Australia Trip - Severely Belated

In February we were fortunate enough to get to take a vacation to Australia. Nick has always wanted to go, and has been saving Delta Skymiles forever and ever so we could fly business class all the way. We booked our flights back in April 2012, so we had lots of time to perfect our itinerary which changed many times in the process. I don't think we would change where we went and when in a million years. Our trip was absolutely perfect in every single way. I honestly get choked up talking (or thinking) about this trip. It was 17 days of bliss, peace, relaxation, stunning views, and romance with my best friend. We did go without the kids. Did I miss them? My own flesh and blood offspring? well of course I did!! I got overwhelmed a couple times with the distance between us, with the time change that made it difficult to facetime conveniently, and the lack of wi-fi which made facetimeing impossible. However, I'm a firm believer that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I knew they were in good hands with mine and Nicholas' parents. It was so great to see them when we got home!

I do believe I left a piece of my heart in AU and will not get it back without going back and living there. Nicholas has explained to me many times the challenges that prevent us from doing so, but I believe I'm meant to be there...someday, maybe. 

Our Itinerary was as follows:

Travel day one: BNA-ATL-LAX-SYD
Travel day two: Explore Sydney/Relax
Travel day three: Sydney Zoo/Manley Beach/Olympic Park
Travel day four: Katoomba/Blue Mountains
Travel day five: Fly to Adelaide, drive to Talem Bend
Travel day six: Drive to Warrnambool via Grampians
Travel day seven: Start Great Ocean Road to Lorne
Travel day eight: Drive to Melbourne, fly to Perth
Travel day nine: Explore Perth, drive to Margaret River
Travel day ten: Southwest Beer Festival in Margaret River
Travel day eleven: Explore Margaret River/Indian Ocean
Travel day twelve: Drive to Perth, fly to Melbourne
Travel day thirteen: Explore Melbourne
Travel day fourteen: Explore Melbourne, fly to Sydney
Travel day fifteen: Coogee Beach
Travel day sixteen: Leave Sydney :( Fly to Seoul, South Korea
Travel day seventeen/eighteen: Fly to LAX-SLC-ATL-BNA

Nicholas made me this slide show of our trip for Mother's Day. It was the best mother's day gift ever. I watch it all the time. And cry. Enjoy. :) 

Update: I unfortunately couldn't upload this video to youtube (or I could but something about copyright infringement, and they took my soundtrack out!) This is the only way I can think to post it, but you need to download the file to view. I promise it's not a virus (mom). ;)

Holy Poo My Baby Is Two

Where in the world does the time go?! It honestly feels like yesterday that we brought Adelaide home from the hospital. It's so weird that the kids don't seem older from one day to the next, however, they ARE getting bigger everyday. Close up you can't see it, so it feels like they go from this:

To this:

(Don't you love the hair?)

It's really such a bizarre feeling. 

I am so much enjoying Adelaide's summer birthday. With Holden birthday being in December, the unpredictable weather makes it much more difficult to enjoy a simple, inexpensive gathering with friends. We planned Adelaide's birthday at the Smyrna splash pad. We LOVE the splash pad for many reasons: 1. It's FREE. 2. It's really well kept and clean and 3. Fun water play without worrying about drowning. The downside is that it's far, probably a good 35-40 minutes from Nashville. 

We asked friends to pack a lunch and join us for cupcakes at the splash pad. It was without a doubt the most low stress party I have ever thrown. Everyone had a great time. It wasn't until all of the party paraphernalia was packed into the car that I realized I did not get one (not one!!!!) picture of said gathering. You must trust me when I say we had a great time and Adelaide was adorable in her little teal polka-dot ruffle-butt suit. 

Saturday consisted of birthday pancakes with sprinkles, yard-sale-ing with friends, and some pool time. 

Sunday was the big day. Adelaide went to church in her cute little "It's my birthday" shirt. 

This was the best picture I could get. This girl will not stand still! Something about being 2 I guess...

After church we went to the lake to celebrate with Nick's family. We ate lunch at the club and then to the boat for presents. 

