As promised, I am updating the blog...finally.
So Josh left for Fallon, Nevada on a Friday. The following Thursday, the kids and I got up really early and drove to Las Vegas to meet 30 of our family members for a huge celebration. It was my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and they generously provided hotel rooms at the Wynn for all of us to come celebrate with them. It is a gorgeous hotel and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Vegas.
The drive over was surprisingly uneventful. There wasn't one solitary temper tantrum. Clearly God was traveling with us. Once we got there, we got all settled in and then headed with the whole family to the MGM Grand to have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Wyatt loved it! Talk about the perfect restaurant for my sweet boy. I think everyone else enjoyed it too.
On Friday, we headed to gorgeous pool at our hotel, the Wynn. I wish I had a picture of it, but it was a little difficult to take pictures while wrangling two little ones. Anyway, we hung out at the pool until my children were melting down then we headed back up to the room for a nap. While the kids were napping I had to shower and get all gussied up--that night was the big anniversary dinner for Nonna and Papa at Maggiano's...and my hubby was driving in from Fallon. So, I had to look cute.
The anniversary dinner was amazing! Nonna and Papa really outdid themselves. They rented a private room with a bar, and the menu was outstanding! What can I say...family dinners with the DiCesare's are always fun. It didn't hurt that Josh showed up towards the end of the night too!
Saturday in Vegas was my favorite day of the trip. First of all, it was my baby boy's 2nd birthday! I can't believe he's two already. It seems like just yesterday, God blessed us with his little life. Uugh, I could just eat him up!
Anyway, since Nonna and Papa had never been to Las Vegas and they love all things italian, we walked around to some of the "italian" hotels in town. First we went to the Bellagio to see the Murano glass and the beautiful fountains. The glass really takes your breath away...they had these glass flowers that are the size of a small car. It just blows my mind how they even do that. Anyway, after ogling the lobby for a bit, we headed through the shops and outside to watch the fountains. At the fountains, I had what I call a "God moment". You know, a moment where God shows Himself and his Providence is evident. There are two things you should know about my Papa--he is the most patriotic person on this planet, and he has already picked out a song to be played at his funeral. So we walk up to the fountains and end up waiting about 15 minutes for the show to start. Just when I started to think that this wait might not be worth it...the show begins. The first song played in sync with the water cannons is "The Star Spangled Banner". And as if it couldn't have been more perfect, the second song of the show was--you guessed it--the song Papa wants sung at his funeral, "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli. It was one of the coolest moments I have ever had the privilege of witnessing. I will never hear that song again without flashing back to that place in time.
After the touching fountain show at Bellagio, we headed to Caesar's Palace for some shopping and lunch. By this point the kids were worn out, to say the least...
Sunday we said goodbye to Josh and drove back to Hanford...with my mom! It was so wonderful to have my mom here with us for a few days. The kids love their Nana, and I love having adult conversation so it was awesome. I only wish she could've stayed longer...
On Thursday of that week (one week after heading to Vegas) me, the kids and my mom all headed to Anaheim where we met our good friend Lindsey. I guess it was a girls/babies weekend. We got to see the new CAbi fall line and did a little shopping and eating. While mom was in a meeting, Lindsey and I braved Newport Beach and found the most amazing shopping mall, called Fashion Island. I cannot express to you how fabulous it was...I wish I had the picture that Lindsey took of the parking lot. There sat my little Chevy SUV surrounded by Range Rovers, 7series BMWs, Bentleys and Jaguars. It was ridiculous. My poor traverse must have felt a little insecure that day. Anyway, from this mall Linds and I both wound up with some fabulous shoes. And we loved the place so much that we convinced my mom to go back with us that night for dinner. The restaurant was hands-down the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to. The staff was SO nice (even helping me entertain Wyatt), and the food was delicious. So if you're ever in Newport Beach...definitely go to Canaletto at Fashion Island. Reagan hit a major milestone while we were sitting in our hotel room one afternoon--she sat up! I'm so glad that Lindsey was there to see it too, otherwise no one wouldn't have believed me. Sadly, I have no pictures of this wonderful weekend--we were too busy juggling babies and shopping bags. haha.
That Sunday, I dropped mom and Lindsey off at LAX and started the trip back to Hanford with the kids. I hadn't even gotten out of town--was on the 405 around Mulholland Drive--when Wyatt fell asleep. I was excited about turning off the Veggie Tales DVD and just listening to the radio for a little bit. Well, the radio wouldn't work. I started getting irritated, but figured I would just leave it alone and stop up the road to try and fix it. I picked a gas station on the GPS to stop at and kept driving. About two minutes later, I hear Reagan making the biggest poop I have ever heard. So I had to find a new place to stop...I ended up stopping a lot sooner than I had anticipated, but wasn't too crazed by it. When I finally pull over at a Shell station, I go get Reagan out to change her and I see it...her car seat was literally filled with poo. I should have taken a picture of that too, since there is no way you could imagine what a mess it was. While I'm cleaning Reagan (and her car seat) up, another couple with a baby pulls up at the pump next to me. The girl taps me on the shoulder and says, "I am so embarrassed, but my baby has a dirty diaper and I just realized that I don't have any wipes...and we're on a trip...do you have a couple of wipes to spare?" Of course I handed her two wipes without hesitation, and continued on about my business. When I had everyone clean and strapped back in, I hopped back into the drivers seat and started the car. That is when I felt compelled to give this woman all of the wipes I had in the car (had almost a whole pack of them). So I went with it, hopped out of the car and told her that I wanted her to have my wipes since I was going to be home in a couple of hours anyway. I thought she was going to cry...after her reaction, I realized that God had me there, at that gas station, for a reason. It was something so simple to me, but it was a lot more to her. I learned a lesson that day--when your day seems to be going wrong, there might just be a reason.
Anyway, we made it back home and began preparing for Josh to get back from Fallon. I was relieved to be getting back into a schedule and about getting some rest. Just when we were settled in, we were reminded (by Josh) about a fun weekend ahead. It had been planned for some time, but I had totally forgotten with everything else going on. Josh's mom, Pat, was going to be in Los Angeles for a wedding and we were supposed to drive over and meet her there. Josh came home on Thursday, and to say that Wyatt and Reagan were overjoyed to see him is an understatement. Then four days after returning to Hanford, we left for Los Angeles...again. It was so wonderful to see Pat. Wyatt was so excited...he kept yelling "Grandma! Grandma!" the whole way there. We met her at a fabulous BBQ place in Venice Beach, which I would highly recommend, and had many other fabulous meals together. We also visited the Long Beach Aquarium. It was so much fun... I only wish we could have stayed with her a little longer.
Whew....those were our travels as of late. It was a blast and exhausting all at once. Can't wait to do it again!
