Tooth Fairy

Right before I was leaving for Vegas Riley realized one of her bottom teeth was loose. And then we discovered that the one right next to it was loose, too. I was so upset, thinking that she was going to lose it while I was away....but, we got back and the tooth was still there. It gradually got looser and looser and finally about a week ago she was wiggling it all around, reached in and pulled it right out!

So, we put it under her pillow and the Tooth Fairy brought her two dollars.

The other tooth was loose, but didn't seem like it would fall out too soon, but today when she came home from school, there was the tooth, in a little pink box and she was sporting a sticker that says loose tooth club! She said it just fell out in school and she found it in her mouth! Tonight, the Tooth Fairy will pay another visit to her room....wonder what she will bring this time?

Springtime fun

The weather has finally warmed up and we have been spending a lot of time outside. We have also been to Grams and Gramps house quite a bit lately because Gramps has been helping Daddy with a project. One day it was really warm so we decided to venture down to the creek to check it out and explore. The water was FREEZING (it comes down from the mountains) so I didn't stay in too long, but the girls had great fun. Think this will be a fun thing to do this summer!

Annie found a rock- she was very excited!
Riley found Daddy's beer!!

Driving the golf cart is also a lot of fun!

Easter

We had thought about going to Atlanta for Easter this year, but with Todd and I just getting back fromVegas and the fact that we would have to board the dog, we decided to stay closer to home and went to Mimi and Papa's instead. We had a nice dinner and the girls had another egg hunt....

Annie wanted her paci
Much happier!

Tired....time to go home!

Still here, jusy busy!

Things have passed in kind of a blur the last few weeks....and yikes, it has been 3 weeks since I updated the blog- whoops!

Trying to remember what has happened.....

• a lot of working- very busy at work as usual
• lots of playing outside....spring is definately here and the girls and I have been taking advantage of it. Every night we are outside until dinner and we spend a good amount outside on the weekends. Riley has been playing a lot with the neighbor, Parker, in both his yard and ours....which makes Annie mad because she wants to play too
• Easter was nice- I have some pictures somewhere....we went to Mimi and Papa's and had a nice dinner.
• Riley lost her first tooth!!! She had two really loose ones on the bottom. One day, she started wiggling it and just reached in and pulled it out. The other one is still in there, but I am sure it will be gone soon too. The tooth fairy visited and brought $2.
• Todd and I went out last night to see Bon Jovi in Charlotte. It was awesome and mostly just really really nice to go out without kids! We were out late and I am tired!
• Nannie and Poppie arrive tomorrow for a few days...we are looking forward to their visit- we haven't seen them since August!
• And the main reason I haven't been blogging is because I have been spending my usual blogging time (after Annie goes to bed and before Riley does, while she watches a movie) doing something else.....running!!! Still a little in shock myself, but I actually am enjoying it! And, I signed up to do a 5K in May over Mother's Day weekend....hope I can do it....

OK, some pics coming soon.....

Vegas- Sunday

So, Sunday morning Todd slept a bit later, which was nice! We had to check out that morning, so we hung out in the room for a while and then decided to walk around the casino downstairs and spend some money! We each put a dollar in a penny machine ( I know, big spenders!!!), and I actually won $5!!!!! And on a penny slot, that is a BIG winner! Too bad that wasn't a dollar slot :) Then we walked over to the Bellagio and I won another $3 on video poker!! Todd wanted to play Blackjack but the cheapest table he could find was $10 and he didn't want to lose a lot, so we just watched!

Then we went back to the room and checked out and headed to Serendipity for lunch and a FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That I had been waiting the whole time to have....and it was wonderful!!!!

We took a cab to the hotel near the airport since we had an early flight and needed to get out of Caesars, and chnaged into our suits and spent the afternoon at the pool! It wasn't super warm, but warm enough to sit out and we went in the hot tub.

