Family vacation to St. Pete Beach

It seems like forever ago that we were on the beautiful St. Pete Beach in Florida. It was about 5 weeks ago that we took the trip. This trip was very special because it was our first trip that we took with the kids via plane ride. We have done lots of road trips and Bob and I have taken some trips over the past few years without the kids but this was a much bigger adventure.

The kids were so excited to ride on a plane. Here they are at the airport waiting for our flight.

Lucas loved the plane and loved looking out the window.

Addison loved it too...she even managed to fall asleep and stay sleeping while we landed.

First time in the ocean! The beach and the water was just so beautiful!

I loved it too! 

So happy to be on vacation. 

Crazy boy loved the pool just as much as the ocean.

The biggest reason we went to St. Pete was to visit our friends Steve and Sarah and meet their beautiful baby girl Michaela. 

Bob and Steve. 





Steve and Sarah.

They went with us to a great casual restaurant right on the beach for dinner...and the timing was perfect to watch the sunset!



One of my favorite parts of our vacation....the kids were amazed watching the sun go down!

Lucas' favorite park of our vacation....LEGOLAND!

Could he be any cuter????

I was shocked at how much Addison loved building and racing her car.

A highlight of our day at legoland....a picture with a real lego guy!

Legoland was great. Lots of fun rides and cool things to see but OMG it was HOT that day!!!!!!

To make our trip even better....our friend Kurt and his wife Jsun came to visit too with their son Solomon. Kurt is in the army and was able to have a few weeks off before they were off to Germany for the next 2 years or so. It was great to have quality time all together and to see these 2 crazy guys with their adorable babies!

The guys....such good friends for so long!

Our pretty girl on the beach. She loved every single minute of beach time. 

It was hard but Bob put in a few hours of work....I think the beer and sitting by the pool made it not so bad. 

Our family vacation picture that I was pretty obsessed with taking! It was raining the afternoon that I had planned on getting the picture so we couldn't do it at the beach but I think it still turned out great.

Lucas' pic on the beach.

That was a small sample of our trip. It sure was a great vacation and we can't wait till the next one!!!



4th of July 2012

The 4th of July this year was fun but different. We spent it with our neighbors as usual but this time inside. No fireworks. We have had a major heat wave and drought so setting off fireworks was highly discouraged and most big firework displays were cancelled. Kind of a bummer but we did manage to see some fireworks at the lake the weekend before (the kids missed it since they were already in bed). We made the most of the holiday and I was happy to get this cute pic which for once included Louie. :)

Quick June recap

Wow, this summer is flying by!!! I can't believe it is almost July. We have been so busy! In between all our big outings, we have been spending time at the library, at the gym (the kids love the daycare there and I love to workout), at the zoo, six flags and lots of time swimming!!!

The kids and I took a road trip and spent 3 days in Ohio visiting my friend Kris. Kris and I had a great time (lots of running together and reality tv watching) and as you can tell from the picture below, our 4 kids had a great time too!!! 

The kids and I took Bob out for chicken wings on father's day. It was so yummy!!!

Lucas finished out his first soccer season on top...he scored his first goal!!!! He was also thrilled to receive his medal for the season!

Last weekend I walked with Linda in the Race for the Cure 5K. 

That was just a small recap of June.

We have so much coming up the rest of the summer....trips to the lake, I am taking Bob zip lining/floating for his birthday gift this Sunday. We are taking the kids to Florida really soon (their first plane ride), a road trip to Chicago, more time at the lake and then of course lots and lots of swimming!  We love summer!!!

Nifty & Thrifty Thursday....bloggly love for my bff!

So, I am doing something a little different today. I only have, what....maybe 20 blog readers (I love you all!!!). I only blog about myself and my family and don't really reach out for other readers that I don't know....who knows though, maybe others come from time to time. I know friends and family check it out but I am doing something a little different today. One of my very best friends has a great blog and she is starting something new called Nifty & Thrifty Thursday where her readers can share cost savings tips, coupons, deals or other ways to save money. She knows I am cheap...I mean "thrifty,"  so she knew this post would be perfect for me. Love you Kris!!! Sadly, I have not been my usual shopping shelf lately but I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't have much to share. 

