Lost Posts and Long Updates

Well, I realized that I have a few posts that I never published over the last few weeks, so I'm condensing them into this one. Add to that the fact that we have been on vacation for 8 days, and this is going to turn into a LONG one!

A few weeks ago, I was able to get together with some of my girlfriends. They convinced me to go out (something I rarely do anymore!) by planning a Korean karaoke night. It was something totally fun and very different. When we were in Korea, we saw many karaoke nightclubs, but didn't have the time (or energy) to go to one. It was great spending time with my friends while doing something representative of Spike's culture.

Our town also had it's local festival a few weeks ago. I took the boys and it was so much fun. We went on the morning when there were a bunch of big trucks for the kids to look at. There was a semi, garbage truck, fire truck, police car, etc. You get the picture. I thought they would love it. But a lot of the kids were honking the horns of the the trucks, and Monkey was NOT a fan. We spent a few short minutes on the bus, and then had to move along. We ended up at the exotic animal farm and petting zoo. Monkey loves these kinds of places, but it was the first time Spike had seen anything like it. It was so cool to watch his excitement and fascination seeing all of the animals up close. He really enjoyed it. The only problem I had was trying to keep him from eating the animal feed!

My two boys on the bus.

The two guys petting a giant turtle.

Last week we went to Florida for 8 days. It was an amazing trip! My entire family went including my parents, grandmother, brother and his girlfriend. We all had a great time, and it was so fun to watch the boys' reactions to the pool, ocean, etc. Although, Monkey had been last year, he really didn't remember any of it, so it was like the first time all over again! We stayed in a small town about 1/2 hour outside of Sarasota, right on the beach. Unfortunately, Monkey wasn't a huge fan of the beach, because the waves were really big, and scared him. But we all had a great time at the pool, chasing lizards, taking walks, and eating lots and lots of fresh fish! And on a personal note, it was so wonderful to take a vacation with my completed family. Although we have been lucky enough to do a little traveling over the last 4 years, I can honestly say this is the first time I have been completely relaxed. In the past, no matter what we did, or where we went, I always had our family planning in the back of my mind. It feels so good to know that I have two beautiful little boys, and a great husband, and we really are a happy family.

Monkey and Spike by the ocean.

My little guy in his suit.

Monkey in his "monkey" towel.

Hanging out in the pool. (By the way...that's my 88 year old grandma with Monkey.)

Monkey and Spike in their special shirts. ( I couldn't resist.)

Relaxing after a long day outside.

My two little sun worshippers.

P.S. For those of you who got my "update" with just the title, you can thank Spike! He likes to "help" me when I post, and hit just the right button to publish my post before I'd actually started typing it!