"Baby Moon" Trip to Canada

Well, I'm officially in my third trimester.  Just before we hit that milestone, the hubs and I decided to take a "Baby Moon".  We kind of hate calling it that but, if it gives us an excuse to get away from our kiddos for a couple nights, we'll take it!  (A million thanks to you, Gigi). We didn't go on any sort of baby moon before our first born for a few reasons.  Now, looking back, I'm so glad we didn't.  It's something that changes inside of you once you have a kiddo to look after.  Before that first one comes along, there's a long list of things you take for granted (as do most couples, I'd assume).

• Sleep
• Sleeping in... Staying up late... Sleeping uninterrupted...
• Flexibility
• Being about to spur-of-the-moment decide to do something or go somewhere
• Communication
• Simply being able to hold a conversation with each other is HUGE
• Privacy
• There's nobody banging down the bathroom door if you disappear for 15.5 seconds
• Clarity
• Just being able to think without someone tugging on your shirt and changing the subject to something completely unrelated

I know the list could go on and on... but, those were our favorite reasons to get away :)  Plus, after not seeing our babies for a few nights, their hugs and kisses are just so much sweeter.  After coming home to them completely refreshed, we were so happy to have them ruining all of our sleep, flexibility, communication, privacy and clarity.  Without a doubt.

So where'd we go?!  Niagara Falls, Canada! With a day trip to Toronto!

Our drive from Ohio to Canada started off with a little bit of a snow storm which made our drive a little slow, but the further North we headed, the better the weather turned out!  Since it was such a beautiful day, we were able to take advantage of our newfound flexibility and pulled off at a National Park that we had seen signs for on the highway.  We only spent 30 minutes there, but we were able to take a short walk to see a waterfall completely frozen over.  It was very beautiful but it was too chilly to really enjoy the scenery more than a few pictures worth.

We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Hilton by Niagara Falls which gave us a beautiful view of both the American and Horseshoe Falls from our room.

Crock Pot Cooking on Vacation

When we're on vacation, one of the biggest aspects for us is finding great local places to eat.  However, when you add two kids to the mix, sometimes a simple dinner out can be exhausting.  Getting everyone back to the hotel room at a reasonable time, showered, dressed, then just sitting through the average wait time to get into a restaurant as well as just waiting to get food to get to the table.

Our solution isn't the most popular with many families that are on vacation (because, hello!?  Don't I cook enough at home?)

Well, when we were packing for our vacation, we tossed our trusty crock pot in the car.  Back when we were just a family of three, we spent nearly 6 months together in a hotel room in Oklahoma (Air Force training) so we got pretty creative with a crock pot!

Our favorite crock pot meal that is super easy for a hotel is our "Chipotle Chicken Meal":

Another family favorite that we ate on another night of our vacation is our Easiest Ever Beef Sandwiches.  We ate this all too easy meal after dragging ourselves back to the hotel after 8 hours in the great outdoors visiting Cumberland Island.  It was so nice to come "home" to a hot and ready meal instead of having to drag everyone back out to look for food.

Amelia & Cumberland Island Vacation

I mentioned last week how we had just gotten home from a family vacation .  Well, let me explain how we ended up on Amelia Island, first...

We had been planning a vacation with our very good friends for a while.  Since he is also in the Air Force, it was kind of a long shot to get all of our schedules to line up.  Well, it looked like everything was a go! So we were going to all meet in Charleston at his parent's home.  Shortly before the trip, they found out they would be going to England (thanks, Air Force!) So, Bryan and I scrambled to come up with an alternate vacation plan for just the four of us.  In order to save money, I was looking at any military base on the East coast that we could stay.  I found one called King's Bay which is a Naval Submarine Base.  I knew nothing of the area or what was around it but I knew a beach was close and that was really all we needed.  Then, I found a Hampton Inn for $5 more a night which would provide a free hot breakfast.  To us, the logical choice was to "jump ship" with the Naval Base and go to a Hampton.

The day after I booked our hotel room, I decided to see if there was any good food or things to do near the hotel besides the beach (our biggest selling point)!  That's when I realized we were going to an Island!  hah, really?!  And it's called Amelia Island?  Well, that's a cute name!  AND Southern Living Magazine rated it as The Best Small-Town Getaway!?!

Well, after visiting, we can truly agree that it was a perfect place to vacation.

It is very rich in history... It is claimed that 8 flags have flown over Amelia Island: French, Spanish, British, Patriot, Green Cross, Mexican, Confederate, and United States.  A must-see park is Fort Clinch State Park.  No battles were ever fought here, but it was occupied by soldiers during the Spanish-American War as well as the Civil War.  It was a very entertaining piece of history to visit.  The architecture and masonry alone was well worth the visit!

Fort Clinch

My [Sandy] Little Secret

What a whirl-wind! Somewhere around 1,800 driving miles round-trip, we are finally home!  Did I mention we had two gremlins in the back seat along for the ride?

So where'd we go?  We went on an amazing post-deployment vacation!  We met up with some of our dearest friends at their beautiful home in North Carolina then continued our vacation with them in  Charleston, South Carolina where we were just a very short drive from the Isle of Palms.

Finding Fantastic Food in Florida

Well, we recently got home from a trip to Pompano, Florida for my husband's grandmother's 95th birthday celebration.  She and her husband spend the long winter months down south and are lucky enough to have a beach right across the street from them.  We were lucky enough to visit her & the beach, too!

Our youngest had his first trip on a plane and his first visit to the beach. He enjoyed the plane a lot more than the beach.  We have a theory that babies don't like beach since their skin is just too sensitive still.  Or, maybe our babies just don't like the beach until they're about.... almost 3?  Our oldest was in heaven.  She couldn't get enough of it.

So, instead of going on and on about about the beach, I'd like to share three of our favorite places we visited for grub.  If you find yourself near Pompano and Fort Lauderdale, I'd highly suggest going to these restaurants.