I cannot think of a better place to spend Memorial Day weekend than Higgins Lake. So, a last minute decision was made, and we prepared to head north for a much needed family weekend away from reality.

The weekend was filled with relaxation (well, for Noelle and me at least, TBD put his favorite son-in-law to work right away), good food, family, and even a couple of bon fires!

We visited with old neighbors, and met the new neighbors. We took Nono to the party store for her first  of many trips to Good Times, and she got to meet the rest of the kiddos that will carry on our traditions at Higgins one day.

Noelle is already looking forward to August when we'll be back at Higgins to wrap up the end of the summer.

This year our "spring break" trip happened a bit earlier - February - and sadly without daddy :( Noelle and I headed to south west Florida on our own to visit Cammy and TBD for a week earlier this month.

It was her first plane ride, and she was an absolute champ. Before getting on the plane I had determined that I wanted a front row seat to have extra leg room for us (we fly Southwest, so get to pick). We were able to snag the last front row seat on the plane thanks to our 'A' group seating. This was, though, not without a death stare from every person around us. Their eyes were screaming at me "DO NOT SIT HERE WITH THAT BABY!" Boy did she prove them wrong. Asleep before takeoff, quietly ate and played for the remainder of the flight. We actually got quite a few stares because people were so shocked at how well behaved she was.

Upon our arrival in Florida Cammy and Auntie ML retrieved us from the airport, picked up lunch at Chick-Fil-A, and headed to our home for the week. We got settled at the condo, and Cammy and TBD couldn't wait to show off their grand baby to all of their Florida friends. So, we loaded baby girl into the stroller and took a walk around the community. 

During the rest of our trip there was a lot of alligator wrestling ...

Shopping at the outdoor mall ... 

Napping ...

And, simply enjoying the Florida sun!

We went swimming for the first time, too!

Finally, we had our first little giggles. The cutest.thing.ever.

And, we did it all without socks on. Why you ask? Because "if you're not barefoot, you're overdressed!"

We're back! Last week we had a nice spring break in sunny Florida. Even better? We brought the sunshine back with us and have been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures in the north. Keep up the good work Mother Nature!

We started the vacation with a birthday celebration for the hubs! It was a day full of relaxing pool side, and dinner with family and friends.

For the rest of our time in Naples we, well, did basically the same thing as we did the first day: lots of pool time, lots of good seafood, and memories with family and friends. Throw a little bocce ball and tennis in there and we fit right in with all of the retirees!

Half way through the trip we started our journey to Key West in our rented Jeep Liberty with a layover in Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great dinner with Dave's God Brother, James, at the most delicious strip mall restaurant I think I've ever eaten at!

The next day our journey on US 1 to Key West was in full swing. With a minor detour (and when I say  'minor' I really mean major) as we had to go back to Ft. Lauderdale when we reached Homestead because someone forgot all of their clothes. But, once we got going, boy was that drive beautiful.

Key West was awesome. A great mash-up of celebration for our (now) newly wed friends, exploring and relaxing. It was so fun to be on vacation with all of our friends, and I can't wait for the opportunity to do that again someday!

And, finally, a personal highlight, our trip to Mallory Square!

Are you tired? I am. Time for a vacation from vacation!

So, as our vacation nears, I've been thinking about what I will pack, and the things we'll be doing while we're in Florida. One of the highlights of our trip is our friends' wedding in Key West!

I've decided that I'm going to wear a dress that I already have in my closet. It has kind of a palm pattern in purple, lime green, yellow, and shades in between. I have a couple of cute bangle bracelets that I'm going to wear with it, but need to find a necklace and possibly some earrings.

One of my favorite things to do before a vacation is head over to Beadnicks in Wicker Park, and make some of my own jewelry. It's a fun shop, and makes the jewelry extra special. In preparation for my upcoming stop at Beadnicks I've found some pieces online that have given me some good ideas.

These jewels are from the Archive Jewelry website. I've always admired their pieces, and thought it might be fun to try and make something similar on my own.

I've been loving the gold tones lately. I think the warm Florida sunshine, and the colors of my dress will be a great combination!

Our year has gotten off to a great start!

We have implemented our jar of memories, and already have one memory sealed away until next year.

We celebrated my 28th birthday. A group of us got together for brunch at Frontier in Chicago. It was a great brunch with fabulous company. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends.

This past weekend we went on a short ski weekend with the FIL (father-in-law) and BIL (brother-in-law). We flew into Denver Friday, went to Breckenridge and to Beaver Creek, and were back home by Monday evening. It was (probably) our only ski outing of the season, so we really made the most of it. I now have a second favorite destination (Steamboat is still #1) in Colorado - Beaver Creek! The runs were long, and not too crowded. The scenery surrounding the slopes was beautiful, and had homes intertwined with the mountain. I would highly recommend it!

We're only 18 days into the New Year, and it's been so awesome! 28 is off to a great start and I know it will be another amazing year!