key west

key west was simply wonderful! it was our first vacation as our little family, and we had so much fun. vacationing with a toddler proved to be very different than vacationing as a couple, but we adjusted and really enjoyed our family time! (maybe one day we will be able to part with Ethan longer than a weekend)

key west might be one of my new favorite places. it is so quaint and charming, the people are overly friendly, and the life style is super laid back. it was truly way cuter and fun than i expected, and surprisingly kid friendly!

i came back feeling refreshed and renewed. yay for that!

we stayed at the cutest place in the Historic part of Key West and it was wonderful because we could walk pretty much any where! I would recommend the Colony Poolside to anybody interested in going to Key West. it had so much charm, a pool, privacy, a great location, and best of all....was affordable!

I wanted to document our week of fun, so if we go back, we can remember the places we loved!

Day 1 Father's Day

Walked to Harpoon Harry's for breakfast in the Historic District

Ventured on the Key West Conch Train Tour of the Island

Key West Aquarium-Ethan and Craig got to feed the sharks as part of a Father's Day tribute

Ate at Raw Shell Oyster Bar and walked around the Historic District

Day 2 -Not our best day

Drove up to Big Key to see the Key Deer Refuge and stopped at Mangrove Mama's along the way. The food was delicious......Lobster Reuben, need i say more. :) Delicious!

The refuge was a bit disappointing considering the drive but we made the most of it and Ethan enjoyed seeing the deer!

Ate at Two Friends Patio off Duval Street. The food was okay and Ethan was tired because we decided to let him miss his afternoon nap. BIG MISTAKE. It was one of those times where I was just praying we got home before he had a huge meltdown.

Day 3-Beach Day

We parked ourselves at Higgs Beach for the day and had a wonderful time. We rented an umbrella and chairs, so we had a great set up. Ethan loved the "wa-wa." We dug in the sand, waded out in the water, and ate a restaurant on the beach called Salute! Great day.

Ate at El Siboney cuban restaurant and had the best "chicken enchilado".....oh my it was yummy and cheap too!

Day 4- Golf Day

We headed to Camille's for lunch then off to play golf! My dad bought Craig a great golf package at the Key West Golf Club for his birthday, so we all ventured out to the course. Ethan loves any chance he gets to hit a "ball ball", so we took his plastic club along. Sure enough he went into full gear the second we got to the first tee. It is so cute to watch him imitate Craig. It was a hot day, so I stayed in the golf cart most of the time repeating to myself "Be a supportive wife" because I could have thought of a million other things I would rather be doing haha. :) All in all we had a good time. Craig didn't play that well because I think we kind of stressed him out somewhat but he said he wanted family time and didn't want to play by himself, so that's what he got I guess. :)

Ate at Wendy's on the way back to our place then ventured to Better than Sex dessert restaurant! It truly had the best dessert I have ever tasted.

Day 5- Beach Day

We went back to Camille's for breakfast because it was so yummy then we headed to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, which is the "best/most beautiful" in key west. it didn't let us down. We just enjoyed another day in the sun playing in the sand and cooling off in the water.

Day 6- Drove back to Miami to head home

Day 7- 6 am flight out of Miami!

As of late

Life seems to be whizzing by.

I can't believe I am only 3 months away from my due date. We are about 99% sure we will be naming our little man Corey(will let you know for sure when we decide). He is kicking lots, and I find myself realizing more and more that I will actually be having another baby, which brings up a lot of excitement but also a lot of fear, so Im starting to process through all of that. I feel as though I am getting quite large....probably because I am eating one to many ice cream sandwiches, but I just can't resist! I'll blame it on the heat. :)

Ethan is officially 18 months today, and I feel more and more like he is a little man rather than a baby. He keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. His laughter, energy, and zeal for life really challenge me to keep life's difficulties in perspective. He is saying lots of words now... among his faves "Oliver(our cat)", "Bye-Bye", "Ju-Ju(juice)", "Choo-Choo(train)", and "airpane(airplane)". He also started to mimick us a lot more, so we are learning to watch our words more carefully....always a good thing. :)

Craig will be done with his first year of teaching Pre-Cal/Algebra at NLR High, and I could not be more proud of him. He absolutely loves his job, and we are very thankful that he has a job where he feels very purposed. I must admit I am kind of giddy about him being around more this summer! Ethan won't know what to do with himself with daddy around more during the day....pretty sure he will be Craig's shadow this summer because he is definitely a daddy's boy.

We head to Key West for our own little Conner family vacay in a few weeks! Woo hoo. We have plans to be lazy, eat a lot of seafood, and just have fun as a family. No real agenda. Not too excited about lounging around with my big belly in a swimsuit, but I will get over it!

Craig's brother Clint, his wife Beka, and their little baby Rowin will be moving back to Conway from Memphis in a few weeks. We are beyond thrilled that they will be closer because we adore them and love that Ethan's cousin will be closer. Ethan takes such an interest in RoRo. I know he will be the best cousin to him!

We are in the last phases of finishing our house in Vilonia that we are flipping with our friends the Darnells. We've had several kinks in the road. The latest being tornado damage from the April tornado. Our damage was minimal compared to others, so we were thankful for that. We are in the process of hearing back from the insurance agency and then we can move forward on repairs and HOPEFULLY, put it on the market by July or August! We never in a million years thought the house would take this long, but it has really grown our friendship with the Darnells and we have seen God's provision throughout the process in neat ways. I am definitely ready to be done with it though.

Well, enough for now! Sorry...no pics. Much Love!