Vacation is always a good time, but I can't help but feel so happy and blessed, when I have time away with my favorite people. Like always, traveling with Peter while he's working, makes me feel so blessed! Seeing new places, and staying in beautiful hotels (that we would never pay for on our own), is such a big gift. It was a wonderful week away and I wanted to remember a few of these things that made me smile..... 

one // While I was getting ready for dinner one night, I laid out the clothes for the boys, so Peter could get them dressed. When I came out of the bathroom, he had put Asher's clothes on Solomon by accident, but the hilarious part was how they actually fit! I died laughing when I came in the room and saw Solomon running around in his brothers 18 month clothes. 

two // The way our sweet boys completely shocked me each time we had to drive for more than twenty minutes in the car. I was really worried about the long car rides we would need to take to get from Fort Lauderdale to Marco Island, and then from Marco Island to Miami, but they were both so great. I was never worried about Solomon, but Asher made me nervous. But, he slept for almost 2 hours straight, even in over thirty minutes of stand still traffic!! It was a major answer to my prayers while leading up to our vacation!! 

three // Deciding we need to renovate our master bathroom, instead of our kitchen, thanks to the shower at the Marco Island Resort. It was incredible!!!! And sitting down on a bench to shave my legs was life changing. It may sound dramatic, but it's the truth. 

four // I can't believe it, but the "are we there yet" question has already started with Solomon. We all died laughing when he asked for the first time. We had just gotten in the car and hadn't even pulled away from the restaurant. 

five // Peter's patience and sweet moments with the boys made me so thankful for the really good man that I married, who has become a really great husband and father. We are so blessed by him in so many ways. 

six // My mom and Solomon laughing about inside jokes during his bedtime routine. He ended up sleeping in her room each night and he loved it. When we got home, and he had his first nap in his room, he woke up and the first thing he asked for was Gigi. I'm so glad he loves her and appreciates her like I do! 

Lemon muffin face (which he repeatedly called cupcakes) on the patio, before we went down to the pool for the day! 

Florida Trip // Miami + Fort Lauderdale

Just like last year, I wanted to go see Miami again. We had such a great time last year and we really enjoyed sight seeing and drinking some delicious beer. Well, Peter did.... I was pregnant, so maybe that's why I really wanted to go again. I guess I mentally blocked out how overwhelmingly hot it was??? Peter said it was even hotter last year, but I was about to die this year. And like I said, I was pregnant last time... I don't know how I did it!?! We also realized that part of Miami is so not family friendly. I guess we didn't notice it with only Solomon last year, but this year with a baby and a stroller, was a different story. We couldn't even find a bathroom with a place to change a diaper. It was crazy. But, we did enjoy the city again. I just realized we wouldn't be going back for a visit until we had kids. Not babies. 

We found this adorable Greek restaurant, Meraki, while walking down a little alley full of restaurants. I'm not going to lie, the only reason we chose it was because it had inside seating with AC, haha! But, it was so good and the perfect little spot to start out trip in Miami. We ordered one of the big platters full of kabobs to share with an appetizer of spanakopita. It was all delicious!

We stayed at the same hotel again since we had such a great stay last time. JW Marriott Marquis is a great option in the downtown area of Miami since it also has suites, which made it the best choice for three adults and two boys. It's nice to have two big joined rooms for all of us, and Solomon got super spoiled since he got to sleep with Gigi the whole time. We also got to enjoy the concierge lounge for breakfast which was Solomon's favorite thing! Bacon, toast and fruit!!! Of course the pool looking over the downtown city was another favorite for Solomon.

After a little pool time we drove over to the Wynwood area to show Gigi all the beautiful walls covered in art. It was fun to show Solomon again also, since he didn't remember the trip last year. Again, it was SO HOT, but we made it through the concrete jungle trying to find the shade as much as possible. We also found some ice cream and a lot of beer along the way!! 

My mom's favorite wall!

Still a favorite of mine from last year!

& this is what group photos look like when Solomon skips his nap in the hot heat.

We found the cookie monster (I think? HA!) at the ice cream shop, and then Solomon was REEEAAAALLY excited to find Darth Vader at J Wakefield Brewing. & I was excited to try all the beers this time around! YUUUM!

Family photos in the same spot as last year, just with one more boy in our arms. This is the stuff that makes my heart almost burst and also makes me want a dozen more babies. 

After a couple nights in Miami, we drove over to Fort Lauderdale, since we were flying out very early Monday morning. We thought we'd enjoy a little more pool and some sight seeing around there before we flew home. By the time we moved there, we were all ready to be home, but we tried to make the best of it with a little sunshine and some good food!! 

Asher got in the pool for the first time, but he wasn't that into it. I'm sure he would have enjoyed it more if he had a little float to swim around in. He is definitely at the stage where he doesn't want to be held all the time since he can play unassisted now. 

One last brewery for daddy and some games for Solomon. This was probably his favorite brewery stop during our trip since he got to play a game with daddy. Then we had one last ice cream shop trip before we went back to pack up the room and get ready to leave for Greenville. 

Ending the trip with strawberry ice cream is always a good idea!! 

Florida Trip // Marco Island

We started our trip in Florida at the beautiful Marco Island and it was so nice. Last year's trip to Boca Raton was pretty great too, but throwing in a second baby made things a little different. It's so crazy how I was pregnant last year and Solomon was so small. What a year can do, right?? I was also VERY thankful to have my mom with me this time around. I joked around that Solomon probably would have drowned if it weren't for her help... but it's kind of true. Like last year, Peter was busy most of the day and night because of the conference he was speaking at, so my mom and I got to spend a lot of time with the boys and enjoy the water. It was a lot of fun for us, and I'm so glad she had some one on one time with us!! 

