HAPPY Birthday to ME!!!

For my early 30th birthday present Adam took me to Las Vegas! It's somewhere I've ALWAYS wanted to go, and he asked me a while back if I'd rather have a big party for my 30th or go on a trip... We left on Saturday morning at 10AM and got to Vegas about 5:45PM (8:45 our time). It was a very long day! We had made plans to go eat and check out some hotels that night but were so exhausted we ate at our hotel and watched tv in bed.

On Sunday, (the single best day I've ever had on a vacation) we checked into Bally's on the strip. Our room was upgraded to a suite with an amazing view! Bally's and the Paris hotel are connected and our room looked out to the Eiffel Tower and the fountains at the Bellagio across the street (they were so close you could hear them)! And it was gorgeous at night!

After we checked in, we went shopping at Ceasar's Palace, ate crepes in Paris, and went through the Aladdin hotel & shops. After a few hours of resting in our room, we got dressed up and went to dinner at the Bellagio. We had an amazing table on the patio overlooking the fountains, that went off several times while we ate. We were so close we got wet!

After dinner we got pastries for dessert, walked through the conservatory gardens and then went to see "O" by Cirque du Solei. I've always wanted to see "O", especially after seeing other Cirque shows, it's the show where they do everything in the water. Our meal was great, dessert was great, the show was great, our seats were great, and overall the whole day was the greatest! And that was just the 1st day...

On Monday, Adam went to a bakery in Paris and got chocolate criossants for breakfast then we started our day. We went to the Flamingo where they had really pretty pools/gardens, waterfalls and ton of tropical birds! Then we went to Circus Circus, Wynn, a mall for a snack, back to Wynn and then to the Venetian. The Venetian was fun, the canals were pretty, although not as long/big as we thought. We walked around the shops for while, they had some neat stores and art galleries. After that we went into the casino and played nickel slots for a while until it was time for dinner. I won 88, nickels that is. :) We had a GREAT dinner and dessert at sister restaurant of the Cheesecake Factory. After dinner we set out again to see MORE hotels.

We went to Treasure Island and watched the "Sirens" pirate ship show, saw the TI hotel, & went to the Mirage hotel. At the Mirage, we watched the volcano eruption, walked through a rain forest and saw a really fun aquarium. From there we walked back to Paris and went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower (which really showed how much Adam loves me, he's afraid of heights). We took great pics of the strip and watched the Bellagio fountains from the top of the tower.

On Tuesday, we ate at a breakfast buffet in Paris (which was great) & we tried to pack in the remaining few hotels we hadn't seen before it was time to go to the airport. We went to the Luxor, Excalibur, NY NY, and MGM Grand. We stayed at the MGM for a while watching lion cubs in the lion habitat. The were so sweet. We also went back to the Bellagio to see the conservatory during the day. Then we left for the airport, flew all night and got home at 12:55AM!

Thanks SO SO much to all of you who were praying for me while we were on our trip. I did great! We walked 2-3 miles a day and I was in very little, to no pain at all. The pain was never so bad that a Tylenol couldn't fix it.

The Fair!

As always, the fair marks the beginning of Fall. Sarah Grace had a great time! She loves seeing all the animals, pony rides, and riding the rides. She gets more and more brave every year. Last year she wanted to ride more than the year before, but she still wanted someone to ride with her. This year she would've done any ride there, all by herself.

This year was Payton's first time at the fair! She had a great time! She got to pet the animals ride a pony, eat her first funnel cake, and even went on the Bumble Bee ride! She was a trooper.

Self Family Vacation

We just got back from a 10 day road trip through Oklahoma and Texas with Adam's family. It started with 2 nights in OK and then we moved on to Dallas, TX. Tyler and Lauren just moved into a great new house there and we went for the night before we went on to Austin where we spent the next 4 days.

We stayed in a great condo in Austin and from Austin we took day trips to Fredericksburg, and San Antonio. Austin was beautiful. It's centered around a huge lake, Lake Travis, and is in "hill country" which reminded us a lot of San Francisco. Fredericksburg was a little old western town with fun little shops and San Antonio was really neat. We walked along the River Walk, saw the Alamo, and took a boat ride down the San Antonio River.

After we left Austin we went to Houston for a couple nights. We visited Adam's other grandmother, and tried to make all the rounds to places we like to eat when in Houston. It was a packed trip with lots of traveling but we had great time!

Go Sooners!

Sarah Grace and I got to go to our 1st OU home game! We flew to Oklahoma City to see Adam's grandmother and meet up with the rest of his family for our annual Self family vacation. Our first stop on our 10 day road trip was Norman, OK,

home of the Sooners!

Sarah Grace was excited. She had been to a GA Tech/Clemson game last year and really liked the band and mascots... So, she was pumped to see the horses (Sooner Schooner) and hear the band. Little did we know at the time that was all she planned to see.

We got into the game and within 10-15 minutes after kick-off she was ready to go (in a sobbing, "I want my blankie!", crocodile tears kind of way)! In her defense it was HOT and past her nap time already but Adam and I wanted to see the game... Luckily Bonnie and Lauren were going to leave early and watch the game from the student center, so they took Sarah Grace with them and she took a nap.

The game was great, we won, of course! And we found out when we got home that night that SG had told Adam's grandma that morning, before we left, that she was going to see the horses, hear the band, and take a nap.

First day of School!

I know, hard to believe, but today was Sarah Grace's first day of preschool! She goes on Tues & Thurs to Grayson UMC down the street from our house. Her teachers are Ms April and Ms Jennifer.

She's been looking forward to this day for MONTHS!!! Every time we'd pass her school she'd say "see you tomorrow preschool!". And today was the day! She woke up early, and in a great mood! She ate her breakfast and then paraded around the house with her backpack on.

Adam and I took her took her to school and walked her to her class. She walked right in and sat down at her seat and began crafting. When I picked her up this afternoon, she said her favorite part of the day was playing on the playground with the "bigger girl in the strawberry shirt". She loved it and when I put her to bed for a nap she said "today, after my nap, I'm going to be really nice so I can go to school tomorrow."

It's a.....

GIRL!

We went for our ultrasound on August 8th and got the surprising news that we're having another girl! Adam and I both thought it might be a boy... and you all know what Sarah Grace wanted. I didn't know what her reaction to the news was going to be, she had insisted on a brother for 5 months!

We took her with us to the appointment and she watched for a little while but then lost interest because of a basket of toys... then the ultrasound lady said "it's a girl" and Sarah Grace looked up. We asked her if she understood and she said she told the nurse she was going to have a sister named Charlotte Rose. She acted like she had never wanted a brother.

They said Charlotte looked great and, at the time, was measuring 5 days ahead of schedule!! That could change of course, but a little wishful thinking never hurts!!! The Dr. also made a comment that she has really long legs... go figure! ;0)

The pregnancy has been okay... weeks 4-14 were awful, 14-21 were GREAT, and since 21 have been rocky. I've been having a lot of pain in my upper rib cage and back. I had it with SG but it came later in the pregnancy... This time my Dr. thinks she might have a solution. I think it's working, but I'm still having some rough days... we'll keep ya posted. But all in all, Charlotte is healthy and growing, and REALLY active!!!