Happy Canada Day {Weekend}!!!

It's been a fun-filled one for us and the weather here has actually decided to cooperate. I think I actually got a little tan this weekend.

We also discovered this weekend that Maddie can officially swim on her own! She did really well in her last swimming class session but still used a floating aid for the majority of her swims.

But this weekend we headed out to the cottage. She started playing with a couple of other girls, a few years older than her, and they were all swimming together. Maddie had her life jacket on, but decided to take it off and just use a noodle. Well, the next step for her was to try to see if she could swim without the noodle. And she let it go. I did not witness this firsthand, but Ken says she was initially shocked and then started doggy paddling to save her life! All he could see was her little head sticking out of the water as she bobbed up and down for a few seconds! One of the other little girls gave her back her noodle and she grabbed on again. She said she was a bit scared, but now she knows she can actually stay afloat on her own!!! I am so excited! Now we can work on strengthening her swim and the length of time she can stay afloat. Today we went swimming at our friends' pool and she was able to swim alone again...back and forth between Ken and the ladder. I can't help but feels so proud of her! It's also weird though, it seems like just yesterday she was a little one year old in a parent n' tot class...now she's swimming on her own...

 {Discovering and working with clay}

 {Looking for fish}

 {Trying to keep up with the kiddos!}

 {Found a fish! It was actually a stick, but you know...}

 {Extremely pregnant...and I still have a few weeks to go!}

 {Maddie caught some tadpoles! Don't worry they were eventually returned :-) }

 {Looking for more tadpoles together}

{With Daddy and Auntie}

{Mr. Smiley Cloud face...at the end of a beautiful day!}

Our Disney Adventure in Pictures

Hey this coincides with Wordless Wednesday...and since I don't have time to write up all about our adventure just yet, here are the pictures of our adventures!

Vacation Mode Over

Minnie Mouse @ Epcot's Flower Festival

We got back from our trip to Disney on Saturday. It's back to the reality of our life here...not in vacation mode anymore. It was so nice to come home though. Do you know what I missed the most? My bed! There's nothing like sleeping in your own comfy bed. And I have to say that our bed is the most comfy bed ever. I am biased though!

The trip was a delightful blend of fun and exhaustion. You know that feeling where as soon as you sit down you can't get up? That was us every night. We did things we've never done before and realized yet again that kiddos are just so freaking amazingly adaptable. Picture us shopping at Walmart for groceries at 11:00pm. Fun times. Really, they were amazingly well behaved. That was the day we got there (we had to have something to eat the next morning!). Anyways, I want to write up more about the trip and what we did and post pictures, but at the moment I am too exhausted and need to go to bed. After a week of vacation with family, I no longer have the luxury of having 3 other adults available to help out, so I need to make sure I get my rest when I can! But I promise I will post tomorrow.

The last thing I wanted to write (because I just never want to forget the pure joy in her little face) was that tonight I laid down with Maddie to sing her a lullaby and tuck her in and the baby started wiggling and kicking, so I told Maddie to put her hands on my belly to feel her little sister. We spent almost an hour feeling her moving around. It was awesome! It was just such a wonderful bonding moment for all three of us. Needless to say, Maddie just can't wait until August!

I can though!

{I want this baby good and cooked...plus I need all the time I can get to continue to mentally prepare myself for becoming a mother of three. Eeeks}.

Almost Mickey Time!

The countdown is on! This weekend we are headed to Disney and I have to admit that I am super excited! Maddie's pure delight and excitement are so contagious, plus I really am a big kid and can't wait to go back {last time Ken and I went was in 2001}. Isaac will have lots of fun too. He is already saying "Mickey Mouse!" and "Mickey hug" (he is planning to give Mickey a hug). Maddie is all about the "mean guys" and is planning to find Maleficent {and maybe Jafar} and give them a hug. We are going for a week, and I know by the end of it we will be perfectly exhausted and ready to come home. In the meantime I am procrastinating getting things ready and packed. But I am planning to take Thursday to do that and finish up the rest on Friday. We're pretty used to travelling with kiddos, but somehow I feel like this particular trip is going into unknown territory. I think it's because we are going to a busy, people-packed place to do A LOT of walking {where usually our vacations are all about laying on a beach and swimming in the pool!}.

Wanna share some tips on making this trip smooth? Oh and also on travelling while pregnant {last time I flew while pregnant was with Maddie...so it's been a while!}? I'd love to hear them!

Marvelous Mexico

Our trip to Mexico could not have been more perfect. The journey there {and back} went smoothly, even if we did have to wake up at 4am to get there! The kiddos did great on the plane. Our first day there was spent getting groceries and settling in to the villa. We did get to go in the pool though! During the week our routine became: wake up, eat breakfast, put swimsuits and sunscreen on, pack snacks and head to the beach! After a few hours there we would head home for lunch and then we all would have a glorious nap. The only days we didn't do that where they days we went to the Tulum Mayan ruins {and the Tulum beach...just awesome!} and to Yal-Ku lagoon. Both beautiful places.

While we adventured we got to see wild Sea Turtles, tons of fish and iguanas. The Sea Turtles were really the highlight though, they are so majestic. Even Maddie got to see them! Ken and I would take turns taking her out to where they were feeding and she used our masks to look into the water. She did so good at holding her breath and looking underwater! My friends' kiddos also got to see them, so everyone was very excited about that!

Every day we would take turns cooking and we made some delish meals. I am happy to report that we did not get sick, at all! That truly did make the vacation even more enjoyable.

In the evenings, after dinner, we would put Isaac to bed and then the rest of us would watch a movie, eat popcorn and then head to bed at the crazy late hour of no-later-than-9:30pm. Sun and sand really drain the energy out of a person; oh and so does chasing 4 kids around all day!

I am so happy we all went. Despite constantly being on parent duty, we had a great time. Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat.

Ole!

Can you guess what I'm doing?

I've got lots of sunscreen, hats and sunglasses and hot weather clothes!

We are going on vacation!

Mexico here we come!

It's going to be 3 adults and 4 kids...can you say a bit outnumbered? Our friend and her 2 kiddos are coming with us. We're going to have a blast!

I am so looking forward to lounging by the pool, eating lots of yummy food, laying on the sand, building sandcastles and plain old beach bumming without a care in the world.

What a way to end the summer!