Sunday, July 28, 2013

a month long vacation comes to an end! (might be the longest post ever)

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I had several blog posts ready while we’ve been away but I never got around to give quick updates of our month long vacation so I’ll do my best to re-cap our trip in one post….this will probably information and picture overload! Instead of breaking this into several posts, Im doing one very long one. Get ready :)

We first started in Louisville, celebrated my Grammy’s 90th birthday, had a great 4th of July with family we had not seen in a while and had her 90th birthday dinner at a fabulous restaurant (I think Ive already written about all this but it was great to see everyone!)
We got to spend a short amount of time with Jeremy’s family as we were dropping Hannah off and picking her up. I know they miss the kids like crazy so Im glad Hannah was able to visit for awhile! Jeremy’s mom took 4 kids camping…she’s a brave woman :) Hannah wasn’t quite sure what to think about sleeping in a tent but she had a great time. They swam, and camped and looked for lots of bugs- seriously one of Hannah’s favorite things to do!
The rest of our time in Louisville was spent meeting friends for lots of lunch, dinner and play dates. I was able to meet two of the newest babies I had not met yet, Alec and Adeline and also got to see two of my sweet friends who are expecting. Its hard to miss such exciting times in our friends lives but its great to get to come back and hold those sweet babies for as long as I can!
Hannah got to see alot of her little friends that we miss so much- she even went back to her old preschool for water day-  she had a great time!

Louisville re-cap in pictures- in no particular order!
 My mom and I did alot of embroidery on her new machine! Owen was BOUND and determined to get in that chair. This kid has just changed leaps and bounds in 4 weeks. He is literally into everything he shouldnt be!

 Hannah and Victoria reunited at Evergreen
 such sweet girls!

 we made a few visits to my parents pool too!


 Sweet baby Adeline!! Loved meeting her.
Kate's baby shower- so glad I was able to be there & help put it on for her.
 Right now we are into playing baseball! Im so glad. I really hope she loves it. I played softball for so many years, I just loved it.
 her first glove and bat!

 Hannah and Emma- picked up right where they left off :)



Play date with Pierce- they were so cute playing together- even Hannah had a blast! (She wasnt dragging him around, I promise!)
 the boys doing work in the office!

We crammed in as much as we possibly could in Louisville but last Friday morning we got up very early to fly into Charleston, South Carolina to begin our vacation. I decided it was worth any cost of a plane ticket to fly to the beach instead of drive. 10 hours in the car with two toddlers….Id rather fly! Im no super mom and it wouldn’t have been pleasant- I’ll just say that!
We arrived early Friday morning and met our friends from California in Charleston and got our vacation underway!
I cant say that Ive been a lot of places….I mean Ive been lucky enough to have traveled to Cancun, Jamaica, spent 8 years of my life in California, had lots of beach trips on the East coast but I had never been to Charleston. Ive never been to Chicago, New York, Boston or any of those places but Charleston has to be one the best places on earth. Its AMAZING. It would cost a fortune to live in downtown Charleston, but what a dream. Its gorgeous, people are SO nice, the food, the atmosphere- everything about it was incredible. Its my new dream place to live.  We ate at some great places, saw some beautiful sights and took a carriage ghost tour, that was great! Jeremy will start looking for jobs in South Carolina next year :) 

 gorgeous, fun city!

 getting ready for our carriage ride at an adorable barn right in the middle of the city.


 great barbecue!

We also went to the Aquarium too! I enjoyed that as much as Hannah did.
 Hannah made Kelly her best friend all week!

 Megan is the child whisperer- she has the touch and can calm any situation.
 she's cautious, but then she has no fear! Owen had fun too!

Saturday we headed to the beach- Edisto Island, which is about an hour from Charleston. We loved the house we were in, and were all just so happy to be on the beach! The kids were great, they were really great travelers. Im so thankful for two kids who are pretty great flyers. I know not every flight will be easy but they have not been screaming kids on the airplane, so Im thankful for that!

 Monday night Jeremy was flying in around midnight so we were going to go back to Charleston to pick him up. We decided to go in early and grab dinner and just enjoy the city one more time. We love it so much! We ate some amazing barbecue (Jim n Nicks in Charleston is to die for. We ate there twice!), grabbed some dessert at our new favorite ice cream shop (Kilwins- their salted carmel ice cream is pretty darn awesome), and decided to take a ghost tour of an old jail. It was SO great! A little creepy to be in an old, abandoned jail but really neat to hear the history of such a gorgeous city. We picked Jeremy up and headed back around midnight. The next morning the kids were so excited to see daddy at the beach!
 the old jail we toured- at 10:30 at night, we were led around by one tiny flashlight....


  Daddy made it! It was close- his first flight was delayed so he only had 20 minutes to catch his next flight in Chicago.
 First walk on the beach as soon as we got there!

first morning in the beach house- he was as happy as I was!
 View from our house


 such gorgeous days and beautiful views!




 he napped everyday on the beach. such a trooper!
 snack time!
 she loved having her daddy there to play with her on the beach!

 and....another beach nap.
 the beach wore this girl out most days!










 and.... yet another beach nap.


We really just spent the week sitting on the beach, relaxing, laughing, eating and getting some sun. The weather really turned out to be great.  The house was full with 15 of us but that just gave Hannah constant entertainment! That girl is a fish and it was so hard to get her to come in from the ocean. Shes braver than I am, I do not get in! Owen was a great beachgoer, he would literally fall asleep about 20 minutes after we got to the beach each day. I guess the waves just lulled him to sleep. Such a sweet baby boy!

We attempted some pictures of us and the kids but you can imagine how that went :) I only had a few on my phone. Most on my camera and my moms, so eventually Ill get around to adding those too!



 
We had great company, beautiful weather and sights, and memories we wont forget. This was our first beach trip with Jeremy- Im forever grateful he made it. He deserved it. We said our goodbyes (which are not easier- may have been harder than the first time!) and got about 3 hours of sleep before we drove back to Charleston to fly back home. Its bittersweet to be home. The kids missed their toys, their rooms, and their routines but nothing beats being with family. They make us so happy!
 Im so thankful the kids slept as much as they did on the two plane rides- they really did great.

 watching the airplanes come in!d
 When they do sleep for most of the trip...that leads to two kids who want to play with all their toys they had missed! That made for a LONG day for mom and dad who had been up since the early morning hours!
 she was ready to get back to riding her bike!
 snack time on our layover. We are glad we had that layover to wear Owen out. He fell asleep 15 minutes in to the second flight- the 3.5 hour flight- and he crashed for 2.5 hours!!
It was so great being surrounded by all our family and friends we missed so much. Its hard to say goodbye- even though we've already done the hardest part, the act of saying goodbye IS one of the hardest parts. Its just knowing we have to leave everyone all over again. But, it does feel good to be back to our house, with Jeremy, the kids toys and back to our routines. We are thankful for the memories. It was a GREAT July!!

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