Family Vacation

This week we took our first-ever, official family vacation.  We have had several visits to see family, but I consider this our first official vacation because: 

                        1) We stayed in a hotel. 

                        2) We ate out (or in the hotel dining area) for every meal. 

                        3) We did fun things every day. 

                        4) It was just the 4 of us!

We left Wednesday morning, July 4th.  The girls "helped" me pack my bag: 

Our destination was Grand Rapids, Michigan.  My husband and I both lived there for a time before we were married, and it had been over 5 years since we had seen a lot of the places we used to frequent.  Our first vacation destination was....Cornerstone University/Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.  Boo refered to this as "Daddy's Pastor School".  :)

It was HOT!  Baby Cakes relaxed in her stroller with Diggity Dog.

We took a family picture.

Daddy was showing his mad pole-climbing skill as two little girls screamed in terror.  :)  They did NOT like him doing this.  He came back down just after this picture was taken.  No bell-ringing that day!

Boo got over her terror and tried to climb the pole herself.

They're just so cute.

We had some time to kill before hotel check-in time, so we headed to the mall for awhile.  Boo rode her favorite ride...

And even let Baby Cakes join her for awhile.

Boo enjoyed staying in a hotel for the first time (that she can remember).  She loved having this big bed to herself, and she did pretty well staying quiet so that others could sleep.  She told us she wanted to live there.

The girls loved sitting in this chair and being spun round and round.

On Thursday, we went to the zoo.  We saw monkeys...

Baby Cakes liked the penguins.

The favorite for both of the girls seemed to be the bears though.  I loved hearing Baby Cakes growl at them .  Soooo cute!

Boo named one of the bears Cabela Bear (after her beloved stuffed bear), and Daddy named the other Mike.

With Cabela Bear:

The girls banged on the drums...

And Baby Cakes LOVED that.

Boo showed off her balancing skills.

And we visited the children's area.

Did I mention how HOT it was this week?!  Baby Cakes would not let this cup out of her hands.

Friday we went to Rockford.  This is the Rockford Dam.  This place will always be special to me, as this is where my husband proposed - 6 years ago, July 30th.

We sat on "our bench" (which has since been relocated a few feet) and Boo took our picture.  Pretty good for a 3 year-old.

6 years ago, I never would have guessed that the next time I would be back in Rockford, I would be with my husband and 2 little beauties.  So blessed.  And how cute is this?!

 We went to a second mall on Friday.  Boo got to ride on a frog.

 And more fun rides.

The girls enjoyed Taco Bell.  Boo had her first-ever taco, and Baby Cakes enjoyed a cheese roll-up.  Mmmmm...Mommy is so excited to share my love of Taco Bell with another generation!

 We had a lot of fun just relaxing and enjoying the places in and around Grand Rapids.  We swam in the pool.  We ate lots of good food.  We took naps and even slept well at night.  (This is quite an accomplishment with two little ones in one hotel room!)  It was a nice change of pace.

Mostly, we just enjoyed having Daddy with us all day for 3 days and spending time as a family.