Michigan Summer

We have been to Michigan now many times but never in the summer. Out friends who have a home in Leland that we stay at usually are there the whole summer but this year, they were having a baby and decided to stay in Ohio. SO we got to go and it was truly a treasured time. Michigan has proven to be eventful and beautiful no matter the time of year but since it stay colder than Ohio this was our first experience getting to swim in the lake and not be freezing. I’ve said t before and I’ll say it a again- Northern Michigan is where its at.

Spring Break 2021- Captiva Island, Florida

We moved back in with my parents at the end of the year last year after selling our home in Columbus. Ryan starts grad school in May and our income with be split in half. Also we have been warned the program he will be attending is very time demandind and I can count on him not being around often to help, so we also moved in hoping for some extra help with the kids. One of the best parts of moving “back home” was the girls started in a pre-school that is five days a week. They are picked up and dropped off by a school bus and its just all of our favorite adjustment since moving from the city. Since we now were following a school schedule, that meant we had a Spring Break to plan for. We decided to head to Captiva Island in Florida. I have been there years ago with my bestie and her family but really didn’t remember much about it other than the famous restaurant, The Bubble Room. The location is also not far from where my dad lives in Florida so we were also able to meet up with him and spend an afternoon together.

Captiva is honestly a dream. Its beautifully nestled on the gulf side of Florida. We booked an apartment/villa on Airbnb and it was by no means the prettiest place on the island but it served its purpose just fine. IT was a one bedroom- (where me and Ryan slept and set up a pack-n-play for Knox) and the living room couch was a pull out sofa (where the kids slept). We were in walking distance to a Starbucks, a public beach access and one of the many community pools. It just so happened we had friends who overlapped our stay by a couple days so we were able to hang out at the pools, do some photos at the beach and eat at the whimsical Bubble Room. It was the first vacation with all the kids that I thought to myself, “man, I could stay another day or two.” Usually we are all ready to get home and back to our normal routines, but this trip will forever be remembered as the one we could have stayed.

Boho Box with the Family

Last minute the Boho Box down in Hocking Hills had a cancellation and this is a big deal because its booked out for a year and half. I checked our calendars and quickly made the arrangements when I realized it worked out for our schedules. Ryan and myself stayed here back in February and had taken Knox with us, which was pretty easy to accommodate. This time we brought all the kids and wondered if we would regret it. There is one king size bed in the upstairs container and enough of a landing to set up a pack & play for the baby to sleep… the other option for sleeping is a sofa bed on the first floor hidden inside the banquet seating. We weren’t sure how the girls would do but honestly it was perfect. We all started out on the sofa bed winding down watching some TV, after enjoying the hot tub. The next morning everyone was up at their usual early time so I was able to take the twins outside to try and grab some sunrise photos of the boho container and let the girls play in the woods and try out the hammock right off the back porch.

Holden Beach, North Carolina | Extended Family Vaca 2020

Growing up we always went to Holden Beach every two years with all of my step dads family… like all the aunts, uncles and cousins. As we got older this phased out as the kids grew older. We went a long stretch of not going at all and picked the tradition back up two years ago, which you can see here. Two years ago the twins were 2 years old, we didn’t have a private pool and Knox wasn't even in our thoughts yet. This year, we were happy to have everyones growing families and a house with a pool. Holden Beach is a perfect family friendly private beach where you have rows of homes to rent and a few public access spots, but otherwise you really feel like you have rented your own oceanfront private beach area. Holden Beach is technically an island, so you go over a tall long bridge where you get that first glimpse of the sea and all the quaint colorful houses lined up to go stay and enjoy. This year we upgraded for a pool house and it was totally worth it. The house this year had a longer walk out to the beach, plus the kids and all their various nap schedules worked out really nicely being close to the house for all their needs. We arrived on the 4th of July, so we started the week watching fireworks going off all along the coastline and playing with sparklers and chasing waves in the sunset. The rest of the weeks highlights that I don’t ever want to loose include:

1. Hattie in love with jumping into the pool (first time going under with goggles she came back up and yelled “IM A FISH”

1. Hazel deciding she’d rather float around and not get her head wet

2. Knoxs loudest “witching” hour of baby chatter, when everyone is ready for bed

3. Playing the card game, Sevens…. everyday (thanks Daltyn)

4. Amelia & Daltyns fashionably late dinner but oh so worth it, fresh crab legs

5. “Volleying” high count- 105

6. Double rainbow

7. Amelias birthday- silly string attack gone wrong

8. Two story watermelon caught in the mouth- ESPN replay style

Holden Beach | North Carolina

I grew up going to Holden Beach in North Carolina with my family. We would go every other year and aunts, uncles, cousins and our grandma would all go. The last time I went was 10 years ago. So my mom inquired last winter about trying to go back to HB this summer. We found a house and made it happen. This was also the first time that Ryan and myself took a whole full week off for a vacation. As nurses we tend to try to work a couple shifts at the beginning of the week and take off for a "long weekend" somewhere. I was excited to go and start our own traditions as a family at the beach I grew up going to. Hattie and Hazel loved the beach. Hazel would sit in the shallows and let the waves hit her while Hattie took off exploring up and down the beach. Spending this much uninterrupted time was a nice break from the day to day hustle and I hope to make this a repeated trip in the years to come.