Summer Fun!

It may seem that we've had all of the summer fun that we can handle here with our big trip and all, but we're just getting started!!  We have tons of plans this summer for when we're actually in this country.

To recap a bit: our Spain trip was amazing!!  We saw a lot of the country that I hadn't seen before, and lived with a great host family (I will not be posting their pics, as I did not ask permission).  We started in Barcelona, where we spent 3 days.

Chasing pigeons in a plaza in Barcelona

Then we moved on to Valladolid to stay with our host family.  While we were there, we took a few day trips.  We went to a city called Ávila which is a walled in city that is about 1500 years old.  We went to a city called Segovia with a 2000 year old Roman aqueduct, and we also were able to visit Santander, a beach town on the northern coast.

Skyping with M from our homestay

Our remaining summer plans are quite as exotic, but at least we'll be able to do (most) of them as a family.  Well, after I get back from Panama on the 15th that is.  I am taking a group of students to Panama for 9 days where we'll stay with Panamanian families to learn more about the language and culture there.  We will also be doing some work in a Panamanian orphanage as a service learning project.  We leave on Saturday, and as much as I'm looking forward to the trip, I'm also looking forward to coming home to stay for a while.  ;)

M is on vacation for a week and Evie's birthday is coming up!!  We plan to take her to Bay Beach amusement park in Green Bay during that week.  I went there a ton when I was a kid, and I can't wait to take Evie too!  I have such great memories of it, and it's so exciting to pass that on to her.

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It's going to be a busy summer, but I'm looking forward to spending some time just the three of us before the new baby is born.  Next summer will be a whole new adventure!!

This post was written for Toddle Along Tuesday, sponsored by Growing Up Geeky.  This week's topic is Summer Fun.  

Link up and join the fun!!

Weekend in the Dells

  Sorry for the bad qualilty...Evie and I are the ones going down the slide!!

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have a free weekend getaway in Wisconsin Dells!!  M's department reached a sales goal for the end of 2011, so, as an incentive, his company put us up at a HUMONGOUS indoor water/theme park for Friday and Saturday night.  They also bought dinner both nights and we had free waterpark passes for Saturday and Sunday. 

I was very angry with myself because I thought that I had forgotten the camera.  Then, on the way home on Sunday, I found the camera in the console of my car.  AARRRRGGGHH!!  M was able to get a few pictures and videos on his phone (hence the crappy quality), so at least we have this.

Evie LOVED the water!!!  The resort had a great play area for little kids with plenty of tame waterslides and fun water squirt-y things to play with.  It was so much fun to see Evie enjoying herself.  She always says "wheeee" when she goes down a slide, but she was so excited that she just walked around the kiddie pool repeating, "Wheeee....wheee....wheee..."  It was so cute!  :)

Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to go back to the Dells sometime soon!

Weekend Getaway!

M's company won a sales incentive, and as a result, our whole family gets to spend the weekend at a resort in Wisconsin Dells!!  It's one of those awesome ones with an indoor water park and the whole works.  Evie loved swimming in her tiny whale pool last summer, and I can't wait to see what she thinks of this. 

Fun with the whale pool!

We're leaving this afternoon after work.  The only downside is the huge snowstorm that is also supposed to hit us this afternoon.  Oh well, the Dells are only an hour away...and let's be honest, I'll drive through pretty much anything to get a free weekend away!!! 

Hopefully I'll have lots of wonderful pictures to share next week!!

Back to Reality

Our Vegas vacation was a blast!!  It was definitely some well-deserved rest and relaxation for M; he works so hard.  In his industry (beer distribution), a lot of the time that other people have off, especially holidays, are his busiest times.  Summer is non-stop for him, so it was good that he was able to take a break. We tried to live it up as much as we could.  We didn't lose too much money, and we had a lot of fun catching up with old friends. 

You can take the girls away from Wisconsin, but you can't take the cheap Wisconsin beer away from the girls!

We left Monday evening, and we got back to Wisconsin late last night.  Evie stayed with my in-laws (about an hour and a half from our house), so we stayed there last night so that we could be with her.  I missed her terribly.  I wanted my MIL to call me when she went to bed each night so that I could go out believing that she was soundly asleep and there were no problems.  Other than that, I told my MIL that I wasn't going to call so that I would just enjoy myself, and not worry about Evie.  That lasted about 12 hours....4 of which were on a plane. 

Of course, she did fine.  She had a hard time napping, but she slept through the night all 3 nights that we were gone.  That makes 5 nights in a row, a personal record for her!  I was really surprised at how many kids we saw in Vegas, especially how many were out VERY late...2 in the morning, or later. 

Today was back to reality.  Vacation is great, but the aftermath is always awful.  General Sin City recovery (requiring lots of sleep, water, and ibuprofen), unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and trying to get Evie off her no-nap schedule have all made today pretty hectic.  Plus, we're preparing for a big birthday party on Sunday!!  I love traveling, but it sure does feel good to be home!

Vegas, Baby!!

Next month M and I will celebrate 10 years together.  I can't believe that it's been that long!!!  We've been married for almost 6 of those years...  And to think, when we met, I was only 19 and he was only 21....  It's crazy to me now how young we were.

To celebrate, we are heading to Las Vegas for a few days!  We are going with two other couples who are really good friends from college.  The two husbands were actually M's roommates when I met him.  Both of those couples have been together as long as we have, so we all kind of "grew up" in our 20s together.  We all also have kids under the age of 3, so it will be a nice chance for all of us to get away and let loose!

Evie is staying with my in-laws while we are gone, and I know she'll be fine.  I'm dreading leaving her, but I know that Grandma has all sorts of things planned.  They also live in the same town as M's brother, who has 3 kids.  Evie will probably get to spend quite a bit of time with her cousins, which will be good too.  (These are the things I've been telling myself so that I feel less bad/guilty about leaving for three days.)

So, if you stop by between now and Friday, I won't be here.  You can just picture me laying by the pool with a cold beverage nearby!!