We're BACK

Happy Kids on Vacation, a photo by Justin and Kelly Webb on Flickr.

Okay, we've been back from this trip since early December...I'm referring to me being back on the blog! A million reasons why I can't squeeze in the time, but won't write them all down...what I will do is try to blog about a few big/cool things since my last post. This first one: Our December Trip!

Justin and I "won" a live auction item for a 3 night stay at an Exclusive Resort (and we added a day onto the trip)...we only had a few months to use it and December is not my ideal time to travel, BUT we had a BLAST. Seriously - our best/easiest/most relaxing trip ever with the kids. It was WONDERFUL for a few reasons:
1) kids were PERFECTLY behaved (was complimented on their behavior a few times during the trip). They were great travelers, well mannered, good happy kids the WHOLE time. That alone makes a vacation wonderful.
2) Um, we stayed in a 3 bedroom condo at the Ritz Carlton in Fort Lauderdale...and were treated like celebrities (gave kids toys, noticed what we were drinking and stocked our fridge w/ it at no cost). We told our kids not to expect to stay in places that nice ever again. Ever. The beautiful bathrooms (3 of them) were as big as my bedroom at home.
3) Other than a 2 year old girl from NY named Sophie, we had the pool to ourselves. And the pool was wonderful...huge steps for Izzy and Sophie to play on w/o water wings...and if Izzy wanted to swim around like a big kid, she was great w/ water wings.
4) We did nothing but hang out at the pool or the beach...All. Day. Long....Every. Day. This was also the first time I could watch all 3 kids swim while enjoying a cocktail on a cozy chair. I'm not to the point where I can read a book while they are swimming, but not sure if I would anyway. They are fun to watch in the pool...Izzy played with (and bossed around) her friend, Sam did tricks & played catch with Justin and Caleb did laps, perfected his somersaults and played catch with Justin.
5) We walked to a different restaurant each night...and the kids all tried new things (mostly seafood) each time. Naturally Caleb loved everything he tried..and his meals ended up being more expensive than mine. Sigh.
6) Perfect weather
7) Great beach....kids had so much fun there too. Izzy played lots of imaginative games close to the water, Sam was either fighting the waves or jumping over them and Caleb does everything....finds and studies shells, does experiments with sand/water, swims, jumps waves, fights waves and just takes it all in. He absolutely loves being at the beach.

It was such a great getaway for our family and although it was during a hectic time, it was good for me to let it all go and just enjoy our family in a beautiful place. It was also nice for us to have so much to look forward to when we got back home...made it easier to leave. The day after we got home, Caleb & I went to The Nutcracker Ballet in Milwaukee (field trip)....so fun. Naturally, lots of other great things followed. Will find pictures and report on them next.