Goodbye April

Today is April 30th and I've been waiting for this day for awhile. I can't remember the last time we have been so busy. We've been on 2 trips, Todd started a new position at work, my sister was here visiting for a week and we're dealing with a big home maintenance issue...(long story short-our house was built with a defective drywall...we'll be moving out soon, so they can rip it apart and rebuild it.)

Despite the drywall issue, it's been a great month, but so incredibly busy. I knew that once May came around things would slow down and life would get back to a nice, quiet normal.

My sister Jody was here last week and we wish she could come home more often. I know she loves living in Louisville, but I sure do wish she were still here.

Bridget is her usual self and getting "busier" by the minute. Apparently, "busy" is the nice word for a child who never, ever, ever slows down! She is climbing onto everything, perfecting her sidewalk chalk art, racing up and down the stairs, and dropping things on purpose just so she can "Uh-oh!"


Catch me if you can, Aunt Jody!




Dinner at Bonefish




NOT wanting to be held here...




Hmmmm...is this flower headband way too cute or way too big???




What's the big deal? The house is already yellow!




Dinnertime is not so fun these days




Waving bye-bye to the sun




LOVE those legs!

Barcelona

Our trip to Paris was short and spontaneous and all our own. It was just the two of us.

The Barcelona leg of the trip was Todd's company trip and we weren't quite sure what to expect. We had heard it would be "really nice". It wasn't just really nice-it was amazing. In fact, we'd say it was the most luxurious vacation we've ever been on. It was 5-star all the way.

We stayed at the most beautiful hotel in the city, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the city on the other. In preparing for the trip I was a little disappointed that each night's dinner would be a group event with Gartner. The nightly events ended up being one of the most impressive highlights from the trip. Each was night was at a different place, with a different theme, a different menu and different entertainment. We couldn't have found a restaurant on our own that compared to these events. Each night was like the greatest wedding reception you've ever been too!

Like most European cities, Barcelona was beautiful and historical. Churches, buildings, parks and plazas filled up the city. We stayed busy with tours of all these places, but also took a little time to relax with massages and afternoon naps.

One of our favorite days was when we went about an hour outside of the city to a winery, Pares Balta. We learned a little about the wine making process and of course sampled the products!

The trip wasn't complete until we found the perfect gift to bring home to Bridget...a Spanish Flamenco Dancer dress. Oh-it's so cute! She's worn in twice already just for fun and I have a feeling it will be her Halloween costume this year!




Sagrada Familia...








Parc Guell-Overlooking the city







We had a fantastic week, but couldn't wait to get home to Bridget. It was a loooong trip home with a missed flight in Atlanta to put us behind schedule, but we made it back safe and sound.
I have been rushing out of work everyday this week to get home to Bridget as quick as I can. Summer vacation is only 5 weeks away and the countdown is underway. Can't wait to spend all day, everyday at home with my girl!

Paris in 48 Hours

Last Sunday Todd and I said a teary good-bye to Bridget and Harley to leave on our trip to Europe. We flew overnight to Paris and had just under 48 hours to see it all.

There were just a few things we knew we had to do in such a short trip:
1) See the Mona Lisa
2) See the Eiffel Tower
3) Eat a croissant
4) Buy Bridget an outfit

We stayed at the Hotel Du Louvre, which was conveniently located just in front of The Louvre Museum. We quickly checked into the room and headed straight for the museum. It was a beautiful spring day and the day after Easter, a holiday for most. The streets and parks were packed with people enjoying their day off.
We strolled the museum searching for the famous Mona Lisa and quickly found her. She sits behind a guard rope and is protected by a glass case. We got as close as we could to snap our picture.
They say someone could spend weeks visiting the massive museum. Needless to say we didn't even come close to seeing even a fraction of the museum, but we're excited to say we've at least been there and seen its most famous face!

The Louvre-It's so enourmous I don't think this picture does it much justice. My little camera couldn't capture it all!



The Mona Lisa


After a French meal that first night, we were up early on Tuesday (croissants for breakfast of course!) to see the Eiffel Tower and then had no real other plans but to walk around Paris and see all that we could. We were hoping to go up in the Eiffel Tower, but the lines were so incredibly long. It would have taken up most of the day, so we just admired it from down below.




We walked and walked the rest of the day and it was perfect. We saw lots of beautiful monuments...some we knew of, others we didn't. We took our touristy pictures, ate crepes at a street cafe, bought Bridget 2 dresess...one from a street vendor and another from a boutique, and called it a night after an Italian meal-which was much better than the French meal we had the night before!