Thankfully Asher did great napping on the go in his stroller, so I got to play with Solomon while he napped, most of the time.

Watching Asher enjoy the vacation and REALLY enjoy watching his big brother the whole time was so cute. He wasn't a huge fan of the water, but he definitely loved the shade and cuddles with mommy, while Solomon swam like a fish. They are both getting so big in their own little way, and it is so much fun for this momma to watch. 

Daddy coming by after lunch every day at the pool was a nice little perk, too!

And those delicious cocktails by the pool, in the shade with my mom, was a pretty great perk!!!

It was also nice to be able to have a little date night at one of the big events for Peter's work trip, since my mom was with the boys! I wanted to get a picture of the two of us on the patio of our room, then Solomon so sweetly said that he wanted a picture with mommy. That cute boy, I love him so much. 

So, Marco Island was a wonderful start to our vacation!! 

I would love to visit again, the resort was so beautiful and the staff were great! More on the rest of our vacation with daddy later this week!

Florida Trip // Miami

I asked Solomon to stand by the wall and smile... 

I honestly couldn't believe he did it, I was about to die from the cuteness!!

When we were planning the trip to Boca for Peter's work conference, we knew we wanted to extend the trip a bit, so we could have one last family vacation with just the three of us. We have some trips planned later this year but none that will be our little family alone. It was always a big deal for us to make time for a family vacation, even more now that we have babies in our family. That time away and making memories together is such a gift! Like I said yesterday, Solomon is such a great traveler, so it is easy to enjoy our time away with him. 

Miami was a lot of fun and I'm so happy we got to go. It was HOT. Like, sweat dripping off my cheeks, and I don't even sweat normally. I guess you add the hot humid air with pregnancy, and sweat is inevitable. But, Miami was so worth it!! It was such a beautiful and crazy city. So much music and art and it's buzzing with summer energy that I have a feeling lasts all year long. We had several friends tell us that Miami isn't worth the trip, but I'm really happy we tried it out anyways. I can honestly say that I'd love to visit again and explore some more once our kidos are bit older. 

Solomon fell asleep in the car on the drive from Boca to Mimi, which is around an hour, so that is a very short nap for him. And car naps just aren't the same as bed naps, anyways. So we were hoping that we could get checked in at the hotel and drop off our luggage in our room while I waited in the car to let him snooze some more before heading out to some breweries. Normally this kind of thing works for him but he wasn't having it. He woke up way too excited and was ready to explore. So after dropping off the bags and checking out our hotel for a bit, we went to the Wynwood Walls area. On the way we stopped for some food at KUSH, which was incredible. Amazing burgers and the couple of sips of beer I tried was delicious! Mmmm!! We then checked out Concrete & J.Wakefield breweries for Peter to get some flights. Everything was so good and we even met up with some friends from Greenville at J.Wakefield. The Wynwood Walls area is known for the graffiti that covers the walls. Everywhere you turn is another brightly colored wall full of amazing detail. Once we parked the car I knew my camera was going to get a lot of love that day. While Peter was putting on Solomon's sunscreen, I took the pictures above and below, from just a few steps. It was beautiful for sure! 

At J.Wakefield with some friends. I love that they snapped these pictures for us! Solomon is obsessed with smelling beer since we have told him he can't drink it but he can smell it. He even walks around with water sometimes and sniffs it and says it's beer. Silly boy!!

On the walk back to the car we took a little detour through the actual Wynwood Wall section. There are WAAAAAY too many pictures below, but we couldn't resist!

Poor thing, he was SO tired from the very short car nap that was way earlier than his normal naptime. Add in the crazy heat and walking around, he was exhausted. Of course he wouldn't nap anymore that day because he already had that short nap earlier. He knows he only takes one nap day so there was no fooling him. That night, he went to bed around 8:30, and then woke up around 11 so confused. Thankfully he is back on his regular schedule now that we are home. Vacations can be hard on sleeping routines. I love how he was hugging me and giving me some love in the picture above. I was also 14 weeks on Friday so I thought it would be fun to get some special weekly photos for this post. 

The amount of detail and the added pops of green thanks to the palm trees was so gorgeous!

He almost fell asleep on Peter's head while trying to find the car. Poor kid! 

 Once we got back to the hotel we had to go check out the pool since Solomon wasn't going to sleep and was begging for some form of water. Beach, pool or bath. Such a water baby!! We were excited to try out the 19th floor pool at our hotel. The views were beautiful and it was perfectly shaded so I could actually sit and watch my guys and not feel the least bit hot. The breeze was honestly a little cool, which was a very welcomed change for the day! 

the huge diaper bulge cracks me up... we didn't have any swim diapers so we had to make due with regular ones. And that sweet man's smile. Love him so much!

During the weekend, we also spent some time at South Beach but I didn't have my camera with me, and I honestly didn't take many phone photos either. It was nice to just take it all in and spend time sight seeing with Peter and Solomon. The last day in Miami was spent doing the same thing but I did take out my phone for several pictures. Those last day vibes always make me want to click the camera a bit more. Solomon was also excited to ride the train trough the city for the first time. During this trip he had been on a plane, bus, boat and train. A very well traveled little guy, and he loved it, as long as he could hold on tight to daddy!

My favorites!! So thankful for some time away with them!