10 year RANniversary Trip to the Bahamas // DAY 1

Well, we just got back from our 10 year anniversary trip (a couple months early; it's what happens when you're married to a teacher) to the Bahamas and we had a blast!! I'm going to try and do a post for each day we were gone to capture what we did while we were there. Technically these photos begin the day before when we drove the kids into NJ. We are lucky in that both sets of parents were able to watch the kids for part of the time--so they split the week. We left on Saturday morning, July 9 to take the kids to Oma and Opa's house! They were SO EXCITED! 

...and we're off! I managed to hold it together when we pulled away. This was a major concern of mine since I've never left the kids for so long. We were flying out of Baltimore, so we had a 3 hour trip from north NJ down to Baltimore...on I-95. On a Saturday in the summer. So.....it took us a little longer. But we finally made it to the hotel and went out to grab a bite for dinner. We went to bed at 7 p.m. (and actually fell asleep!!!) so it wouldn't be such a short night. 

The alarm rang at 2:20 a.m. We had a 5:15 a.m. flight so it was a long day. American Airlines told us to be at the airport at 3:30 a.m. when they opened. Turns out the TSA security checkpoints don't open until 4, so that was super annoying. Oh well....

One benefit of a 5:15 a.m. flight is THIS. So beautiful. 

After a brief layover in Charlotte, we were on our way to Nassau! The flight from NC to Nassau isn't too long, so we were literally in the Bahamas by 10 a.m. and at the resort by 11. Our room wasn't ready, which we expected, so we quickly changed and went exploring on the resort and to have lunch and hang out at the pool. It was a gorgeous resort (Sandals Royal Bahamian)--we love all-inclusive resorts!!

They told us our room was "guaranteed ready" by 3 p.m., but it still wasn't. We remained super patient, but we were getting frustrated. They had us sit down for a couple minutes and then a concierge came and told us our room was ready. He walked us to the Royal Village part of the resort, which is where I booked a basic king room overlooking the gardens. Next thing I know, he opens the door into a stunning suite, shows us around, and leaves. We were all "uhhh, did we just get upgraded BIG TIME?!?" Um yes, yes we did. It was a freshly renovated walk-out suite with an outdoor soaking tub and we were the first ones in the new rooms! So glad we were patient! 

(AMAZING shower...it was like 5 feet x 6 feet and had multiple shower heads)

I've always dreamed of a bathtub outside, so this made me crazy excited!!! 

Until we got settled into our room and unpacked, it was basically time to shower and get ready for dinner. We didn't have any reservations for the first couple days so we opted for Casanova, the Italian restaurant, and it did not disappoint. They had the most amazing antipasto bar and seriously the best bruschetta we've ever had in our lives (and neither one of us likes tomatoes). I had delicious chicken parm and Seth had striploin steak. For dessert, I had tiramisu (of course) and Seth had gelato. A wonderful start to the week! 

We were so tired after dinner since we had been up since 2:15 a.m. so we found some hammocks by the beach and just laid there and relaxed. Glorious!

Monsters Inc. Birthday Party!

When we were in NJ back in June, we had our kids little combined birthday party. We did it right after Mary Kate's bridal shower--and at Oma and Opa's pool. It was a nice day for a party, and we kept it nice and low key! A couple weeks before the party, I asked them if they could come up with a combined theme that they both liked. They looked through an Oriental Trading magazine and they immediately picked Monsters Inc. Perfect for our little "monsters." :) 

The little favors -- tablets and pencils from Monster University! 

So glad to celebrate 4 and 6 with their cousins and the rest of the family! 

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Seth! The kids are so lucky to have you as a daddy. 

We love you to the moon! 

Baby girl's school pictures

Addison's school pictures came in and I am thrilled with them. So much so that I almost cannot believe that these are Lifetouch. She was in a mood that morning wanting to wear pants under her dress. We managed to compromise on plain black rather than a printed pair and thankfully, they came out super cute. Love that sweet pea! 

