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- We’re back!
Wait, you didn’t realize that we were ever gone?
Well, that’s because I didn’t really make our trip too public (sometimes, it’s just fun to keep a secret and not shout out what we’re doing to the whole world, ya know?)
Last weekend, Derrick and I went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the weekend! We flew out early Saturday morning, we were in the parks by noon, and spent the rest of the day Saturday, all day Sunday (for a total of 14+ hours), and part of the day Monday in the parks.
It was the first time we have EVER been away from both of our children. (When Braelynn was 3, we spent one night away from her for my birthday. We went to Kalahari – an indoor waterpark in Ohio.) It was bittersweet, to say the least.
The first day: it was fun and exciting and wonderful to be away and not have to worry about where they were, what they were doing, feeding them, taking them to the bathroom, making sure they were having fun too.
By the second day, I was really starting to miss them and wish they were with us. But the second day was the day we spent 14+ hours in the park, so the exhaustion quickly overcame just about every other emotion.
When we woke up on the third day, I was 110% ready to go home. I cried at our hotel. I cried over my morning coffee. I cried walking into the park. I missed our babies and I just wanted to get on the plane and come home to them. Our flight didn’t leave until Monday night, so Monday was a long day (the full-blown exhaustion + emotions was rough). Thankfully, I was able to fall asleep on the plane, which made the 2-hour flight home easier to swallow (and meant I wasn’t looking at my watch the entire time). We got home around 10:30pm Monday night and our kids refused to wake up for us – I literally crawled into bed with Braelynn and she just rolled over (haha).
So yes, as amazing and fun as it was, it was hard.
We knew that our kids would not enjoy Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure though. I mean, sure there were a few rides that they would have ridden and had fun on, but so many rides there are dark rides, and almost every ride has a “scary” element to it. Both Braelynn and Leander do not do well with dark rides (we’re hoping that our upcoming Disney trip helps with that!) so, they just would not have had fun if we had brought them along. Universal is definitely a park geared toward teenagers and adults.
Obviously, Derrick and I took tons of photos & videos and we’ve both been working our butts off (as much as we can!) to edit our footage so we can show it off! It’s been a busy week though, so unfortunately we haven’t made the snappy progress we usually do. It’s coming though (I have SO much more to say)! Stay tuned! - We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo on Wednesday with my sister & nieces. The kids had a BLAST. They still haven’t stop talking about what we saw and did! It was so much fun to take them and finally have them both be old enough to actually GET IT.
It wasn’t a shock, but Braelynn ran through and “experienced” the Zoo at a break-neck pace (she is 100% her father’s daughter) and Leander ran right along behind her. Because it was a little on the chillier-side, the animals were pretty active, so we had to keep calling Braelynn back and encouraging her to stop and watch the animals. - As we were driving to the Zoo, we drove over a bridge and Braelynn asked what the “ocean” underneath us was. I explained that it wasn’t the ocean, but a river, and told her it is called “the Allegheny River”. She then proceeded to say: “The Alligator River – are there alligators down there?”
- Today is my sister Amy’s baby shower! We’ve been working all week to finish up all of the details and get everything set. Last night, a whole group of us went over to the church to set up & decorate – it looks AMAZING! We are so excited to celebrate Amy & Nathan and their soon-to-arrive little boy today!
Amy never had a “real” bridal shower (since it was supposed to happen in March of 2020 – you can guess why). We shifted gears and did the best we could, but it still wasn’t the same. So, today we are throwing her a big NORMAL shower to celebrate – complete with food, games, and (hopefully) a mountain of presents!
