Girlfriends + Vegas

At the end of September I went on a fun girls weekend with friends from Ohio! It was so fun to travel and have some freedom, but the best part was being with friends that know you so well! Here's a quick peek at our 48 hours of freedom:

I left on a Thursday night after a full day of caring for kids, taking 4 kids to dentist appointments and 2 soccer practices. I was very happy to learn I was seated in the exit row and there was an empty seat beside me! We all arrived late in the evening on Thursday so after a few hours of chatting we all slept through the night (well my eastern time zone friends woke up in the middle of the night)!

The next morning we headed to the strip for a day of exploring. This was the closest we came to gambling...a picture in front of a slot machine.

Look at this beautiful floral display at the Bellagio...I think that's where it was.

We did a lot of walking and talking.

It was a beautiful day and we ate on the patio of a fun french restaurant in the Paris district. We kept commenting how it was fun to eat out, but even better that we didn't have to cook...between the 4 of us there are 14 kids, so we all do a bit of cooking ;)

After our day on the strip we headed back to the hotel and went for a swim. Then we visited a local pub for dinner.

The next morning we decided we had enough of the city and decided to visit the Grand Canyon. It was a 4-5 hour trek, but we talked the whole time so it flew by.  We also didn't have to stop for potty breaks, answer 5 bazillion questions, or hand toys and snacks to anyone ;)

One reason we planned the trip for the end of September was Evy would be one and she would be weaned...well that hadn't quite happened and I made the dumb move of not bringing a pump...so I had some "mild" discomfort during the trip.

A few of the girls had never been to the Grand Canyon and I hadn't been in years so it was a great experience!

We visited a few of the lookout points then we did a 3 mile hike that was just enough adventure for us! We ate dinner at one of the lodges in the state park and we met 2 German students traveling around the U.S. We asked them to join us for dinner and it was so fun to chat with them about their lives and adventures. It reminded me of my time traveling in college! It was so fun!

We didn't make it home until late in the evening and we were tired so we called it a night.

On Sunday we visited the Hoover dam, which I had never seen. It is quite the architectural masterpiece to say the least!

After the dam we went to Babycakes for brunch and I had some amazing pancakes. Then Tricia gave us a tour of her old stomping grounds in Vegas. It was sweet to see where she used to live.

Then I had to head back to the airport and back to reality. It was such a refreshing time to see friends, catch up on their lives and have a break. I'm so thankful for Kyle and Sheila taking over the kid responsibilities so I could go.

FYI: we were there the weekend before the Vegas shooting tragedy, so we were never in harms way.