10-Year Anniversary

Our 10-year anniversary is coming up mid-August, and so we decided to do something special.  We wanted to take a trip together, but was originally thinking of keeping it local.  Then one day we got an email with some great deals for an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  We thought about it for a few days and decided to do it (with my parents okay since they would be the ones watching the kids).  It was such a wonderful time away filled with rest and relaxation - no therapy, no appointments, no running kids here and there, no housework, no cooking meals.  It was much needed!  We left on Thursday, July 3rd and came back on Monday, the 7th.  It really was the perfect amount of time away - by Monday we felt ready to come home.  Plus it was a direct flight out of Cincinnati and only a 4-hour flight - can't beat that!  So here are some pictures from our time away together...

On the plane

Peacocks roamed the grounds, but this was the only one we saw with the colorful feathers.

Our room

Our room

Our room

View from our balcony - this is the pool we spent the most time at.

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

Just arrived

This is pretty much the majority of what I did while away.  I slept and took naps...lots of naps.  It was wonderful!  :)

Relaxing by the pool.

On our one and only excursion - parasailing.  On the motorboat headed out to the bigger boat.

All strapped in and ready to go!

Here we go!

The view was gorgeous!  It was a little scary how high we were and realizing the rope was the only thing holding us down.  I kept having images of the rope snapping and us floating away.  But amazingly we survived!  :)

While we were parasailing, there was this weird flying contraption nearby.  It basically looked like an inflatable boat with wings and a big fan on back.  IT WAS CRAZY...and looked very unsafe...and scary!  Something neither of us would ever do, but were still intrigued by it.

Time for the beach

View of the grounds

Dinner at the French restaurant

More pool time

The weather was really nice while we were there and not too warm.  We were two of the few who used sunscreen religiously and sat in the shade - ha!  But when we did get warm, it was nice jumping in the pool to cool off.  The water temperature was perfect.

We both caught up on our reading and enjoyed the quiet time to be able to do that.  So relaxing!

Drew went kayaking at the beach.  There was no back support on the kayak, so he kept laying back to give his back a break.  But he said it was still a lot of fun.

The beach was really nice and clean...and beautiful!

How cool is this palm tree?!  It was a prime spot, so we only got to sit under it once.

We loved the view

Drew also went snorkeling on the beach.

And found a starfish!

I think I might be ready to go back.  :)

We forgot to bring some cards, so we bought two decks as souvenirs.  We  passed the time before dinners playing speed solitaire!

Drew's favorite dinner was at the Mexican restaurant.

Our last night there - at the Mexican restaurant.

Waiting for the bus to pick us up to take us to the airport.

The "cafeteria"

One of the three pools that were on the grounds.  We never went to this pool, because it was a little farther away from our room.

View of the grounds

View of the grounds with the ocean in the background.

We thought this tree was so interesting.

The beach!!

More of the grounds

More of the beach.

Sipping on my last tropical slushie drink before we have to leave

The commons area outside the "cafeteria"

The lobby

The airport lines were so long!!

Finally ready to board the plane home.

A huge thanks to my parents and my sister for helping with the kids so we could take this trip together.  We had a wonderful time!!  A great way to celebrate our first 10 years of marriage!

Indiana

Somewhere a few years back, I read about a family that made it their goal to visit all 50 states before their kids graduated from high school.  They research ahead of time and visit the "top" sites for that state and then document it in a journal or scrapbook.  We loved the idea and decided to give it a try.  We wanted to start once the kids were old enough to remember and appreciate it, so we thought this summer would be a good time to start.  We decided to start somewhat local and spent the weekend in Indiana.  We went to the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday, the Indianapolis Children's Museum on Saturday, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Sunday.  We had a GREAT time!

We drove to the zoo Friday morning on July 11th.  As we were driving we saw a sign for a Seven-Eleven and Drew remembered hearing that you could get free slushies on 7/11, so we pulled off and picked some up for the kids and us.  You can't beat FREE!

Family picture at the zoo - ready to begin our adventure

There was a shark pool where you could "pet" sharks.  We waited and waited, but the sharks apparently didn't want to come close enough to be touched.  This was as close as Jenna got, and although it looks like she's petting it, she just missed it.  But it did touch her as it's tail flapped back and forth.

Grant got close to them, but never got to touch them.

They had a new orangutan exhibit that opened a few months prior.  We were able to get really close to this guy.

Hannah's sweet, happy self.

The kids searching for the animals.

Baboons sitting in the shade in the background.

Grant watching the elephants.

They have a dolphin show at the zoo that you can go to as long as you get (free) tickets ahead of time.  It was really neat to watch the dolphins jump out of the water, splash their tails, and interact with the trainers.  The kids loved it, as did we!  It was the highlight of the trip for me.

Waiting for the dolphin show to start.

There's also a butterfly house just outside the zoo that is included in the zoo admission price.  We were told if we held still and put our hand out, butterflies might land on you.  Jenna waited and waited for the butterflies to land on her and then got frustrated when they didn't.  :)

Friday was also "Dress like a cow" day at Chick-Fil-A.  If you dress like a cow, you can get your whole meal FREE.  So of course we had to participate.  We packed our white clothes and Hannah's cow sleeper that she got from Brian and Natalie.  I cut black spots out of construction paper and printed cow heads that we made into hats.  Success!  Two free combo meals, and three free kids meals - yum!

