Family Beach Time... and a little much needed R & R.

We had a fun filled, busy trip this year. We started off in Tampa to visit family, then headed to Orlando to go to Sea World and stayed the night that night by downtown Disney to go to Disney World the next day. The weather didn't cooperate, so instead of going to Disney, we toured around Orlando and rescheduled our Disney Day. We headed to the beach, that night and enjoyed some nice weather. After two beach days, we headed back to Orlando to see Mickey, the next day we went to the Villages to see the Renicks, and then back to the beach. The day before we left Uncle John came for a visit at the beach. There was never a dull moment, and we are lucky to have spent time with family and friends along the way.

Since we have been back, Hannah has been catching up on sleep. I thought her vacation would be more relaxing than as busy as it was, but even this morning, she just woke up at 9:30am.. I think we should go on more vacations like that, because mom and dad are loving the extra sleep time!



Our last evening in FL, we went on the beach to get some family pictures and some of Hannah. For those who know us, getting professional pictures, or even our wedding pictures developed has been our thing, but we are really good at taking our own amatuer pictures at a much lesser cost :) ( sorry mom & dad). I thought some turned out cute, and hopefully we will get around to framing a few!




Hannah loved running around on the beach this year as if it were her own race track. An open area with soft landing grounds are a dream come true for mom and dad too. We would just look up every once in a while to make sure she didn't get too far. We loved watching her get that extra energy out of her system. She loved picking up sea shells, and we even saw a few crabs ( or crabbies as Hannah calls them ) on the beach. She was scared of the crabs, but it was actually kind of funny when she saw them.

We loved our vacation, and only wish there was more time in life to take more. Much needed relaxation, and time away from the daily tasks of laundy, bills, and errands. Naps, eating nice dinners, sunshine, and time with family and friends are always the best remedies in life!!

Visits with the Renick's at The Villages

One day during our visit to Florida we went to see Scott, Amada, Gracie and Lauren for the day at The Villages where they recently moved to. It was so nice to see them, and to finally see what "the Villages" were all about after hearing about them for so long. We got to take a tour of the villages in the golf cart, and even saw an alligator on a golf course along the way. The girls had a great time together playing, lots of little girls screams and laughs that always make you smile. Hannah is still talking about Gracie. Yesterday I asked her if she had a little sister what would she like to name her and she said "Gracie".



Amanda liked to call this the sorority girl pose, with Lauren and Hannah cheek to cheek smiling. Pretty cute!!! We had a great day and only wish we could see them more often. Each day since we have been back Hannah has said she wants to go to Gracie and Lauren's house. I keep reminding her that it is far away, and hopefully we will see them again next year.

Disney World 2009

Hannah met Mickey and Minnie!!! The highlight of her trip to Disney World. It was very cute, she went right up to them, and kept giving them big hugs. We went through Minnie and Mickey's houses, which she loved, and kept wanting to go back.


When we went to Disney, I thought for sure I would not be one of the those parents buying over priced Disney merchandise, but sure enough, Hannah left with a princess Minnie, a tinkerbell outfit, and tinkerbell toys. I guess you do get sucked in, but the smile on her face was worth it. She loves her Minnie.




This was also one of Hannah's favorite parts of the whole Disney experience. We were waiting in line to meet Ariel from Little Mermaid. They had a splash pad where you jump on these mats and water shoots out of the fountains. After studying it for a few minutes rather seriously, Hannah looked at us and said " No wet, I take off my shoes and socks". So she did, and off running she went. It was too cute to capture on camera. She was running and laughing and even made a little friend while doing it that was chasing her around the whole time.


And, no Disney experience is complete without the signature messy Mickey ice cream bar, all for $5. She loved it, and that is what matters.

Overall, it was a great day. We only spent one day at Disney, and if we could had planned our trip different, I think we would had spent an additional day there she loved it so much. We didn't know if there would be enough for her to do with still being so young, but there was more than plenty. Just seeing all her pricesses kept her busy. She met Tinkerbell , Ariel, Belle, and Mickey and Minnie. She saw Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty dancing with their prince and I thought Hannah was going to pass out she was so excited. She expressions made the whole day. We feel very lucky we are able to bring Hannah to Disney and share in such a magical experience with her!! Something we hope we can do again one day, and a day we won't forget, as it was truly the highlight of our trip.

Time with Family in Florida

Hannah and Uncle John in New Symrna Beach. He came all the way from Jacksonvill on our last day of vacation to see Hannah and visit with us. We had a great time on the beach, going to lunch and playing at the park. Thanks for visiting Uncle John!! We miss you!



We started our Florida trip this year visiting Aunt Andrea, Uncle Cash, and cousins Ashley and Drake in Tampa. We had 3 fun filled days. We went to the park, saw horse races, went swimming, celebrated Easter, and finally went to SeaWorld. Hannah loved spending time with them.


