Vacay AMAZING

I know everyone is on the edge of their seats wondering how it went. It was exactly what we needed. Thankfully, everything went as smoothly as it could of gone, both in Mexico and back at home. The girls had many amazing people that helped this happen. Mucho, mucho gracias goes to Nana, Ms. Maggie, Ms. Eda, Ms. Angela, Ms. Aqeela, Grammy and Pops, and Aunt Shannon.

Now, the pics.

Upon arriving at our hotel, we were greeted with this view from 

one of the outside restaurants where we had a snack before going to our room.

I was just in awe.

The room was gorgeous and bigger than I expected! 

Every day there was a new design created in flowers on our big pillow.

It's the little things!

If there was a theme to our little getaway, it would be LOUNGING.

We proceeded to do that as soon as we'd stopped at our room!

This usually involved a fruity, adult beverage!

The second day we were able to book a boat trip along the coast and

it was BEEautiful.

We went to a private cove and snorkeled, which we haven't done since our honeymoon in Cabo. The water was actually warm and so clear. Lots of fish! 

I even fit in a little boat tanning.

On the way back we stopped at a little authentic beach side restaurant

for some truly authentic Mexican margaritas!

And before returning to the hotel, we stopped at a local shop and bought 

two precious dresses for my little loves at home.

Back at the hotel, guess what we did next?

YEP! this time we lounged with a little guacamole and chips though.

That evening a really pretty storm rolled in, which was fun to watch.

The next couple of days we spent on these beautiful beach front,

swinging lounges that were basically my idea of heaven.

I always had a good book, cold beverage and plenty of sun or shade, 

depending on my mood. And the sound of the ocean!

It was magical, to say the least. 

Vacay Past Due

In July of 2007, Bub the hub and I went on a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina. Two short months had passed since we discovered that our first baby bub was on the way. No one else knew yet. I was as sick as a dog, but still managed to carry away some good memories. Charleston really is a beautiful city. We stayed in a fancy hotel and I got my fill of the historical landmarks that made me want to visit again in the first place.

Unfortunately, my extreme pregnancy sickness prevented me from taking very many photos... I just looked back and counted twelve total from the entire trip, with ten being of flowers/buildings/waterways and other nonsense. There is this one gem.

Not entirely sure why I had to have a pic with hub and a pirate statue, but glad there is at least one human photo to remember the trip by. There are no photos of the two of us at all! Granted, I was throwing up about 5x a day and did not feel super attractive. But STILL. 

Now that I go back and really look, I have very few pics from the entire pregnancy (did I mention the nausea lasted six months?), other than my baby showers. The only really acceptable shot I have of the two of us is this one we took in the under-construction nursery. I love how I am dressed in my low key work attire. And how young we look!

SO, the point of that whole story was to say that we never could have imagined that trip would be our last alone vacation for the next 8 years. We never could have imagined any of the things that came with Avery's birth, of course. After she arrived and went through brain surgery after brain surgery, it was so hard to think of ever leaving her alone with caretakers that didn't minutely understand all of the special things she needed. Not to mention the fact that she had a strong distrust for non-parental units in her early years. And so we put it off and put it off.... and then Baby Bub came along and it got pushed even further off the table. 

This isn't to say we didn't travel as a family. Avery had traveled with us to Rhode Island, Arizona, New York and Florida by the time she was three. We've taken family trips now to California and Hawaii as well. I'd say that our children are well-traveled bubs, actually. 

Dreaming about an alone trip has been a constant though. I think we started talking about it seriously when Avery was three, but the realities of her challenges always made it seem insurmountable. Every year I would tell myself that THIS would be the year that we would get away, and every year we failed. Now, of course, she is seven years old, fifty plus pounds, almost as tall as me, needs total assistance for mobility, is quirky as ever and having more seizures than she's had since her surgeries AND NOW WE ARE FINALLY GOING TO GET AWAY!! Not because it is the best timing in the world, or any of the logistics are going to be easy, but because we need this break to recharge and hopefully pave a way for future getaways.

This feat will take no less than five caretakers for Avery (not including all of her teachers at school), a few more to help with Maddie, and medicine/meal/clothes/transpo plans like you have never seen! But it will be worth it. It will be worth it when I get to sleep here:

and look out here

and relax here

and walk along here

and chill here.

 IT WILL BE SOOOOO WORTH IT.

July 4th Party

My mom (Nana) and her twin sister had a birthday bash on July 4th this past weekend at the Barndo! We were celebrating a little early this year, but it was a great excuse to combine festivities. Here is the invite I made for the party.

Aren't those twinkies cute?

It was nice to see our family, eat DElicious food and catch up with old friends. I think the twins had a pretty good time too. They are still adorable, of course.

Here is my Aunt Kay below with her grand kids. Maddie had the greatest time with her second cousins. They are so sweet and patient with her. She follows Katie (the oldest) around like a puppy dog.

And here are the red, white & blue cake pops and 

cupcake that I made for the party!!

Good thing that cake pops are not a quick endeavor because they are super addicting. I probably could have taken care of all of them myself, but I controlled my sweet tooth and created this cute display instead.

Aren't we festive??

After the party we broke out the fireworks and glow sticks. My camera was acting funny in the pitch dark, so this was as good as I could get, but all the kids sat on the back of the golf cart and watched. Maddie is on the far left in her cousin Mackenzie's lap. Fire works were a first for her! She also tried her first sparkler. She had so much fun. And so did we!