Update and Best Picture Ever

Well, we survived our first family vacation.  Let me tell you, "vacation" takes on a whole new meaning when you bring two six-month-olds along for the ride!  Of course, when we decided to bring the girls with us we realized there would be no sleeping in, no late dinners (maybe not even dinner at all, for that matter!), and no laying by the pool all day.  It was definitely different from our beach vacations in the past, but all in all, we had a great time spending the week together as a family of four.

The girls had a lot of "firsts" on this vacation:  first time in a swimming pool (pretty cool), first time to see the ocean (they weren't impressed), first time putting their toes in the sand (that was a little more fun), and first time sitting in a high chair other than ours at home.

There was also a first that we weren't so crazy about...for the first time ever, Jeremy and I were unable to finish our meal together in a restaurant.  To be fair, we knew we were pushing it.  The girls had been a little fussy all afternoon, but we had skipped lunch in order to eat an early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (it used to be called the Bayside Grill, but the name changed to Harbor-something-or-other).  Bless her little heart, Mackenzie was NOT having it!  Nothing pleased her at all, so Jeremy and I took turns sitting outside on the patio with her.  Thank goodness Jeremy eats fast, and that Addison was behaving.  : )  We got dessert to go, and it was still just as good at 10:00 that night.  I guess making it nearly seven months without a restaurant meltdown was pretty darn good, especially considering that we eat out with them at least once a week! 

We played it safe every other night and Jeremy called in our order to one of the nearby restaurants, then brought it back to the condo.  Still tasted just as good!  (Another upside of the beach in October:  the food was ready in 10 minutes or less, so it was nice and fresh when he got back with it.)  It really was a great trip.  We had great weather-not too hot, not too cold.  We shopped, ate (a lot!), and just enjoyed being together.  The girls slept great in their pack and plays, and even did great in the car on the way there.  It's about a 6-hour drive, so we left around 2 a.m., and just put them in their carseats asleep.  Crazy, I know, but it worked!  They slept until we were only an hour away, both there and back.  By that time, we were ready to stop for breakfast anyway, so it turned out just perfect.  I definitely recommend it if your kids will sleep in the car!

We took lots of pictures of the girls on the trip (though none really on the beach...we were distracted just watching them see something new), and I am sure I will share more once I am finished editing them.  But I just had to share this one of the girls on a bench at The Wharf...I do believe it might be my favorite picture so far!  (Mackenzie is on the left; Addison is on the right, looking sneaky)