…or as I like to say, we parented in a different location (if you have kids, you know that it definitely doesn’t always feel like a vacation). We’ve been back in Columbia for a little over a week, which has given me enough time to catch up on laundry, sleep and cleaning. And now, I know I need to write this blog and get my pictures uploaded so I can make a photo book and not procrastinate like I did with last year’s vacation to the Smoky Mountains—I’m still working on that book.

Anyways, we began our trip with an airplane ride from Des Moines to Florida. Naomi had been a plane a few months ago, but the last time Hezzy was on a plane was coming back from Vietnam in early 2020, so it had been a bit. He thoroughly enjoyed having his own seat, a seemingly unlimited snack pile, and watching movies. Naomi loved to go back and forth between my mom and me, but eventually settled in and watched Encanto for a while.

The first part of our trip was spent at St. Pete’s beach. We stayed in the cutest little hotel, which had a pool basically right outside of our door and it was only two blocks from the beach. It also had a life size chess board, which was great since I had been reading through the Harry Potter books, however, I didn’t get the chance to try out my skills.

We spent a lot of the mornings at the beach, digging holes, building sand castles and rubbing sand all over our face and hair (oh wait, that was just Naomi). Our hotel had a whole “beach library” where you could borrow toys, beach chairs and wagons which was such a blessing because we didn’t have to purchase much to keep our kids entertained!

After spending the morning at the beach, we would head back to our hotel and spend some time swimming, or napping. Then we would explore some restaurants for dinner, and end the evening with ice cream (which was clearly my kids’ favorite part).

After our time at the beach we said goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and their kids and we traveled to Orlando to experience a few days of Disney magic. Going to Disney World with a 3.5 year old and an almost 2 year old went….as expected. They absolutely LOVED meeting Minnie and Mickey, and while Hez was a little intimidated at first, Naomi walked right up to Minnie. She loved her pretty dress and her nose.

Some other highlights were Toy Story Land, more ice cream, and walking around our hotel (which was cars themed). The next day we went to Magic Kingdom and got right on the Buzz Lightyear ride, which was a favorite. Afterwards, Hez proclaimed that he was all done with rides, so Nathan and him enjoyed some popcorn and a coke while me, my mom and Naomi went on the Dumbo ride. Naomi cried when she realized we had to get off, so I think she will definitely be the thrill seeker of the two. We got to watch the parade, and then went to visit Mickey again. Naomi got really sad when she realized Minnie wasn’t there, but right as we were leaving there was a mini-parade that had all of the Disney characters so she was pretty excited about that.

After Disney we headed to a condo to spend some time with my aunt and uncle while we watched my cousin play in the AAU National volleyball tournament. The next day he didn’t have a game until 3:00 so my parents watched the kids and Nathan and I got to escape to Universal Studios to visit Harry Potter world! I loved just walking and looking and taking it all in, even though I had been before, it just seems way better after reading all of the books. Also, going to a theme park and not having to bring the diaper bag, a stroller and a million snacks seemed like a big ol’ treat. We went a few rides, got a few butterbeers and ate lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. I discovered that I am a hufflepuff, which I am not surprised about one bit. We ended the day with some ice cream and headed back to watch my cousin play volleyball. Let me just tell you, I’m used to 1A girls volleyball, and this was on a whole new level. We watched him go undefeated that day, and also got to spend some time at the pool.

After a few days of volleyball, it was time for us to make the journey back home. It was sad to say goodbye to the sunshine state, but it has been so good adjusting back to ‘normal’ life.

One unexpected part of vacation that I really loved was sharing a room with our kids. We have been very ‘routine-based’ sleep fans for our kids. This vacation was the first time we shared a room with both the kids. I was so worried about how it would go, and to be honest, I just loved it. I loved to peak on them as they slept, I loved to listen to their giggles as they fell asleep and hear their little kid conversations as they got more and more tired. There’s just something that makes me want to smoosh my kids when I see them sleeping so peacefully after a busy day.

The kids did so well sharing a room that we decided to move them into the same room when we got back home. So far, it has been such an easy transition. This morning Hez woke up and told Nathan that Naomi got a little sad in the middle of the night, and he tried to give her one of his stuffed animals, but she wanted a pink one, and he didn’t have any pink ones and so we need to go to the store so he can get some pink stuffed animals. Seeing their little sibling friendship develop been so, so sweet.

Since being home we have adjusted back to regular life. Hez has had swim lessons this week. We had a big celebration that he got into the pool yesterday (let’s just say the first day was pretty rough). We celebrated the fourth of July with some friends. We ate burgers, we ate brats and we set off some cheapo fireworks.

This summer has been so fun. This is the first summer since 2018 that it didn’t seem like we had a “baby”. It has been a joy to watch the kids grow, become friends and experience new things. It has been a joy to spend our first full summer in our home, and it has been such a blessing to grow and nurture this little babe in my belly.

We are excited to soak up the rest of the summer with a few trips back to Iowa, lots of time at the pool and just spending time together.