Vegas Trip {part 2}

Our second day of Vegas was my favorite :)

I had scheduled an appointment to get a manicure at 9am, so I set my alarm for 8, rolled out of bed, grabbed some breakfast and then went to get my mani. I am not a big fan of manicures but my nails were in desperate need of some TLC, so I took advantage of the wonderful spa (and spa credit I had) and got one. I got the Shellac nail polish mani which is supposed to last 14 days without chips or coming off at all! So far, so good! :)

After my mani I met R back in the room to get ready and then we headed outside to walk the strip. It was hot! The temps were 105-107 while we were there.

It is fun to just walk around and see all of the hotels, inside and out!

I am sad that we do not stop to get something at Serendipity's... I heard that it would have been heaven for a sweet tooth like mine! We were both still so stuffed from our dinner the night before and breakfast that morning that we did not eat lunch until later in the afternoon when we had already passed Serendipity's.

The Bellagio is one of my favorites in Vegas. I'm obsessed with the fountains outside! (pictures of that next post)

Of course we made a stop at the Coca-Cola store! This Diet Coke addict fell in love with all of the DC products they had! They sold everything from DC tshirts to wallets to purses... you name it, they had it! I could only get myself to buy a sparkly diet coke keychain though ;) And of course a Diet Coke to drink!

This was just half of our adventure walking the strip. I have so many pictures to go through and edit so I am breaking them up to make it easier for me.

More to come again soon :-)

Vegas Trip {part 1}

We are back from Vegas (as of 2 days ago) but I feel like we are still trying to recuperate from the jet lag and time difference (which is only 2 hours, but it takes on a toll on ya!)

I just have to say that we were incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to take this trip- all expenses paid! It could not have come at a better time and we are so so thankful!!

Friday we left St. Louis at noon and arrived in Vegas at 4pm. We had a limo transportation from the airport to our hotel. This was of course nice because it was a limo, but also very nice to not have to hunt down a cab. We arrived at our hotel and had a private check-in on the 23rd floor with some bubbly and a beautiful view of the strip outside the window. R and I were in heaven when we walked into our room. There was a giant king sized bed, a living room area with an L-shaped couch, 3 TVs (one being in the bathroom), and the bathroom itself was bigger than our room in our apartment, ha! We were definitely spoiled.

We were in awe of our beautiful suite, but we were so excited to see what all there was in our hotel and in Vegas. Each evening we were able to have heavy h'ordourves and an open bar in the hotel. This was for prestige guests only so it was a nice, quiet place to relax and hang out. The food was cooked by a personal chef and it was delicious. We took full advantage of this the first day we got in because we were starving when we got there.

Then we ventured off to look around in our hotel (which is connected to the Venetian- another big hotel). There was a level of just shops alone, the casino (obviously), and several restaurants. After a little bit of shopping... I may or may not have spent all my spending money in the first hour we were there ;)... We went to dinner at LAVO. We sat outside on the patio looking towards the strip. It was about 100 degrees, but it was nice enough to sit outside and we were able to enjoy it. If we were back home in the humidity we would have died eating outside. R ordered a huge steak and I had chicken parmesan. Both were delicious but mine was bigger than my head and I could barely eat 1/3 of it!

After dinner we walked about 30 minutes on the strip. I found myself being very judgemental towards people and I had to repent several times (I found this to happen quite a bit during the trip). It was quite interesting...the people you see. But what can you expect in Vegas, right!? We decided that the nightlife (just walking) on the strip was not our cup of tea so we headed back to the room and decided we would walk it again during the day on Saturday.

We were really wanting to see a show while in Vegas and The Blue Man Group has shows at our hotel each night so we took advantage of that! We bought tickets for the 10pm show (which was really midnight our time) We were exhausted by the time we got to the show but it was so entertaining and funny that we did not even think about being tired. We really enjoyed the show and would highly recommend seeing it if you ever have the opportunity. I was unsure what to expect because I had not heard much about them, but they had us laughing the entire time. Very entertaining!

We ended the night with our heads hitting the pillows hard (but not until R donated some money to the casino) and getting a wonderful nights sleep!

View from the plane ride there

finally in Vegas!

limo ride

getting the night started off right! diet coke!

lounging with a view!

handsome hubs at dinner

we love palm trees!

R's dinner

my (huge) dinner

our hotel at night- the Palazzo

we came back to our room to find champagne and fruit

I think this is more than enough pictures for one post! Part 2 coming soon!

:)

What I'm Lovin Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! It's easy for me to lose track of what day of the week it is since I am not in school now and I have the best job in the world and do not work regular 9-5 hours! I often have to look at my phone to check what day it is!

But I am soo thankful that today is Wednesday. I have been looking SO forward to this weekend and of course this week is just creeping by ;)

I'm loving... that our VEGAS trip is in TWO days! 2! Woo Hooo! My husband and I are so excited we are about to jump out of our skin! R has never been to Vegas and I have only been once when I was 17. Of course I was underage but I don't think that will change much about this trip since I do not drink or gamble. I'm just excited to relax, explore the city, watch the dancing fountains at the Bellagio, and of course spend precious time with my husband (which is a rare occurrence lately).

