Anniversary trip to Europe.

Dave and I had initially planned a trip to Europe last fall when I was very pregnant with Piper. A couple of friends went last summer and I was so envious of their ability to go, so we put it on our calendar. Maggie and Jeff were also going for their 10 year anniversary, so we planned to overlap at some point. The planning had begun. I was excited and apprehensive as the dates neared. Little by little things fell into place and after loads and loads of prep (trip planning, child care coordination, pumping enough milk, etc.) we were on the plane. Yay!

We were greeted by Maggie and Jeff in St. Mark's Square in Venice, we had a great first couple of days with them. I had a pump malfunction immediately which sent Dave and I to pharmacies to find and buy pumps to get me through the trip. Once that was accomplished, we were on our way. We walked and shopped and ate and drank (too much!!) our way through Venice. We spent Monday morning perusing designer shops, trying on the latest, ridiculously expensive, fashions and laughing our way through. Mag and Jeff left on Tuesday morning and Dave and I hopped on a train to Milan and then to Monaco to our final stop in Eze-la-mer.

We spent one day in Beaulieu wandering and eating followed by dinner in Eze Village which was so charming. It is an old walled village full of history and views. The following day was spent in St. Paul De Vence for lunch and exploring followed by a rickshaw tour and dinner in Nice. What a pleasant surprise Nice was. After the recent terrorist attacks, it was not on our list, but due to time issues, we ended up following our noses and ended up in the Old Town which was unique, lively, and had so much culture. We spent our final day in Cannes which included a boat trip to Il St. Honorat which is a private island that houses a monastery. It was calm and quiet and had killer sea views. It was a great final day.

Dave and I had so much fun exploring, relaxing, appreciating long lunches and dinners, and taking in the culture. We really tried to focus on our ability to do that as it is so far from our current reality at home. But under it all, we completely missed the kids. The first pains set in on our long train travel day on Tuesday, we tried to focus on the positives, but we missed them SO much and had to carry each other through when the sadness set in. The pains eased as the week went on knowing we would be home soon. We are so happy we did the trip, but feel like it may have been a little too long of trip and maybe too far away. Lesson learned. It will be awhile before we try anything quite that huge again, until then, Canada will do ;).

We had major flight delays on our return, including a six hour delay in Munich before our 10 hour flight home. Needless to say, we missed our connecting flight in Denver and didn't return home until Sunday. Fortunately we had amazing child care set up between Janet and Courtney with help from my mom and sister, so the kids didn't know any different, but we ached incredibly to be home with the kids. They are our world.

Courtney and my parents surprised us at the airport with the kids which was so good. Sully and Greta went to Dave first and I couldn't let go when I was finally able to squeeze them. Piper was slightly hesitant to come, but once she did, she wouldn't let go, and still hardly has. As long as I'm in the room, she needs to be in my arms, which fills my heart. Our child care providers will never fully understand our gratitude toward them. Thank yous definitely don't cover it.

Drinks in Venice. 

St. Mark's Square.

Too much fun near the canal. 

Twin pic.

Dave and I in the Square. 

Dave catches a freaky bird. Yikes. 

Jeff does Versace!

Lunch with a Duomo view. 

Eze Village Botanical Gardens. 

Waiting on trains. 

Lunch in St. Paul de Vence. 

The Promenade in Nice. 

Old Town Nice. 

My dinner date. 

The Cannes Harbor. 

Il St. Honorat, the original monetary remains. Dave takes in the view.  

Messy hair don't care.

Sad about delays in the Munich airport. 

Ready to catch our flight in Denver,
36 hours in to our journey home. 

School starts!

We (aka me) couldn't be happier to get back into a routine around here. We have had a couple of weeks with minimal commitments which has been both fun and exhausting. Minimal scheduled outings means more home time which ultimately means feisty kids.

We had a stressful holiday weekend with some unexpected events which juggled schedules. This resulted in kids who were desperate for some family fun. I woke up with Sully on Sunday morning and he was immediately requesting a trip to The Children's Museum in Brookings. With an open afternoon, we dropped everything and hit the road. The kids had a great time exploring. We dropped Dave off on our way into town and he was able to escape to Yankton for the evening to spend some time with his buddy, Paul. All in all, it was a good day.

We kicked off our new school year with our second annual DQ outing last evening. We had fun making a mess with ice cream and reminiscing about how last year at this time I was 34 weeks pregnant with Piper. I dropped Sully off this morning and as he was getting out of the car he told me how excited he was to see all of his friends and teachers. What a great feeling as last year he was nervous and I was, too. Greta was slightly jealous she wasn't able to spend her day with Miss Heather and Miss Trina, but I assured her, her time will come. She was happy to get back in the swing of things with toddler time at Miss Jaspers'. Piper and I did our thing at Weight Watchers and then it was already time to pick up the kids. Just like that, we are in the full swing of the school year.

Dave and I leave Saturday and the prep (milk pumped and frozen, e mails sent, calendars made, child care arranged, etc) is done (eek)!!! We are so excited to get away and anxious to leave the kids. They will be in great hands and loved and cared for, although they will be missed more than they will ever know. We just need to get on the plane and my nerves will hopefully subside.

Keeping a safe distance from the dino at the museum
and telling daddy to 'watch out!'.

Dress up fun. 

Light bright. 

Everyone gets in on the fun. 

Piper on a mission.

Dave getting a chance to let loose.
Mucho deserved. 

DQ fun. 

Greta trying to contain Piper. 

Losing the battle (welcome to my world).

First day of school photo. The baby is front and center. 

Sully and Greta. So big and so sweet,
and SO excited about new school shoes.  

Thumbs up on our way to the car (and noisy road construction
on our street, I'm surprised it even phases her ;)).

Big boy ready for the new preschool year at The Graham Academy. 

My selfie attempt. 

So excited to see me :).