A Surprise Trip

I have a love/hate relationship with surprises...really a LOVE/hate...because I LOVE LOVE LOVE them...but part of me has a big little control issue (just a small part of me).  That being said...Jason surprised me and planned a late anniversary trip to Palm Beach, FL!  He took care of every detail...planning the trip, hotel, tickets and even getting the girls taken care of 

(that is always the biggest thing)!  We had a Fantastic time...a really great time...and I knew it was going to be a great trip when we met Grandpa, Barb, Parker and Kaitlyn to take the girls and they got to see the Chick Fil A cow...a great start! 

(By the way...tomorrow (Wednesday, August 1st) has been dubbed Chick fil A appreciation day...in light of the craziness around the comments about marriage...and all I can say is...FREE SPEECH PEOPLE!  So, off my small soap box...but go to Chick Fil A tomorrow and show your support!)

Reese and Hadley getting a big hug...and really wanting the cow to talk

Now onto the vacation...we spent a lot of time here...the weather was incredible and the water was beautiful!

We spent even more time here...I LOVE infinity pools...I just think they are the coolest...so we swam morning, afternoon and night!  

Well...honestly I do not like this picture one bit...but it was the only one we got!  I love this guy more and more...and that is why we have made it a point to do something every year just the two of us...to get away and just recharge, and do things we can't do every day!  You know...sleep late, stay up late, sleep some more, finish conversations together, sleep, eat out just the two of us, sleep some more...you get the picture!

The icing on the cake for this trip...I was able to spend an afternoon with one of my incredible friends from college who I have not seen in a long time!  We picked up just like we had seen each other every day...except for the fact that she has now added 3 more children since I saw her and I have added 2 more...Yes, Britton has 5 adorable children...and this little doll here...Kate...the last (and final) addition and the only girl!  We loved getting to see the whole McPherson clan...and Britton gave us great restaurant recommendations (that we totally took) on our trip!

Now, onto the wild little redheads and our saviors who took care of them.  Grandpa, Barb, Kaitlyn and Parker are our heroes...but even more...our girls loved every minute with them!

This crew went to the zoo, played, swam and so much more...and the girls had a blast.  Our girls love animals...and the St. Louis Zoo is so great...what a treat for them.

The following 3 pictures crack me up!  I wish I could have been around to see all of this...and these pictures are so telling of their personalities....Bryn as superman...a little unsure!

Hadley as superman just hanging out and not really worried about it (so her)

Reese...totally soaking in being superman...and totally believing it too!

In fitting form...our three little superheroes were in very capable and loving hands the entire trip...and so we literally never worried about them...we really worried more about Grandpa, Barb, Parker and Kaitlyn!  We are so grateful for the opportunity to take this trip...it would not have happened without ya'll!  Get ready for next year...we are going away for a month!  HA!

Something Great about Eight

Exactly eight years ago these young ones got married!  Seriously is it possible to think we look sooo much older in a mere 8 years!  Regardless of looks...I am still in love with this guy and I feel incredibly blessed to have him as my husband.  Our lives look much different than they did 8 years ago...

We used to have a house with tons of storage space...now we have the same house with tons of little feet and no storage space.
We used to plan our weekends around fun things going on...we still do fun things but we for sure plan our weekends around our little ones...2 year old birthday parties are fun!
We used to go to the movies quite a bit...we now have a family movie night about once a week...in our living room...with popcorn and a great Disney treat!
We used to stay up late....we now crash after the girls go down...seriously we crash.
We both used to workout at the gym quite a bit...now we workout running around the front yard playing freeze tag and chase with the littles!
We used to have way to much time to focus on ourselves...thank the Lord our children have given us so much including a perspective that is not just looking in the mirror.

I recently came across a quote that I love and that I think is so fitting for us:

"Someday someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else..." - anonymous.  Thank you Lord that Jason walked into to my life!

Did we forget something?

Seriously, that was how Jason and I felt all weekend! When we got married, we decided that we were going to try and take an anniversary trip together (just the two of us) every year! Well, we have succeeded except for last year, since I was enormously pregnant with Hadley and the idea of traveling did not seem fun! So, all of that to say...it has been two years since Jason and I took a long trip together without the kiddos! While we missed them so much...(and it seriously did feel like we forgot something)...We had an incredible time!

The view from our room down at the pool

I am such a sucker for cool pools...and this one was incredible...and I loved that it was a saltwater pool
The sunsets here were amazing
Not sure what was wrong with my camera here but the pool was even better at night
"Unconditional Surrender" I loved this...it was right in the heart of downtown Sarasota by the docks...it is a memorial to WWII...depicting a sailor who was caught on camera kissing a random woman after coming home from the war...I love it!
Oh...yes, did I mention that Sarasota was where Jason grew up, and I had never been. So, that was our destination...now I know why he loved it so much!While we were living it up...the girls were kicking back with Grandma Shirla in Birmingham
They all had a great time...playing, going to the zoo, getting ice cream and balloons...and lots of love from Grandma. It was such a gift to us for Shirla to come and take care of the girls! Family is amazing!

One last little hug before Grandma Shirla headed back to Missouri! The girls miss you already Grandma!