We're Back...

We are back from our trip to Florida.  It was SUCH a wonderful trip we only wish we could have extended it another week!  The kids were so good and the weather was beautiful (nice and hot, but a good change from the soggy cold we have had in Chicago).  We had a couple things on our agenda while we were down there...a trip to Ft. Myers to visit family, a trip to the beach...and of course our visit to 'Mickey's Castle' (Noah's words for Disney World) and the rest of the days were filled with fun times at the amazing kiddie pools at our resort.  Here is a quick run-down of our trip:

Day 1

Left the house at 4:30am to make our 6:30am flight.

Arrived in FL in once piece - once there, we grabbed our luggage, rented our car and made it to our resort all in less than 1 hour...Jon and I make a great team!!!

Stocked up on groceries and other necessities for the week.

Went to the pool.

I placed a bet on Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby...and WON!

Kids went to bed in the same room...and Millie in a 'big girl bed' (for the first time)...and loved it!

Jon and I pretty much hit the sack soon after...it had been a long, crazy, day.

Day 2

Lazy morning

Lazy day by the pool

The 'pirate pool'- it has two small slides on the other side.  Both kids enjoyed the slides!

Packed up and drove to Ft. Myers that evening

Had a great meal near Ft. Myers beach...including an icecream treat!

Day 3

Went to the pool with Aunt Verda while Jon and Uncle Dale played golf

Kids both took loooong naps that day...just about the only day they had naps!!

Another GREAT dinner at the Beachey house...thanks D & V!

Packed up and drove back to Orlando that evening.

Day 4

Lazy day at the pool

Day 5

DISNEY DAY!

Arrived at Disney World before the park opened to the public.

Had an early breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and Friends.

Millie was not too sure about those huge, fuzzy characters - Noah loved them!

Headed straight to Mickey's house to meet him and Minnie

Met Goofy and Donald...they made Noah laugh...then Noah started breakdancing for them... on the ground...that made Goofy and Donald laugh!

Rode lots of rides

Shared ice cream

Rode more rides

Watched the Fireworks

Left the park at closing time

What a loooong, but wonderful and 'magical' day!

N & M's new best friends

Day 6

Recover from 'Disney Day'

More lazy-ness at the pool

(actually, the pool is anything but lazy with these two!)

Day 7

Drove to Cocoa Beach for a day of sun, sand and waves.  The kids loooved playing in the sand and the waves!  They would have stayed all day if we let them...we spent FIVE hours there!

Noah riding the waves

Millie exploring the sand

Day 8

Pack'em up and ship'em out.

Kids slept for half the flight home and overall, were very good!

Breakfast the morning we left...they insisted on eating ALL their meals outside!

It was so nice to have 100% family time for an entire week!  Jon and I have both been crazy with work lately, so time with our two favorite people was just what we needed to recharge and put things in perspective.  We all had such an incredible time and can't wait for our next family trip together!

Goodbye Babies, Hello Park City

Last weekend Jon and I traveled to Park City, Utah for a little vacation. We were invited to a destination wedding held there for friends of our who live here in Chicago. We thought it would be a good opportunity to go to a fun ski town to ski as we would proabably never plan a ski trip on our own. Neither one of us has skiied since high school and even then it was only a few times. This trip (sadly enough) was our first trip away, just the two of us, since before Noah was born...three years ago! It was tough to pull away that morning when we left for the airport, but I knew the kids were in good hands (thanks Mom and Dad!) and Millie was FINALLY taking a bottle after a week and a half of begging and pleading. She finally broke down a day and a half before we left! So, we were then free to have some fun.

Picture of the mountains taken from the plane as we landed. They were beautiful!

We did have lots of fun and it was nice to just hang out together without interruptions...although it did take some adjusting at first. For the first day I felt anxious, like I needed to be on a schedule! But I quickly adjusted, especially when Jon and I strolled down Main Street and sat in a cafe and read some books we bought, drank coffee and just watched the people walk by.

Jon and Tonya on Main Street

(this is where the Sundance Film Festival was just a few weeks before)

Saturday evening we attended the wedding. The ceremony was held in a beautiful, old Catholic church just off main street and the ceremony was held at the Silver Lake Lodge at the Deer Valley Ski Resort. It was such a nice wedding and we had a wonderful time! One thing I loved were their place cards and table name cards, etc...ha ha, I had to say that. I designed them for the bride. This was one of the projects that has been keeping me busy lately. It was pretty neat to see my work...at work! I do a lot of orders, but I am usually not invited to the event, so this was fun (and rewarding!) to see everything displayed.

We reserved all day Sunday for skiing. It was a lot of fun...eventually. We arrived at the resort, had breakfast at one of the cafes and then rented all the equiptment we needed. We chose a green (easy) hill to start on and away on the ski lift we went. When we arrived at the top we asked one of the men who worked there which run was the best for our skill level and he said he was headed that way and would take us...I think if he knew what he was in for he would have run in the other direction! We were so lucky to have him with us though. Howard (yes, we were soon on a first name basis) was terribly patient when he realized how clueless we really were and helped us all the way down. After a lunch break, we hit the slopes again and the second run was MUCH more enjoyable!

All in all, the skiing part was fun, but we probably won't be planning another trip anytime soon. Not to say we will never ski again, but just not anytime in the near future.

View from the middle of a run (Success) at Deer Valley Ski Resort.