Here is Hannah at the park. I think she thought it was pretty cool that parks in Florida actually had sand on the ground. I am not sure she knew what to make of it :)



And since Todd is into trains, Hannah seems to love "choo choos" as she calls them as well. The three of us went to see the Cruise ships in the bay, and take a trolley ride around town. Hannah loved it, we even saw Dolphins in the water really close up which was fun.

And... we were finally got to tell Todd's family in person that Hannah is going to be a big sister later this Fall. She will have a little brother or sister ( we don't know yet) the last week of Sept. She tells everyone she sees that she wants a sister... so we'll see!

We had a great time visiting!!!

Easter In Florida

This year we spend Easter in Florida. Sure enough, the Easter Bunny found us at Aunt Andrea and Uncle Cash's house. The Easter Bunny left a trail of eggs from Hannah's, Drake's, and Ashley's rooms to their baskets. Hannah had a great time and the Easter Bunny treated her quite well with chalk, bubbles, jewelry, and some tinkerbell toys. After we had the egg hunt and found her basket, we saw the front door and saw that the Easter Bunny had lost his tail!! He was hopping so fast from house to house his tail got stuck ( it closely resemebled cotton balls). Hannah couldn't believe it and it is all she talked about all day. She was really concerned the bunny lost his tail and didn't know how he was going to get it back :)

Easter Bunny 2009

On Saturday night, Hannah went to visit the Easter Bunny. She was so excited about it, we were actually a little shocked thinking she might be scared of him. She wasn't.. she ran right up to him and said "Bunny with big ears, hop hop". She hugged the Easter bunny and gave him a high five. It was quite cute. We keep telling her the Easter bunny will be visiting her at Aunt Andrea's house, as we will be visiting there in Florida on vacation. Hannah thinks the Easter bunny brings eggs and presents. Can't wait to see what she thinks of Easter morning. All these holidays get more fun year after year!!

" I ride airpane" " I play with Papa's toys",and "I all done"

And above were Hannah's favorite sayings for her trip to Ohio. While we didn't go to under the best circumstances, we did enjoy our trip to see the Dice family. One Saturday we arrived after a pretty rough airplane ride. Hannah did great, Mom on the other hand didn't. Lots of turbulence made for a very sick passenger. Dad wasn't feeling to good either. While we were almost kissing the ground upon our arrival, Hannah said she loved the "roller coaster" ride.

Ever since our trip to Ohio over Halloween, all Hannah has talked about is going to "Papa's house" and playing with "Papa's toys". She was so excited when she arrived. And when nightime arrived, she started to realize it was a little scary to sleep in a different house and in a different bed. We tried to make her feel special about sleeping in Mommy's old bed, but she was a little nervous. She looked up at me and said "Mommy, I see Papa, I all done now, I go home". I explained it wasn't that easy as we were pretty far away. By the second night, she was perfectly happy in her bed, and slept soundly.

The next day were went to the Children's Museum with her cousins Jake and Lucas, and Aunt Nikki and Uncle Jeff. We had a lot of fun as Hannah warmed up to her cousins. In the evening we went to my favorite pizza place Marions. Hannah sat next to Lucas and couldn't help but to laugh at him eating his pizza. I have never seen anything like it. I think he went through half a large pizza 18 months old while half of it ended up in his hair. Hannnah is a bit of a clean freak,s so she didn't know what to think of it but to laugh. Lucas had a smile on his face the whole time. You just can't help but to smile back. After pizza we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house where the cousins had a great time playing with eachother. It was fun to watch.

And we tried really hard to get a picture with the Dice grandkids, but it is much easier said than done. Trying to get 3 little ones to look at the camera at the same time is not an easy task.. but here they are.

We had a great time. On Monday Grandpa, Dad and Hannah went to the zoo while Mom and Grandma did a little shopping. Then we went to Aunt Nikki and Uncle Jeff's to play with the Jake and Lucas again, it was a busy time, but so much fun.

And finally on Tuesday, we celebrated the life of Hannah's Great Grandma Dice. She is already missed and we are so lucky to have had her in our lives. I only wish that Hannah was able to know her, as I can only hope that Hannah has some of the traits of her Great Grandma. Her great grandma taught me a lot in my own life about what true love and friendship mean, and most importantly to live each day to the fullest with a positive attitude. I hope I can teach Hannah these very traits as she grows into her own person.

To Hannah's Great Grandma Dice,

We love you, you will always be in our everlasting thoughts, and bring a smile to our faces each day with joyful and funny memories that will last a life time, memories that I am so lucky to have shared with you. May you now be at peace, and enjoy the next stage of your life with Grandpa forever by your side. We love you, we miss you and we thank you for being you.