The week of pure relaxation {photo dump}!

Ahhhh, what a WONDERFUL week! I am not sure if it was having Matt off for 9 days straight or being at the beach but either way it was just what this momma needed. We left out on Sunday around 11am. The drive went really well. Lucas slept most of it and we didn't hit much traffic. When we got there, we all got settled in and just hung out! Lucas had a hard time going down for bed. It was his first time sleeping in a pack n play but he finally gave in and slept great in it the whole week. Naps included! Monday we hit the beach. It was so nice being right on the beach because Lucas lasted all of maybe 30 mins, haha! He ate the sand, which drove me nuts! We only took him back out there two more times before deciding it was just to much work for 15-30 minutes of fun. He LOVED the pool though. He floated around and kicked his little legs. Logan and Abby had a blast and didn't complain once that we were not spending all day on the beach. They enjoyed the pool and hanging out with their cousins. After eating at Captain George's on Tuesday, we hit the Brew Thru and got t-shirts for each of us. Those were the two must dos on my list while we were there. We went out for icecream twice. Once at Fat Boyz and the second time at Logan's Icecream Cottage. I told Logan he should really keep me updated when he opens a new business, haha!

Abby was a little out of sorts Tuesday and by Wednesday we knew why. She had pink eye. So off to the walk in clinic we went at 9pm. Then my poor niece ended up with it Thursday. Of course it could have been something worse so I am thankful it wasn't! The rest of the week was just relaxing and hanging out. Matt and I were really good with the sunblock and neither of us got burnt. We both have great tans going, woop woop!

We decided to come back on Saturday instead of Sunday like everyone else which was a great decision. We had done laundry through out the week so we only had one load when we got home, SCORE! We were all unpacked and relaxing by 8pm Saturday which was great! Sunday I went grocery shopping and we relaxed some more. Prefect way to end a vacation!

Here is a big photo dump from the week. I was a slacker and didn't use my good camera so these are all from my iPhone.

Can't wait to do it again next year!

Vacation Guest Post #2

TGIF everyone! I am still relaxing on the beach, enjoying the last few days of my vacation. I have been sharing LOTS of pics on my Instagram so if you are not following me, you totally should!

 I am excited to have yet another awesome blogger guest posting for me today! 

Thanks so much Dawn!

********************************************

Hi!  I'm Dawn, from Dawn's Disaster.  I write a small blog about my family life and have some product reviews and giveaways.  During the week, I host or co-host at least 3 hops {Super Sunday Sync, #BlogTwitLov (Wednesdays), Finish the Sentence Friday and most weeks Inspired Tuesdays}.  This last Tuesday, I also started a short prompt "hop" called 20 Tuesdays, but I will be bringing back Traveling Tuesdays after that is over {in case you would like to guest post, makr your calendar!  I'm filling spaces already}.  Have you heard about the 30 Day Blog Challenge?  I hope 20 Tuesdays takes off like that.  I hope you'll join in!  I also contribute to the Mommy Blog Hoppers every other Monday.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

What do you do for the 4th of July?  Do you celebrate it alone or with family?  My family, we go to my parents house.  When I say WE, I don't just mean the Hubs, the Beanie Babies and me, I also mean my Mother-in-Law, my brother, my cousins {and their kiddos}, and my Great-Uncle and Great-Aunt {they may not make it this year}.  Talk about a cramped house.  

You know what, though?  I'm totally excited.  We hardly get to see the extended family.  Maybe once a year.  My brother lives in another state, on the West Coast, so we rarely get to see him. The Beanie Babies have so much fun playing with their cousins and all of the extra attention they get from the Uncles and Aunts and Grandparents.  Do you think I have time to relax any, with all those additional adult hands?  Maybe a little, but I'm not holding my breath.  

There is this cute little parade in the town my parents live in.  I say little, but it's really, really, really long.  They usually combine about 5 towns near by, so there's floats from each town.  When I say "there's floats from each town", I mean there's the fire department from all towns, there's VFWs from all towns, Shiners from all towns, radio stations fro all towns, car repair shops from each town {get my point?}...it's great, but long.  Especially when the sun is high.  Don't get me wrong, the Beanie Babies LOVE it because they get candy and stuff, and it's not so bad for the adults, either, because they have some fun stuff they throw to us, too!

