Vacation [Part Three]

Our last night in Florida was delicious. Literally! We cleaned up from a day at the pool, picked Gram up and headed to Carraba's for dinner. Can I just say that I love Carraba's? Well, I do!

After filling our bellies we headed to the mall to stop at a few stores. While Dad was shopping at Dick's Stephen and I headed to Cami Cakes so pick up my much anticipated cupcake. Oh how I love these! They were beautiful and delicious! Sad to say that I did not get to take a photo before they were devoured because the box they were in fell over and they got all messed up. BUT, it wasn't a total loss because they still tasted the same!

Once home we thought we would pack up and get to bed since we had to leave at 4am for the airport. That did not happen. We ate cupcakes and packed everything up but for some reason we decided to stay up and watch Tangled with Mom & Hunter...though Mom went to bed half way through and Hunter fell asleep on the floor in the living room, so really only Stephen and I stayed up to watch it, ha. It was cute and I had been wanting to see it so I'd say it was worth it!

Here are some pictures from that evening:

We were up early to head to the airport-I had not seen that time on a clock in a long time! Thankfully, things went really smooth at the airport and we even had time to grab something to eat-Starbucks oatmeal was just the thing! We arrived in Nashville early and ate again, ha-we were on vacation, and on vacation you eat! :) The next stop on the journey home was Chicago where Stephen's parents were waiting for us.

I was so ready and excited to get home and see Louie! After stopping for lunch we headed straight home. Louie was excited to see us, but at first he wasn't too sure. He sniffed me for a good minute before accepting that it was me, jumping on my lap and licking my face off. I loved it!

We spent the afternoon unpacking, doing laundry and cleaning the house before going to Stephen's sisters house for a 4th of July dinner. We took Louie with us of course because we had been away from him for so long! It was a nice, relaxing evening with family!

Louie was super cuddly and laid on my lap for over an hour, just snuggling.

I LOVED it!

I am happy to report that Louie was fantastic while we were away. He ate his food, drank his water, and pottied outside on the leash without any major problems. The girl that watched him really eased my nerves by texting and sending me pictures a couple of times. We were so happy that he was okay and being himself, and that really made our vacation that much more enjoyable.  Thank you to the Baxter family for watching and loving our Louie for us!

Vacation [Part Two]

Welcome back! :) Continuing the vacation recap...

On Monday we headed back to the St. Augustine area for a much needed beach day. This was probably the day that I was most excited about and looking forward to about this vacation. I knew we would have a beach day and I was so ready to feel the sand between my toes and taste the salt water...not that I drink it or anything (that would be gross), but you can't help getting splashed or licking your lips at some point of the day!

We arrived a little later in the day than planned (sorry Dad!) but the beach was not packed at all, thankfully we still beat the rush so we had a good selection of spots to chose from. My cousin Beth, her husband and girls joined us and it was so nice spending time with them!

And because you can't go to the beach and not take pictures, here goes:

Above: A little burring going on there. I tickled Hannah's feet once she was covered and it was so funny! I think the buried Haley later in the day too!

Below: Last time the girls went to the beach they took a picture similar to this but with a sand castle bucket. Hannah really wanted to do the foot picture and make it look like they would get stepped on. It was fun and it turned out cute!

After a day at the beach we came back to Mom & Dad's for some swimming. Jumping in the cool pool after a long day at the beach is one of my favorite things, what can I say? After swimming a bit we showered and got ready to go babysit (or not since they aren't babies anymore) Hannah and Haley. We had a fun evening with them that included BBQ (MoJo's), a visit with Grandma, playing with their guinea pigs and Wii Dance Off. Oh it was fun and I may or may not have a wonderfully hilarious video of Stephen & Hunter doing a duet to "Jump, Jump"....so funny, let me tell 'ya!

Above: LOVE Haley's face in this one!!

