Why do vacations go so quickly?

This summer we were hoping to make it to Utah, sadly with Christian's job prospects at the time being zero, we could not rationalize purchasing the cost of three plane tickets.  We decided that instead we would rent a cottage on Cape Cod for a week which was a little more than the cost of 1 plane ticket.  We planned to have a nice little family of three outing, but three weeks ago, my mom decided she and my dad wanted to join us for her 50th Birthday present.  

We were super excited to get to see some more family this summer!  We rented an adorable cottage in Dennisport just 3/10 of a mile from the beach.  The ocean temperature was so awesome this year; it was warm and lovely to swim in.  We had such a nice visit with my parents and a great time exploring the Cape. 

Grandma and Grandpa watched Berkeley while we had a nice date; we rode a nice 26 miles on our bikes.  We stopped at Seymour Pond on our bike back and had a nice swim to cool us off.  I love biking but don't feel like I get to do it enough, which is probably why I am no good at it.  I just prefer running or swimming more. 

This was the first time both of my parents swam in the ocean.  It was fun to plan around in the ocean with them and share their experience.

Every day that we visited the beach, Berkeley made Grandpa or Dad dig him a hole.  Once he was in his hole he would ask everyone to go get water from the ocean and fill up the hole.  This process was relentless.

Christian and my Dad went on a deep sea fishing excursion; they brought home some yummy black sea bass which we grilled that night.  My dad even caught this cute little shark, but let him go.

Dad and Berkeley had fun flying the CARS 2 kite on the beach

Berke finally overcame his fear of the waves and came out into the ocean with me.

We went out for ice cream one night; it ended up being by a putt putt coarse (not uncommon for the Cape), so we decided to play 18 holes.  I won!!  Berke was a crazy man experiencing a sugar high from his ice cream, and we all had a fun time.

Berke's last hole at Skaket Beach; there was already water inside so that was a super BONUS!

Berkeley was so tired from the sun and running around at the beach that he sat in my arms and was asleep in 5 seconds, snoring and everything.

One of my favorite Cape towns is Chatham.  We had fun seeing the lighthouse there, shopping and having a delicious lunch.

We also took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard for the day.  

The Edgartown lighthouse is one of my favorite spots. 

This was the adorable cottage we stayed in.  It was wonderful to get up and run along the ocean front most mornings, something I could seriously get used to!!

We also went whale watching! Whales are so big, beautiful and graceful.

Our cute little family; love these boys so much!

On our way home, we stopped in Plymouth to see the Mayflower II and the famous rock.

Berkeley absolutely adored his grandma and grandpa; he was thrilled to get so much extra attention and love.  He was very sad to see them go:(

I was so happy that my parents got to share this experience with us.  It was wonderful to have a week off of work and be surrounded by family and nature.

Weekend Get Away

The key to my happiness is get aways. Sometimes when life gets too stressful I just have to get out of my environment and have some fun. This weekend I got some much needed R and R, not to mention some quality time with two of my favorite little guys.

Friday afternoon we drove a short 1.5 hours to Tilton, New Hampshire which is in the Great Lake's Region. We stayed at a lovely hotel on Lake Winnisaquam. The hotel was an adorable place with old school arcade games, ping pong, a pool table, a swimming pool, exercise room, and a sauna. It also had a restaurant connected to it, and for staying the hotel they gave us 2 free meals each night. We really didn't have to leave the hotel if we didn't want to, it was a lot of fun.

All three of us were hooked on the arcade games. I love me a good pinball machine.

As you can see Berke man was pretty much in love.

We had lots of fun swimming with our friend, Mr. Turtle. Saturday we woke up to a fresh coat of snow, so we decided a dip in the heated pool was better than going outside.

Berke enjoyed playing with Mr. Turtle all weekend especially while watching the Disney Chanel each morning. Oh the joys of hotel cable tv!

Berke really wanted to participate in the ping pong game.....but his reflexes were a bit tooooooo slow. He was a great ball chaser however.

The outlet malls were just down the street; lets face it retail therapy is my families best friend. So we had a nice dose of therapy and everyone walked away happy as a clam. I just love outlet shopping, I can find the best deals!

Sunday we took a nice drive around the area, and saw the beauty of Lake Winnipesaukee.

The whole area looks like it is hoppin' in the summer but is sadly quite dead in the winter.

I feel refreshed and renewed; I am ready to conquer another week of work, kid, workout, errands, etc.

It was wonderful to spend time with my family whom I love so much.

Happiest Place on Earth? I think YES!

We started planning our trip to Disney World in Florida about 9 months ago. I have wanted to go since we moved here and we finally decided it was time to go. We started saving Christian's piano student money and put it into our Disney World fund. We told Berkeley we were going to Mickey Mouse's House for months and he has been asking about it constantly!
We had been to Disney Land with the Gentry clan close to Christmas a few years ago and I decided that was the time to go because it is double the magic (not to mention in Florida the weather is in the 70's in December)!

After what seemed like waiting FOREVER, the morning finally came. Our flight left at 7 a.m. so we woke little Berke up at 5:00 a.m. I told him it was time to get up and asked him if he knew where we were going? In his tired little state, he got a huge smile on his face and whispered, Mickey Mouse House! I told him I had a surprise for him and showed him a new Minnie Mouse doll (something he has been asking for for at least 5 months). He looked at it, grabbed it and hugged it; quickly he grabbed Mickey and was the happiest lad of all time. He wouldn't let these two mice down and we ended up taking them all the way to Florida with us.
Here is the early morning shot.
(Seriously one of the cutest moments)

Our flight touched down at 10:30 a.m. and we headed straight to Disney World. We decided to go to the Animal Kingdom. There was saw a great Lion King Show, The Finding Nemo Musical (Berke is officially now OBSESSED with Finding Nemo), went on a Safari and saw lots of cool animals. We even ran into Mickey, Goofy and Pluto. Berke was excited but apprehensive of his bigger than life sized friends. After the first day he was giving hugs to all his friends and SO happy to see them all. He couldn't stop talking about all the characters he met (and still can't), it is pretty stinking cute.

