The Wheeler Wagon

I was not super excited about turning 30 this February but it turned out to be a very fun and exciting month. It started out with my parents flying Laekin and I to Miami to visit my sister and nephews! My sister was awaiting the birth of her 3rd baby and was going to be by herself for a little bit until Matt was able to wrap up a few things in Haiti. Laekin and I had a very fun little mommy daughter trip together with Pam and the boys. Laekin loved flying on the airplane especially because I let her have gum when we flew! Pam and the boys picked us up from the airport.

The next day was Pam's birthday and I told her that afternoon "we need to go celebrate!" We tossed around the idea of going to Cheesecake Factory with 3 small children for dinner and then decided to go for it! It was actually very enjoyable and all 3 kids did great. We ordered the amazing artichoke appetizer and Laekin and Silas were very interested in learning how to eat this vegetable! This kept us all entertained until our meals came! We ordered cheesecake to go and enjoyed it- with a movie- back at home with the kids IN BED!

One day we took the kiddos to the zoo and rented a big bike with a place for the kids to sit. I am sure it was pretty entertaining watching my sister (being 9 mo prego) and me pedal the 3 kids around the zoo! The highlight of the zoo was getting to feed the giraffes.

To celebrate my birthday, Pam took us to Cool-de-sac play cafe. It is a great place where we could eat lunch and enjoy a cup of coffee while our kids played at all the different play stations!

Overall it was an incredible trip. I loved being with my sis, talking, sharing coffee together, hanging out with my nephews, sharing meals together, and laughing at our silly kiddos.

Part 2:
When my hubby asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I told him that I would love to go away... just the two of us for the weekend! He way out did my expectations when he told me he was going to take me to The Bacara in Santa Barbara! We had been there once before for my brother's wedding, but due to the wedding festivities, having a toddler with us, and being 7 months pregnant... it was a very different trip.

We arrived at our destination, checked in, and we were escorted to our amazing room with an ocean view! This place takes care of you and has amazing service... not to mention that everyone knew it was my birthday! It was not long before we were loving the feeling of having "no responsibility". It is amazing how weird that feels and almost foreign when you are so used to the demands and tasks that come along with little kiddos. We settled into our room, took a nap, enjoyed an afternoon mocha, went wine tasting that evening, and enjoyed a long dinner. The next day we enjoyed running together and revisiting our engagement spot (which was only a mile from us) along an awesome trail that led down to the beach. We went back to the resort and had breakfast and mimosas and I fell asleep in the sun. We went to State Street for a few hours that evening and spontaneously decided to go to the movies and have another late dinner! We had an amazing time relaxing, enjoying each other, being able to have conversation without interruptions, and celebrating 30 years of life...with 15 of them being in each other's lives!