Tuesday was our last full day in Florida, as we were flying back to Chicago verrrrrry early on the 4th of July. We spent the day relaxing and soaking up some more sun at the pool. I spent quite a bit of time in my perfect little nook reading the latest Karen Kingsbury novel, that was fantastic! We enjoyed some pina colodas that were shared with Chance too-funny puppy!

That evening we went to dinner and took quite a few pictures...that will be shared tomorrow! :)

Have a great Friday!

Vacation [Part One]

Just a heads up that this post is a bit picture heavy...as in 32 photos. Also, it might be a bit word heavy too. What can I say? I want to remember the details and photos of our vacation. Blog = scrapbook, agree?

Okay, so we arrived in Jacksonville, FL on Friday June 30th late. Very late. Our flight should have landed around 9pm, but since we were delayed over an hour waiting for other passengers in Nashville it didn't work out that way. Stephen and I had not eaten since lunch on Friday on our way to Chicago for our first flight. To say we were hungry would be a huge understatement. Since it was late our options were limited and we ended up at McDonald's. It may have been the best happy meal (I almost always order happy meals) I have ever had, no lie. The fact that I was super hungry may or may not have had something to do with that. After that we continued onto my parents house where were pretty promptly got ready got bed and went off to dreamland.

Saturday morning we woke and got ready for a little shopping and errand running before Mom and Dad's big 4th of July BBQ. I only took a few pictures that day and none at the actual party, whoops. There were so many people at their house (almost 100) and we were busy the whole time greeting and catching up with family and old friends. Dad was busy the whole day cooking some D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S BBQ, yummo!

The party was in full swing all afternoon and evening, the last guest left around 10pm while we wrapped the day up with some night swimming...

Sunday the plan was for us to go to early service at Mom & Dad's church...but with the activities of Saturday we were all tired. Apparently Mom tried to wake us kids (including Stephen) but was unsuccessful so she went to church alone and we slept. I am not going to lie, sleeping in was SO nice! In the afternoon we headed to St. Augustine, FL (btw: one of my favorite places in the world!) for some walking and eating...of course! We had late lunch reservations at Columbia, which is the best Spanish/Cuban food I have ever had. It was Hunter and Jessica's first time and they seemed to enjoy it too. We also ate there in March when in FL! I am beginning to think it's a requirement when in FL and I am totally okay with that!

We took some pictures around St. Augustine, which is beautiful if you have not been there. One of our favorite places and a great place to cool off for a bit on a hot day is the Casa Monica Hotel. The building is stunning and so is the decor. They have paintings of views that can be found around St. Augustine lining the walls and they are so beautiful. It only reminded me that I would really, really love a painting of our house one day!

Our last stop in St. Augustine was near the Bridge of Lions for some photo taking. We took tons of photos, but if you know me at all that probably does not surprise you in the least! Here are some from our photo shoot:

We left St. Augustine and headed to a baby shower for my cousin, Naomi. Naomi is pregnant with her first child, a son. Kevin Gage is due to be born in August and we had a great time showering her and him with lovely baby gifts. I sat back and really enjoyed watching her open each precious gift and pass it around the room. One thing is for sure, Gage is going to be one well dressed little fella!

Savannah was a great helper to opening presents, so sweet!

Left to Right: Aunt Mary, Mom (Aunt Linda), Naomi, Aunt Barb (Naomi's Mom) and Aunt Erin.

Btw, I think in some of these pictures Naomi does not even look pregnant. I hope I get that lucky one day!

After present and cake we hopped outside for a little impromptu maternity shoot. Don't judge these pictures too critically because I have never claimed to be a professional, but I did enjoy taking these for Naomi. I know she appreciated and enjoyed seeing them as well!

We ended the night back at Mom & Dad's with a little night swimming again. Hunter and Stephen were having a good time together and acting silly (Hunter) as you can tell in these photos! Pretend it's like a flip book:

And that's the end of Sunday.

More posts and pictures coming up soon!