13 years ago...

13 years ago today we went on our first date! We were talking last night that this past winter was probably our toughest season yet….I was sicker than a dog, trying to take care of 2 kids, and getting sick at the sight of water and everything else….Scott was busy with work and traveling a lot…and we were living in temporary housing.  Scott would get home and literally take care of everything that I had let go while he was traveling and not complain one bit.  He's pretty great!  So here we are….13 years later, 2 high school degrees, 3 college degrees, 2 apartments, 1.5 (almost 2) houses, 6 vehicles, 2.5 (pretty much 3) kids, lots of vacations, various jobs, and 1 dog!  I don't think either of us could have pictured we'd be living in this state/city 13 years ago, it's honestly been so clear to us as of late that we're exactly where we're supposed to be.  Here's to 70 more years….

Easter

Our Easter weekend included: Ivanhoes, 2 Easter egg hunts, painting airplanes, tractor rides (& a big tractor ride for Connor), a bonfire, hot tub swimming, playing with cousins, playing in sand piles, watching Frozen and fitting 3 people in a queen size bed (we let Connor skip his nap on Saturday….he was overly tired and the only way we could get him calmed down in the middle of the night is to let him sleep with us….we learned our lesson….no skipping naps).  

 I forgot how sensitive my skin is while pregnant.  I spent all day outside on Saturday and got toasted!!

 This was probably one of our best car trips back to Ohio.  We left after lunch/at nap time on Sunday and the kids fell asleep within minutes!  They were asleep 2 hours of the trip….we then put in Frozen and they were silent the rest of the way!!

Big Sister & Brother

I finally got around to taking a picture of Elliana and Connor in their big sister and big brother shirts.  Scott and Elli have felt the baby kick….Elli loves feeling the baby move and gets so excited.  Connor hasn't been patient enough to feel the baby (although he'll tell you he has).  

 Me at 22 weeks (taken 2 weeks ago).  I am now officially 6 months along and I feel really good….just days until my 30th birthday!

Cincinnati/ Birthday Weekend

This past weekend, Scott and I got to have a kid-free weekend in Cincinnati with our friends Travis and Sarah.  This is our 5th getaway with the Stampers and we always have so much fun with them.  I told Scott this is the only thing I wanted for my 30th (well…that and cake and ice cream every night this week) and it was a much needed break!

Dinner on Friday night

Saturday morning we went to the aquarium, ikea, and outlets.  We bought a house and are moving in a few weeks.  Travis joked that buzzers went off when we paid and Scott is still having a hard time grasping all that we got, but I'm happy to say the kids will now all have furniture in their rooms and Connor will no longer just be sleeping on a mattress!  We grabbed a quick lunch at ikea and I still can't get over that it only cost $4.00 for both of us to eat there.

We ate dinner at Crave after the outlets and then headed back to the hotel!

We ended the weekend with brunch and then went our separate ways!  We had such a good weekend; however, next year we're considering bringing the kids with us and doing a beach getaway.  Although this won't be as relaxing, it'll be fun to have all the kids together.  And the kids won't feel left out….they kept saying "Why do you have to go away?  Why didn't you invite us to your birthday?" Ha!  I assured them we'd celebrate this Friday on the actual day!

Florida Videos

The first 3 videos are of the kids dancing at the drum ceremony.  Video 4 is Elli doing her flip off the side of the pool.  Video 5 is of Connor dancing at dinner one night. Video 6, 7, & 8 are of the kids swimming (The last video cracks us up, as we can't figure out what Scott is doing in the water…)

Disney 2014

We woke the kids up at 6:30 on Wednesday morning to head to Disney.  We had originally planned to go on Tuesday, but decided against it with the rain.  Although everyone decided to go to Disney on this day, we really didn't have to wait too long for any one ride or show.  Our first stop was Peter Pan, as it is their busiest ride there.  We also rode on The Little Mermaid, It's a Small World, Barnstormer (Connor's first time), Dumbo, Pirate's of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Tomorrowland Speedway.  We saw Mickey's PhilharMagic, Monster's Inc. Laugh floor, Country Bear Jamboree, and the Going into the future show (not sure of the name). We watched the parade during the day and fireworks/light show in the evening.  The kids also got to meet Tinkerbell and Rosetta.  We packed in as much as we could into one day and left the park around 11:00 pm.

