"Do you want to go to Florida?"

I was awakened last Tuesday morning to my phone ringing. When I answered, it was Nic. He simply said he called to ask me if I wanted to go to Florida today. You see, his parents were headed down along with his aunt and uncle to meet up with his cousin and niece who were already there. They all had been trying to talk us into going, but I did not think we could or should. Nic quickly twisted my arm and talked me into packing up the girls and heading south. I bought the ticket at 8:30 AM, dropped Jac off at preschool, came home to pack and clean, picked Jac up from preschool, drove to airport, and was on the plane on my way to Florida by 4 PM. Needless to say I was spent, but super excited about the chance to get away. The flight down was fine and both girls were gems. It was an awesome trip! The girls spent lots of time at swimming and jumping into the pool.
Here is Shan (Nic's cousin) with her daughter Sophie next to Jac and I.
Jac is still a little unsure of the sand, but definitely getting more used to it. Izy on the other hand crawls around and consumes as much sand as possible in a matter of 30 seconds. I love this picture of her precious backside!
Aunt Cara came over to hang out and the girls thought she was pretty cool.
I packed a backpack of toys for Jac to take with us. Note to self: never bring this backpack anywhere again...ever! Anytime it was in sight she insisted by way of tantrum on walking while rolling the backpack behind her. She is definitely a touch on the independent side, but I really do love it.
Sophie was so into the fish that one of the fishermen on the pier had caught.
One of my favorite things about going to Florida is waking up, sitting on the porch, and just enjoying the waves. Jac and Izy seemed to enjoy this as well.
We had to collect a few shells to bring home.
Izy...
Jac...
The girls played really well together in the pool. Seriously it was such an awesome and surprisingly relaxing trip. Thank you so much to my in-laws for all their help as well as Aunt Debbie, Uncle Duane, and Aunt Shan Shan!
I had some matching dresses for the girls that I was more than excited to dress them up in for a small photo shoot.



The last night, Friday, we headed out to dinner. The girls were so cute sitting in these "big girl" chairs.
I am not quite sure what Jac is up to here, but boy does she love her some ice cream!
This vacation was much needed for many reasons. One, I needed some sunshine in my life! It just makes me happier all around. Two, I needed to destress a bit. My phone and computer was not working while I was there so destressing I definitely did! And Three, and maybe the most important reason, I needed to know that I could go on vacation with 2 kids and actually enjoy myself. The past few trips we have taken with the girls have been not quite as relaxing for an assortment of reasons, but this time I actually took deep breaths, everyone seemed happy, and we had fun together! We missed daddy a lot, but am so thankful he sent us to Florida. I pretty much have the greatest husband ever!

Run the Race

Izy turned 7 months this past week and I can hardly believe it. In some ways it seems like she has been here forever and yet others it feels like just yesterday I was pregnant. I am adjusting to the life of a stay at home mother of two. There are definitely days when I question whether God was mistaken in calling me to be a stay at home mom. Especially those mornings where they both whine incessantly and nothing seems to be going our way. Really? Me God? But there are also moments when there is no doubt in my mind! Something that God has continually been instilling in me through various ways is that I am called to "keep running with endurance the race set before me (Heb. 12:1)." I have a hard time feeling like I am changing the world when all I do is translate grunts and wipe butts. Like I need to be doing more for Him. But then I am reminded that this is the race I am in right now and I need to run as hard as I can...and make the most of every second of it! So, here are my two favorite little people making my two favorite faces...Jac and her serious face; Izy and her just being precious face. I hope they make you smile! Love you all!

Happy Halloween!

We had a super full, but super fun Halloween this year! It started and ended at the Barn where the girls, Becky (the birthday girl!), and I hosted our 1st annual Halloween Playdate. I think I counted about 85 people...with over half of those being kids under 4! Craziness to say the least, but it went so well and was so much fun! Izy was a precious lil' lion...
Here are all the kiddos and mommies during storytime with Farmer Jim aka my grandpa! We then had a little parade followed by crafts, lunch, and a hayride.
Jac the pirate in her costume that her and daddy picked out a few days ago. And believe it or not she actually kept the red headband on all day!
Becky was a spider this year and if you couldn't tell I am Miss Piggy....ha!
This is a view from the top of everyone working on their crafts that GG Ma (Nic's grandma) organized.
The girls and I went on a few of the hayrides...
We decided to join the parade in our neighborhood to trick or treat. There were so many people involved, but it was fun to walk with all of our neighbors.
Izy was pretty much over her costume and her face paint at this point...
Jac was so funny to watch trick or treat. She was 1st off holding her candy bucket for dear life. Then she would run to the next person/house and after they handed her candy she would just stand there and stare at them as if to say, "I am not sure why you are giving me candy, but I like it!"
There was a firetruck at the end of the parade route that Jac got to climb on with her cousin the butterfly!

After trick or treating, we headed back to the barn for a costume party and dancing. It was so fun to see everyone dressed up, but these where a few of my favorite costumes...
Where's Waldo?...
The Scarecrow and Dorothy...
A pregnant nun with her fairy-princess-ballerina granddaughter (I love the independence of a 3 year old!)...
Mr. and Mrs. Al Gebra...
The Tin Man, Adam, the Joker, a butterfly, and a pumpkin...
All in all it was a great day...and I am spent! I can't wait to do it all over again next year though! On a side note...Izy is CRAWLING! I can not believe it! A full 2 months earlier than Jac did...oh my! Get ready world cause here she comes! I just love holidays and milestones!