Cousins!

Gracie had an amazing weekend last week. Drew and I surprised Grace with a visit to Las Vegas to see her big cousins, Ashleigh and Peyton. Since my nieces live 4 hours away, we only get to see them a few times a year. This visit was special because we don't usually get to visit with them in the fall.

A little over a month ago, Drew and I decided that Ash and Peyton needed to see their little cousin. We really want them to be close, despite their physical distance. The "big girls," as Gracie calls them, LOVE their baby cousin. They truly dote on her when they are together. Any time we talk to them, Gracie is the first topic of conversation. Therefore, the plan to head to Vegas was hatched. With the help of Ash and Peyton's dad, we set the dates for our visit. We decided to keep it a secret from all of the kids.

Gracie was let in on the plan on Thursday night. She was extremely excited and couldn't wait to see her big girls. Two days later, we made it to Vegas and rang the doorbell at Ashleigh, Peyton, and Tom's house. The girls were shocked to see us and so happy to hear that they'd be spending the next two nights with us. Gracie absolutely lit up as soon as we walked through their door. It's so fun watching her interact with her cousins.

After spending some time at their house, we headed to Red Robin with Tom and all of our girls. Once we had all eaten we said good-bye to Tom and went to our hotel. The rest of the night was just spent hanging out in our hotel room. Sunday morning found us having a leisurely breakfast together. When Gracie is with Ash and Peyton, she is so focused on them that we are able to move a little slower. It's a pretty nice change of pace. =) After breakfast we spent some time in the M & M's Store. Let me tell you, four floors of M & M fun can provide quite a lot of entertainment!

Sunday afternoon was pretty relaxing. Gracie had to take a nap, so I took the big girls out into the hotel to hang out. We were at The Luxor, so we didn't even have to leave. Ash, Peyton, and I walked around, sat and read, had some ice cream and smoothies, and gabbed for almost 4 hours. I really treasure spending some quality time with just my nieces. I adore them and I think the feeling is mutual. I pray that they will want to spend time with me even when they turn into teenagers!

Dinner that night was really fun. We went to the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay and were surprised with a performance by a country cover band. The place wasn't super crowded, so the lead singer was able to really interact with the crowd. He saw us sitting there with three little girls and broke out in a rendition of the Spongebob theme song. Later, he sang a Tim McGraw song at Ash and Peyton's request (they requested him because they know how much I love Tim McGraw!). Dinner was bittersweet though, as we knew that we'd be saying good-bye in the morning.

Monday morning was a bit of a rush. We had to wake up around six in order to get ready and have Ashleigh at school by 7:45. Peyton starts a bit later, so we got to keep her until close to 9. Both girls were really excited to have Gracie and me walk them up to their schools. They are always showing off pictures of their little cousin, so being able to show her off in person was really special for them. Ashleigh did really well when we said good-bye. Peyton had a difficult time. We had some tears shed.

The weekend was a true blessing. Any time spent with those girls is so precious. I value having them close to me, watching them with Gracie, and watching them with Drew. He is such a good uncle to them and they really love him in return. Now, it may be time to start planning out next visit...