birds of a feather....

fly south together!!!

we are having a GREAT time in sunny florida! our time here has been filled with sunshine, playgrounds, putt-putt, swimming, surfing (well, kind of!) and LOTS of ice cream! thanks to nanny and papa, derek and i were even able to squeeze in a date night while he was here. sadly, derek had to head back home yesterday...back to work and back to reality. but....the boys and i are here until wednesday morning. here are some pics from our first few days...more to come later...

look at that smile....i mean c'mon...does it get any cuter?!?!?

mama and her boyz!

our family of FORE....

like father....

like son!!!

anyone have a napkin for these kids???

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the road less traveled.....

what do you get when you combine the following....

2 adults...

2 kids...

a case of water...

a 6 pack of dr pepper...

4 frappucinos...

endless snacks...

dvds...

lots of luggage....

and 18 hours in the car?????

A SUCCESSFUL DRIVE FROM NoVA TO STL (that's st louis for those of you who don't know!)

yes, that's right.....we made it to st louis and have been having a great time here! we left NoVA around 3pm on wednesday, made 2 stops on our way out of town and then sat in LOTS of traffic all the way through the VA/DC/MD area. great way to start a long trip...NOT! we stopped for dinner around 7pm...cracker barrel of course, and then it was back on the road. i don't usually do a lot of the driving, but was feeling up to it, so i continued to drive all the way to zanesville, ohio (almost halfway to stl)....then it was d's turn! the boys were doing great....switching between dvd's, playing on the iphone, coloring on their travel aquadoodles, and sleeping. that was....until around 2am....when jacob awoke with one of his bellyaches. UGH!!! the screaming and crying began and a stop was necessary. d and i knew he just needed to poop and he'd be fine. but....for anyone who has been around j when he tries to poop, it can be quite traumatizing. he screams in agony, as he jumps up and down, shouting "NO"....all while trying to get it out. it is absolutely heartbreaking to watch/listen to him endure this pain!!! we're still not sure what's causing all of this, but one thing's for sure....it is bad! his endless screams inside the silent rest stop were echoing, and even brought the janitor over to ask me if there was anything he could do to help me. i thanked him and told him no. about 30 minutes (and lots of other stoppers-by) later, jacob finally pooped....and we were back on the road again ;)

after that, it was only stops for gas and potty....all the way to STL.

we made it here around 7amCST....18 hours after leaving our house!

we've been staying busy with Wii, reading, legos, new toys, watching movies...and lots of relaxing....oh and lots of eating too :) hey, afterall, that's what vaca is all about, right!!!!

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beach and beyond...

we are back from our travels to corolla, nc (the beach) and dallas, tx (family reunion)...and i came back to some FABULOUS deals! but...before i get to those..let me share some of our memories with you...

andrew & sarah seeking out the enemy for watergun fights

one of the ONLY pics of jacob...he wasn't a big fan of the beach!

the gang going to feed the turtes...minus jacob - he was asleep already

ladies day at the spaaaaahhhh!!!

nanny enjoying the ocean with andrew & lauren

cozy in bed!

date night...after a few beers, if you couldn't tell!

sarah & andrew jump the waves

andrew "surfing"

annual family pic

awww man that's cold water!

we really had a great time at the beach...as always! we are so blessed to have such a wonderful family to spend time with and enjoy a vacation together!!!

after 3 days at home and lots of laundry to be done, we were off to dallas, tx for the fey (derek's mom's side) family reunion. we had never been to dallas, so we took advantage of the time and did a few touristy things...and a whole lot of hanging out with the fam. aunt jane and uncle dave have a beautiful home (with an awesome pool) and provided us with such wonderful hospitality. i truly did not want to leave tx and head back to reality! here are some of our memories...

waiting to board the plane

this horsey tire swing was so cool!!!

j takes a turn

andrew in his giddy up

going for a spin...hummer style!

j was in love with baby janie

the boyz

jodi explains that we can't possibly take henry on that train in the 100+ degree weather...instead we'll go shopping!

the kiddos aboard the train

money that the robbers handed out...i know, it's backwards...robbers are supposed to take your money...not on this train!

cattle drive at stockyards station

final meal at cracker barrel...where else?!?!?

amelia & henry

andrew & jacob

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pics a plenty

we were able to snag my mom's camera cord and download photos to derek's computer. when we get home i will download them onto my computer and i'll post the whole album for you. for now, here are a few of my favorites.

