BACK TO REALITY...

...and a sick kiddo :-(

SO bummed Juliette spiked a fever!!  She had a really cool event at Macalester today, and swimming lessons and a playdate tomorrow that we'll be rescheduling. Welcome home...

sorry for the clip art...no actual sick kid pics!

I GOT $1,000 I GOT $1,000...

Our flight coming home was full, so I went up to the counter to offer our tickets (they hadn't even asked yet).  They used them!!  (not without some nail biting at the end- by Joey!).  We were supposed to leave at 12:45.  We got put on standby for the 2:15 flight and guaranteed for the 6:30 flight... I did call my mom first and check with her because originally we were going to be picking up the kids.  I also checked with my dad, because he was our ride!  We ALMOST made it on the 2:15 flight, so that was a bummer, but we sat in the airport for a few more hours and watch some shows on our tablets...all while the kids were being picked up, fed, and put to bed at our house.  It's kinda like we won twice!  PLUS, we each got a $500 credit for Delta.  Uh, yeah, I'll take it!!  I have always wanted to get bumped so this was pretty exciting for me :-)

So sing the blog title to this, just change the amount :-)

A GREAT TIME

We have never stayed at this particular resort before, but my cousin Noelle had.  She told me they had a cute bar there, so I told her I would be sure to find it!

found it!

It was a little 10 stool bar, super cozy.  The bartender, Ken, told us it was a really fun bar because the size kind of forces people to talk.  The first day we went there we were the only ones there but were shortly joined by a group of 3 people from...Minnesota.  Then another couple walked in...from Minnesota.  So at a 10 seat bar in a random resort in FL, sat 7 MN people :-)  The next day we were walking up to the bar, and I looked at Joey and said, "I went to high school with that guy."  He totally though I was joking; I was not!  It was a classmate who I had worked with on our reunion a few years back.  Pretty funny.

And Ken was right, everyone there was awesome.  Our second day there he was training in a new guy who was super nice, but I am pretty sure he will not make it as a bartender. He could however, sing opera and belted out a few verses!  There was a guy from Chicago, wearing his basketball jersey, giving us tips on buying more vacation club points.  There were some people from Jersey who were on their way out, but a hoot to talk to...it really was a fun bar to hang out and chat.  We will definitely be back!

Cheers! (without our drinks, but we are sitting at the bar!)

THE KIDS ARE FINE

The kids are WELL taken care of, and most likely having the time of their life at Amma and Papa's...they are also enjoying their nightly cards and gifts :-)

GOLF DAY

Joey and Jaclyn's Day-of-Fun

We went golfing together on Tuesday morning...they had a great special- the Rise and Nine.  Nine holes, 2 drinks, and a breakfast sammich for $29!!  I love a good deal...and it freed up the rest of our day too!  Fun times :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!

Heck yeah, I made him wear the button!

In all the hoopla of getting ready for our vacation, Joey almost forgot it was his birthday too!  He enjoyed a nice round of golf in the morning, I enjoyed this:

Later, we had a light lunch in anticipation of our big dinner!  Good light lunch, huh...

And, this is how our pics typically go...

Later that night we went out to what turned into our BEST DINING EXPERIENCE EVER!  We went to Shula's Steakhouse, in the Dolphin Resort.  The service was so great, I wanted to stay all night!  We had two servers, Doug and Nick, who were beyond fabulous.  When I mentioned my dad raved about the French Onion soup there, they split a pot for Joey and myself and brought it out complementary for us to try, "We don't want you to tell your dad you missed it!"  Then, when they brought out the dessert, Nick and Joey sang "Happy Birthday to Us" together, as Nick's birthday was the next day!  Such a great night...terrible picture, but great night:

And finally, the kids singing :-)

VACATION

I read something recently that said when you take your kids somewhere it is called "going on a trip" and when you go without kids, it's called "a vacation".  So, HAPPY VACATION TO US!!

This is our first trip away since Dylan was born.  If you knew him as a baby, well, you know that he was the tough one.  I couldn't leave him with anyone for a long weekend because that would've just been mean!  He has finally come around (mostly!), so we jumped at the chance to give the kids an extended stay with Amma and Papa.  The kids were so excited about staying with them, they were not even upset about not going to Disney World.  Win for everyone!

Went to the airport and saw Meghan and her mom...we were at gates G16, G19, and G21 and our flights were all within 15 minutes of each other.  I may have been overly excited about this, but it was so random and I loved it.  So we got to have a drink at the gate.  Joey loved it too :-)

And finally, that night we arrived in our room at the Old Key West resort and were greeted the Disney way...Happy Vacation!!

GETTING READY TO GO

 Before I got pregnant with Dylan, Joey and I took a vacation to New York.  Juliette was not yet 2, but I wrote her a note for every night we were gone :-)  This time, the kids are older, so I wrote them a note for each night we were gone and wrapped a book (thank you Target dollar section for being 70% off!!) for them to open.  I am gonna miss them...a little...

ready to be opened :-)

DOING HIS HOMEWORK

...well, playing his matching game on the ipad.  He just looked cute sitting in the desk :-)

#TBT

In honor of our Disney World trip coming up, here is what is probably my all-time fav pic from DW.  Juliette at 5 months after getting a kiss on the head from Snow White (photo credit to Unkie B)

MAMMA JULIETTE DYLAN DAY

With daycare closed, Dylan joined us for our Wednesday fun.  I also found out that I have reached a wonderful point in life...both kids can play at the indoor playground together.  Juliette was SO good in helping her brother and he LOVED it there.  

CUTE THINGS

Kids in the morning before drop off, Dylan in jams; Juliette in a tank top and mis-matched socks.  The usual.