I'm loving... that there is a possibility that I am going to splurge and buy a Coach purse in Vegas! I love purses and have always wanted a Coach purse, but when your a broke college student married to another student in school to be a dr (hello, LOANS!) you kinda have to watch where your mula goes. Hopefully I can find one that I am in love with and is not ridiculously expensive ;)

I'm loving... PINTEREST! oh em geeee, it amazes me how creative people are! I have a million ideas for what I want to do when hubs and I are ready to build our dream home. I'm also getting cute, fun ideas for upcoming baby showers and decorations for holidays. so fun!! Here is what I'm drooling over for now!

Source: sadieandstella.blogspot.com via Brittany on Pinterest

LOVE white kitchens!

Source: fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com via Brittany on Pinterest

and i'm obsessed with this office space

Source: benjaminmoore.com via Brittany on Pinterest

I'm loving... my wonderful, hardworking, goofy husband.

Trust in Jesus

Fathers Day/ Video

I am SO blessed to have an amazing father who is hard working and supportive of all that I do! Growing up, we may not have had it all, but my dad did everything he could to make sure we had more than enough. My dad works long hours doing physical labor and ensures that he does it at his best! Throughout the years my dad would bust hump at work and then spend the evenings and weekends cheering my brother and me on at our soccer games. He is an inspiration and encouragement. My dad is the kindest, most gentle human being out there!

I'm very grateful for my dad and all he is and all that he does!

Love you, Dad!!

*They played this video at church this morning and it is way too funny not to share! :)

JUMP. Week 1

I have been volunteering at my church's Vacation Bible School: JUMP!

Let me just tell say that my church does not mess around when it comes to VBS! They do it and they do it BIG!!

I found this video from last years JUMP! via jumpkids

JUMP 2010 RECAP from St. Louis Family Church on Vimeo.

This is my 2nd year volunteering as a group leader and I cannot get over how much fun it is.

I am like a little kid :) I know that every single child that comes has an absolute blast.

It has grown so much over the years that we have had to split it into 2 different weeks. This first week we had about 2,500 kiddos and we are expecting the same amount next week!

They expect that it will continue to grow and grow each year. Praise God!

I was so blessed this week to have the BEST little group of kids and an amazing assistant leader.

Our days consist of carnival rides, crafts, arcade games, huge blow ups to bounce in, a FUN worship and drama all about Jesus, face painting, 2 water parks, snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy, and much more!

Every single one of my kids rocked my socks off; they were so well behaved and loved on me so much (and of course I loved on them back all day!)

The little moments when they all want to hold my hand when we walk from station to station and want to sit next to me during worship and drama make it all so worth waking up early each morning and doing anything I can to give them all my energy.

I did not take my camera at all this week, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures on my phone and a couple of videos. =)

These videos are from worship/drama that we go to for an hour each day. It is a blast! The kids go craaaazy (if you can't tell! )

I could only get one video to upload... but we also had a special guest, Minista, come and rap for us! ;)

My heart is full! I'm excited to see what God has in store for us next week!

Cpl. Aaron Mankin

I've posted before about my brother's best friend, (also like a brother to me)

Aaron Mankin.

He is my hero in life and I love him so much!

I am so proud every time I get a chance to watch him on TV.

Yesterday morning he texted me and told me to turn on MSNBC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

He makes me so proud!

God bless Aaron and every single soldier fighting for our country!

Vegas countdown!

Let the countdown begin!!

Our vaca to Vegas is officially booked! We will be treated like royalty for the 3 days we are there... I would share all of the details but I don't want to rub it in! ;)

But this is where we will be staying...

(in a suite on the 23rd floor... with champagne and a big spa tub waiting!)

absolutely. positively. canNOT. wait!!!!

15 more days!!!

:)

Family, Friends, & a Wedding!

Phew! Long time no blogging!

R and I went home last Thursday for his cousin's wedding... we stayed one night at my parents house and I was able to see my perfect niece and two of my best friends from high school.

Then on Friday we headed to Oklahoma for Reddell's cousins wedding.

My mom and I were the photographers for this wedding.. it was our very first! We were completely exhausted afterwards, but we got some great pictures and we are excited to edit them over the next couple of weeks!

Here are some pictures of my favorite people in the world!

and a sneak peak of Brittanie and Joe's wedding.

*FYI... Brittanie and I shared the exact same name up until yesterday! first, middle, and last!

Brittanie and Joe did not want to see each other before the ceremony, but we made sure we got some pictures of the 2 of them without seeing each other beforehand. It was a sweet moment!!

The next 2 weeks I am volunteering at my church's vacation bible school; JUMP!! I worked it last summer and had a blast! We are expecting over 5,000 kids between the next 2 weeks! yes...5,000!!! pray for us ;).

I'm so excited!