Zoo in winter time

Last week our family went to the zoo with a few friends. We have never taken the kids there in the winter time. It just so happened to be great weather and we got to see the tigers, cheetahs, etc that are normally out of site during the summer months.
The picture below is so cute. Kamille's little boy Haiden and our Maizy started holding hands right off the bat. I think they enjoyed spending some time together.

At one point in time, the 4 kids below were holding hands, but I missed it before Zoey decided to run ahead. This is our Maizy and Zoey with Kamille's Haiden and Lily.

Once again the same 4 kids with Cindy's Max turned backward in the far right corner. They really did have a ton of fun.

Poor Zander-his mean mom and dad made him stay in the stroller for the most part. When he gets excited and takes off running with all his winter gear on, he ends up face planting-so this is easier even if he isn't quite as happy.

This is one of many shots to get all the kids pictured on the tigers. We almost made it, but it was a no go! The only kid that hasn't been mentioned thus far is Sarah's little boy Luke on the far right in red. So glad Sarah could join us today.

The kids always love the zoo, but I believe their most favorite area is of course the playground. Here are our girls enjoying the large teeter totter.

We really could not have asked for a better day. The weather held off and it really wasn't too cold although we brought enough winter clothes for an army just in case.

9th Anniversary

I so thought I took more pictures, but I guess these will do. Casey and I ran away to Vegas, kidless, for 4 days to celebrate our 9th Anniversary. We have NEVER done anything this big for our Anniversary. It was a great little escape for us.
The is our car ride down.

Outside the Bellagio watching the fountain show. I think we watched a show around 3 times while we were there, and they never get old. It is so relaxing to just listen to the music and watch the amazing things they can do with water.

Our first night, we stayed at NewYork NewYork and I didn't get any pictures. The next 2 nights were our "free" nights at a time share called the BlueGreen Club. It is about a block behind the MGM just across the street from the airport and it was absolutely fabulous. We did have to sell our souls by going to their 2 hour presentation. I love the idea of timeshares, but just don't have the money now, but hopefully in the future.

We stayed in their larger room that had the bedroom separated from the living room and kitchen. In the bedroom was a sink and huge separate shower. The bathroom was huge as well with a tub/shower combo as well. The couch could pull out into a bed. It was great! The place had a nice indoor pool (which is great for Vegas since all the casinos pools are outside and closed in the winter time so I got to swim...YAY!)

We saw the Lions at MGM. They were lounging on the see through case above a walkway. They were 3 feet above my head-it was pretty cool, but the enclosure was filthy and difficult to see through so the pictures aren't that great.

This is us standing outside the Lion cage.

We did a lot of sightseeing, and eating, and just enjoying time not watching out for children 24/7. We saw a comedian-Frank Calliendo. It was a pretty good show.

We also went to lunch with my long lost roommate of 12 years, Jill. I am an idiot and didn't even get a picture of us so hopefully I will see her again soon.
It was a great get away and we had a lot of fun. Hopefully we will be able to do something again next year. Spending time with just each other is rare for us, but definitely needed.