After I picked up Dylan today we had some time before we had to get Juliette so we stopped at Cold Front, a new ice cream shop over by CDH.  They had blue ice cream (really blue, red, and yellow...called superman), and Dylan loved it!  The owner was awesome too.  We will definitely be going back!

SCHEDULE FUN

This week our daycare is closed...seeing as it's the week before we go on vacation, it made it even more tricky.  Shout out to my friends Laura and Whitney who are taking Dylan for a "shift" :-)

SWIMMING

If only he was this good the whole 30 minutes :-)

LOVE

Lovely things on the day of love...

love breakast

Lovin' on Papa

My love for Joey (if you know what this costs, you'll understand...)

VALENTINES

Juliette's valentines for school <3>

HOCKEY

I was lucky enough to get some club seats to the Wild game tonight.  Normally, I wouldn't use those nice of tickets on kids, but Dylan has really been into hockey and I wanted to have some family time, so we headed off.  (The tickets also came with a free parking pass, making it easier to bring the kiddos).  We had 5 tickets, so we brought my dad along as well.  The kids were actually pretty darn awesome...better than I thought they would be!  Taking pictures didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but it was still a fun time!  The Wild scored twice (and won!) and Dylan got up and cheered and danced when they sounded the horn!

selfie with the kids

this is what happens when you try to get a family photo

kids having fun

smiles with papa!

**note: I know I was going to start #TBT, but this game was perfect to blog about today!  next week!

WORK. AND MORE WORK.

Today I worked.  Like work worked...not the daily work-then-raise-my-kids-work.  I sat in front of a computer from 9am until 3am (with a 2 hour "break" to go coach a softball clinic).  I always feel like I am SO CLOSE to being caught up, and if I could just get caught up, things would be easier.  I have been thinking this for 10 years...le sigh...

MY BEST FRIEND IS AWESOME

Meghan sent a card to Juliette.  Honestly, I saw the address and the heart stickers and thought Harrison (her son who is J's age) made her a valentine.  Nope, Meghan sent a card to Juliette, and with it...a Caribou gift card (which will totally be used by her!).  Seriously couldn't have been better timing...it's been a rough week and it was just nice to have something good happen!!

update: We went to Caribou on Wednesday morning and Juliette asked it we were using HER card!

DILLY FUN...HOCKEY AND SURPRISES

I love this boy!!!  He is a handful at times, but really can be SO sweet!  My boss brought a hockey stick for Dilly to use- he is currently obsessed with hockey, even thought I don't think he really knows what it is!  This kid will be cute on skates- hopefully we get out soon!

Later that night Juliette was drawing pictures for everyone...he wanted to be surprised, so he kept closing his eyes...just made me smile!

MEMORIES

Today was my Grandpa Erickson's funeral.  I was sad that he passed away, but the really hard part was watching my dad.  His mom died a few years back, so now he and his brother are it!  Losing a generation is weird.  Watching my dad cry sucks...I know that is not a very eloquent word, but it just seems to fit.  It's hard to comfort people when they are in such a difficult state.  The one thing I do have that helps is the kids...they can always get a smile from Papa!

Funerals bring the task of sorting through old photos and making "the boards" for display.  There were many pictures, and the one I am going to share actually isn't even of my grandpa, but it's of my dad.  The thing that struck me about this was his cute little face and it just looked like a "Dylan face" to me...my dad was a cute kid!!

MAKE UP

She had fun trying stuff out...and knows that the rule is "we only put makeup on when mom is here"

SEW JACLYN

Last year I started Sew Jaclyn....my VERY basic sewing business.  I have a facebook page, but haven't yet gotten around to developing the website (my mom bought the domain sewjaclyn.com for me for Christmas in 2013, so I should probably get on it!). 

I make personalized pillowcases, baby doll carriers, puppy towels, ponchos, burp cloths... pretty basic stuff but it's been fun and people have said nice things, so I consider it a success!  Last week my friend had an emergency need for her little's first birthday party...the shirt she was ordering wasn't going to arrive in time, so I was able to whop something up!

#TBT

I think that going forward, on Thursdays, I will do a little #TBT on the blog...since I skipped a few years of blogging, maybe I'll put some stuff from that time, or just whenever.  This also give me an easy topic once a week!

So, first #TBT, in honor of my nephew Jack's 2nd birthday today....the 3 kids this past summer.  There are not that many pics of the 3 of these kids together, let alone all looking at the camera- that will come with age! Happy Birthday, Jack!

CHUCK E CHEESE

Juliette choose to go to Chuck E Cheese for Mamma Juliette day.  We drove by one in the last few weeks, so it was in the front of her mind.  She had a fun time playing games (and might I add, I love the EVERY GAME is only 1 token.....so much easier!), enjoyed her pizza and fun drink in her fun cup.  Also, going on a Wednesday is awesome because there is no one there and they are super nice to you...Juliette has 92 tickets and she got a prize that was valued at 400!  Whoa! ;-)  

SPECIAL ORDER

Last year I started my Sew Jaclyn business...very raw and in its infancy,  but still fun for me.  My friend Rachel called with a 1st birthday emergency...the Etsy site she was going to use said they wouldnt be able to meet her ship date.  Jaclyn to the rescue!!  (It's also convenient that our kids go to the same school, so delivery is easy!)  This is what I whipped up for her kiddo...from her design :-)

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY

For Groundhogs Day, I got my hair did!!  We are going to Florida later this month, so I went blonde!  I also look a lot like my BFF Meghan now...

ONE MONTH!!

It's like my blog anniversary...thought this meme was kinda funny!  In any case, I am glad I've kept it up for my 6 faithful readers :-)