This year we took our very first family vacation!!! We have been planning this vacation for two years to visit our friends in California and something always came up and we ended up not being able to go. This year I was determined that we needed a vacation and we were going no matter what. It was a great week filled with fun, friends, sun, and NO working!!! We stayed for a week with our friends Shane & Chelsea who we don't see nearly as much as we would like too. They and Chelsea's parents were great to let us stay in their house so that we didn't have to pay for hotel rooms for a week. It was so fun getting to know Chelsea's family a little better. We had a vacation of firsts for Andy and Chloe and I was loving every minute that I got to spend with my family doing fun and exciting things. As I said, this was our first REAL family vacation, Andy & Chloe's first trip to California, their first trip to the beach & their first visit to Disneyland!!! I have not made this trip for quite a few years and it was so great to go back. I wish we could do it more often. We had been needing to get our family pictures done this year, so we thought that our trip to the beach would be the perfect time to have them done. We didn't have money to hire someone to do them, and we didn't know of anyone in California to take them so we took our camera and had Chelsea take some for us. Who knew what a pro she would turn out to be. We love love LOVE them. 
We also took a little time out to take a couple of Andy & I as well as Chloe's birthday pictures even though it was just a little bit early. 
After taking the nice pictures it was time to get down and play in the sand and the ocean. It was so exciting for me to see Andy and Chloe playing in the ocean for the first time. Andy was so excited and they had so much fun running around and playing in the water. Chelsea and her little girl Tylie were with us and it was so much fun to hang out and just relax with them. The girls had so much fun playing in the sand and the water. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Then it was off to Disneyland the next day. What a magical place for our little princess. She was in awe of everything. She loves the movie Nightmare Before Christmas, so since it was almost Halloween they had the haunted mansion all decked out like her favorite movie. We thought for sure that she would love it, but instead she went all the way through the ride holding my hand over her eyes so she wouldn't have to look. Oh well, Andy and I loved it! We went on the Pirates of the Carribean ride which is one of my favorite rides and once again Andy loved it and Chloe hid the whole time. We decided to go over to the Fantasy land and see if we could find Tinkerbell and the Princesses since we knew that Chloe would be in heaven there. Little did we know that the entire rest of our day would be spent there. She did see the pricesses and Tinkerbell and she loved talking to them and learning how to be a good fairy and a good princess. We went on lots of rides in Fantasy Land, but our favorite was the Peter Pan ride. There were a lot of really great rides that we missed, but it was so worth it to see Chloe have such a great day in the most magical place in the world.
After that we spent a couple more days hanging out with Shane and Chelsea visiting and catching up, and then it was back to the real world. I think that our first family vacation was great and I will cherish every little moment of it forever.
We also took a little time out to take a couple of Andy & I as well as Chloe's birthday pictures even though it was just a little bit early. After taking the nice pictures it was time to get down and play in the sand and the ocean. It was so exciting for me to see Andy and Chloe playing in the ocean for the first time. Andy was so excited and they had so much fun running around and playing in the water. Chelsea and her little girl Tylie were with us and it was so much fun to hang out and just relax with them. The girls had so much fun playing in the sand and the water. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Then it was off to Disneyland the next day. What a magical place for our little princess. She was in awe of everything. She loves the movie Nightmare Before Christmas, so since it was almost Halloween they had the haunted mansion all decked out like her favorite movie. We thought for sure that she would love it, but instead she went all the way through the ride holding my hand over her eyes so she wouldn't have to look. Oh well, Andy and I loved it! We went on the Pirates of the Carribean ride which is one of my favorite rides and once again Andy loved it and Chloe hid the whole time. We decided to go over to the Fantasy land and see if we could find Tinkerbell and the Princesses since we knew that Chloe would be in heaven there. Little did we know that the entire rest of our day would be spent there. She did see the pricesses and Tinkerbell and she loved talking to them and learning how to be a good fairy and a good princess. We went on lots of rides in Fantasy Land, but our favorite was the Peter Pan ride. There were a lot of really great rides that we missed, but it was so worth it to see Chloe have such a great day in the most magical place in the world. After that we spent a couple more days hanging out with Shane and Chelsea visiting and catching up, and then it was back to the real world. I think that our first family vacation was great and I will cherish every little moment of it forever. 
Having gone through the whole process of trying so hard to get pregnant with no progress, I can sympathize with some of what they have gone through. We at least were lucky enough to be blessed with one precious angel. I can't imagine being in their shoes finding out that they will never be able to go through the process of having at least one on their own. They have always been so positive and had such great attitudes about getting a baby when the time was right. They are an inspiration to me, and we are so lucky to have such amazing friends! I am posting a picture of the baby, but I am not going to tell her name on my blog because I don't have their permission to do that, but it is such a cute name!!! We LOVE you guys!!!
