Part 1 of 4

There is so much to tell. It is going to be long, so it is going to come in parts. I hope that by the end, I will be caught up. Of course, in real life, we never catch up.

But, let's start with our vacation. Fun, fun and more fun. Our girls loved it. Every part of it. From the ocean to the pool to the resort activities. This vacation delivered in a major way. We met lots of family there, and were greeted with open arms and hugs.

We started our trip a day early with a visit to Edventure Childrens Museum. It was an interactive, hands on place where two little girls explored and enjoyed. I highly recommend it. Very fun, yet educational.



















Our trip at HH started with lunch at one of Daddy's old favorite places. The food was wonderful and the setting was beautiful. We were so excited to just be there, knowing that we would soon have our toes in the sand.








And they were. I always knew that my kids would love the beach. I just never knew how much. Like little crabs, they scurried along the beach, trying to decide how wet to get their toes and how far to dig in the sand. To clean off, we decided an evening dip in the pool would work. And it did. If you will notice, the bear is in a puddle jumper here. With each new part, you will see she graduated quickly. With the help of her Grandpa and others, she was in a vest, swimming under water in no time. Both of them were. Just like they had always been doing it.















So, there you have it. Part one. Stay tuned for jelly fish stings, teddy bear making and birthday parties at the beach! It just gets better.

Until then

I may not be able to share pictures of our good times with you, but I can write them. I want to start with our latest, favorite thing. Movie night. It started Friday night. Aunt Ginger brought over The Beauty and the Beast. The four of us piled in our king size bed, popcorn and drinks, and all jammied up. I had no idea how much fun this would be. Thirty minutes into it, the bean was fast asleep on my arm, while the bear watched, eyes so wide that I saw more white than I have ever seen before. It was just the perfect way to end the day. So perfect we repeated it last night. And, just like the first time, the second time was perfect. Only better. More popcorn in the bed, more snuggles and heavier breathing while my bean slept in my arms. I want to stop time people. I mean, I  really want to stop time. This time with my girls is happening. So fast and right in front of me. I just hope they know how much I love them. And I hope my husband knows how much more all of this means to me because he is part of it. I have had close relationships in my life. But, I have never know closeness like I know with these three. It is such a wonderful feeling of complete.

Our yearly weekend for the two of us(Andy and I) just went and got canceled. Seriously. We can't do it this year. Don't want to. Instead, we are taking our girls and we are heading south. I can't wait. Everything about them is fun right now. Everything.

I had to put this particular time down. With hopes that my kiddos will read this one day, I just needed them to know how this special time makes me feel. How they make me feel. Pictures or no pictures, it is beautiful and so real.

Vacation, birthdays and I'm full..

Literally. My blogger has reached it's limit. I am out of memory. I can't add any new pictures. I am going to have to look into that and clear out some pictures so I can continue. I have so many beach pictures of fun and family, birthdays, funny moments and new projects to share, but can't. It is a work in progress. I promise I'll be back very soon. Stay tuned.

Cousins

Cousins are a foreign concept to me. I don't have any cousins. But when I married Andy, I became a part of cousins. Not only myself, but my girls. They have cousins. Lot's of them. And they are all so very special. I watch my husband spend time with his cousins. Getting together with those that live 20 miles down the road and those that live hours away. It is the same for the girls. They have lots here and some miles away. Watching them interact with them is wonderful. It is like another set of siblings. From teenagers to babies, they range from big to little. One thing is for sure though. They all come with the same wrapped up package of love.

This past weekend was a weekend with some of those cousins. Andy's cousin and the girls cousins. We laughed, played, danced and found new partnerships. It was so much fun.

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My Bear is an explorer. She loves any bug or insect she can find. We have an old family cookie jar. It just happens to be empty right now. A couple of days ago, she came to me, excitement in her eyes. "Mom, come and look what I found." Oh my, a dead beetle in my cookie jar. I don't know how long it had been there, but by the smell that came out of that cookie jar when I lifted the lid, I am going to guess quite a while.

The Bean continues to fill our days with new experiences. She is developing a personality of her own. She is my baby, yet her grown up ways stop me in my tracks sometimes.