That evening we headed back to the strip and walked a little more! We saw the Sirens of TI Show at Treasure Island, which was hokey but fun and walked around the Mirage a bit, which was pretty cool. Then we headed down to Cabo Wabo, Sammy Hagar's (from Van Halen) bar and had margaritas and beer and mexican food and watched the fountain at Bellagio and all of the weird people on the strip!!! Fun! We watched a little bit of a live band and karoke and then headed back to Harrahs to get a cab back to the hotel.

And that is it, really....we had an early flight home on Monday morning and I was so excited to come home and see my babies.....I missed them so, so much....that was the longest I had EVER been away and it was fun, but hard, too....but I knew that they were well cared for and probbaly had a MUCH better time with Grams and Gramps than they would have had I been home anyway :)

Here are a few more pics:

Shaquille O'Neil's hands

Harrahs

Cabo Wabo

Vince Neil Ink- think it killed Todd not to get a new tatoo

The the Mirage

O.M.G.....YUM

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Catching up

A few updates on the girls:

1. Riley had strep throat the week before we left for Vegas. We went to Jamboread with Grams on Saturday and then she and I went to see the Wizard of Oz at the movies and when we got home she started complaining about a sore throat. By the next morning she was pretty sick- really high fever and sore throat so we headed over to the Minute Clinic at C.V.S. and sat there and waited for 3 hours before we were seen. She was really sick and slept on top of me on the floor the whole time, which was not easy for the rapidly getting old mama! The NP took one look at her throat and drew back and said it was classic strep. Her fever by this point was over 103 and I thought they were going to send us to the ER, but luckily she talked with the MD and he said it was fine to just give her the antibiotics. She was better by the next day but needed to stay home so I got another day off :) Her fever did come back at one point after the round of anitibiotics, but she didn't need anything else.

2. Annie has discovered how to open doors! Yikes!

3. Riley has three loose teeth- we discovered them right before I left for Vegas and I was so upset because I thought I would miss them falling out, but they are all still there! The two on the bottom are pretty loose now!

4. I visited Annie's school this week for lunch and had a fun time. She was so surprised to see me there, and was so happy to have me. She showed me all around her classroom and I sat while she ate and then read her and a few friends a few books. She had a FIT when I left, but she was going to nap so I hope she didn't give them to much trouble!

5. Riley is on spring break this week- lucky her!! I took Monday off to spend with her- she has a dentist appt in Greenville in the morning and then we are going to spend the day doing something fun- not sure what yet- maybe lunch and a movie? She is spending a few days with Ms Donna and then I have Friday off b/c my students are on break this week, too....should be a nice easy week, hopefully :)

Vegas- Saturday

On Saturday, Todd woke really, really early (he does not do well with any sort of time change), so he left the room around 6ish, I think, and did some exploring on his own. He didn't go too far, and came back for me around 8 so we could go to eat. And eat we did...we went to the buffet at the Bellagio because we were told it was one of the best- they had so much food and it was wonderful!

After that we decided we needed to walk it off....and O.M.G. did we walk....all the way down and then all the way back and down the other way (Caesar's Palace is somewhere in the middle of the strip). We saw all of the sites and did a few things, too...

The M & M store- 4 floors of M&M stuff....very cool- Riley would have loved it!

The lion at MGM....the male was pretty laid back but the female was playing with the trainers and a ball

The lion statue at MGM


New York New York- one of my favorites to see

Todd and Indiana Jones at Madame Tussards- we didn't go in- maybe next time

Me at the indoor fountain at the Venetian....another of my favorites. The gondola ride was so cool- we didn't buy the pic because it was $26!! But, we kissed under each bridge and our gondoleer sang us two songs!

The ceiling at the Venetian

Outdoor canal at the Venetian- so pretty

One of the fountains at Caesars- there are a LOT of fountains and they are all so pretty

The ceiling inside of the Bellagio- they are all umbrellas

We didn't really do too much that night- we were both pretty tired from walking so much and once we got back to the room, even though we had intentions of going back out- we were pooped! So, I ran down to the casino and picked up some food and we went to bed pretty early! Lame, I know....but we did go out the next night :)