Happy Birthday to Me!

The first gift I got on my birthday this year was a good old thunderstorm down in Las Vegas!

We finally made it down to hot Nevada around 2:30am Friday. After sleeping in a bit and finally waking Oliver up(who drove the whole way AND stayed up with Evan after we arrived because he decided 2:30 was a normal hour to be awake), we met our friends the Taylors at Circus Circus. We got to spend a few hours with them wandering and enjoying free entertainment and having dinner. They're an awesome family and I'm glad they let us meet up with them for at least a few hours while they were on their own vacation.

Late that night, Oliver's brother Charlie came in from Arizona with his wife Chelsea and adorable daughter Macy. Over the next day, we got to watch two adorable cousins play together. Chelsea got a very cute photo of the three cousins on that first night, but I don't have a digital copy of it yet.

My birthday was nice & the rain and cooler weather was great. Being able to sit and enjoy it for two hours on Grandma's patio was the best! It reminded me of being home in Illinois during a really good summer storm.

I got some breakfast pancakes from the breakfast mavens(Charlie & Chelsea) complete with sprinkles & a candle.

My boys were a hit though. Grandma's friends came to visit and just loved to watch them and little Macy. Macy and Evan took turns smudging up all of the glass in the cabinets and the glass coffee table didn't last long once we arrived before getting fingerprints on them. Thankfully, Grandma didn't mind one bit. It was a good vacation for me because Grandma Paul, Karen, Charlie, and Chelsea had a great time interacting with Evan and holding Ryan. Even though I know I saw Ryan's first smile 2 weeks ago(just one tiny little thing) he smiled a lot more this last weekend and they caught a few of the smirks on camera. So here's the first official smile on camera by Ryan:

Unfortunately, I spent a lot of Saturday feeling ill, but that didn't stop us from going to P.F. Chang's to celebrate the 4 birthdays in the last month(Oliver, Chelsea, Charlie, and me!). The food was good and I got a complimentary dessert for getting older that day.

Even though we were all stuffed from dinner, my birthday isn't my birthday without fudgesicles. I ran to the store later that night to pick some up and then I was satisfied with the day. Although, spending the day chilled(remember that I was in Las Vegas where the high was above 100 all 3 days we were there) with my entire body aching made me think about being OLD. I know I'm not old agewise, but I certainly felt old that day. I should change some life style habits and make sure I can raise my children before really getting physically or mentally old.

Sunday was spent gathering things together, making it to church, enjoying the lunch Grandma Paul made for us and driving home. Utah was primarily stormy so we enjoyed cooler weather on the way back(another happy blessing because it was also beautiful).

We saw a double rainbow and could actually see the points where it was hitting the ground. Oliver and I were both impressed.

We had a good relaxing weekend in Vegas, even if it was short. Thank you for all those that made it a special one.