Well, we made it home from Florida safe and sound! Life has been a lot lately and it was so nice for us to escape away for a little bit. And believe me, we did a whole lotta nothing. We finished a couple books, took naps, slept in, rented movies... stuff that most people probably can do at home and don't have to take a vacation to enjoy...but not us. I will admit, I didn't want to come home. As soon as our plane landed, I felt the anxiety coming back. How is that?! I couldn't get on facebook for two days after we returned, because to me that meant I was back in reality and had to face all that was going on in it. I love my life, but sometimes it's nice to escape from it at the same time.

We didn't take many pictures, since that wasn't what this vacation was about, but here are a few.

We finally had good weather on our 3rd day. The first one rained like a monsoon, and I cried just about as much.
The second was overcast, so we took a watertaxi around to different parts of the city and areas of shopping. It was a cool way to get around the city. I totally forgot my camera that day, sorry. The best part was seeing all of the way swankey homes and yachts along the inter-coastal waterway, as well as the sunset on the boat.

We only ate out twice the whole week! Aren't you proud of us?!
This night we made taco and ate them on the beach.

We decided to take a day trip to Miami and South Beach since we were so close...and here is where a most of my pics came from.

South Beach, Baby! I decided this was one of the places we have traveled to that I could actually live and fit in with. The crazy colors and architecture had me written all over it!

I was in love with all of the art deco

We rented bikes for the day and cruised around the city. It was such a neat way to see everything

The cool way to travel on South Beach!

View of downtown Miami from the port

This was our view during lunch.. we didn't realize we were eating at the place where they filmed the Birdcage until we were almost done!

I was so excited..that is one of my all time favorite movies!

Lincoln Street- an outdoor mall. It was neat because all of the shops were on the sides and the down the middle were the restaurants, and all of them had the chairs facing outward so you could people watch. It reminded me very much of Barcelona or Paris (and yes, I have been there too!)

This offered much needed shade

Kel thought this was gross, but for some reason I LOVED it. it was just a telephone pole in the middle of the walkway that everyone had stuck their gum on- it was somehow charming to me!

Church- I loved the Spanish influence in design

On our last morning, we got up to watch the sunrise on the beach

It was so peaceful, what a great way to start a new day!

I am coming back from this vacation with the intent to not stress as much over the little things, or worry about the things that make me stressed. Here is what I want to try to work on:

-not check my email 20 times a day (that includes facebook!)
-not take everything so personal
-not freak out if I don't get to clean my house everyday
-read more
-work less
-actually sit on my days off. one week i kept track of how much i sat and out of my 4 days off, i only sat a total of 5 hours!
-if I want to eat that cookie, i am going to!
-i don't need to keep up with everyone else. life isn't about competition.
-don't stress over cooking-not every meal has to be gourmet. tacos and spaghetti are still a homemade meal!

We shall see how this works...Wish me luck!

I finally have my Kellen back!

Well we made it! As many of you know, Kellen (and myself, being the crazy wife that I am) has been preparing for his big 8-hour PE (Professional Engineer) Exam since November...and he finally took it a few fridays ago. Engineering is so crazy to me-rather than taking your licensing exam after college like nursing (and any other logical professions!), you take your engineering exam after working for 4 years. Who crazy does that sound? Imagine if I had to my NCLEX over all of nursing, after working in the NICU for 4 years...there would be NO way I'd pass! BUT, that is the profession Kel chose, so here we are.

I can say after countless Friday nights alone while he was at class, briefly catching up with him each night over brushing our teeth after a busy day, doing all of the yardwork (I even had to call my dad once to ask about the weedeater), keeping up with all the housework and shopping- pretty much doing everything to help give him one less thing to worry about, I can say with a huge sigh of relief that we both made it. alive. it wasn't pretty (mostly me, that is), but we made it.

I want to take a quick second to brag...I am so proud of Kellen. Now I know I am not a person of the eloquent nature, but I am going to try to put into words what I witnessed during this process. Kellen was so dedicated and focused, never losing will or motivation, even after 4 months of constant focus and studying. Not only was he still doing on a lot of extra things at work, I had a lot going on in my life, too, and he handled me with such grace. Seeing him balance life so strongly made me fall in love with him all over again. He is my absolute rock; but yet in this experience he needed me as well. Although this time was very hard on me, I put myself aside to be his rock. As a young couple, I am proud of us.

I have no doubt in my mind that he couldn't have done any more than what he did.. and words cant express how proud I am of him.

Although we don't find out his results for 10 weeks (painful, I know!), to me that doesn't matter. He has already accomplished a goal that many of us wouldn't have been able to do; I know I couldn't.

To me, this exam was more than a test to give Kellen extra credentials after his name. It was a test of our strength as a family, both individually and as a unit. And with much sweat and tears, I think we passed with flying colors. And we are stronger than ever.

'Hoppy' Easter!

I am well aware this is a tad late, but 'Hoppy' Easter everyone! This last week was super crazy for me as I was horribly sick (I haven't been sick in over a year, mind you...who gets sick when the weather turns 80?!) then it was also my birthday on Saturday. Although it did end up raining on my birthday (I am used to it anymore), I had a wonderful weekend with family. I am so blessed to be so close to both sides of my family. They are wonderful people!

On Friday I made my famous Easter Cookies. I have been making these for 4 years now, and everyone requests them come Easter. They are work, but totally worth it and I enjoy making them.

Yum!

Fresh out of the oven

Letting the icing dry with care

Ready to go!

That night, Kellen surprised me and took me out on a 'birthday date' where we went to Lowe's and Menard's, then had blizzards on our way home. You know you are getting older when you get super excited about that! I couldn't have been happier. We got stuff for our yard, and as my present, Kellen is building me a small garden! I am so eager to start it! I will post more on that later.

On Saturday, we went to my parent's house and did both my birthday and Easter. My parents surprised me with a birthday cake from my most fave bakery and the one who did our wedding cake, Heavenly Sweets. It was SO good. They also go me the cutest stuff for our deck and patio- a new umbrella, pillows, place mats, a new ice cream maker (I broke mine), plates and napkins from Crate & Barrel, candle holders, the works. My mom had it all out on their patio displayed to surprise me. I am so bummed I didn't get a pic because it was so cute. Everything coordinates in fun oranges, pinks, teals and blues. I love it! And of course, we had our egg hunt with my cousins....you never grow out of that.

Then on Sunday we went to Kellen's mom's house. So I pretty much got to celebrate my birthday two days in a row! I was so excited because she got me some plates that I had wanted from Crate & Barrel, not knowing what my mom got me- and everything matches just right! So we are set for fashionable cookouts on our deck. Anyone is welcome!

Here are some pics we got at Beth's of everyone in their Easter best. I am sorry I didn't get any from my parent's house!

Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely weather
xoxo