Family Trip to the Beach

The blog might start to look familar to last year. Every summer we take three trips with our family. Our first was with my family this year. We had a great time walking on the beach, flying kites, riding the radio flyer, and playing with the cousins.

The above pictures show Luke's first trail run. He normally jogs around the block, to the school, to the play ground, and on nature paths by our home. I took him to a near by state park and had him jog up steep hills and over rocks and roots. Again, I love sharing my days with Luke.

6th Anniversary and 30th Birthday

Dave and I have enjoyed some time together. We have been planning to enjoy things before baby two arrives. We spent our anniversary at a wonderful bed and breakfast. It is great to spend some time only with my first love.

I also have progressed from 29 to 30. It feels good to be "experienced." For my birthday we went for a bike ride without the trailer and went to a romantic dinner on the lake.

Chicago Trip

We went to visit the Vandixhorn's in Chicago. We stayed at their condo in the south loop. The view from their patio has a great view of the traffic and the trains. Luke has asked to go back here almost every day. He really liked seeing Jake, Julie and Tom. We also went to the Shed aquarium and saw the belugia wales and penguins. Both days we were there we biked along the lake front to navy peir and beyond to the beach. We also got to enjoy the Taste of Chicago while in town.

Luke's Favorite Thing

Luke loved driving to Green Bay to see a real Thomas the Tank Engine. He loved the model trains and would have watched all day. We rode Thomas for 25 minutes around the railroad museum. Grandma and Grandpa came with to enjoy the day. The funniest thing is that Luke has watched the home video of the day out with Thomas almost every day.

I love my days with Luke

Luke loves to walk and run so I took him hiking at a near by park. I love celebrating spring with him and enjoying the outdoors. We brought his favorite things: his lamb, his wagon, and his purple blankie. Luke's longest record is running for an hour and a half straight. We started at a Delafield coffee shop, took the riverwalk, ran around the park, ran back on the boardwalk, and then Luke took off over another bridge. I was having a hard time keeping up.

Mother's Day Bike Ride

Our family rode 11 bikes and 2 scooters to a park 2 miles away from our home on Mother's Day. The kids had a great time. Luke asks to go for a bike ride with Boden, his cousin, every day. He liked having a companion in the bike trailer with him. Luke loves the bike trailer because he enjoys going fast. It is a good thing his feet do not touch the pedals of a real bike otherwise he would be biking down all the hills in our neighborhood at top speed.

Carribean Cruise

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
This island had a great beach to swim and relax at. Dave and I enjoyed a perfect day in the sun. We also had a great time on the boat listening to live jazz music, broadway tunes, and seeing great dancers and acrobats.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

This was our favorite spot. It had beautiful vistas, lush foliage, and many activities. Megan's Bay is rated one of the top ten beaches in the world by National Geographic. We took a senic tour on a safari bus to see all the sites and then did a little window shopping. Dave has mentioned that we could come back here for our 10th anniversary. I will start planning today.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Tortola was absolutely beautiful. We rented a car and toured the island. Dave successfully drove on the left side of the road around 300 degree turns up 45% hills with a map that did not have street names. We loved the mountains and ocean. We were planning on hiking at Sage Mt. National Park however we could not because of strong winds and rain. We had a great time and would love to go back.

Samana, Dominican Republic

This was Luke's first excursion over 12 foot waves in a small and fast speed boat. We took the boat to the private island below. It was beautiful, but Luke was worn out by the end of the trip.

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

Luke had a great time seeing family for his second birthdy. He loved opening his presents. He got a yard set including a rake, shovel, chain saw, leaf blower, weed trimmer, goggles, and gloves. He also got a garbage truck, cute clothes, and some really good books. In the picture with Grandma and Grandpa, Luke has his camping supplies. He got a life preserver for boat rides and his own camp chair. We love having a two year old.

Winter Reading

Dave and Luke are at it again. This picture is a sequal to the one where Luke was sleeping in Dave's lap while he was reading an annual report. Now Luke is reading "Everything you need to know about wills and estate planning."

I have been enjoying this winter and the snow. This has been the best cross country skiing year that I can remember.

Here are my favorite things about Luke in Febuary. He gets so excited about brusselsprouts and broccoli. He is starting to use please, thank you, I'm sorry, I loved you, and excuse me on a regular basis. He loves dancing with his mama. He lets me hold him for three entire songs as we bounce and spin around the house.

Visitors

Luke loves visitors. Here are Leah and Zac from Pittsburgh.

Erin and her husband David from Illinois.

Play date with Connor, Lily, and Isacc (not shown).

Luke and Eli.