We headed home for some napping and a little birthday celebration of our own: Presents, Hamburger picnic and Despicable Me.

The following Tuesday we had her two year well check. 90%ile in height (where did my kids come from?!) and 50%ile in weight. She's has healthy as a horse!!

Likes: Her "ups", Smoothies, Hotdogs, Baby dolls, bathtime, swimming, Caillou, My No No No Day book, "Jesus Loves Me", B-I-B-L-E

Dislikes: Car-rides, carrots, sharing, men, bugs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADELAIDEY BUG!!

Family, Adelaide Bday pt. 1 & Memorial Day #photobomb

It took a long time for me to see Nashville as home and to let go of my childhood home in Columbus, OH. Part of it had to to with establishing good friends and a church home, and the other part came when my parents moved from my actual childhood home to a house closer to the city. I do miss Columbus and my friends and family dearly, but all in all Nashville is where it's at. The beautiful weather 10 months out the year helps! Don't come here in July or August, it's miserably hot & humid. 

That being said, being 400 miles from my mum is really really hard, but it makes visits that much sweeter. My mum and dad came last week for Memorial Day weekend. No matter how long the visit, it's never ever long enough and we always wish we could have done more, seen more, or just done more of nothing together. 

They arrived late Thursday night with this:

Meet Bella. She's a 12 week old miniature Golden Doodle. A stuffed animal that's alive is what she is. So so sweet!! Bella and Jackson got along really well and aside from the creepy comments from mum about her being my "little sister", we absolutely loved having her here. 

We spent the day at the zoo Friday. It was a zoo. Filled both with animals and people, it was crazytown. We had a good time and were well in need of a nap upon returning home. Naturally, after we got the kids and Opa down for a nap, mum and I went shopping. :)

Friday night was "date night". No offense to those that believe you should be with your children at every waking minute, but a lot of the time I feel like dinners out should be without kids. This is for the sanity of other patrons as well as the pure relaxation for us. It makes us better parents. :) Plus, I love food. I love to savor and enjoy every bite, which is difficult to do when inhaling bites between fishing your child out from underneath another diner's booth and keeping the screaming to a minimum. 

So for the first time in forever, we got a sitter so we could go to dinner with my parents and brother to have some real adult conversation and adult beverages. We were celebrating Ricky and his passing his final CPA exam. YAY!! Richard A Miller, CPA. (!!!!) We decided to go to The Pharmacy in East Nashville. If you've never been, do it. Their burgers are ridiculous. They also have old fashioned sulfates, german-style sausages, and a really good selection of fancy beer. Our favorite burger is the farm burger with havarti cheese, you won't be sorry. 

This was the fam waiting outside The Pharmacy. You will wait, but it's worth it.

Saturday, Mum and I decided to try the Nashville flea market. This has been on my Nashville bucket list for a LONG time, and I'm so excited we finally got to do it. It was so much bigger than I thought! I could have wandered around there all day, but alas family was waiting at home. I did complete my dining room chair "set" and mum got a cute little table for her office. Here are a couple other things I thought were neat:

I really thought Nick would think this was great, being that he loves all things power T and license plates. The response I got was less than enthusiastic. Ohwell.

These were airplane windows turned photo frames. I still think this is different and cleaver. They also had ones less finished, which were really neat. 

Saturday evening we celebrated Adelaide's birthday two weeks early since family was in town. We grilled out sausages and enjoyed sides of potato salad and berry spinach salad. I also whipped up a Pavlova for dessert (pun intended).

There is nothing in this entire world that warms my heart like family dinners. We missed Jay, Erin and Matt a ton.

Not the prettiest pavlova ever, but it was yummy.

Due to her dairy intolerance, Adelaide could not have the whipped cream, but enjoyed the chocolate meringue very much. 

Per tradition, Adelaidey got her Pottery Barn chair. She's thrilled as you can see. She's not naked. promise. :)

By Memorial day my parents had travelled back to Ohio, so we ventured to Mt. Juliet to spend time with Nick's parents and to enjoy the clubs new pool. We had such a good time!

Our weekends are not usually this crazy or fun-filled. It was definitely one for the books! Until next time...