It's always such a treat for the kids to stay in a hotel.  Drew had some free hotel nights from all his business travels and so we stayed in a Springhill Suites hotel.  Jenna and Grant had a blast talking to each other on the two phones in the room.

Hannah enjoyed some play time on the bed.

Saturday we went to the Children's Museum.  The building is so cool with some dinosaurs crawling into (and out of) the building! 

We got there right around the time it opens at 10am and stayed until it closed at 5pm.  It was amazing!  We could have easily stayed longer and didn't even make it through the whole museum by the time it closed.  We were dragging the kids through some of it trying to keep them moving so we could see it all.  It's a great museum.  I'm sure we'll be back at some point.

Smiley girl!

There was a slide just inside the entrance.  Since we got there early, there wasn't much of a line, so the kids went down the slide a few times before we headed on into the museum.

Hannah (and I) even got to go down the slide.

There is a carousel on the top floor that only costs $1, so the three kids (and Drew) rode the carousel.

Grant and Drew assembled this archway.  So proud!

They got to sit in a race car.

There was an area for kids 5 and under that we spent the most time in.  In that area was a space for babies and toddlers.  It was PERFECT for Hannah with lots of sensory input.  She loved getting out of the stroller and being able to stand at the bench seating.

Grant spent the most time at the sand table.  There was a rotating disk in it for the kids to put sand on, and then scrape off and make designs as it rotated.

Hannah and I spent the most time sitting in front of this "Push and Whoosh" board.  When you push a big red button, air blows all around inside the case and makes the flowers fly around.  Hannah LOVED it!  So much so that I was pondering whether Drew would be able to build one.  Ha!  Some therapy benefits of it were that it caused her to lift her head to look up at the flowers, it allows her to practice her sitting, it teaches her cause and effect, she had to open her hands to push the button, plus she had to reach to push the button. Although she never pushed the button on her own, I would take her hand, open it up, and push the button, while saying, "PUSH." 

They had a China theme at the museum, so there was an area where you could dress up.

And a restaurant with Chinese food.  Jenna and Grant loved "cooking" the food for us and then serving it to us at the small restaurant tables there.  Jenna was completely in server mode and even carried the tray on her arm.  She'd bring us our food and then come back a little later with the tray to clear our dishes.

Then she spotted the veterinarian area where you could care for the pandas and she rushed over there. 

This sculpture is the centerpiece to the museum and it's amazing!  It's all blown glass and is four stories tall. 

With only a few minutes left we made it down to the very bottom where they had the dinosaur display.  We didn't even know it was down there and so we missed out on really getting to enjoy it, so I guess we'll just have to go back another time!  The kids did dress like dinosaurs and give us their scary dinosaur faces.

After the museum we went to a local pizza place that my friend, Angela told me about. 

What's so unique about it is that you sit in booths next to a train track and your drinks are delivered on the train.  You just lift the glass and get your drinks out.  Needless to say, we had to get a few refills!  :)  Thanks Ang for telling us about it!  The kids LOVED it too!!

Me and my baby girl

Me and my big girl - I love how she put her arm around my shoulders.  :)

The boys

Of course we had to enjoy the hotel pool while there.  This hotel even had a "hot pool" as the kids called it. 

All three of them love their swimming time!

Hannah took a nap Sunday morning before we headed out.

Post nap beauty.  I just love this picture of Drew and Hannah!

When I was looking up things to do in Indiana, practically all the sites said to visit the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the center of the city.

It's 284 feet 6 inches tall and was the first monument in the United States to be dedicated to the common soldier.  It's also the largest outdoor memorial.  You have the option of climbing all 331 steps or taking an elevator to the top.  In our opinion, you can't go to the top without a sense of accomplishment in climbing all 331 steps!  So we climbed all the way to the top. 

Grant led the whole way up!  I don't think he stopped once to catch his breath.  The rest of us took a few breathers along the way.  It wasn't too bad of a hike, but we definitely felt it the next day!

We made it!!!  At the top, you can see the entire city.

Amazing views.

When we got back to the bottom, Grant went straight for the couch and laid down.  Ha!  :) 

It was a great weekend getaway.  I'm already ready for another one.  :)

Blog Name Change

I have missed blogging terribly!  There's something so nice about sharing with family and friends what's going on in our lives, while also keeping a family journal of sorts.  I've missed that.  I keep thinking I'll "get back into it," but life continues to stay busy.  While I've been desiring to start blogging again, I've also been pondering a name change to our blog.  When we originally started the blog over 6 years ago, we just wanted an easy way to share pictures with our family and friends across the country, so Drew picked out a simple title - "What's Happening with Drew and Kristin."  Now it seems so...boring...and outdated seeing as how there are now three little munchkins since the blog was created.

So I've pondered and debated what to title the blog.  Our life has taken quite a turn since adding Hannah and learning of her disability, and I wanted to incorporate that (very significant) part of our life into this blog.  So we've decided to title it "Given Grace," because it is just so fitting.  We obviously picked out the name Hannah before we knew of her disability, but not too long after learning of her diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, we discovered that the meaning of the name Hannah is "grace."  How perfect!  If you remember Hannah's birth story, it was one that could have ended very badly, but I truly believe that God was gracious to us in allowing Hannah to be part of our lives.

We also feel this title is fitting because of God's great grace in our lives.  How loving He is to send his only son, Jesus, to die on the cross, pay the penalty for our sins, and restore a broken relationship with Him.    

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God."  - Ephesians 2:8

So it's clear to us that we've been infinitely blessed and undeservedly been...given grace.