Day One: Leaving for Vacation

Today was the big day! We were all packed and ready to do, and Mommy was waiting in anticipation to see how Olivia would do on her first plane ride! We left the house about 8:30 in the morning and headed to the Bloomington airport. Even though Derrick and Angie were flying too, they left out of Peoria so we weren't on the same flight. No comments on that, other than we let the boys take care of the travel arrangements. So, we made it through security and after playing on the escalators for several trips, Olivia was thirsty. So, Daddy went to get some drinks. Lemonade for Olivia which ended up all over Mommy. I was kneeling in front of her just having a normal conversation, and she and Daddy somehow ended up fighting over the drink which then proceeded to spray all over me! It was awful, and I won't even share my frustration other than saying I was soaked and Shane couldn't stop laughing! The day couldn't have started out worse for me and better for Shane! Looking back, it was a little funny, but at the time I was not a happy camper!

Once we finally boarded the plane, Olivia was getting so tired and we tried to keep her awake in order to see out the window once we were up in there air, but she couldn't make it. As soon as we picked up speed going down the runway, she was out! She slept nearly the whole way which ended up being a good thing, cause I was worried it would be the opposite and she would scream the entire time. But, she did fantastic! She woke up with about a half hour left, so we put in a movie for her. She loved that, and thought she was pretty special!

We did have a three hour layover in Atlanta, which was the worst part. We did what we could to keep her occupied for that length of time, but there is only so much to do in an airport. She did fine and once we got back on the second plane, she was awake the entire time and did great again. She was not scared at all, and it didn't seem to bother her at all. Whew...Mommy was worried for nothing!

Once we arrived in Florida, we took a shuttle to the rental car place and rented a PT Cruiser. We had about a 45 minute drive to the condo into Alabama and we finally arrived at about 10:00 that evening. We put Olivia to bed right away and took a few moments to check the place out. Mommy and Angie took a trip to Walmart to stock up since they had just arrived earlier that evening as well. The Luczkowiak family had arrived in the afternoon and actually drove down, so they were pretty settled when the rest of us arrived, and were definitely tired from the long trip. In fact, we were all pretty exhausted so didn't make it a late night! At Walmart, we bought Olivia a little princess air mattress bed for the week, which ended up being great. However, the first night, she and Mommy slept in the bed and Daddy was on the couch. For those that have not had the opportunity to sleep in the same bed as a two year old, I wouldn't recommend it...she is not a good sleeping partner! All in all, it was a great day and we couldn't wait to start the vacation!!! The pictures for the first day are listed below (3).

Olivia's big day...her first time flying!

She loved watching the planes come down the runway, and it really didn't scare her at all that they were so big. So, we continued to say how much fun it would be when we went up in the air!!

More planes Daddy!

Tyring to keep her occupied with a few movies...she loved this thing too! Of course, she had to have it on her lap the whole time!

No big deal Mom, I have my magazine and I'm all set!!

Such a big girl...she did so wonderful for her first flight! We will definitely not be driving long distances any more!! :-)

The View

I won't bore you with the details of the inside of the condo, but I will share our view from the back patio!

We reserved a condo on the first floor, so we could simply walk out from the door to the pool...this is the only way to go if you get a condo!!

The Pools!

The Beach!

It was absolutely beautiful every single day we were there! And, even though we spent more time in the pool than the ocean, it was still wonderful to have right outside our door!

It's been a long day....

Olivia and Daddy were relaxing prior to bedtime!

Cookout with the family

The Cline Family

What a big girl on her bicycle!

Taking a walk...trying to keep ourselves awake!

Daddy and Aunt Jenny

Izzy Mae

Lovin's for Izzy!

Grandma was teaching her a few things at the piano!

Miss Izzy Mae!

Olivia loves her Uncle Don...even if it did take him a while to be able to hold her. He always used to say she had to be able to wipe her own butt! :-)

We went to Pam and Dave's for a cookout this afternoon and Miss Olivia couldn't get enough of Izzy...she gave her all kinds of love and kisses!!! It certainly makes me think she will do great with a little brother or sister!? :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Today Shane and I celebrated our Four Year Anniversary! We dropped Olivia off at Grandma's and went to lunch, movie and did some shopping! It was so nice to have some time to spend alone and just enjoy the day...even if it was in a quiet movie theater...you know, so we didn't have to talk to each other! You know that was Shane's plan. Regardless, we still had a great day and as much as we love Olivia, it was nice to be kid free even for just a few hours. Of course, reality hit and we were back home with the sweet face of Olivia above!!! :-)

Silly Olivia!

Nice cup trick sister!

Silly Olivia!

She was making this face at Grandpa and trying not to laugh! She made it about 2 seconds total!

