Goin' On a Bike Ride

Yes, we have a theme song for bike rides and we love it, everytime!!!

Kyle did some volunteering for Habitat for Humanity this morning while Nora and I played around the house, and this afternoon was the perfect rainy weather for napping. This evening though - it was perfect for welcoming summer and the extra daylight that comes with it! We hopped on our bikes, stopped at the neighborhood pizza place for a couple of slices then headed to the playground for a picnic dinner. After Nora gobbled down half of her slice she took to the swings for a few minutes, then it was off to Jeremiah's to cap off our summer dinner.

After our dessert we took the scenic route home through Winter Park and enjoyed the nice evening. We made it back before dark and just in time for bedtime! Hello Summer!!!

Chit Chat

This girl learned how to pace on the phone from her mama! She was talking to my mom tonight and this was the first time she's ever really taken the phone and held a full out "conversation" answering every question that was asked of her. She talked for probably close to 10 minutes with the phone to her ear (even though it was on speaker) walking back and forth in her mismatched, too big, shoes. Look out world (or look out us) who knows what beans she was trying to spill!

Sweet 16

Crazy to think that the next time we use that term in reference to Nora she'll be practically all grown up! But, for now, at 16 months, she really is sweet. We're a little late in posting this but there were some other important events taking place on her 16 monthaversary! Anyway, Nora is turning into such a confident, opinionated, strong, loving, happy girl. Not much has changed in the last month. She's just kind of hanging out doing and saying pretty much the same stuff. I swear she's taller and my arms are certain she's heavier though. Earlier this month we added 2 new states to her travel list (New Jersey & South Carolina) and has another long roadtrip adventure under her belt (such a pro!). Her input and opinions on what she wears is increasing (and growing more entertaining by the day). She had her first trip to the zoo and loved the lions, and has started to become much more interested in babies, even liking to "help" hold and take care of them...but only real ones - still not much into dolls. Dirt reigns supreme and books are still a close second, however blocks and megablocks are gaining. She has become really observant, noticing when things are different than usual and also notices right away when an airplane is flying overhead and loves to stop and watch them. Summer is here so hopefully this month we'll take to the pool on a regular basis and get her swimming like a fish. Hard to believe how fast the months breeze by! We're so lucky to have our little monkey that makes us laugh every day! States She's Stayed In: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio

Pedal to the Pool

Pardon the dirty lens! Nora and I headed to the Y today to get our swim on. Now that summer is here the kid's pool is open and it's officially time to get down to business on teaching Nora to swim. Our first "lesson" wasn't without hiccups - the quieter, calmer, lap pool that Nora is more used to was full of lap swimmers and the kids pool proved to be pretty distracting. We all know how well Nora multi-tasks! Anyway, with water falling and spraying from all over, kids playing and splashing, it was a little much for her and is going to take some getting used to. Hopefully by the end of the week she'll be more comfortable there and we can start to make some swimming progress!

Home for the Harvest

Alright, one more collage then I'll put them away for a while! Nora went outside this morning (rocking a stellar shirt sans pants and some truly spectacular bed head) to find a garden bin FULL of lettuce! We picked some so that we could use it on our quesadillas for lunch and then after Kyle got home she picked some more to put on our burgers for dinner. She wasn't much into holding the leaves but was pretty excited to look at all of it (and fall into the bin at one point - multi-tasking again). Other than tending to her garden a bit, today was a stay in PJs play and recoup day. After how good she was the whole time we traveled, especially over the weekend and all day yesterday I pretty much let her run the show today. A trashed living room and 3 naps for Nora, laundry and picture playing for me. After a full day on the road, we got in at 2:30 this morning and weren't to bed until after 3, that combined with all the weekend's festivities, I think we could all use a couple days (and nights) to catch up!

Push On

Happy Memorial Day!
For starters, thank you to everyone past and present who helps to protect all of us and this here country we live in and drive across!

After a fun day/night yesterday it was back to reality today - no BBQing here...Kyle, Kristin, Marty and I started the packing process at about 8:30 this morning in preparation for an 11am checkout time. We did it. Parents and inlaws were called in to wrangle the minis while we sorted, piled, packed, cleaned and crammed everything into the cars. By 11am we were out of the cabin and ready to roll! We stopped to say goodbye to Tim, Meg & the Thorburn family (the tasty treats we wandered off with made for delicious roadtrip snacks - THANK YOU!) and we all headed to our respective homes. For us, that meant a 15 hour drive back to Florida. We plugged along making a stop to enjoy some scenery (roadtrip bucket list item - stop at a random scenic overlook - CHECK) Nora also took the scenic stop as an opportunity to say hi to random people and wave at a lot of passing trucks - hilarious! We also took a dinner break at the Chipotle by our someday summer destination - Lake Norman. We debated an overnight stop in Hilton Head to crash in the newly-weds' home before they got there but with a calm dog and a sleeping toddler we opted to roll the dice and press on. A 2:30am arrival time - it means we only lost 45 minutes from original GPS estimate, but it always sounds easier than it is! Thank goodness for an easy Nora, a well behaved Cortland, a determined Kyle at the wheel, Starbursts, sugar & caffeine and the always reliable Asleighdia. If it weren't for those things these full day trips wouldn't be possible! Believe me, I am grateful every time we successfully and safely complete another one of these "cross country" trips and I realize how lucky we are!

Even the Sun was Smiling!

Photo Credit: Amy Oleksiak & Katie Majewski
Tim and Megan are married!!!! What a perfect day! The sun was shining, birds chirping, warm breezes, so much love, and smiles all around! We had fun from start to finish today, beginning with hair and make-up and ending on the dance floor, going to Carolina in our minds. Nora was an awesome little flower girl (if I do say so myself) - I'm proud of her for handling herself so well today and I'm proud of Kyle and I for our teamwork in "managing" her. Thank you Ken & Susan for your help behind the scenes - it was the lynch pin of everything going right in the Nora department! Anyway...back to the main reason we were all there! TIM & MEGAN!!! I couldn't be happier or prouder to watch my baby brother stand up and marry such an awesome person! Welcome to the family Megan, I'm so happy to add you to the ranks of sister and I'm sure Karen is glad to hand over the reigns and let someone else be in charge of keeping Tim in line! hehe! Seriously though, Tim & Meg are fantastic, they balance each other out and compliment each other perfectly. I can't wait to watch them continue to work as a team and grow together! Happy wedding day you two!! Thank you for letting all 3 of us be a part of such an awesome day!!!