Spring Break '14

This year we decided to mock Mother Nature for her cold, nasty winter by heading south for spring break. I feel so fortunate for this getaway and time with family! It was a really fun, vitamin D filled time!

Up, Up and Away!

So two days before taking off, Gabe developed a pretty nasty ear infection. I was more than a little nervous to fly with him anyways...let alone with an ear infection.

But like most things, Gabe just rolled with it. He watched some dinosaur train, ate some snacks, and slept both directions. I'm not sure how I lucked out with such a laid back little man!
 

We spent our week at a Disney Resort in Vero Beach. Florida. It was awesome to be at a family friendly place where Gabe could be his goofy self. He literally wore holes in his shoes walking around!
 

It turned out to be a beautiful week. Highs in the 70's and 80's and mostly sunny! We spent most of our days taking in the sun and relaxing...as well as keeping up with G-man.

I promise Gabe was closely monitored whenever he was by the ocean! The tricky camera lady just cut them out :)

 

  

 

Sun and water can sure tucker out a little boy. Gabe got in some hefty naps during the week, one which started on mama's back in the pool ;)

 

Sunrise at the beach was absolutely beautiful. Grandma and Gabe headed down almost every morning to soak it all up!

 

Mama joined a few mornings....

 

Gabe was not so sure about the sand at first, but eventually he figured it out. And only tried to eat it a few times. ha.

It was so fun to watch Gabe explore, playing in the sand, laughing as the ocean water touched his toes, climbing over Grandpa, counting shells with Great Grandma. Lots of great memories!

 

Evan, Noah, and I slipped away one day and headed to Universal Studios in Orlando. Ohmygoodness are some of the places cool! Harry Potter land was absolutely amazing, especially Hogwarts. We splurged and bought the express pass and made it to almost every location and ride. Totally worth it!

 

 

Meanwhile at the beach...

 

It was such a great trip!
 

 

 

A little craftiness.

Winter has officially lasted too long. I have gone a little stir crazy. I have spent too much time in the house staring at my walls and pinning away all sort of crafty ideas on Pinterest.

 

Well, the other day I had had enough. And decided I could not take another moment stifling my creativity away in a corner of my brain, so I went on a crafting rampage...then ran out of coffee and decided many of the projects could wait. ha.

 

But in my coffee filled craze, I did get a few projects completed. First was my simple, Live Simply sign. I felt like we needed this little mantra somewhere in our house. To focus on what is important. I want to create another sign that say Be Grateful to pair with it, but that got saved for another day :)

 

 

This little project was done with stuff laying around my house. I had some thin sheets of craft wood from another project that I cut down to match in size. I painted them white, so the letters would stand out. Then I went to my trusty Silhouette and created my vinyl letters, stuck them in place, and gave the whole board a brown paint job. When I peeled off the letters, it was a nice crisp line! A little sanding and they looked perfect! I need to redo the items around the signs, but thats for another day :)

 

 

I also completed my EAT project for my kitchen. I was inspired by a post on Pinterest that had used reclaimed boards to create the letters. The inspiration was a little more complex woodworking than I really wanted to take on, but I knew I could come up with a way to incorporate the idea in my space. 

 

 

I had a whole pack of lath boards that I had bought super cheap that I wanted to somehow use to create my sign. Then it hit me. Cardboard and hot glue. I simply cut my letters out of cardboard, then using a jig saw, cut pieces of lath and glued them in place. The lath hangs over the cardboard just enough that it is hidden, and it really turned out to be very sturdy.

 

Paint was another project all in its own. I started with a very bright yellow, that quickly turned orange :( So we repainted it white. Which just wasn't right. So a little sanding and layering and we got to the perfect level of distressed I wanted.

 

Now I'm happy and content to sit and stare at my walls for a few more weeks :)

Gabe's Favorite Things

Well, this week was interesting.

Crappy weather, conferences, and the stomach flu.

I can quite confidently say those are NOT my favorite things...

I spent the last two days at home on the mend, and am finally feeling like myself.

Its really hard to be home and not be able to actually accomplish anything. Anything other than sanitizing any surface that your toddler might touch...which is basically everything.

Anyways, we are on the mend around here, and this morning I caught Gabe with some of his favorite things...

He learned a long time ago how to pull his basket of cups and plates off the shelf, but more recently learned how to get the big bowls and strainer out...

He's pretty proud of himself to say the least.