30th Birthday Surprise!

Well, so far 30 has been fabulous!

I woke up Thursday morning (my birthday), thinking that "someone" was coming to town. Through a few various "suspicious" comments that Brian had made over the previous few days, I had come to the conclusion that he was going to surprise me by having either my mom or my best friend, Jess, meet us at dinner for my birthday.

Brian and I arrived at Muirfield Village Golf Club for dinner and were quickly greeted by the valet staff who told us that there had been a change of plans and that we would be eating in one of the villas on the property. We were taken by golf cart to the villa and as we walked through the door, I heard a few people talking. This was the first time it crossed my mind that this might be an actual surprise party. Sure enough, we opened the door and I was greeted with "SURPRISE" by 20 or more of my friends and family members!

I was absolutely shocked to see that not only were my mom and Jess in from out of town, but my dad was there, my step-father, Chuck and even Brian's sister, Sarah had made the trip!! It was even more hilarious to see that my friend, Erin was there, after she had listened to me question what Brian might have planned for my birthday, for 2 hours during playgroup that morning. She did an amazing job of keeping the secret!

Not only were were going to have a party, but Brian and myself, Jess, Sarah and my dad were going to be spending the night in our terrific 4 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom Villa, complete with a pool table!




Brian had a gorgeous and tasty cake made for me!
And we spent the rest of the evening drinking (probably a little too much), relaxing with friends and family, eating some fabulous food and playing pool!





It couldn't have been a better birthday surprise! I don't think I stopped shaking from excitement for at least 20 minutes into the party! My mom, dad, Chuck, Jess and Sarah stayed for the rest of the weekend, so we had a very enjoyable Easter weekend. I will post pictures of the girls (the reason that you all read this blog anyway!) celebrating Easter soon!!

Playdate!

We went to a play date at a friend's house today and the girls had a blast! They were the youngest of the group (except for two little babies) and they did a wonderful job of playing with their friends. Here's a quick picture of my cuties (and my legs in the background!)...don't they look so grown up!?!?

Zoo Tots!

This week I took the girls to a class at the zoo! We met an armadillo, read an animal story and made bear puppets! While all of the other parents (of singletons) were snapping pictures, I was trying to keep my 2 toddlers from coloring on their clothing, gluing their finger's together or trying to hold the armadillo! So unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the class. However, we did take a walk around the zoo after our class and since it was a rather chilly day, the polar bears (my favorite exhibit) were very active, so I snapped a few fun pictures there!





On our way out, we stopped at the petting zoo and the girls LOVED petting the goats!

Florida #2!

Okay, so a few more Florida pictures for you from the last few days of our trip!


Here is Grammy and her sweet girl, Sadie
Daddy and Macy having fun...
Sadie relaxing after a swim!
On the last night of our trip we decided to eat a relaxed dinner out by the pool. At 5:30 it was hardly crowded, but the D.J. was still there and trying to get the party going! Sadie and Macy loved watching him dance during dinner and were thoroughly enjoying his choices in music! I'm pretty sure they were his biggest fans!




The next morning, we sadly said good bye to "Guck" and "Grammy" and were on our way home!

Florida!

We are back from our trip to Florida and we ALL had a fabulous time! Prior to the trip, things were a little hectic and stressful, as we had to change our plans around several times! We were originally scheduled to go visit my grandmother at her house; however, she took a fall a few weeks prior to our arrival and wasn't up for visitors. After some quick planning from Grammy (Cindy), we were booked at a wonderful resort in Tampa instead!

Just as we started looking forward to a relaxing vacation, Brian had some meetings come up at work that almost forced him to stay home. After some careful thought and planning, we decided that the girls and I would fly out to FL alone and that Brian would stay home to finish up his work obligations and then join us the following day. I can tell you that flying ALONE with two toddlers, 2 large carseats, carry-on bags, and 3 large suitcases, was rather challenging....not to mention renting a car alone once we arrived in FL! But, we made it there relatively hassle free and we were thrilled to meet Grammy and Grandpa Chuck at the resort!! I felt very accomplished once we arrived and like all of my efforts had paid off, since the resort and weather were wonderful!!

The girls couldn't have been more perfect for me on the airplane!
Quietly watching a movie during the whole flight!
The following day, Daddy arrived and what can you guess was his first activity? Heading to the golf course, of course! So the girls and I headed to the pool for some sun and swimming!

The girls basically lived in the pool for the next several day and are both total fish! They have never been happier than they were just floating around the pool with their water wings on!


Macy, who wasn't previously a water lover, really came into her own this trip and did a fabulous job in the water. She loved figuring out how to move in the pool and spent her days doing twists, turns and spins using her legs! It was so fun to watch her figure it all out!!



And my little water bug, Sadie, loved being thrown and splashing into the water!


After hours at the pool each day, the girls cuddled up in their towels with their favorite people!



We took a fabulous bike ride on this bike-mobile which seated 4 adults (who all peddled) and had a basket seat for two kids up front!
The girls also loved pointing out golf carts and trying them out too!
One of the highlights of our trip was getting a little break for some adult time! Brian and I left the girls with Grammy (or "Maney" as Sadie calls her) and Grampa Chuck (Guck as the girls call him) and headed to visit some of our very best friends, who just moved to St. Petersburg! We had a wonderful time going to a party at a friends apartment, which overlooked the Indy car races that weekend and had an amazing view!

Thank you to Mike and Neysa for inviting us to join them for such a great time and to Neysa and Hillary for some great laughs!!
We sadly returned home to Ohio and 40 degree weather, but look forward to Spring weather arriving very soon and for the pool to open, so that the girls can continue working on their swimming skills! Thanks to Grammy for making our trip so incredibly wonderful!!

A Taste of Spring

On Friday, we had a little taste of spring, unfortunately it didn't last long, since the snow arrived again on Saturday! But, we took full advantage of the beautiful day while it lasted and took a walk to the playground. The girls were so happy to be playing outside and had a blast! I can't wait for winter to be over so we can get back to enjoying outdoor activities again!!!