Arc de Triomphe



Every corner we turned there was a beautiful garden like this one




In front of our hotel

Being able to say that we've been to Paris is something we're so grateful for. We saw some of the world's most famous and talked about things and it was truly amazing!

Next, we were off to Barcelona...

Happy Easter

We had a very happy Easter weekend here in Florida. Todd and I are leaving later tonight for our trip to Europe. We will arrive in Paris tomorrow morning and then on Wednesday we fly to Barcelona for 5 days. As excited as we are about this once in a lifetime trip, we are very sad to leave Bridget for 1 week. I have been home with her all week and it's been wonderful! She is such a big girl now and there are so many fun things we have been doing together.

Yesterday we played in the hose and I had to drag her inside when it was time to clean up. She would have played in the water all day!




We had an early Easter dinner with my parents last night and this morning we had a big breakfast at home followed by her first ever Easter Egg Hunt.




Her 1st peep!



Had to find the orange and blue eggs first!





Happy Easter!

A Colorful Day

I'm on Spring Break this week and I'm loving every second of it. We've slept in, played, danced, had park playdates, trips to the mall, visits with Grandma...and there are still a few days left!

Today we had big plans. I had a TON of things to do still to get ready for our trip on Sunday. I had a day full of errands and Bridget was going to spend the day with my mom. As I was packing up to go, Bridget hit a big milestone today. While playing with her crayons she didn't try to eat them, but finally used them to draw...on the walls!

First she started with blue...




I took that one away, but clever Bridget knew there was a green one still lying around...





Baby art

She laughed and ran while I chased her down for the crayons!



After dinner we headed outside for an ice cream treat...vanilla in a cone with sprinkles. Bridget's been eating ice cream for awhile now, but never in a cone until tonight.

She would come in for lick, then run off to jump in the grass, spin in circles or hide from us...and then come back for more. She was too busy playing to hold the cone herself, so she made me hold it for her!











Delicious!

Old friends and good times

My four years at The University of Florida were perfect in many ways, but without a doubt the greatest things about my college years were my friends.

After graduation we all moved to different places to pursue different dreams. I have seen everyone many times since graduation, but it is rare that we are all together at once. That very special occasion usually only happens when one of us gets married. And this weekend was one of those very special weekends.

We all met up in DC this weekend for Kristina and Ed's wedding. It was supposed to be 2 nights of let's-pretend-we're-in-college-again fun...but it was even better because Todd and I ended up with an unexpected 3rd night of fun!

I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in the wedding, so Todd and I flew up Thursday morning to be at the rehearsal on Thursday night. Friday was spent getting ready for ceremony. Hair appointments, make-up appointments, a catered lunch in the bridal suite and of course Kristina's notorious near-fainting spells! Fortunately, she made it through the day without fainting, but there were a few very close calls!

The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast. The reception ended about 11, but then the party moved to the hotel lobby bar. The hotel lobby bar closed up a few hours later, but still no one was ready to call it a night so we moved the party upstaris to Shelly and Gutye's room.


Rehearsal Dinner at Growlers Brewery



The bridesmaids showing off our fabulous gifts!




Minutes away from walking down the aisle!




Together again!




At a bar in Gerogetown where I'm pretty sure Todd and I were the only parents in the place!

We woke up Saturday morning ready to get home! It was a great weekend with great friends, but we missed our baby! We had originally thought about staying an extra day to see the DC sights, but decided we should head home instead.

The airport was packed and the gate to Ft. Myers was over-packed. Everyone was heading to Florida for Spring Break. We checked in at the gate and were told that Todd and I were the unlucky 2 out of 8 passengers without a seat on the flight. Maybe some seats would open up or maybe some of passengers would volunteer to give up their seats. No such luck. The plane left us there and the next flight was 24 hours away. Even flights to Tampa and Miami were overbooked, so that wasn't an option either.

Instead of causing a huge scene (like some of others left behind did) we took the cash compensation, called our friends that were still in town and made plans for one more night! I wanted to go home, but since that was not an option we made the best of it and had another great night in DC.

The next morning we had time to walk down to the White House. It was a gorgeous day...the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and in front of the White House was a garden full of red tulips.

The best part of the weekend was coming home to Bridget. When she saw us she put her hands on her cheeks and gasped in excitement!

I love that we find ways to fit everything in and make everyone happy. Bridget had a great weekend with her grandparents and Todd and I had a great weekend with old friends! I'm already looking forward to the next wedding, whoever that may be...