Where have YOU been?!

Sorry for being so absent from blogging!  You haven't been missing too much, but let me share a bit so that we're up-to-date.

Towards the end of July we spent an awesome week in Ellenton, Florida visiting my grandmother and spending time with my sister (Amanda), brother-in-law (John), and niece (Anne Marie, or "Nannie" as Presley says).  We also got to see our Uncle Stuart & two cousins, Remi & Kennedy.  It was just beautiful.  Tony & I also had a date night out (alone!!!) for the first time in a long time!  We went to The Sandbar to have dinner on the beach.  We tried to make it there by sunset but JUST missed it.  However, we didn't miss out on a beautiful setting, that is for SURE.  It was gorgeous on the beach.  I got the Grouper Tacos (AMAZING!) and Tony got the Bali Chicken Sandwich and we had a great time!  We thought about getting the crab cakes to start out with since that's what we ordered just before Tony popped the question 3.5 years ago, but I'm glad we didn't because they brought out some delicious bread to our table!  If you are ever in the Anna Maria Island area, stop by this restaurant if you're looking for a place to eat on the beach! 

We also ate at some other favorites in the area:  Cha Cha Coconuts and the Anna Maria Oyster Bar.  At the Oyster Bar they have kids menus that you can get for one penny per inch of your child's height!  ADORABLE.  And so affordable.  I got the coconut-crusted tilapia and goodness gracious, if it's not one of the best seafood dishes I've ever had, then I don't know what is! 

We also made a family trip out to the beach two of the days we were in Florida and that was great.  But the majority of the vacation we spent hanging out at our awesome rental house with the Carrico's (and missing the Myers/Bunch clan) and in the pool!  Vacations are VASTLY different with little ones... it seemed like it was always someones naptime - and never the parents'!  Tony and I are used to packing our vacations full of things to do and see, but nowadays it is much more fun to take it easy and keep the baby happy.  It was one of the best vacations we've ever taken.

Presley and Anne Marie chillin' in the cousin bath tub!  They're 5 months apart.

Amanda's pregnant again!  She found out while we were on vacation!!!  YAY!

Presley was SO tired each night and loved to fall asleep in mommy & daddy's bed

Some of the "Myers" girls

The gang at Cha Cha Coconuts

Tony close to the spot where he proposed to me :)

John, Amanda, and Anne Marie at Holmes Beach

Presley & Tony at Holmes Beach

Oh... did I mention we made stops to Downtown Disney on the first and last day of our trip?  AMAZING.  We ate at two new places (to us) - The Earl of Sandwich & Raglan Road.  Both exceeded all expectations, which is very hard to do for us because our expectations of any/all things Disney are already so high!  At Raglan Road I got this delicious "boxty" sandwich ("sliced Gammon topped with Dubliner cheddar sandwiched between two pan seared boxty potato cakes with a fried egg on top") and Tony ordered one of their specialties which was their shepherds pie!  At the Earl, I got the Earl's club ("turkey, bacon, Swiss, sandwich sauce, lettuce & tomato") and we will definitely be going back to this eatery in the future.  One of the best things about visiting Downtown Disney was seeing Presley's reaction to all of it.  When she was enjoying herself so much the first visit, I really did get tears in my eyes.

It was extremely hot out!

The sign on the arch behind Presley says, "It just gets better"

Other things that have happened in the time since I last wrote?  Tony lost his job, I started working at the zoo (dream come true), I've weaned Presley down to nursing her at morning and bedtime, oh... and today I met one of my favorite bloggers, Jessica from Little Baby Garvin!

Yes... I over-enthusiastically used the phrase, "I follow your blog!" and yes... I just had to turn the moment into a photo op!  But seriously, I've been reading her blog for about two years now (give or take), which was around the time that we were both pregnant with our first children - both girls - and our kids are just a few weeks apart.  I really do feel like I know her.  And everyone, just so you know, Jessica and her husband are just as kind and funny as you would think and Harper is even cuter! :)

And I said I had nothing to really update about!  Sheesh.  Things are going good around our home and we are adjusting to several changes - but so lucky to have each other.  Life would not be what it is without Presley and Tony and I am so thankful that they are two of my lifetime partners who I get to spend my days with.

I've been attempting to write, finish, and publish this particular blog for several weeks now... so hopefully I'm cured of my writing aversion and will be better about keeping up with this thing!