| Two + Two = Us

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Summer 2016: A Recap in Pictures

We take this photo every year at the fair.
It's the epitome of summer to me!

I know my blog posts lately have been few, far, and sporadic at best. But this blog serves in part as a therapeutic chronicling of sorts to aid in my constantly-failing memory. Which is why, my mantra is better late than never.

So, don't mind that Fall has already started to show its face, here is a brief recount of our summer.

Let me preface this with the fact that this summer was a bittersweet one for me. Being a mostly stay-at-home mom (working at their preschool part-time doesn't count since they're still with me or at least nearby!), I wanted to make the most of this last summer before Lissie started kindergarten. So we jam-packed those two months with playdates, weekend roadtrips, pool days, VBS and other camps, galore. Whew. It was definitely a summer to remember!

I already blogged about the beginning of our summer, our Cincy trip, a brief bit about our first camping experience, and our trip to Myrtle Beach. Here are some pics of everything that happened in between!

We used up our leftover timeshare points for a staycation in Nashville!
We hung out at the pool....

Enjoyed Game Night -
including the much loved Pie Face!

Yum - whipped cream!

And Go Fish!
(Never mind that the next day ended
with Lissie feeling down
with what ended up being an ear infection.....)

Taking care of Lolo's garden

Member Nights at the Zoo
means free train rides!

After inviting Lissie's preschool friends for one last summer hurrah,
the kids enjoyed the inflatable pool we kept up for a few days afterwards.

We tried our hand at kayaking.

Lissie looks like an old pro.

We hiked to a waterfall at The Narrows of the Harpeth

We celebrated Father's Day

With Lolo, too.

And there's no reason for this pic,
except that I love it because
it is a true depiction of goofy
Xavier.

We ran our annual Fourth of July race,
including the kids' 1K fun run

Lissie's practicing for cross-country

We rode bikes. A lot.

We finally checked out the new Sounds stadium.

We splashpad-ed and swam. All the time.

We had playdates with dear friends.

We watched our first movie in the theater.

We roadtripped to Atlanta to see Lissie's godmother.....

.....and my godson, too!

While Lissie was at Fun & Laughter camp,
Xavier and I enjoyed bounce houses....

...and dressing up as a cow for free Chik-fil-A...

....and going bowling.

But don't worry, Lissie was having a grand time at camp!

Georgia Aquarium

Trip to Atlanta! Godkids with Godparents.

And, of course, summer is not complete without a trip to the fair!

Surprisingly, out of all our (many) days spent at the pool, I snapped very few pictures. But the pool also played a huge part in our summer.

It definitely was a great summer, and I'm still finding it hard to believe that it's truly over and fall is here. But, then again, fall has always been my favorite season. So, go ahead, bring on the cooler temps, pumpkin patches, and everything else that comes with it!

Monday, September 26, 2016

Summer Vacay 2016: Myrtle Beach

We may have just started Fall a few days ago, but let's backtrack a bit to summer. In particular to our family vacation to Myrtle Beach.

Every year we try to do a trip with the grandparents - because we love them, of course, but also because it's just so much easier. Four adults versus two kids. More hands on deck to cook (because we always get a large two/three bedroom suite with a kitchen) and run errands. The ability to slip away during naptime or bedtime to enjoy some kid-free beach or pool time. And, thankfully, they also relish in the special memories they get to share with their grandkids. Thank goodness for Lolo and Lola!

This year we used our timeshare points to check out Myrtle Beach. We'd never been before, so we decided to rent a minivan and trek the 10-ish hours to our vacation destination.

We were blessed with a van that had a DVD player, so that (along with my ginormous bag of road-trip goodies and snacks) helped make the long drive more tolerable! We hit the road bright and early on a Saturday in mid-July and was at our destination before dinnertime.

Leading up to the trip, Justin had been complaining about feeling sick for a few days. We all kind of chalked it up to him being so busy at work and was just feeling worn out and lethargic from it all. The drive down was a bit unbearable for him and he pretty much conked out and didn't really see much of Myrtle Beach until he finally went to an UrgentCare to discover that he had an ear infection. Luckily, antibiotics did the trick, and while he never fully regained his appetite, was at least able to somewhat enjoy the remainder of our trip!

It's a good thing all around - but especially for a sick Justin - that we didn't really have much on the agenda the entire week except eat, swim, play, and relax! It was truly the epitome of rest and relaxation.

EAT:

We ate most of our meals at our condo (including a scrumptious seafood feast!), but we did venture out a few times to try a nearby bakery, satisfy a burger craving, and of course cool off with some ice cream!