A Very SAD day in the VAIL household

There is a difference between saying good bye and letting go. Today, we feel super sad and it is all because of a 30 something year old tree and a BUG! Who knew something could make several family members feel sad! The Emerald ash borer bug that is, that infects trees. OUR ash tree. When I woke up today, I took the girls out at 6:45 a.m. to play on their FAVORITE TREE. One last time. As I drove down the road after playing on the tree with them and taking pictures, I passed the tree service coming to our house, and my heart and stomach sank to the ground immediately. All of the memories of my girls and this tree were flashing through my mind at that moment. And those that know me, know that there are very FEW things that I get sappy about. This particular tree was an ash tree and when we moved in to our house, 3 years ago, it instantly became their favorite because it had a swing on one of the branches. It was UNIQUE. NOSTALGIC, to say the least. Forget that we had a play set in the back with swings. THIS WAS THE ONE. That they played on, all day everyday, for 3 plus hours. And I, as well as Bob, smiled from ear to ear watching their ENJOYMENT. The tree was completely dead and we didn't want the girls to be playing on the swing and have a big limb come down and hurt them. Last year we had the arborist out and at that time, he told us the tree was dead that there was no saving it. We had our other trees treated and HOPE they make it! It was time, yet I was not ready to LOSE those beautiful hours of enjoyment watching my girls GIGGLE and SMILE as they circled the tree and watching them swing. Giselle, especially. She really loved this tree and swinging. It took them all of 40 minutes to take down that tree of 30 plus years and as I watched out the window, tears were forming in my eyes, yet I held back, turned and walked away. When I brought the girls back home and they saw what had happened, both were super sad and asked me what happened to their tree and swing.......And that was when I had to explain yet again, that the tree was sick and that is why we enjoyed it one last time this morning. This sadness too shall pass. I will never forget the beautiful memories from this tree with these girls. I saved their swing to attach to another tree on the property. I plan to take them shopping to pick out a new tree for that area that we can all plant together. Something that they choose. Perhaps this will mend our hearts. Children are pretty resilient, but I am not sure we are as much as adults. In any case, who knew a tree could make you so sad, young and old alike.

An Easter EGGS TRAV a GANZA

We hope you all had a nice, relaxing Easter weekend. We had a very nice weekend together as a family. Bob was off on Good Friday, so it made for a nice three day weekend = BONUS! While we continued our spring clean up and projects, we also did a lot of fun activities with the girls. They got to color eggs two times and also have two Easter egg hunts, one at home with the neighbors and also one with their cousin, Tristan at grandma and grandpa Vail's house. We gathered around for a lovely Easter meal which included ham, baked beans, green bean casserole, corn and rolls. YUM! By far, out of all the holidays, I have to say Easter eats are one of my favs! Check out the pictures and until next Easter!

National Siblings Day

So....a little birdie told me that today is National Siblings Day. Who knew there was such a day! Although it is not federally recognized, it still proves to be a special day. In honor, I have put together some of my favorite photos of Isabella and Giselle, two siblings. At times they antagonize one another but at the end of the day, they love one another unconditionally. As their mother, I love watching their relationship, as siblings, evolve. Here is to two sisters, ages 3 and 5.

So What's New?

Well, let me tell you. For starters, Isabella had her doctor's check up for kindergarten. She is 5 years old and weighs 42 1/2 pounds and her height is 44 1/2. She could use to gain a few pounds but for anyone who knows her, she eats on her own time clock. Giselle on the other hand, eats ALL AROUND THE CLOCK. All day, everyday. Giselle is becoming quite the socialite these days. For example, on a recent Sunday, I took her to Menards and I had her in the shopping cart sitting down. Upon walking in the door, there were a group of 3 men, in which she stood up in the cart (at 3 years old) and smiled and waved as she said "Hey boys, how ya doin?" I don't ever have to worry about conversation with strangers when I take this girl out because she is SURE to make conversation with EVERYONE and 9 times out of 10, she makes me BLUSH. Which is hard to do by the way! Isabella had her spring musical last week in which they sang several Easter songs. She always gets so excited to dress up and perform...and speaking of dressing up and performing...Lately, the girls have been dressing up to bake in the kitchen. Most recently, we made peanut butter kiss cookies and rugalach (one of my all time FAVORITE desserts!) together. They LOVE to help in the kitchen and even around the house! And lastly, the creamery opened (YEAH!), so we had our first ice cream cone of the season and boy was it GOOD! Hope you are all doing well! XOXOXOX

