Death Cab for Cutie in Vegas

Friday night Justin and I dropped off Aspen and Everly at daycare and Kindergarten and then headed out to Vegas for the night. I know, it sounds kind of silly to go to Vegas for just one night but we were going for a concert Friday night and the hotel prices were a little high that weekend (spring break, march madness, St.Patrick's Day) so that is why we decided not to extend it. I am also going back to Vegas for a soccer tournament in a few weeks so I will be fine. Vegas is about a 4 1/2 hour drive from our house so it really is not that bad. We got in and picked up lunch from Café Zupas and then headed to our hotel. The best rates we could fine at a decent hotel on the strip was at Mandalay Bay so that is where we were staying. I was worried about it being too far from the Cosmopolitan where the concert was located but it was a $7 lyft so not too bad. Also, there was an outdoor mall 5 minutes from Mandalay Bay where I had an appointment at Sephora to get my makeup done so that was convenient too. I had never stayed at Mandalay before and was really impressed with the rooms. They were big and very nice. We had some trouble checking in (room key didn't work) so they gave us a $50 dining credit. After we finally got checked in we changed, grabbed beers and headed to the pool. I was worried about it being crazy packed but it wasn't bad. We snuck our own beers to the pool because I am cheap and laid out for a little while before I had to get my makeup done. I was really surprised how many kids were at the pool. The last place I want to take my kids to is Vegas. They might think it is cool but what fun is that for us? Before the concert, we had reservations for dinner at Jose Andres' restaurant China Poblano in the Cosmopolitan. It was soooo good. One of those meals you just keep thinking about after. We headed into the concert after and the opener was finishing up. The Chelsea is a really nice venue. I really wouldn't expect anything else because the Cosmopolitan is amazing. The show was sooo good. I got to hear the songs I really wanted to hear including Cath, What Sarah Said and No Room in Frame. It was a great night and I am so glad we went. The next morning we headed over to Delano (the additional tower at Mandalay Bay) for breakfast at Della's Kitchen before leaving. It was really good and definitely held us over for the ride home. We got home in time to make it to Everly's soccer game and then take her to see Beauty in the Beast that night.

BYOB

perfect weather

 

Chandelier Bar

 
Justin's noodles and our chips and salsa and my salt-air margarita. That foam was like pure salt. Also not pictured, the most amazing brussel sprouts ever.

Chinese BBQ Pork steamed buns

Loved The Chelsea

Great night!

Everyone was all "she's so cute!" Duh.

Weekend in Review

We had a fun little weekend. Saturday morning I went out for a run before Justin had to go to work and did something I rarely ever do. I planned to run 5 miles and ended up extending it to a 10k. I know it is not much more, but I am usually trying to convince myself not to shorten my runs so it is big for me. I was rewarded by seeing a shooting star that I would not have seen had I not extended my run. Kinda cool. After Justin went to work, the girls and I headed out to Scottsdale to watch Teddy's soccer game. He did pretty good especially considering he usually is distracted by Everly. I think Everly is getting excited about starting soccer back up next month. After the game we stopped by the American Girl store because Everly had a gift card from Christmas. She got a bathtub for her baby and an outfit for her doll. We actually made it a pretty quick trip because we looked at catalogs before so we knew what we wanted. On Saturday night my sister watched the girls so Justin and I could have a date night. We had a small dinner at Macaroni grill and then saw Hidden Figures after. It was a good movie and it was nice to have a night to ourselves. The girls love spending time with their cousin Mae so they were happy, too. Sunday morning I had planned a Disney and Donuts morning for the girls. I had seen this other girl do it on social media and I really liked the idea. We basically just ate donuts and watched Beauty and the Beast but it was still special and something that we will definitely be doing again.

 

Teddy's fan club

 

 

Macaroni grill has an awesome happy hour every day.  

Beauty and the Beast

love these girls

Disney on Ice: World of Enchantment

For Christmas my mom bought the girls tickets to see Disney on Ice and the show was last night. It ended up working out well because I had Friday off from work so it didn't matter that we were out a little later than normal because I could let the girls sleep in. I met Justin after work at our usual area around 7th ave and McDowell because they have lots of food options there. We both ate at habit burger grill because we rarely eat burgers anymore. It was less than 10 minutes away from the arena and we had no trouble finding parking although there was a really long line to get in through security. I think they knew it was long though and started the show a couple of minutes late. The show included scenes from Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Cars and Frozen so it would have been good for boys and girls. The Toy Story part ended up being kind of long. I took Everly to get a snow cone and she was like, when are the princesses coming? Toy Story has been on for hours. I was like, okay it hasn't been hours, haha, but it will be over soon. Frozen was still a huge hit. Everyone was cheering during it. Aspen was actually not feeling well but I took her to get a toy and when she heard scenes from Frozen she got all excited. Then during the Frozen scenes she fell asleep on Justin, but I am not complaining. One year we went and all she wanted to do was run around and it was difficult so while I would have rather she felt better, at least she was just chill sitting in our laps. Everly had a lot of fun and overall it was a really fun night. Here are a few pictures and a video:

Everly was so excited for the show all week!

Lighting McQueen

All the Toys
 

   

Olaf and Elsa

Aspen is already feeling better today. 

Disneyland Trip 2016: Final Day!

I really couldn't have asked for a better last day at Disneyland and California Adventure. The weather was great. The kids were great and it wasn't too busy. We got to go on a lot of things we hadn't yet and were wanting to including Soarin', The Tower of Terror, and The Matterhorn. My mom and sister got to go on Cars with Everly which is hilarious. We also got to go on Grizzly River Run and Everly loved that! There was also a chunk of time where I had Aspen by myself when everyone else was on rides and it actually was really awesome. We were able to get pictures with a ton of characters. She was really into Judy Hopps from Zootopia and even played peek-a-boo with her.  We also took the kids to see the Disney Junior Live show which they loved. We did a little shopping for some last minute gifts and also picked up the kitchen sink ice cream sundae from Clarabelle's in DCA. It was awesome and everyone kept asking us where we got it from! I am so glad that we were able to make this trip with the girls and also very grateful that my sister-in-law, mom and sister were able to come as well. It would not have been as fun without them. We left the next morning and got back to our house by like 1-ish so it really wasn't too bad. We have no plans for a Disneyland Trip again for probably several years so I am glad it went so well.

We got to see Tink before the line got long!

The lady outside of Tower of Terror gave us a photoshoot, haha.

I was supposed to act asleep but didn't realize the photo was that soon! Haha!

The new Soarin is really cool and Everly actually really enjoyed it.

 

Disney Jr. Live!

My birthday princess!

It's a small world was a hit with the littles.

 

Aspen and I with lots of characters!