On the eve of our summer vacation, I figured it was time to share how we kicked off the summer this year.

This time last year, we were having a moment. A high stress moment. Jane and Emma had just turned the big ONE, and we were focusing on getting the seller of our house to closing. So much has changed in a year!

This year we enjoyed an extremely relaxing long weekend. Other than one double-trouble meltdown, the rest of the weekend was stress-free.

On Friday, we met our friend Erin (who is now expecting a set of twins of her own!) with her little girl, Olivia. Feels like yesterday we were at Erin’s baby shower excitedly waiting for little Livy’s arrival! We took the trio to our local zoo, where the lines were long but worth it to watch these little peanuts roam throughout the animal exhibits, holding hands and sharing snacks.

On Saturday we went to Livy’s (the girls call her “Via” because they can’t pronounce Olivia) house for a BBQ. We spent the day lounging next to the pool, wishing it were just a teensy bit warmer so we could dive in. The girls didn’t notice, and spent the afternoon playing in the sandbox and begrudgingly taking turns in the tree swing. They even got to play with their newest tiny friend, “Baby AJ!!”

The day inevitably ended in Meltdown City after VERY short naps in pack n’ plays, but we put them down and enjoyed a little bit of adult time with some of our favorite friends, after we took these blackmail-worthy photos of the twincesses.

Sunday we took the girls to the park for a bit where they ran wild for an hour before stopping at the farmers market for some “wallamelon”. That afternoon we lounged in the yard and watched Jane and Emma run back and forth between their 3 different water tables, swing set and okay house that Aunt Suzanne gave them for their birthday. I also finally got to kick back and take a little snooze in my hammock!

Monday, our last day of “vacation”, we spent playing in the yard. We did sidewalk chalk, colored in coloring books, and blew up their little pool for some real water play.

It was so hard to go back to work yesterday, but the girls were definitely looking forward to returning to school with their friends, and we are officially less than one month from summer vacation!

Last week we welcomed our new baby cousin, Brayden Hershey, to the family, and Jane and Emma are so excited to get to spend some time with their baby cousin! We haven’t been able to get down to the Philly area yet to see him in person, so we are looking forward to spending lots of time with him this summer at the beach house.

Above all, we were so grateful to have this past weekend to spend together, made possible by the sacrifices of others for our country and our freedom.

What did you all do for MDW weekend? Were you afraid of turning into a hot dog like we were?

Hope you’re all enjoying the beautiful weather here on the east coast, and if you’re in Texas or Oklahoma, we are thinking of you!

Happy Thursday!

This post was written one week ago on the sunny beaches of Key Largo.  Unfortunately, due to spotty Internet connections I was unable to post from Florida.  

Aloha! I am writing to you from sunny Florida! We are on Spring Break (wooooo!) here in Groffland, and Hershey, the twins and I are spending our much-anticipated week off with Hershey’s parents at a beach club in Key Largo. It’s paradise.

Life with twin toddlers these last 2 months have been…well…LIFE. It’s been messy and horrifying and beautiful and amazing. We have had some highs and some seriously serious lows, but we are optimistic about the future.

Jane and Emma have continued to battle the dreaded Day Care Cough and Sniffle. They’ve been hacking up a lung for months now and have regressed big time in the sleep department. Janey is screaming “MAMAAAAA” in her crib as I type this, and it is way past her bedtime!

On top of the constant illness fight, Hershey got really sick 2 weeks ago and passed out in our kitchen while he was home from work alone one morning. After a multitude of tests “they” have determined that it “may have been a seizure” but there’s no way of knowing because the hospital screwed up and released him instead of holding him for tests and now there’s no way to know for sure.

My sister-in-law’s baby shower was last month and I had a lot of fun making a nautical-themed diaper cake and favors. I ordered salt water taffy from our fave candy spot in Stone Harbor and filled mason jars with the taffy for the guests. Heather’s aunt put together the coolest baby shower gift I’ve ever seen (similar here), and the girls had a blast re-gifting all of the shower gifts to their godmother when the shower was over. I also loved feeling my tiny nephew kick in his mommy’s belly. I’m so excited to have a little nephew!

The best news of all is that we finally got some nice weather in NJ. We brought out the swings and our chairs and the girls have actually gotten a couple of rides in their little pink cars. Warm temps mean open windows and less germs, so Hershey and I have been on a cleaning spree. We have also been busy trying to finish a few little projects around the house to get ready for..

Jane and Emma’s 2nd Birthday Extravaganza!!!! Since we never got to throw the girls a legit birthday party last year due to our closing circumstances, you can bet your booty that we will be celebrating this year big time!

Speaking of the twincesses, they are on a roll. With BUTTA! They have a huge bank of words, are speaking in simple sentences, know their ABCs, can count to 13, and are really interested in the potty. They also repeat EVERYTHING, which I can tell you is not so fun when you hear your beautiful innocent almost 2 year old blurt out “SHIT” in the backseat of the car, and start wondering where else she is saying it during the course of her day.

But they do say some things that crack me up. Emma says “LEEsard” (lizard) and Jane says “peppy RONI!” (pepperoni). And Jane walks around scolding Emma (“NO NO EMMA BAD GURL!” while wagging her finger at Emma) as Emma giggles and cocks her head to the side and says, “Janey funny!” I want to bottle it up and save it forever because I know that this time is so fleeting and when it’s over it will never be back!

There are some other big things coming up that I can’t wait to share with you. With Hershey being so sick the last few weeks and then wrapping up school before the break, I haven’t been able to get my head straight. I will hopefully be able to get back into the swing again soon.

What are you doing to help usher in the good weather? What are you looking forward to for spring?

Hope you’re hanging in there! I hear it’s icky back in Jersey, so I’m sending some sun rays and beautiful vitamin D your way!