Family Vacation in Florida

My parents treated the whole family to a vacation in Siesta Key, Florida. We just got home from a long weekend of fun in the sun! Our kids did really well on the plane and were happy to eat snacks and watch videos the whole time.

Vacation Posts

Road Trip to Iowa

Andrew and I spent nearly a week taking a road trip to Des Moines with the kids.  My parents went with, in their car, and we got to visit with my brother and sister. 

The kids did unexpectedly well in the car.  Jo slept whenever we drove more than half an hour, so we drove through her naps.  Oliver loved being in the car, and he spent a lot of his time drawing on his magnetic board and playing various games on the iPad.

I recorded most of our adventures on my travel blog here:
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/WhirledPeas/Trips/19881

Christmas Trees and Ice Cream Cake

Although today is my birthday, I celebrated it yesterday with my family while my brother and his fiance were in town.

Andrew and I set up the Christmas tree (it was my birthday present from him last year), and he put the lights out on the balcony. I love our tree. We both have our "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments. I have my "Puppy Love" ornaments that I've collected throughout the years, and he has ornaments from preschool and high school. We also have the Peanuts ornaments we painted together last year, as well as engagement ornaments and "Our First Christmas" ornaments. The tree definitely has "us" hung all over it.

Finally, I topped the tree with my Grandma's Christmas point.

Andrew ran out to Cold Stone to pick out an ice cream cake for me, and my dad arrived at 5 with pizza and pop. Soon, my mom, Andy and Erin came, and we had fun talking and eating for a few hours. I had a few gifts to open, and I received a cookie and brownie recipe book, a new beater attachment for my Kitchenaid that scrapes the sides of the bowl, the movie "Polar Express," and some new running pants. Good stuff!

I definitely had a great birthday celebration. Today, Andrew and I are going to kick back and relax and play some games for day 2 of my birthday festivities.


Update on Bailey: Bailey's doing well! She almost slept through the night and is even napping now. Her incision still appears to be healing nicely, and she's starting to walk and act like her normal self. She's still on pain medication, though, and still isn't allowed to jump up or down or use stairs.