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nothing to show - part deux

and with derek, came the sun and warmer weather! since his arrival, we have had beautiful weather...for the most part. i must say that prior to this trip, i had forgotten how difficult it can be to get out of the house with an infant. between naps and eating, it doesn't leave too much time for outings. yesterday, derek took andrew to play putt putt, and my mom and i headed to the pool, while my dad stayed upstairs with jacob who was napping. it was SO nice to spend time with my mom, without having to answer any of those inevitable cries of "MOMMY I NEED..." as if that wasn't relaxing enough, my mom took me for a pedicure in the afternoon. man, i could certainly get used to this...sunshine and pedis with my mom :) 

this morning, we all headed down to the beach, until jacob got cranky and needed a nap. derek took him back to the apartment, while the rest of us enjoyed some more sunshine. andrew played for a while by himself in the sand (he was really loving it!). the skies began to turn dark, rain was in the forecast and lunch was on the horizon, so we decided to pack it up and head inside. well, wouldn't you know it...the skies cleared and the rain never came! derek, my mom and i took andrew to gumbo limbo nature center. this evening we enjoyed a nice home cooked meal (my famous ziti) together. not sure what the day holds for tomorrow, but i'm sure of one thing...it will be FUN! it's our last day here before we head back to the cold on wednesday! pics to come...

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nothing to show for it

despite the cloudy, somewhat chilly weather, we are having a great time here in florida with nanny & papa. i'm not complaining about the "cold" temps though, considering it's still a good 50 degrees warmer than it is in va and we aren't wearing our winter gear! today we went to Sugar Sand Science Explorium & Playground...VERY COOL place! jacob slept in the stroller through a good portion of it, which meant andrew & i were able to spend some much needed time together...just the two of us! as cool as it was, you KNOW i took lots of pictures (as did my mom)...however, i don't have the cord to download the pics, so you'll have to wait!
derek is coming here tomorrow...and hopefully he'll bring some sun with him on the plane! i think it might be 70 tomorrow, which would be great :) i'm hoping we at least get to spend an hour or so at the beach or pool while we're here.

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Southern Charm

After 7 hours in the car (yes, traffic was BAD!) and seeing way too many McCain/Palin signs along the way, we made it to Greensboro, NC to visit the Johnson family. The fun story behind the Johnson family, is that Derek and I introduced Erin and Steve to each other back in the day, when we all lived in G'boro. Erin and I had met in the neighborhood and D worked with Steve. Fast forward to today and our lives are incredibly parallel...we were married within about a year of each other, had our first children within 3 weeks of each other (Emma-Claire is 3 weeks older than Andrew), both moved into our houses at the same time, and then finally, we both had our second children within 5 weeks of each other (Jacob is 5 weeks older than Nolan). This was our first visit with all 4 kids...and it was a BLAST! Within minutes of meeting, Andrew and Emma-Claire were getting along great! Mind you, it was 10pm when we arrived and they had to wake EC, who had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for "that boy" to arrive. Erin and I often commiserate with each other about our "spirited" almost 4 year olds. The stories we share are are so similar. Together, they were like an old married couple! I mean, they were actually negotiating with each other after arguing! It was honestly SO CUTE!!! Despite plans to head to a pumpkin patch and maize maze on Saturday, we ended up staying home and just hanging out. Andrew and EC played their hearts out all day. Andrew loved driving EC's Barbie Jeep, which worked out well, because she only likes to ride in it, not drive it (see...perfect couple!). At night, we made S'mores...the kids played with glow sticks and ran around the backyard (including playing in a tent!), while the adults did what we do best...chatted and drank beer :) The whole weekend was so much fun and I just wish we lived closer to the Johnson's, so we could spend more time together. Hopefully they'll visit us in the spring...and even if it takes them 7 hours to get here, at least they won't have to stare at McCain/Palin signs along the way...that is, of course, because Obama will have won the election by then! :)

Click here to see pics!

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a simple equation

9 adults + 4 kids + 1 week + 1 beach house = endless fun and many memories!

(ok...maybe a few moments of bickering and short tempers too)

Craziest moments of our family vaca to the beach...

1 - Andrew asking "Are we there yet?" when we hadn't even exited the city of Alexandria

2 - Andrew not sleeping AT ALL during the 5 hour trip (even after we woke him at 6am!)

3- Jacob having a massive "blowout" on me on day 2 of our trip - can we say "holy crap"...literally...it was ALL over!
4 - What's irritating? 1 kid screaming in the car. What's more irritating? 2 kids screaming in the car!
5 - Andrew throwing an absolute temper tantrum and fit when we tried to get him to go to the beach! Are you kidding??? Didn't we just drive 5 hours to get here???
6 - Andrew throwing a 30 minute tantrum protesting brushing his teeth...even though he knew putt-putt was waiting for him!

My sanity saviors during our vaca...
1 - coffee, coffee and more coffee - no decaf here baby!
2 - beer, beer and more beer - create your own 6-pack at food lion!
3 - wine, wine and you got it...more wine! - yes, my breast pump came in handy
4 - me, the beach and my book - for 2+ hours straight (thanks derek!)
5 - night out with derek, leigh, eric and chris
6 - walks/runs with my beloved iphone...remember, it's an ipod too :)

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