Vegas baby!

Brenda sporting her flower balloon hat she received at Margaritaville.
Brenda and I before going to the Voo Doo Lounge at the Rio - awesome view of Las Vegas up there if you ever get a chance to go!

Russ getting ready to tackle his

SECOND round of nachos at Margaritaville! Yes, I said second round!

The balloon man was informed (by my lovely husband) that we were there to celebrate my 30th birthday. The balloon man stated that he didn't want to offend me by making a balloon hat displaying my age (the other hats in the room displaying age were that of the young 21year olds) so he decided to make one that displayed what women want at any age....money! I then must have had something important to tell him, as based on my expression in this picture...too bad I can't remember what I told him!

Our last day in Vegas:( Good times with good friends!

Russ and I recently enjoyed a trip to Las Vegas with our good friends Brenda and Zach. Here's just a few of some pictures taken (Brenda has a smaller camera and therefore carried it around more often, so we'll have to wait until she uploads her pictures to be able to share more).

Happy Birthday Russ!

and many, many more! We love you!

G-G-pa Marvin

Payton thought Grandpa was hilarious!
Coloring with Grandpa

Payton loved playing with Grandma's musical toys - so did Aunt Megan!

Diva on the way home.

There are many things I would like to still be able to do when I am 90+ years old like Grandpa Marvin. For instance, he got down on his hands and knees so Payton could ride on his back or as he said "ride the pony" (although after he commented, "It's not quite as fun as it used to be!") Grandpa enjoyed some cooking from mom and Megan (no one could ever get too old for that) and a few road trips here and there. It was a great visit with a great man, two great women and one fantastic little girl!

Kaelyn's 2nd birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday cousin Kaelyn!

Day at the Kansas City Zoo

"First one to sleep gets a quarter!"

There are many things I remember about Grandma Berta: her laughter, happy-go-lucky attitude, friendliness toward each person she encountered, making soap bubbles during bathtime, eating salt on her tomatoes, calling the couch a davenport, the bathroom a biffy, her love of gardening and flowers, always having piece of gum or extra kleenex (used or not) in her purse, shaking her hands in the air while dancing, her contagious smile, being a fantastic cook, offering a quarter to the first one to fall asleep while spending the night at her house, her beautiful penmanship, her strength. I could go on and on about her - she is missed so very much, and yet I know that (as my mom said) she is up in heaven shaking her hands while she dances......miss you grandma!

Playing it safe

These past couple of days have not been so fun at our house. First, Payton was battling a bit of a bug (my car saw the worst of it) and now Russ is battling a larger bug! He has been in bed sick for the past 24 hours, so Payton and I have been playing in the basement - playing it safe to get away from the germs (sorry Russ). We set up the Barbie tent Payton inherited from cousin Olivia....she loves it! Hopefully the weather clears up on this cloudy day so we can go outside for a bit! Tomorrow, we're off to the zoo - more pictures to come!