The Family Vacation

We just returned from our first family vacation. The first one since Lily was born, that is.

We had an absolute blast!

Of course, it didn't start that way. Ann Catherine had a terrible cough on the way down and felt pretty crummy. Then, we got stuck in a bad traffic jam on I-65 and sat still for almost an hour. When you are in the car with two children stuck in car seats, that's pretty miserable.

Then, an hour before we got there, Lily got a fever. She ran that fever for 36 hours. She felt so bad! I was thisclose to taking her to the doctor when the fever finally broke Thursday morning. But once it did, she started feeling better.

Once we got all the sickness behind us, we had an awesome time! Lily and Ann Catherine both LOVED the water. Ann Catherine just wanted to jump off the side of the pool into Chris' arms. If she jumped once, I bet she jumped a hundred times. Lily, on the other hand, loved floating. In fact, as soon as her feet hit the water, they did that Fred Flintstone thing, where they went into motion.

One of the highlights of the vacation was a trip to the amusement park. We went to one that had rides specifically for little kids, like Ann Catherine. She was beside herself. She rode with her cousins Will & Ally. They rode the ferris wheel (which was caged in so they couldn't fall out), a train, swings, carousel and a tilt o'whirl type of ride. She had so much fun! In fact, one of the pictures posted above is of her on that ride. You can tell from the smile on her face that she was having a blast.

This was truly the best trip I've ever been on - and I've been on a lot of them. Chris and I had so much fun with the girls and enjoyed getting away with them. And since my parents were also there, they would sit in the room while the girls napped so Chris and I could also relax at the pool. It was a great trip.

One evening the four of us went for a walk on the beach. Chris was holding Ann Catherine and I was holding Lily. At that moment, I closed my eyes and tried to breathe it all in. I wanted to take a mental snapshot and remember that picture forever. I know there will be a time soon that we won't be able to hold them as we walk on the beach. In fact, they'll probably walk a few feet behind us so people don't think they are with their parents :) I want to enjoy these moments as they come.