Siesta Key...Vacation Pt. 3

To end our vacation we spent our final days at Siesta Key.  Even with a tropical storm, we were able to enjoy some restful & fun beach time.  

The Beach...Vacation Pt.2

After our stay in Orlando we headed to beach.  Our hotel manager was gracious enough to lend his shark tooth shovel for some pretty fun hunting at Venice Beach.

Theo was more about eating and sleeping his first time to the beach.  We probably should've timed the trip different from his nap time, but sometimes excitement gets the best of all of us.


Ezra thought he was in charge with the shovel.


Jude and daddy were definitely successful in their shark tooth hunt.  They found four teeth!!!

Disney Vacation 2016

Our summer began with a family vacation.  A lot of "firsts" for us.  This was our first vacation as a family of five, first flight for the boys, first time to fly as a parent...and let me tell ya, it is not for the faint of heart ;), and of course for our little Theo everything was basically a first.

Disney Springs.  I would be here every weekend if I lived in Orlando.  The food, shopping, and entertainment leave little to be desired.  We took the boys to the new T-Rex Restaurant and goodness, did they love the excitement.  Honestly, this place was a kids' dream to eat at.  And of course Jude loves the LEGO store so much that we went twice in the same night. Ha!

And then it was off to Magic Kingdom!!!

When we weren't riding rides, eating yummy corn dogs, drinking frozen lemonades, watching shows, we were hanging out by Cinderella's castle, because...that castle! Oh and visiting Mickey and getting to chat with him for a few minutes may have been as much of a highlight as last year's visit.  

Hello Again + An Announcement + Our Disney Getaway

Dusting off the cobwebs of the dear old blog today.  To our readers, a big thank you for being patient as a lot has been going on lately {and that is probably an understatement}.  Now, if you follow Matt + me on IG, Twitter, or FB, you are most likely aware of some of the happenings going on.  The greatest joy in our life right now is...

WE ARE HAVING BABY #3!

This was very surprising and welcoming news.  We have always had our heart set on having at least 3 children and since we have had fertility issues in the past, we thought it best to try right away.  So, when I was feeling completely exhausted for the first part of the year, I never dreamed it was due to being pregnant.  We found out when we were a little over 11 weeks along...almost through the first trimester!!  This week we get the joy of finding out the gender of this little one.  This process is very familiar, yet so exciting even still.  We truly appreciate all of the love we have received from all of our family and friends already concerning this announcement.

In other news, Spring Break happened to be a pretty exciting week for us too.  We were able to take the boys on a family vacation to Orlando, Florida.  Our time included staying with our our friend, Robert {aka Uncle Robert}, going to Disney's Magic Kingdom, and visiting the ocean.  All of it was a bit of fantastic whirlwind.

Magic Kingdom was every bit of the magic and more.  Jude loved it so much.  To a boy that loves boats, cars, trains, and Mickey, well...it was a moment that he won't soon forget.  Actually, he brings up Disney World almost daily and our trip was over a month ago already.  The most precious moment of the day came at the very end of our time there.  We got to meet Mickey Mouse himself.  Jude pretty much jumped out of his daddy's arms to hug Mickey.  The excitement and awe he had in his eyes during that moment was just so special.  

The visit to the ocean was also a very noteworthy occasion.  It was Ezra's first time to the beach.  Since he was born at the end of October he has never experienced the sunny, warm weather like we did there.  I think it was love at first experience for him though.  He would just lay in the sun without one cry of discomfort and even took a nap on his beach towel.  As far as the ocean goes, it certainly was not warm water, but he loved splashing in it nevertheless.  Of course, this is Jude's 2nd time at the beach and he was rather pro at it too.  Building and digging in the sand seems to be his specialty or even chasing birds around.  

All in all, the vacation was well-spent and most enjoyed.  Here are some of our captured moments. :)