Oh, where to start?

Las Vegas was great. Lots of food, amazing shows, a nice hike in Red Rock canyon, some time with Bob, what's not to love:) We stayed at Mandalay Bay and saw KA at MGM and La Reve at the Wynn. Both were terrific. KA freaked Bob out a little. We were in the front row so the platform and heights got him a little nervous. La Reve is diving/water type stuff and quite beautiful. The theater is round so there's not a bad seat.

We ate at Strip Steak at Mandalay on Friday. Yum. Anyplace that can make french fries that make you want to lick the plate and even better steak is worth the $$. Saturday night we ate ate Diego at MGM. It was good, like a B, but compared to Strip Steak and then Aureole on Sunday night, it placed 3rd. Aureole was delish. We did the 7 course tasting menu and the only course that wasn't wonderful was the cheese course, but that's mostly because I don't care for strong cheeses. The tuna tartare was really excellent.

Speaking of food, the girls decided that weaning wasn't on the menu yet so we're still at it.

Thanksgiving was nice even though Bob was on call. He wasn't too busy and was around all Thursday while everyone was here. We had, as usual, plenty of food and lots of visiting. We're going to do Christmas at Beth's the Friday after Christmas so it looks like our Christmas Day is free since Becky is having Bob's family's Christmas the Saturday after Christmas.

Our bathroom still isn't even started, maybe the beginning of the year...I hope. We have everything except the labor.

Christmas shopping is basically done. A few toys and books for the kids, practical stuff for mom, the bathrooom and an Iowa t-shirt for Bob. I gave it to him early in case he wanted to wear it to the UI-ISU wrestling meet- won by Iowa:) - but he declined. Gift cards for the boys. Pretty basic.

Kevin has his pre-school program Thursday. They're singing "Away in the Manger", "Jingle Bells", "Mary Had a Baby Boy" and "Happy Birthday". I hope he behaves:) We made Christmas cookies with icing today. He's been hot to do that for a few days now and even though it's a great big mess, it's kind of fun and he loved it. He said that toys used to be his favorite, but now it's food (meaning candy!) and he really wants a lollipop for Christmas. There's a picture of a big, multicolored lollipop in one of his books that really caught his fancy. I found a green and white one at Target for his stocking, but I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find one that will fit his image.

The girls are getting new clothes. They are getting into a lot of 18 month stuff already. It seems like they should still be my little babies instead of my little climbing monkeys! Nothing is safe in the house, but they're sure fun to watch!

ETA: Delaney's in the red, Claire's in the black:)

St. Louis

St. Louis was a good trip. The weather ended up being in the low 80's- good thing I brought some warm weather stuff for the kids. It's got a ton of things to do with kids, but it's pretty easy to get around and would be good without kids too. We went to the zoo, Grant's Farm, the Arch, and Bob and Mom went through the courthouse. We stayed at the Hilton at the Ballpark. Terribly slow restaurant, mediocre room service, but decent rooms.

I'm always surprised at how much longer it takes to get places with kids, especially twins. People seem fascinated with them. We got so many looks and comments that after a while I just quit counting. I need some flip cards that say: Yes, they're twins. 14 months. Both girls. Yes, they keep me very busy.

Kevin had a bit of a rough trip. He came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease on Friday/Saturday. He'd complained that his tongue hurt when he ate, but we thought he had just bitten it because Bob didn't see anything on the middle of his tongue where Kevin complained of pain. Sunday morning he was super cranky and I finally convinced him to let me look. The whole edge and underside of his tongue was covered with sores. Poor guy! We were going to stay in Iowa City Sunday night, but decided to push through, which turned out for the best. Kevin was completely wiped out, but slept better in his own bed. In St. Louis, he'd insisted on sleeping in the regular bed instead of the crib. He had a little bit of a time getting to sleep and staying in the bed. He also fell out the first two nights, but I think our crib days are numbered!

Oktemberfest 5K

Bob and I finished the Oktemberfest 5K in Marshalltown yesterday in 33:48, so about 5 minutes faster than our first 5K on Labor Day. It was a lot flatter than the run around the lake, but we ran more too. Bob's sister Peggy started with us, but sent us ahead after a couple miles. I can't believe I'm saying that a 5K was really fun, but it was, even though we did get passed by the top 2 10K placewinners. Oh, well, I guess my next goal is to not get beat by the guys running twice as far as us!

We stayed in Marshalltown Friday night and the kids did fine without us so I think we're good to go to Vegas:)

November 16th

November 16th. That's the next day circled in red on the calendar. Bob and I are going to Las Vegas! Without kids!! I am positively giddy about this. I never traveled much before Bob, but he got me addicted to nice hotels, room service, and general sight seeing. We still travel with the kids, but it's just not the same and we haven't been away from home for more than one night since Kevin was born except for when I was in the hospital with the twins...which definitely did not count as a vacation. However, here's our chance to stay up late and not have to arise to the sound of "Mommmmmy, where aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee you?" or just "WAAAAAAAAAAH!" We're staying at the Mandalay Bay and I even went ahead and got tickets to KA. I.cannot.wait. I'm sure I'll miss my little sweeties some...okay, a lot...but I think we'll all be okay.

And what, you may ask, are we going to do with the kids? Mom and my aunt Marie have kindly agreed to take on the challenge of wrangling the bunch for 3 nights. We're doing a practice run on Friday night. Bob and I are going to go down to Marshalltown and staying over at Bob's sister's house so we can do the Oktemberfest 5K on Saturday morning. Hopefully the kidlets sleep through the night and don't scare off our good help!

We're going on vacation! Woohoo!