Our Escape out of Chiberia to Ixtapa, Mexico

We couldn't take the cold weather and snowy conditions anymore and had to escape to break the cabin fever! So we jumped on a plane and headed to Ixtapa, passports in hand. It was Giselle's very first airplane ride at 3 years old! Bob and I were both lucky traveling to and from, as we each had an empty seat next to us so the girls were able to completely lay down and relax on the airplane. We had only booked one room with a bed and pull out couch but once we got there, we discovered they upgraded us to two bedrooms with an adjoining door = BONUS! I can't even begin to explain how much fun the girls had or even how much fun we had watching them be so excited while on vacation. The resort that we stayed at had so many activities for the girls...just to name a few that they participated in were: a family sand castle competition on the beach, slip and slide on the beach, a piñata party, a talent show, circus activities and so much more. Bob and I took Isabella kayaking, in which I accidentally flipped everyone off the kayak...whoopsies. We took the girls on a sunset cruise, which was breath taking. They enjoyed sitting on the big net on the front of the boat and made several friends! Most everyone on the boat was doing shots of tequila, so several passengers decided to dress our kids up in sombreros and ponchos and feed them candy necklaces - they loved every second. On another day we took them swimming with the dolphins. Isabella really enjoyed the show and the dolphins. She didn't want to feed them or kiss them but at least she touched them. Giselle wanted nothing to do with the dolphins. If I was 3 and super little I probably wouldn't want to either. She was still a trooper throughout the show and had her award winning SMILE from ear to ear. All in all, it was a great 2nd family vacation - the first was to Colorado on our road trip camping! It was a great balance of relaxing yet fun adventures. I can't wait to go on another! Here are a few pictures from IXTAPA!!

Isabella goes to Florida

In the middle of polar vortex...the term I have heard for the first time in my life (and it felt like it too), we jetted off to Florida to spend some quality time with my parents, Isabella's Grandma Chug and Grandpa Dale. And what a relaxing, warm getaway it was! We are so thankful that we had the time to get away and enjoy one another's company! So what did we do? The list of things to do and places to go was endless, where do I start? I LOVE pictures and I think they speak a thousand words, so let me SHARE with YOU! Enjoy! If I had to put our trip into words, here are the words I would use to describe: Once in a lifetime. Relaxing. Full of Sunshine. Precious. Sharing. Caring. Loving. Learning. Embracing. Learning to be patient (on the fishing side). Funny! Has anyone seen TRIXIE lately? Tell her I miss her if you see her! Isabella and I had so many fun times on the trip and created many fun memories to be cherished FOREVER! If you look at the pictures, we were fortunate to experience DISNEY WORLD for the first time, have endless hours in the pool, rode several rides at Disney, go FISHING (next time I will for sure bait my own hooks), see Minnie Mouse (Isabella didn't know what to do or how to act), have quality family time, Isabella got to dress like a princess and so much more....I could go on and on. If we would have had Giselle, Bob and Baxie, I think we would have stayed longer.....

Welcome to CHI beria.....

Polar vortex. Chiberia. Coldest it's been in 30 years. Record breaking cold temperatures! Cabin fever? Do a little dance and shovel and shovel some more? Yep, we got it. And that is all you are seeing and hearing on the news. And we are feeling it. We are dreaming of a tropical adventure! How many homemade soups and fires can I build? How many movies can we watch? How many crafts can we make? Does anyone want a cookie? You wanna go outside? Sure. That lasts about 15 minutes if that. And it takes about 15 minutes just to put all of the gear on. So here are a few pictures of the day. We tried to build a snowman, however everyone got to cold and we went inside. It is even too cold for Baxie but I did capture his beautiful foot print in the snow! Baby it is cold outside......