First day/Last day

Because I love a good comparison....

I put him in the same outfit for the last day as he wore the first day. I can't even believe it. The baby face is gone. He's down some teeth. His clothes aren't as loose. He's a couple inches taller. He can READ. I can't believe I have a first grader already! 

Carter/Addison birthday celebration!

Even though Addison's birthday is not until June 13, we decided to do a little combined birthday celebration for the kids last night. We were having an impossible time finding a weekend for a normal party we'd throw, so we opted for a small friend celebration! We are doing a little party for the kids in NJ closer to Addison's birthday in June, so it felt right to do this one closer to Carter's birthday (and it actually fell ON his actual birthday because Friday worked in everyone's calendars!!). 

We let them each pick two friends to go to Build-a-Bear Workshop and Dairy Queen after. Carter picked his best friend from his kindergarten class (James) and one of his old friends from daycare and a current best friend at kindergarten and his after school program (Austin). Addison picked two friends from her class at school (Alayna and Cassidy). 

They each got to pick a bear and clothing for it. Since it was an actual party, they had their own "guide" who played games with them, too. Carter and Addison also got cute "extras" for being the birthday kids! 

(to say they were excited is a MASSIVE understatement!)

One of the little boys wasn't there yet but they were happily posing for pics, and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to snap this one!

Best buds! :) 

The heart ceremony -- making wishes, rubbing the heart on their heads (for smarts), bellies (so they're never hungry), kisses (so they know they are loved), etc.

Getting all sewn up!

Time for baths! 

They had so much fun and it was an effortless party--we showed up, had a blast, paid, and left! No set-up or clean-up (AMAZING). We then went to the Food Court for Dairy Queen...blizzards all around! :) They handed out favors to their friends and that was that...a perfect combined birthday celebration!

The month of birthdays

A couple weeks ago, my mom celebrated her birthday. We decided to do a fun "girls night in" this year at Michelle's house. We planned a light dinner, cake (of course), a craft and general hanging out. There were about 15 people there and we had a great time. We made a lemon sugar scrub from Pinterest (if you had any doubt) and it turned out really cute!)

I made a 4 layer chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, mostly because I thought the 2 layer cake looked too skinny. Soooo I made another cake and made it super high. Mmmm. 

Mom and her daughters and DIL

(Brad's birthday was in here too but I don't have any pics--whoops!! We celebrated at their house with burgers, wings, cake and homemade ice cream!)

This year was also my dad's 60th birthday. He didn't want anything big so we did a steak and seafood night at our house. We had steaks, grilled garlic and lemon shrimp, bacon wrapped scallops, and a baked potato bar. 

We opted for a birthday "pie" because we are all caked out from the previous birthdays! HA! 

After dinner we went to the driving range. Since my dad loves to golf, we thought this was a great option! Those poor other people at the driving range who were trying to focus and practice with 5 little kids running around. :)

Well, that summarizes the April birthdays, but we don't get too much down time. Carter's is just next week! :) :) 

Easter 2016

Well, I seemed to have forgotten to blog for a very long time. Let's chat Easter, shall we? You know, since it's almost summer. :) 

We had a fun small group Easter brunch this year which was super fun. Courtney made these adorable bunny pancakes for the kids, we ate too much food, the kids played games and we, of course, had an Easter egg hunt! 

Church was SO good on Easter Sunday too! After church, we came back to the house for a bit with my parents and Bradley (Ashley was working) before we headed to Haucks. The kids opened their Easter baskets. 

At Annette and Randy's -- pictures before lunch. Always a hit with the kids (sarcasm). :) 

Family pic -- not the best but we'll take it! 

Later in the afternoon, the kids got their Easter baskets from Gramma and Pa. To say there was mass excitement (and major chaos) is an understatement. 

We had a lot of fun and the kids hunted something like 200 eggs -- it was pretty crazy. We rounded out the day with rousing games like Password, Pictionary, etc. A good day!!