A Lot To Look Forward To

Caleb and I love to travel, but this is the longest we've gone without a vacation since we were married. I know it sounds spoiled since not many people get to travel as much as they want to, and with 3 kids and living on a teacher's salary, I feel very blessed.

Other than a one night get away, our last vacation was almost 2 years ago when we went to San Diego with Caleb's family. Since then I got pregnant and our 3rd baby came into the world 4 weeks early. Juggling a preemie baby, Ellie's new preschool schedule, Caleb's volleyball schedule and our wild 2 year old boy left no time for vacations.

But now there are so many vacations up ahead (some of them are small, long weekend get-aways) that I can't stop thinking about all of the places I'll get to cross off of  my bucket list.

First up is a long weekend escape to Austin to see this beautiful family. We'll leave on Valentine's Day and come back on President's Day.

Joe is Caleb's best friend and I adore Joe's wife Kim. We were not thrilled when Joe moved his sweet wife and boys to Austin. I haven't seen Kim and the kiddos since that move a year and a half ago. Since then we have both added a baby girl into our families. I'm excited to meet their little Madison and we'll be bringing Emsley with us so the girls can play. :)

Then, on March 8th, my sisters, my mom and I are flying to Vegas to celebrate my sister Alli's and BIL Brian's 30th birthdays! This trip kind of happened overnight and was totally random and impromptu. What started out as a hypothetical "Wouldn't it be fun if we joined Alli and Brian in Vegas?" turned into reality and it's going to be SO much fun! 

We'll only be there for 2 days and 2 nights, but we're going to enjoy every minute of it. I already know the highlight of our trip is going to be the Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw concert we officially have tickets for. 

I.can't.wait!

Brian and Alli will be staying at the Monte Carlo and Jenn, Courtney, Mom and I will be staying at the New York, New York.

We owe the husbands BIG time for encouraging us to do this and for watching all of the little ones for us while we're gone.  

And then, speaking of New York, New York, Caleb and I will be going to New York in the fall!!! Pinch me now. This has always been a dream of mine and at the top of my bucket list. I can't believe it's going to happen.

This past Christmas Caleb's parents surprised each of their sons and daughter-in-laws with a card saying that their gift to us was a trip to go anywhere in the U.S. with them. It didn't take long for me and Caleb to come up with New York!

We'll only be gone for 4 nights since it's hard to leave these 3 beautiful babes behind for too long. 

We had fun doing our own little photo shoot at home today. :)

It's going to be really hard to prioritize what to cram into those 4-5 days since we can't see everything in that time. I do know that we will for sure be seeing a Broadway play (I'm pushing for Wicked),

seeing the Statue Of Liberty, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, etc. Basically, as many tourist stops that we can fit in. :)

I'm sure I'll talk a lot more about this as it gets closer. :)

As if all of this wasn't enough, next year (2015) we'll have a few more vacations. Caleb and I are planning on going somewhere tropical for our 10th Anniversary. Probably back to Riviera Maya where our honeymoon was. I can't believe we'll be celebrating our 10th Anniversary next year. Where did the time go?

Anyway, with all of these vacations up ahead, I am one excited and happy girl!

Oh yeah, and before I forget-  GO BRONCOS!! SO excited to watch the Superbowl this Sunday!

Arbitrary Autumn

Well folks, since I don't get much time to blog these days, I'm afraid I'll have to put all of my thoughts into another random post. I just had to come up with another word for random, so arbitrary it is. ;)

Suddenly I feel as though life is in fast forward. I'm not sure if I like it or not. However, I do like that we are in the middle of my FAVORITE season! I've been loving the beautiful weather and colors around here lately
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We just came home from spending the weekend at the family cabin in the mountains and it was heavenly up there.

Speaking of life moving fast, my baby girl is 4 months old this week. FOUR months already! Even my sister Jenn agreed that Emsley's baby months are going too fast. I'll update on what she's like these days later this week.

Caleb's having a very successful and fun volleyball season. The team is currently undefeated and ranked 1st in 2A! Their record right now is 13-0 and they haven't dropped a game. I'm SO proud of him and his team. It's hard to believe that in 3 short weeks it will already be volleyball play-off time. It's going to be fun to see how far they go this year.

Speaking of undefeated teams, let's hear it for the Denver Broncos! Yeah, overall it's just a great year in our sports world.

I've got to say, I honestly don't know how any couple raising young kids survive without family around. I am oh-so-thankful for family that live nearby and have watched Ellie and Ethan a lot lately to let me go and support Caleb and watch his team. I've had so much help from my mom, my sisters and Caleb's parents too and it means the WORLD to me.

Elliana is loving preschool. I don't know why we ever hesitated about it. Every day I drop her off she has a smile on her face and never looks back. Then when I pick her up her smile is just as big if not bigger. I always knew she'd love school, and it's so much fun to see her blossom. I can't believe in less than a year she'll be in kindergarten and I'll be dropping her off 5 days a week! My heart is not ready for that...

I mean, seriously, wasn't it just yesterday that SHE was my little baby girl?

Ethan is so much fun. Every day I'm blown away by his wit and his ever expanding vocabulary. It's hard to explain, but he just makes me smile. Even though some days his crazy energy makes me want to pull my hair out, this boy has a special place in my heart.

I love how Ethan adores Ellie and how their relationship is SO tight! They are such good friends that some days I wonder how Emsley is going to fit into the mix. I'm hoping as soon as she's crawling around and showing more personality they'll become the three amigos instead of just the older two and the baby.

I'm sure a lot of moms can relate, but I totally wish I could get on one of those free makeover shows. I feel like I would be a great candidate. ;)  Most days I feel quite frumpy and I hate everything in my wardrobe. I'm working on becoming more aware of fashion and I'm looking forward to getting some shopping help from my fashionista sister Courtney next weekend. :)

I'm hoping I'll go from this, to this: Ha!

Now where can I get a new body? ;)

We're having family photos taken at the end of the month and I'm having a lot of fun putting outfits together for my kiddos. Our color scheme is going to look something like these photos:

I hope it all comes together well and I can't wait to see the photos!

That pretty much sums up life right now. I'd love to write more but I don't get a lot of kid-free time these days and I think I should go spend some of it with my man. :)