Booked!

the past couple of weeks have been booked solid for us

which i'm sure you've noticed if you are a regular follower of this blog
(read:  i've totally fallen off the radar, sorry!)
but rest assured, we are well, just living in fast forward:

we had a lovely visit with Daniel's mom
who came up from NC for a couple of weeks

Daniel went away for his annual "man weekend / fishing trip"

we made a couple trips to Trader Joes to stock up on our favorites
(yes, that is an event around here:
wrangling twin toddlers in a double stroller PLUS a shopping cart
through a super busy not-so-wide-aisled store
...you'll feel like you can do anything afterwards!)

my sister and uber cute nephew stayed with us for a week,
which meant entertaining three toddlers
(hectic, fun and a great opportunity to practice sharing / playing nice!)

i could keep listing things,
but i don't want to bore you
i have lots to share from our busy time though
so expect a few catch up posts

you know what else is booked?
our family trip to the beach!

i am beyond excited for this

if you know me at all, you know i would happily set up camp at the beach
and never leave
doesn't matter which beach
doesn't matter if i'm in a tent or a van or a house
just give me the salty air
the sand
the seashells
the fun little critters
the water
...i'm set

but this isn't just any trip to any beach
this is the girls' first trip
to the beach
we're staying at Daniel's parents' beach house
where he stayed countless times growing up,
where we spent part of our honeymon
and where we went for our first couple of anniversaries

i love this place
it holds so many great memories
including kayaking with wild dolphins
(possibly the craziest / coolest experience of my life!)
and talking about when we want to start a family
and now here we are, bringing our kids down
to make their own memories
which is special in its own right
but to me, it's more than just special
because both Daniel and i spent much of our childhood at the beach
him in Florida, me on the Persian Gulf
and i've always wanted to do the same with our kids
and now here we are, doing just that:
living out our dreams, together
this girl's heart is happy