After that, we usually have a picnic in the backyard.  Sandwiches, potato salad, chips, dips, coleslaw, pickles, fruit {LOTS of fruit} and Diet Coke lemonade.  Then, it's nap time.  What a great part of the day!  BUT...my favorite part of the day is the evening.  Going to watch the fireworks on the boat is so much fun.

Do you think I'll get to be THIS relaxed?  

Her name is Little.  She was only 2# when I found her.  She's about 20# now.

HAPPY 4th of JULY, LRAT readers!  I hope you'll stop by my blog and tell me what you do for the 4th.

Facebook ** Twitter ** Google+ ** Pinterest ** Bloglovin'

Vacation Guest Post #1

While I am relaxing with my 4 loves for a much needed vacation at the beach (jealous!? haha), I have an amazing blogger who is guest posting for me today to keep things alive here on the blog!

Thanks so much Kate! Your the best!

****************************************

Hi, I'm Kate- I blog over at Life as I know it. I'm a wife and a stay at home mama of three!

I'm really excited to help out Krystle because I think she's great! If I ever make my way back east maybe I'll finally get to meet her! So thanks for letting me fill in for you Krystle!

Summer time is fast approaching and because it's my all time favorite season I have to make a fun list of things to do with the family! Today I wanted to share my top 10 with you, but feel free to check HERE for the full list.

1. Go to and swim in the ocean

2. Go to the Portland Zoo

3. Do the Dirty Dash

4. Lay in the sun... A LOT!

5. Have a water balloon fight

6. Make home made bubbles

7. Have lots of picnics

8. Tie a note to a balloon and send it off

9. Spend lots of time at the splash pad

10. Go to Silverwood Theme Park

(Last years trip to Silverwood!)

I have a lot of things on my list and we've already started checking things off!

What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

Kate

Life as I know it

Signing off for a WEEK!!!!!

The House!!!

The time has come to start packing for our vacation. I am not a pack for a week person so I will be doing it today and tomorrow. I can't wait to be there already! We have not gone on a family vacation since Disney 2 yrs ago so this is long over due. We are boarding Brodie at a kennel by our house and I am sure he is going to have a blast playing with all the other dogs. Maybe even so much he will not want to leave, haha!

I have a few guest bloggers lined up for next week and A Hump Day Hop will still be live and humpin on Tuesday! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I will share all the fun detail from our trip the week we get back! Oh and I will definitely be posting on Instagram so make sure to follow along on there if you aren't already!

Porch view

I leave you with this cute poem my mom made up...

The Family Vacation
Our first big family vacation, it will be divine
Mom found us a dream house, a so-called Simply “Paradise”

The grandkids are so excited, their parents are ready to breakaway
Everyone is counting the days until we are on the way

This vacation is sure to be a hit for all I am convinced
Dad is so ready to fish

As our family has grown, things change
It can’t be helped, not really strange

Because memories are priceless, we’ll soon not forget 
time spent in the sand, ocean, pool, hot tub, and the sunsets

A picture is a must on the beach at OBX
So we can remember our fun and how we were blessed

It’s with sadness that I write that not all can attend
But it will surely open up a new door or a new family trend

As long as your hearts, love for your family, and your thoughts don’t scatter
Where you go on vacation really doesn’t matter

Beach, mountains, wherever, one really shouldn’t mind
As long as you’re together, the time spent can be sublime

Oh, likely there will be gripes, moans, & arguments; it’s part of the quest
But I am so glad we planned this, it will be the best

I hope this family vacation idea won't end
As grandchildren grow up and add to our family blend

If our good fortune continues we’ll be part of what’s next
In the knowledge that our time together is a gift not a test

Friday Letters ~ v12

It has been a while since I have done Friday Letters so here we go!

Dear Vacation,

I can't wait to be relaxing on the beach with the 4 loves of my life! We have not had a vacation since Disney two years ago so this is much needed! 16 more days! YAY!

Dear Lucas,

Why are you growing up so fast!? Mama, misses you snoozing on my chest all day long. I do, however, love watching your little personality coming out lately. (Missed his 10m update!? Go HERE!)

Dear Summer Break,

WELCOME....that's all!!!

