Week 33

Monday, Aug. 12th

BEACH DAY on the Cape.  Nathanael had gone back home with Bob and Jules the night before, so it was just the 3 littles for the balance of our vacation.

Tuesday, Aug. 13th
Six year memories popped up on Facebook.  I'm so thankful we did that cross-country trip.

It was a rainy day on the Cape, which was really nice.  We stayed in and played games and watched to much t.v.  I spent some time in the kitchen preparing for the next day.  I also ordered Nathanael's school books and had this funny interaction with him.  

Wednesday, Aug. 14th
Nick and Katie, their boys, and Katie's mom all came down to spend the day.  Jon, Annie, and their girls were also staying on the Cape for the week, so we planned a family day.

Nathanael went to his first Yankees game with Derrick and Justin.

Thursday, Aug. 15th
We spent the morning packing up.  Since we'd traded Renna for Gabby and Gianna for the last night, I had to pack up Renna's room.  That girl had brought the most random crap and completely moved in!  I found things in every drawer.

Once loaded, we hit the beach for one more afternoon before heading home.

Renna had fun with Sienna and even tried Oysters!

Friday, Aug. 16th
The only pictures from the day were more memories on FB.  This was our Death Valley day and I just ADORE this picture of Renna!

Sunday, Aug. 18th

C4 road-tripped with the Wiles to Virginia for the week.

Week 32

Sunday, August 4th

We were soooo thrilled to get some time with the Orlando DiSalvatores.  Uncle Tony (C2's brother) and Cheryl have been an inspiration to me since early in our marriage.  I looked to Cheryl as a superstar mom with 5 kids who did it all and I aspired to be like her.  Their kids were always fun cousins to C3 growing up.  The sad regret is that we just don't do more life with them.  So thankfully, we were able to see everyone (except for Lindsay's family) on Sunday.  We started at Matt and Rachel's new home.

Then we moved on to Tony and Amber's home for dinner.

Lots and lots and lots of laughing.

We finally settled over at Tony and Cheryl's around 10p.  Cheryl was the most amazing hostess.  They had the AC going in their 30 foot trailer- the boys' guest quarters.  The 3 girls had their own room; she'd even left a stuffed animal on Renna's pillow.  At 10pm, she was flipping blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes so we could have a quick, grab-n-go breakfast the next morning.

Monday, August 5th

Our big Disney Day!!!!  Dun-dun-duhhhhh!!!  We were very excited and arguably unprepared.  My Disney veteran friend Amanda had given me all the tips.  I'd casually viewed a couple of youtube videos, but ultimately, we went into the day sort of winging it.  Anticipation was HIGH.

Love this picture from Splash Mountain.  All of us.

A nice, warm welcome back to the house.

My Disney commentary:

We had an aMaZiNg day and feel so incredibly grateful to have done it with the whole family.  Truly, it was a dream come true.  A bucket list checkmark.  ...but honestly...we didn't "get it."  We didn't get the cultish following or why people go repeatedly.  Stripped down to it's bareness, it was a very dated park, with ridiculous crowds, an outrageous price tag, with sub-par rides.  We didn't see a single character.  We were not wowed by the grounds.  I will say, we were impressed with the staff and the light and fireworks show made the entire day worth it.  That was truly magical.  Otherwise, we were like, "you can go 30 minutes up to Six Flags, for a third of the price ticket, wait in 20 minute lines, for some of the best rides in the nation."  But as I said, an amazing day there as a family.  And as far as our winging it?  I think we ended up nailing it.  The app that told us waiting times at rides was key!  (Thank you, Amanda!)  A few passing t-storms worked to our advantage as well as a 'closed' ride that reopened.  A few of the rides that others waited 2.5 hours for, we jumped on in 15 minutes.

So then we got back to the house and pulled a family meeting.  What did everyone want to do?  Do you want another Disney Day for Animal Kingdom???  In the end, I was so proud of my kiddos.  They were content with the day that we'd had.  No one needed "more", no one wanted another day of lines.  We decided to donate what a second day would cost and instead get more family time with cousins we rarely see.  Made my heart very happy. 100% agreement.  

So....

Tuesday, Aug. 6th

While everyone was at work, we went to Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Later, we were able to go to a beautiful dinner spot on a lake with T and C and half their crew.  Such a lovely night.

Wednesday, August 7th
Colombo scooted over to Uncle Tony's business.  Almost the whole family works there and the boys' who are slowly acquiring it, are taking it to the next level.  Really cool stuff!

...and then we left around noon to work our way back to the airport.

Thursday, August 8th
We landed and were home for about 14 hours before loading into the van headed for the Cape.  Sadly, C4, Kelly, and Maddy stayed back since they are adults and have jobs.

We wasted no time and started Part Two of our family vacation down at Bayside.

The ice cream "truck".

Friday, August 9th
We decided to rent a little ski boat to tool around in.  We rented it at Baxters, the sweetest little marina with all.the.nautical.charm.

The Kennedy Compound.

After dinner, we live-streamed cousins' VBS finale.  

Bob and Jules arrived Friday evening for our annual Cape weekend with them, even though the kids were around and it was in the middle of our time there.

Saturday, August 10th
Boat day on Uncle Dan's yacht.  We dropped anchor at Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard.

Sunday, August 11th
Renna woke up sick, so I stayed at the house with her.  The rest of the crew went to church, brunch, and back out on the boat.