I.LOVE.THIS!

I can't believe I haven't wrote about this yet but Mike and I became the proud owners of a mini-van a few weeks ago. I truly thought I was going to be an SUV driver for the rest of my life but the mini had me at the automatic sliding doors.

We finally were able to all hit up the beach - a little late in the season but better late than never, right :)

Friday, after Mike got outta work, we loaded up in the Vue with our picnic dinner, enough towels for a small army, and a very excited 3 year old.

Mike and I took turns swimming with Colin while the other entertained a happy but slightly unsure Elias. In between turns, we put Elias' feet in the water. It was a little chilly for his liking but there were no tears, so we will call it a success.

Merridith and I have been trying to hit the zoo almost all summer and everyday hasn't worked for some reason or another. We both had Thursday off along with my mom and although the weather was iffy but we decided to chance it anyway.

Colin choking the little girl. Possibly in hopes of not always having to take his picture next to the funny looking people. Colin being a flamingo Wallaby Grandma and Colin in the barn (I love this picture!) Grandma and Colin in the bird cage What you can't see well is the bird landed right on Colin's arm. Freaked him out a little at first but now he keeps talking about the tweet tweet on his arm. Colin and Aunt Merridith looking at the Pengiuns Colin loved the Tiger. He kept pacing by the window He loved ROOOOOOOOOOARING at it. Short video of him roaring at it.
My little drummer boy
Colin laughing with Aunt Merridith and Grandma.
After the zoo, we headed to McDonalds to grab some lunch where Colin had his first happy meal.

Thanks Mom and Merr for a great morning. Colin and I had alot of fun!

Here are some of the pictures from Saugatuck from the other night.

Miles have been accrued. Flights have been booked. Hotels have been secured.

Puerto Rico we will be seeing you in December.

(yup, we are giving this trip another shot!)

I've been dying to post these pictures. I needed to get a few other posts done before doing this one.

I have too many pictures to show on here, so I'll post a few on here (realistically it will be more than just a few) and then you can check out the rest on my newly created shutterfly site.

Florida Trip:

Colin and Angela

Colin loved the elevators. Here's him taking a ride down in Tampa.

Family Photo in Clearwater. Mike and I have a picture standing in the exact location when we went on our first vacation together 4 years earlier.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Mike feeding Colin at Animal Kingdom waiting for the bus to take us to Magic Kingdom. It was the coldest day in 8 years and temps never reaching 45 degrees. Brrr!

Colin and I posing in the fake Dumbo after his fun ride on the 'real' Dumbo.

Fun family picture with Chip and Dale.

Getting creative with toys.

Birthday Party (thanks Merridith for taking many of these):

Birthday Boy!!

Drooly Colin

Colin's smash cake and the cupcakes that my mom and I spent entirely too long making. It was worth every minute of it.

Starting to get into it.

My expressive lil boy.

Cake time - official over!

All pictures can be seen on my shutterfly site: www.ourlilcorneroftheworld.shutterfly.com. A password IS required. It is our last name in all LOWER CASE letters. Comment or email me with questions about getting access.

We are home again. While it is nice to be back to our real beds and Colin's things, we desperately miss Florida. Although Orlando was experiencing record colds, it was nice not seeing the snow, feeling the sun against our skin, and not having to bundle up. Colin absolutely loved being down there.

We didn't get back to Grand Rapids until after 2am and I had to work this morning. Momma's tired and I have alot to do before Colin's birthday party but I promise to post more later along with pictures. We "only" took 271 savable pictures which is far less than I would have expected.

Just one picture until I have more time. Colin 'walking' into the water.

Mike and I headed up to the Inn at Bay Harbor this weekend to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. When planning our trip months ago, we wanted to find somewhere close enough to drive because of Colin but still far enough away that it felt like a get away. The Inn at Bay Harbor was a PERFECT location. It was so incredibly beautiful and romantic.

We decided last minute to leave Colin with my parents (THANKS AGAIN!!!!) and just go up for one evening. Although, we missed him more than we thought it was humanly possible to miss someone, it was nice for 24 hours to just be someone's wife and best friend instead of someone's mom. Our day wasn't dictated by his eating and sleeping schedules, we stayed out late, went to the smokey casino, and were able to just be two adults. We missed Colin so much though, we decided to come straight home instead of going wine tasting in Traverse City. It was a great night with an amazing man in a fabulous resort in a beautiful town. I couldn't have asked for more. We look forward to hopefully returning there again next year. Enjoy some photos that do not do the resort justice ... sorry there aren't really pictures of us.

This'll be quick.

We are here in LA. Mike had to look something up on the computer, so I thought I'd look at my email real quick. I have waaaaaaaay too many emails, so I thought I'd blog instead especially since I can't access myspace :(

We went to Vegas on Monday. It was fun. We ended up losing all our money but we pretty much only used Mike's tip money, so it was sort of like "free" money. It was a fun city and I'm glad we made the long desert trip.

We've yet to really see any LA spots. We went to a Dodgers game on Sunday and went to Long Beach where I saw the Queen Mary. I got a far away shot but it's a picture none-the-less. Starting today is when the wedding stuff really starts. We are hoping to fit in a couple major tourist stops today and tomorrow.

Well Mike is done researching, so I'm going to sign off as well. Hope everyone is doing well. I miss talking to everyone but the time change makes it extremely difficult to call people. Talk to everyone soon.

Look out Florida and Georgia cuz here I come.

Mike and I are leaving at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow for Tampa. We are excited to see Nathan and Erika again. Then we'll head up to Jacksonville on Saturday to see everyone and their mother, along with eat some fab La Nop!!

Then there is Sunday; the day I'm most excited about :) Sunday we'll be in Savannah, GA hopefully eating at Paula Deen's restaurant, enjoying our first anniversary together. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has flown by.

We'll head back down to Jacksonville on Monday evening and then fly back out of Tampa late on Tuesday. Yes, it'll be a jam packed weekend but I'm excited to see close friends, old friends, favorite cities, and new cities. Mostly I'm excited to spend time with my husband and reminisce of our first year together. And hopefully see Jamie Deen LOL

You see only 936 full moons in your lifetime. You live through only 312 seasons and you get only 88 weeks of paid vacation. What if you had the chance to see the world?

There is a show on the travel channel where one incredibly lucky couple is able to travel the world for 5 months. They are seeing the places mentioned in the book "1000 Places To See Before You Die." It's quickly becoming one of our favorite shows. We sit and watch in complete jealously of how lucky this couple is to live out our dreams of travelling to some of the greatest places on the earth.

Mike and I have both been fortunate to see many great places and experience new cultures. We've been lucky to travel as much as we do. Travelling is our one true hobby; our expensive hobby. The idea that an average person only receives 88 weeks of vacation is a daunting thought. How are we suppose to see the world in only 88 weeks? A better question is how do we see the world on our income?

This topic -- 1000 Places To See Before You Die -- will be an ongoing post on my blog.