Dear Rain,

I am so over you. You may leave now, THANK YOU!

That is all I have for you today. I will leave you with these cuties on their last day of school!

Have a FABULOUS weekend everyone!

"I got my toes in the water...

ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand, life is good today, life is good today."

Ok ok, I will not have a beer in my hand (EVER) but we are going to the beach!!! Woop Woop!!!

Not just for a weekend nor will it be just the 5 of us but my whole family. That's right, my parents, all of my sisters and their families. My parents rented the house (SCORE!) for the end of June and it is amazing. It is in OBX, right on the beach, has a private pool and hot tub! I can't wait to see how Lucas likes the beach. His big brother and big sister love it so I hope he does too!

Now to find a place to board Brodie for the week then nothing but 129 days is standing in the way of us having our toes in the sand!

Have you planned your summer vacation yet?!

A Place Where Dreams Come True!

We are home from the best vacation ever! The kids had a blast! Logan kept telling us that Disney was not what he expected and we are not sure if that was a good thing or bad...LOL! Everyday Logan would ask for one of those light up toys but we held off on that till we went to the "Electric Light Parade" on Wednesday night! Logan got Buzz and Abby got Tinkerbell! Logan wanted to go on a lot of the rides again but didn't understand that we would have to wait in the line again. Abby was so into getting those autographs and of course Logan wouldn't get the "girls" autographs. We were shocked at how well Abby did considering she is scared of the Chick fil A cow! Every time she saw a character she was asking for her book. I think that was the only time she didn't mind waiting in a line. She loved riding the Monorail and the tram. Logan did too but Abby showed much more excitement about it! After doing all the parks we decided to go back to Magic Kingdom on Thursday but the lines were crazy and it was HOT! There was a few things that we didn't do when we were there on Sunday but with 40 plus minute waits on everything there we decided to pass. So we ate lots of snacks, watched a parade, got souvenirs and gifts for a few people, then called it a day. One of the souvenirs we got the kids was a picture drawn of each of them. They LOVED it and can't wait to hang them in their rooms! I will post pictures once they are up! The last day we slept in and the kids went swimming while Matt and I did laundry and packed everything up!

I think we need a week to recover from this exciting week but no such luck! That is why we decided to drive over night. We had Saturday and Sunday to relax and enjoy the Easter holiday!

Disney so far...

Well we are two days in and the kids are having a blast! We visited Magic Kingdom on Sunday and it was a very long day. We were up by 6:30am, at the park by 9am, and stayed till 11:30pm. Abby got to see all the princesses but was most excited to see Belle. I was so proud of Logan, he rode Space Mountain. He got off and told us it made his heart go...! I think it scared him a bit. The lines were long but moved relatively quickly. If it was a ride that offered "fastpasses," we got them and came back at the designated time. That was great! I would say we were all worn out by the end. We got up at 7am and started day two at the Animal Kingdom. There were more shows than rides for the kids but the shows were awesome. My favorite was The Lion King and Nemo musicals! The kids seem to really like both! This is a smaller park so we were done with everything we wanted to do by 4pm. Which worked out great because we had 5pm dinner reservations at Rain Forest Cafe. The food was good but the dessert was AMAZING. It was called the Volcano and worth every penny! After dinner we came back to the house and let the kids swim and get to bed early so they will be rested up for Epcot tomorrow.

Look for more about our exciting trip to Disney in a few days!!

VACATION!!!!!!!!!!

The kids left at about 11:15am with my parents, Mickey ear on and all (I do have pictures)! They had smiles that went from ear to ear as they sat in car just waiting to leave. They are all set for the long trip, DVD players with about a dozen Disney movies, the DS and Leapster, coloring books and a box of crayons!! Oh and lets not forget the snacks!! They should arrive at the hotel in Savannah, GA around 7 or 8pm! Matt and I will be heading out when he gets off at 5pm. That will put us there at about 2am. We'll then get up in the morning and finish the drive together (about 4-5 hours) to the house in Orlando, FL that we are staying in all week! This house has a large pool in the backyard and Logan has already asking several time if he can go swimming when we get there, my little water bug! ;) Our plan is to hang around the house Saturday getting settled and resting up for our busy, yet exciting week!

I will be posting pictures on Facebook daily, so don't forget to look for them!