We're at the end of our second week of work since our week long cruise vacation - just Mama and Daddy, of course - and it has taken some getting used to! I think we were just beginning to enjoy relaxing on the top pool deck or snorkeling in the clear waters of the Caribbean, or just the general lack of responsibilities for a week. We sailed on the Enchantment of the Seas with Royal Caribbean to Key West, Cozumel and Belize, and we enjoyed almost everything the 11 floored ship had to offer. Being served at every turn and enjoying time as a couple was much needed and a great time away from the responsibilities of parenthood.

What did the girls do without their Mama and Daddy for a whole week, you ask? Took advantage of their grandparents, of course! Grama and Papa practiced their toddler roping the first half of the week, and Gigi and Grandy were able to use those air traffic controller ear muffs we gave them for Christmas the second half of the week. All kidding aside, except for a few days of fever for Abigail and missing a day of school, the week was a success on the homefront. Thanks to the grandparents for the trips to the playground(s) and parks, going to get library books, fixing many toddler-related meals, a trip to Chick-fil-a, and opening our kids imaginations through so many other fun activities. Sydney and Abigail also enjoyed going to the airport and surprising us at our arrival (but not half as much as we enjoyed it!)

We had a great week just focusing on ourselves and doing what we wanted to when we wanted to, but are so glad to be back into the swing of things with our two sweet girls!

On May 10th, we had the privilege of a free family day at the Nashville Zoo as a reward from Brad's company, E. Roberts Alley & Associates, with his co-workers. The highlights for Sydney and Abigail were the petting zoo, the largest animals (elephants, bongo, etc.), and the carousel. They enjoyed it so much and knew so many names of the animals, we've decided to make sure we frequent the Zoo this summer. Abigail really loved the goats at the petting zoo - she ran down the hill with this one particular goat and made the gesture as if she wanted to ride it (you can see the goat likes the plant on the outside of the petting zoo area and Abigail was not afraid to get really close)! We died laughing. We are loving this stage of the girls' lives right now. While they sometimes challenge us, we have so much fun with them answering their questions about animals and everything they see. It is great to experience life again through their little eyes!

In early April, we took our "annual" trip with Brad's family for a long weekend - last year was Gatlinburg, this year Chattanooga. With family in town, it is nice to sometimes get away and spend time together just for fun, instead of using a birthday, holiday, or other event as our excuse to be together. We spent about 3 hours at the Aquarium, which felt like we were running through it- I don't think the girls really understood what they were looking at most of the time, and I know Cousin Jack was just along for the ride. We saw the newest portion of the Aquarium, the "Ocean Journey" building, for the first time, which included the penguins, butterfly room, and petting the sting rays. Definitely leave time in your trip for this portion if you have younger children - I think this was Sydney's and Abigail's favorite part. After lunch, we attempted the 3D IMAX movie of the Grand Canyon, but neither of the girls were crazy about the water splashing around their faces in 3D or the loud theater audio. They made it through about 15 minutes or so, and then Rebekah took them out to the hall behind the theater to play for the rest of the time. All in all, we had a very nice weekend and will enjoy these memories for a long time.

We are alive and well and busy, but we honestly would like to keep everyone up to date on our lives. I admit that having our immediate families in town does not promote blogging our daily lives like it used to -- we started the blog back then as a nice vehicle for pictures and videos. You'll be happy to know that we've restored our computer to working order and the computer whizzes retrieved ALL of our pictures, videos, and music from our old hard drive! We did lose many of the programs and other documents that made our former computer easy to use, but we cannot be happier that the precious memories were saved.



As I've said, Sydney and Abigail keep us busy on a daily basis, and they have really been enjoying dress-up time lately. The above pictures are from sometime last month when Rebekah pulled out last year's Christmas gifts - the nurse/doctor outfits! The outfits go great with the doctor kit Mama and Daddy gave them (thanks, Gigi). With excellent bedside manners, the girls can now listen to our heartbeats, take blood pressures, give shots, and check for reflexes! More to come...

I know, I know...it is almost like we forgot we had a blog at all. It has been 6 weeks since the last post, and we've had plenty of good and exciting things happen in our lives. Keep in mind, a portion of this time was without a home computer. With the upcoming holiday weekend, we should be able to catch up with a few posts on events like our trip to the Chattanooga Aquarium, Mama and Daddy's cruise vacation, and today's popsicle party, among others. Thanks for hanging in!