Our week is full of packing, organizing and planning. BECAUSE, we are leaving for the beach on Saturday. We are so excited and ready to visit, swim, play and love with some more family. Some more cousins.

Most  importantly, my first, my bear is turning four. We will celebrate. Twice, actually. So, stay tuned!

Be back in a couple of weeks.

Happy Week!

Almost a Month...

But not quite. That is how long it has been since I have been on here. Or even thought about it for that matter. You start off with good intentions, but life and two little girls with some mean virus just put blogging way back on a shelf even too high for daddy reach. And he can reach almost anything.

My stay at home adventure has been interesting. It is horrible when they are sick, but in the summer? C'mon. Just plain mean. I am usually good at limits. I know mine. I know my girls. But, by day 6, we had to push those limits just a tad. We had done every activity we could think of indoors and well, honestly, we were just burnt out.

Blow up boats while dressed in last years Halloween costume. Yep, we were grasping folks.

It was time to break out the craft tub and enjoy the warm sunshine and just hope and pray that the hives would stay at bay. They didn't, but a couple of doses of zyrtec later, and it was all good. So, maybe I pushed the limit a little too far, but the smiles and stories that came from our day of semi-normal day were worth each and every extra nose wipe and hive.

 Sarah "look mom, it is the crystal blue sea"

A little Bear just went and got all fish on me. She wanted the goggles and with goggles came underwater swimming. And to think that at the beginning of the summer, she wouldn't get off the steps at the pool.

Nana had a birthday this weekend and instead of baking her a cake full of sickness, we went for ice cream instead. I hate I didn't have my camera at the playground stop, because I could have shown you just how old she is. So, use your imagination and think of a Barney on springs. Yep, she and Sarah were bouncing back and forth. Laughter just rolling from their mouths. I did, however, have the camera at the ice cream stop. Looks like they enjoyed those cool treats.

My second cup of morning coffee awaits. Tomorrow(fingers crossed), we get back to our normal schedule. Whatever that may be. It certainly comes in all shapes, colors and sizes for us. Just the way it should be. 

Happy week.

Distance

Life has been busy. Just when I thought things would slow down, I hit that pedal and off we went.

Our trip to Alexandria was crazy fun. Busy, but slow. If that is possible. From sun and water to baby showers, we indulged in all sorts of family. Our girls travel so well.  Having the built in DVD player helps. The Bear has a little more trouble than the Bean. She gets car sick. Just like her Mommy, Daddy and Nana. It adds a couple of hours to the trip sometimes, but taking a break is good for us all. Extra hugs and kisses make it all better anyway.

Two little people fell in love while visiting. These kids are growing up so fast. I loved watching them tell stories and laugh at each other even though they had no idea what they were laughing at.

We just saw this little man in April, but he has changed so much. He decided while visiting that walking trumped crawling. He didn't stop.

This beautiful lady will be bringing girl number three into the family in August. Pregnancy certainly becomes her. She wears it very well. We can't wait to meet our sweet new niece. Life is about to get even more exciting.

Between the running, jumping, crying and laughing, we found some down time to read. Little kids lined up to get on Grandma's lap. She is so patient. So good at this. We really love her and we are so lucky to have her in our lives.

I, myself had one of the best times too. I love my siblings and their spouses. We are all so in sync. Our time together isn't near enough, but when we are together, we make the most of it. The fun thing about being so distanced from one another is that you learn something new each time you get together. Talking about the next meet up. Our plans to vacation together. What we will do five years from now. Where we will be. Grandma pointed out that next summer we will have five kiddos under four. She is optimistic that way.

The Bean seemed to have found a new love for her Grandpa this trip too. I can't tell you how many times I would look over in the kitchen and see the two of them just sitting at the bar, talking about the most important things. I love watching that.

Leaving was hard. It was harder than usual. Knowing that we will all be together in about a month helps. I just wish we lived closer. But closer doesn't always mean closer. I feel close to them all the time. Even when months separate us.

My heart is so full. The distance is only in miles. Love fills in the gaps. Until next time.