Peter Pan...

Riding on The Little Mermaid...

Dumbo….

Waiting on Mickey's PhilharMagic show!

The Parade!  Elli got to see Anna and Elsa without having to wait in the 4 hour line!

Watching Country Bear Jamboree (Elli has told me multiple times since then how much she loved this show)

Riding Pirates of the Caribbean!  (I can't believe I posted this picture of myself….it was a good picture of Mom and Elli….otherwise it wouldn't be on here, as I look like a cow!  How much longer until my due date??)

Pirates of the Caribbean!

Meeting Rosetta

And Tinkerbell

Big Thunder Mountain.  Elli, Dad & Scott got on this at 9:30 at night (the first available fast pass for this).

Traditional castle in the background picture….

Mom and Connor riding the Tommorrowland Speedway

We rode It's a Small World because Connor wanted to and I'm not sure how you go to Disney without riding it.  Unfortunately, we got stuck on this ride.  There isn't anything much worse than getting stuck on here and having to listen to the song over and over again!

Waiting in a line...

The kids were amazing at Disney and did so, so well!  Connor passed out around 10:15 or 10:30

And Elli was out around 10:45 or 11:00 pm

Siesta Key 2014

We took our annual trip to Siesta Key, FL a few weeks ago.  We were all looking forward to it and had had a countdown with the kids for weeks prior to the trip.  We woke the kids up at 4:30 on a Friday morning and headed to the airport for our early flight.  The kids were so excited….

We flew into Tampa and had an hour drive to the condo.  Connor (in his mad voice) told us he wasn't tired and he wasn't going to sleep.  Two seconds later this happened…..

The kids absolutely loved playing at the beach and could have spent all day there.

Connor made this his seat….

The kids took a short nap on the beach one of the days we were there.

We went to the drum ceremony on Sunday evening at sunset.  The kids were so excited about this and danced the night away.

Dancing...

We went to St. Armand's Circle on Tuesday evening for dinner, shopping, and ice cream.

We also spent a lot of time at the pool during the week!  The kids loved swimming in the pool and hot tub.  Elli did well practicing swimming without her floaties on and even learned how to do a flip off the side of the pool.  

Scott, Dad & Connor went to a baseball game (well….it got rained out) one day, so we decided to do a 'girls' day with Elli.  She received her first manicure, went shopping, and we had lunch.

On one of the rainy days, we took the kids to the mall and let them ride around in the train…..

Our last day on the beach, Dad finally remembered to bring the kites (the kids had been wanting to fly kites all week).  They each took turns….Elli held the kite for all of 5 minutes.

And Connor held it for about a minute…..they were then ready to go play in the sand!  So much for the  kites :)

The kids were waiting to eat dinner at one of Scott's favorite places, The Hub!

Connor was mesmerized by the guitar player at The Hub!

Swinging at the beach….

Our last day in Florida, we decided to let the kiddos skip their nap, so they'd have more time to swim.  We decided to eat an early dinner and then planned on leaving for the airport from dinner.

The kids were entertained with Papa and Daddy's glasses at dinner….

Our flight ended up getting delayed at least 2 hours and we didn't get home until 2 am.  The kids insisted on holding hands while walking through the airport (so cute).  They did great the whole way home….especially considering they hadn't had a nap!

Connor pretending that he was sleeping on the plane :)  He actually did fall asleep a few minutes after this!

We had such a great week!  Scott and I even got to go on two dates!  I was sure we would have come to a decision on baby names during our date.  I took so many videos that I need to post on here sometime!  In the middle of the week, we went to Disney for the day, which I'll do a separate post about due to all the pictures.  We didn't have the best weather, but it didn't bother the kids at all.  They loved being at the beach and swimming in the pool.  Elli said multiple times "I wish I could live here" (ha- we're all a little sick of the Ohio weather).  Thanks for a great week, Mom and Dad.