The next day we got dressed in our Target (much cheaper) Mickey gear and headed to Cape May Cafe to have breakfast with Minnie, Goofy and Donald.

Berkeley enjoyed his Mickey Mouse waffles while watching the characters and waiting for them to get him. I am pretty sure this smile says it all. This kid was in HEAVEN!

His favorite gal pal Minnie. He would have taken his Minnie doll everywhere with him if I would have let him.

Donald!
Berke ran and gave him a hug which was a huge step for this shy little monkey.

After Breakfast we wen to the Magic Kingdom! We started off in Fantasy Land where Berke enjoyed the classic Dumbo ride, Peter Pan flight, spinning tea cups and he loved It's a Small World with all the music and dancing.

His favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride. We had to go on that one twice.
Meeting Mickey and Minnie was a huge highlight. We went into their private studio and had some nice time with them. Berke gave them both hugs and was happy to finally be at Mickey's house. He didn't quite comprehend that Disney World was Mickey's house, her literally was looking for his clubhouse I think. I was able to talk him into this room being part of his house so he finally felt we had been to Mickey's house. Kids are so literal!

We had a great time watching the parades, meeting more friends and dancing along to the shows. We met up with a friend from Brandies who was gracious enough to let Christian and I go on a few "big kid" rides while she watched Berke as he napped.

We attended the very Mickey Christmas Party where they lit up the beautiful castle! There was an amazing parade, hot chocolate, cookies, we attended a dance party with Goofy and Pluto, and enjoyed some snow on a 70 degree night.

The next day we went to Epcot. Berke was just waking up from a nap as we arrived as you can see.
This was a cool place, but my least favorite of the parks to attend with a small child. It had a great Nemo ride that Berke loved, but it was designed more for the older crowd if you ask me.

We did manage to find Daisy at the park.
Afterwards I told Berke we had met everyone; Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy! Berke then said, but what about Chip and Dale. This kid doesn't forget anyone!

Wouldn't you know who was just around the corner right after he said that! These two chipmunks are the most adorable characters! They are so good with the kids. Berke was super excited to see them. He was so formal in his pictures, he cracks me up.

If I had a $1 for every time someone told me my kid looked like the kid in Jerry McGuire during this trip I would have at least $100 bucks.

Next day: Hollywood Studios
Such a cool place, but the crowd was CRAZY!! Until that day the crowds were very manageable and we never waited more than 10 minutes for any ride. Until Sunday at Hollywood Studios; apparently the kids were out of school and everyone had arrived for the holiday week. It was NUTS! We did manage to meet some great Pixar and Disney Jr. Characters but didn't wait for any rides that had a wait time of 120 minutes.
Berke did enjoy a fun show of Disney Jr. Playhouse. He even got pictures with Handy Manny and Jake the Pirate. He loved these two, even though the only time he watches Disney Jr. is when we are on vacation (the hotel or my parents have cable).

Lightning McQueen and Mater

We had such a fun vacation! Each day was long and full of fun. Seeing my little boy so happy and enjoying every minute made it all worth it. Twice during our time at Magic Kingdom he just randomly grabbed my face and said, "I love you Mommy!" and then kissed me.
I love this little boy so much!

I can see why they call this place the Happiest Place on Earth; Berke's face told that story oh too well.

Summer time Fun in the Sun

We love the summer time in Mass because there is so much to do. We have been busy having fun since our return from out West.
We had fun at the Franklin Park Zoo with the Edwards Family. I didn't get any great pictures of Ian and Berkeley, but this one will do.

We ventured to Nahant Beach with my friend Diana from work. It was a very private and beautiful beach. The water was warm and the sand was perfect.
Berkeley LOVES the Beach! He loves to play in the sand, he loves to throw rocks into the water, he loves to have the waves hit him. He has been knocked over twice this summer by ocean waves and been completely submerged by water. This has no scared him or made him cry at all; he gets up and says, "Watch out for the Ocean."

We also ventured to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire with Nikki, Eloise and Bonnie. Berke could have stayed in the water all day long.

Berke put his dad's hat on and said, "I'm a cowboy, YeeHaw!"
I love the cute things he is always saying.

This past weekend we went camping in the Berkshires with our friends the Palmers. Their little boy Quentin, aka "Q" is one of Berkeley's bestest friends.

The boys had fun at Lenox Lake. Berke sat in there and played for a couple of hours, he was a little too brave and would have walked to his death in the lake if he was unsupervised. Next time I need to bring some floaties or a life jacket for this kid. For a kid who is cautious about everything, he has lost any fear of water he ever had.

Best Buddies! These two had fun getting dirty, going on walks, playing in the lake, finding rocks and sticks and laughing together.

The entire crew. Keep in mind this is after a weekend of camping and nobody looks great after camping even a day!
Poor Christian was seriously attacked by mosquitoes this year, he left with a grand total of 72 huge red bites! Yikes.

Never a dull moment in the summer.
We try to take advantage of the great place we live. After all, we put up with the crappy winters, so there has to be some sort of reward, right?