My biggest thing lately to save money is by trying to take advantage of free and low cost activities for the kids and me. They are not in camps all summer or involved in sports (with the exception of soccer which ends in a few weeks) or activities of any kind. Instead we are going to take advantage of what is already out there for us without adding in a bunch of unnecessary expenses. We already have a pool membership. We have season passes to Six Flags (we got at a great discount at the end of last year). My parents have a lake house and boat an hour away. They love to come to the gym with me in the morning. We will go on a few road trips to visit friends (Kris is one of them...yipee). We are taking them to Florida for vacation (a very rare vacation). They will spend a week at bible school. They have friends for play dates and then you can't forget all the great things to do and see in the city we live in. Just the other day I took them to a playground and then to an amazing sculpture park here in St. Louis. It was not 100% geared toward their age but it was something different and unique from the ordinary park. Plus, it was a beautiful day. As we were walking through the park, a deer ran in front of us...just about 20 feet ahead of us. Our jaws dropped at the sight. It was a great day and then seeing the deer run ahead of us was just so cool.

We went to the zoo last week. Free admission and we brought our lunch (we bring our own lunch with us everywhere). It was another beautiful day. I plan to take the kids to some of the theaters for free summer movies, maybe some splash pads at some of the playgrounds, lots of picnics, tons of swimming. We will also spend a lot of time at our library. The kids joined the summer reading club there. We love to check out lots of books (rarely do I ever buy a book) and of course we check out free movies too. Basically, I just don't see the need to pay hundreds of dollars this summer to entertain my kids when I can do it with them myself at a low cost and be there with them along the way. I think it is going to be a great summer.

Now, go check out my friends blog. She is awesome and writes a pretty darn interesting blog!!!

"The Sac" at that winery/brewery!

We call the cul-de-sac that we live on "The Sac"....funny right. Our neighbors call us "The Kids." So funny. But really, we are all great friends and have a great time hanging out together so this past weekend we got out of "the sac" for a fun day/night away. We stayed at my parents lake house for the night and had to go check out a nearby winery and brewery!

Our day started at Crown Valley Winery. It was a beautiful day...mid 70s and sunny (a nice break from the upper 90s like last weekend).

Here is Ryan and Gail,

Randy and Susie,

and Bob and I.

We then headed down the road to Crown Valley Brewery. Loved it! Can you believe we got this tasting of 8 beers for $7. Not bad. 

Bob and I and the view from the brewery.

The rest of the day and night was fun but I was so hung over the next day. I seriously still felt a little hung over the next night at 10:30 pm. Even McDonalds french fries and a diet coke didn't cure me. I just can't hang like I used to but it was all worth the fun time we had!

A quick glance from Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial weekend was fun and so very busy...so busy that I didn't take many pictures all weekend long so here is a quick look.

Friday, our first official day of summer break, I took the kids to my parents lake house for the day. It was so warm and the water was even warm enough for the kids to swim and play at the beach.

On Saturday we went to our neighbors (Ryan and Gail) newly purchased farm along with other neighbors for a fun overnight party. They don't have pigs and horses or a barn but they have an amazing house with a wrap around porch, LOTS and lots of land for gardens, growing grapes (Ryan is going to attempt to make wine) and riding their 4-wheeler and later they are going to put in a lake! The kids had a great time exploring and we can't wait to be invited back!!!

This is the sole picture that I took....a beautiful view of part of their property.



On Memorial day we braved the intense heat and ran a 5K with friends. It was about 88 degrees at race time and between the heat and the hills, it was not a course to come close to a PR. What did make the race even better was that it was at a winery and we stayed for some adult time and beverages!

The girls (Julie, me and Amber)

The guys (Tre, Dave and Bob)

Oh, and before Memorial weekend started our little girl had her last day of Kindergarten. On to first grade in the fall! Now we just need her to finally lose some of those teeth for it to feel so real that she will be a first grader and turning 7 in just a few short months. 

Dance recital 2012

It is hard to believe that Addison just completed her 3rd year of dance and performed in her 3rd dance recital. This was the first year that we let Addison take 2 dance classes...jazz and cheer. Jazz was by far her favorite over the cheer class but I think it had more to do with her amazing instructor and the great kids in the class. This year was also different because she performed in both the 1pm show and the 7pm show which made for a very very long day. Between the finale performances, she was on stage 5 times and she loved it. She loved every minute of the day and really enjoyed watching all the performances.

My jazz dancer!

Thanks Mom for sharing in the day with us.



Addison with some of her jazz friends.

Then it was time for her cheer performance. She insisted on this pose.

Me and my girl! 

Great job Addison. I already can't wait till September to start another year of dance!