Summer Vacation 2010 -- part 1 of ?

I have talked about out bestest friends - Brian and Jenna - before. We met in law school and have since spent vacations together every other year. The first was right after Bob and I were married -- no kids for us and their 2 with grandma back home. The vacation included late mornings sleeping in, glorious uninterrupted afternoons lying in the sun, quiet dinners out at fine restaurants, and late evenings spent laughing and playing games.

2 years later, we hung out at a mountain retreat with their 3 children and our sweet Robbie.






The next 2 years brought us to the beach with their 3 and our princess Eveley.





A few weeks after returning from that vacation, both Jenna and I discovered we were pregnant!

Fast forward 2 more years, and here we are in Florida with 6 kiddies: their four - Lauren, Cade, Cooper, and Bennett - and Eveley and Caleb.

Vacations together are always fun but have definitely morphed over the years. This time, we rented a big house in a wonderful resort. We had our own pool, and the resort had an awesome waterpark. Our mornings began before sunrise, the kids had "underwear morning swims" each day, our afternoons couldn't begin until the little ones awoke from their naps, dinners were early and usually consisted of bringing home take-out, and we were slowly losing consciousness around 9:30.

The boys preferred playing in the outside shower.

Very different days! But awesome fun nonetheless.

The total trip was 12 hours, so we spent the first night in Savannah, GA before driving the rest of the way down into Florida. The kids did remarkably well in the car.

Bennett Robert and Caleb Robert (both named after our sweet Robbie) were the newest additions from our last vacation.

We spent most every day at the waterpark.

For obvious reasons, Bob and I were a little worried about the pools and waterpark. Caleb and Eveley have not had much swimming exposure. But I took a friend's advice and bought "Puddle Jumpers" for Eveley. We brought Caleb some floaties and a boat. It didn't take much time at all for Eveley to turn into a fish. She loved the pool and the water slides. And on the last day of our vacation, Eveley jumped off the diving board by herself.

It took Caleb a little longer to enjoy everything. He liked the fountains and going down the slide with mama and daddy. And towards the end, he especially liked the lazy river. But truthfully, he enjoyed the mulch and sand much more.

Despite the various ages, the kids played so well together.

Eveley loved having an older girl around and can't stop talking about Lauren. But she has as much fun with the boys too. They were sweet to eachother and also had fun wrestling. We are having bets on what the future holds for these crazy kids!!

Pause for Applause

We are finally home. Suitcases are unpacked. Kids are sleeping. I feel like I was hit by a truck.

I will definitely be taking time over the next week to record all the fun details of our vacation. We had a blast. Drove over 2000 miles. Gained a few pounds. Spent time with great friends. And got a major tan!

But given that today is Father's Day, I must begin by telling you about the end of our trip.

The week before we left, my husband received a call from the Virginia State Bar notifying him that he had been named

Virginia's Young Lawyer of the Year.

This is a great honor and one that is well-deserved.

This was the good news. The bad news was that the award was being presented at a conference on Friday in Virginia Beach. Since we were not scheduled to leave our vacation destination until Saturday, things had to be rearranged. Thankfully, we were able to begin vacation a few days early and then head to the conference on our way home.

(These pictures aren't great, but they were the best I could get without looking like a crazy woman!)

The conference was fun, but the beach was more fun! We were able to spend the entire afternoon in the ocean and enjoyed beautiful weather.

I admire so many things about my husband, but I especially love that he is very ambitious and driven. He is not content with the status quo and is constantly striving to better himself. He would admit that this is a blessing and a curse. Potentially, it could have caused him to be a disconnected work horse. But from the moment he became a father and little Robbie came into our family, he has been committed to his roles as husband and father. He leads our family in the ways of the Lord and gives his children a wonderful picture of the love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace of Jesus.

Congratulations, honey!

Stop #3

So many stories to share but we are still on vacation (going on day #10) and blogging time is minimal. Be back soon.

Stop #2

We were too close to not drop by and visit the place where dreams come true. My little princess can't stop smiling, and Caleb can't stop whining.

Precious memories ....

Stop #1

A little hint...

Even little Caleb is having a fun vacation!

Au Revoir

6 suitcases
50 swim diapers
4 new DVDs
1 tiara


The next 10 days are going to be filled with tons of sun, fun, and kids!

I'll fill you in with several hints over the next few days.

The Last Box

One of the worst "chores" that we moms have, in my opinion, is definitely the task of switching clothes in and out each season. There's no use having a "winter" and "summer" closet like us adults. At this young age, it seems they stay in a certain size of clothes for 6 months if you're lucky...not to mention the shoes.

Having a boy and girl means that I do this project twice every 3 months or so. It is overwhelming and feels endless.

But since Caleb was born, one of the fun parts of this chore was pulling out the corresponding box of Robbie's clothes to sort through. As you moms know, each outfit brings back tons of smiles and memories.

Caleb was born in December, while Robbie was a May baby. So Caleb hasn't been able to wear everything of Robbie's. But I have still enjoyed going through the boxes nonetheless.

Caleb will be 18 months on Tuesday. Last week, I trudged through the basement closet to pull out the large bin marked "Robbie: 18m to 2T"

This was a hard box to go through. I expected it. Kinda.

This is the last box. And opening this box brought back all kinds of memories -- happy and sad. There were his snuggly pajamas, Christmas sweater, boots, tobogans, winter coat, and his little tennis shoes. I think those were the hardest.

I handled every piece of clothing as if it were an antique and even pressed them into my face hoping to find a familiar smell. But I did not wrestle with whether to pass them on to Caleb. It's not like I can display those little tennis shoes in my china cabinet.....or can I???

I enjoy seeing Caleb wearing some of his big brother's outfits. I laugh as I realize their differences and similarities. And I cry when I am hit by the harsh reality that there will be no more boxes to go through.

~~~~~~~~~~

This is Robbie running around showing off his big belly! I remember this evening vividly and it ended in a group hug! (my sister was there to get the photo)

A lot has changed in 4 years. (My dining room sure looks better.) And Caleb is just as proud of his big belly. He was running around chasing -- or being chased by -- his big sis.

Beautiful boys.