love to visit Las Vegas. It was weird to go and not spend the whole time with family, but we are excited for Christmas when Steven's whole family will be there.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a fun mother's day weekend as a family. The girls had a great time coloring pictures for Grandma. Cora had less fun sitting still for the picture, but I did manage to get one shot of her both holding the sign and looking at the camera.

I'm so grateful to be a mom. When the days are hard (and as a young mom they are often hard) I just look at those sweet little girls when they are sleeping, and I am in awe that they are my daughters and I get to raise them. 

Motherhood is such an amazing gift. I also know that Mother's Day can be difficult for many. I remember in the months before I was able to get pregnant with Aubrey just aching to have a baby. I was pregnant but didn't know it four years ago on Mother's Day. I was sad that I was not a mother yet, but Steven made me feel so special and amazing that day. I hope all women can feel loved today. 

And... I'm so grateful for all the mother's in my life. Especially my mom. She is amazing. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is. I love you mom!

Our Saturday this weekend was busy. We got up early and drove to Vacaville for Aubrey's first bike race. She is such a tough, fun little girl. She was one of only three girls out of 60 kids, but she didn't let that stop her. She was most excited that she got a "gold necklace" (aka medal). She even took it to bed last night.

After the bike race, our whole group drove to the Jelly Belly factory and took the tour. The tour was right during nap time, but we kept them going with lots of jelly bean samples. The sugar rush got them through, and they all crashed on the drive home. What a fun day with friends. 

Jelly Belly certainly has some interesting flavors. Yuck.

Then today, my mothers day has really been delightful. I was treated to raspberry crepes and fresh picked flowers in bed this morning. I even had a little helper to eat them with me.

I got to take a nap, go on a walk, eat frozen yogurt, and have dinner made by Steven and the girls. Aubrey also sang a song during church with the primary. Since Aubrey has a late December birthday, she is the youngest kid in primary. She looked so little up there!

Here is also a picture of part of the mother's day card Aubrey made for me at church. I cracked up at, "She's not a superhero. She's just a mom." I guess I"m also raising another generation of clean freaks. I also have my mom to blame :) I love my girls.

Lately

 Life has just been moving along lately. In big news, Steven finished the rough draft of his book. All 15 chapters completed and it is even available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

We don't really know exactly how long the editing process takes from here, but he is happy to be done with the bulk of the work. I really don't know how he did it. Months of waking up at 4:30 am... he is impressive. And tired...

Cora is getting over a stomach bug, so Steven was more than willing to sleep and cuddle with her until 9 am yesterday morning. My girls are sleep only in the crib types, so this was a rare treat for him.

It makes me sad to see Cora sick. She is normally such a loving, funny little girl. She gets comments on those beautiful eyes everywhere we go. And... I love the post-nap pigtails in this picture. One up, and one sicking straight out.

Aubrey is growing up so much. She has been very into wearing skirts/dresses only, doing her hair, and all things girly. She frequently tells me things like, "I bet all my friends will love my new dress." Oh dear.

Having two daughters is payback for all the hours my own mother spent braiding my hair. Aubrey loves little braids and wavy hair and convinces me to do it often.

But, along with that girly side, she is still wild and crazy and darn athletic. She can now swim across the pool and is doing her first bike race (on her balance bike) next weekend. Steven is so excited.

She also loves roller coasters and all rides. She is a screamer.

The weather has been so gorgeous and we have been spending our days outside.

And that... is life lately. Nothing too exciting going on around here. We (hope) this is our year to recover from the past few that have been just crazy. We are enjoying it.