Such a sad face...doesn't it look like no one is feeding her and she is begging for food!

We went to Gma and Gpa's for dinner tonight and Olivia was in a particularly weird mood...not that she isn't most days!

Fun for us, or fun for Daddy?

My turn to drive Daddy!

Mommy and Olivia...the best darn caddy and driver you could ask for!

She got a very important call and had to take it and leave Daddy to putt himself!

I'm not sure, but I think they were looking for a lost ball!? :-)

So, Daddy had a great idea tonight...something the whole family can do and have so much fun together! "Wouldn't Olivia just love to ride around on a golf cart all night? She will have a lot of fun doing that, don't you think?" Needless to say, he though it would be fun for us to drive him around while he plays nine holes! Weeee...fun for us! Actually, it didn't turn out too bad. He was right in that Olivia had a ball...as long as she was the one driving! She did really good and basically stayed in the cart most of the time, except of course when she was helping Daddy with his putting. She did seem to cheer him on and was the best cheerleader on the course!!

The mind of a two year old...

Typically when I pick Olivia up from work, she doesn't seem to have the patience to stop at the stop signs. She constantly tells me, "Go Mommy Go" anytime we pull up to the stop sign. So, I always have to remind her that we have to wait for the other cars to pass and then I ask her to tell me when it is time to go. Well, on this particular day, she says, "Go Mommy Go" and I respond back with a, "Hold your horses dear." To which my sweet Olivia replies, "Mommy, I don't have any horses!" Don't you just love the way they think at the age of two!? :-)

Frisbee Golf

Rock and roll time!!

The first hole and already she looks tired! This isn't a good sign!

Here we go..into the woods!

Catching a quick lift from Daddy...we did see this view quite a bit cause she was "so tired!"

Taking another break on the tree stump...even Mommy had to rest cause Olivia is not as small (and light) as she used to be!

So, for as long as we have lived in Eureka, we never knew there was a really cool frisbee golf course in the park. So, we decided to check it out tonight, and we are sure glad we did! Miss Olivia loved it and enjoyed the adventure through the woods. There were trees and flowers everyone, bridges to cross, and hills to climb. Olivia was in heaven, until of course she needed to be carried about halfway through the course. That was just about the time Daddy threw his frisbee into a tree, so had to play with Mommy's! :-) It was then Mommy's job to keep an eye on Olivia and help her through the obstacle courses! Daddy did great though, and just as he is with everything else he plays, it was as if he had been playing on a regular basis. He picks things up so easily, and he really had a great time too!! It was nice to get outside and get some exercise too!!

Eureka Garage Sale!

The day ended with tractor rides around the yard and down the street!

Lunch at the picnic table, and of course, Kaleigh was guarding the money box. She did a great job handling the money all day!


Taking a break to read a few good books!

Taking another break to enjoy a cool drink!

Can't you just hear Olivia saying, "give me a break, Mom" in this picture!

Aunt Shell and Mommy had a crazy thought...let's have a garage sale! Although, it wasn't so crazy after all because we made $550.00!! The town of Eureka was having their annual sale, so we knew there were about 70+ sales around town. We had a lot of baby stuff too, so we knew that would go over pretty well...and it did! Aunt Shell sold all of her big baby stuff, and we got rid of a lot of clothes! However, I did manage to stash quite a bit of both girl and boy clothes, just in case! :-) I haven't made Daddy aware of that fact just yet, but it's better to plan ahead, right?? So, the kids had a ball playing outside all day long (as you can see from the picture, Olivia managed to find a few of the toys to play with). Even the neighbor kids that came to the sale with their parents, made their way to all the toys. So, it kept the occupied while their parents went shopping! And, Michaela was able to come and play for a while too! We had lunch outside on Olivia's picnic table, so it ended up being a pretty successful day!!

Home with Mommy..

Mommy worked from home today, so was able to spend the day with Olivia. She was busy playing grocery store apparently, and thought Mommy would want to buy some "Olivia!"

Play Day!

Sweet girsl taking turns with the backyard toys! They are certainly used to having to share toys all day! :-)

Sidewalk Chalk!!!

Well, I had promised Michaela that she could come over to play with Olivia and today seemed to be a great day for it. So, even more than playing in the backyard by herself, Olivia loves it even more when she has a friend! They played outside and in Olivia's room for a few hours and it was really nice to have her over. It's so sweet cause the second I mention it to her, she apparently asks Mom (Kathy) every day until she can finally come over. I think we need to do it more often! :-)

I love summer time!

She loves her sandbox, and although it is a little small, it seems to be perfect for her!

Thanks for the ride Daddy!

Cheese Mommy!

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, but Olivia absolutely loves to be outside! She cannot get enough and in particular, she loves when Daddy will pull her around on the tractor!!