AMAZING WEEKEND IN FLORIDA

Friends of ours, Josh and Alex, got married this past weekend on May 5th, in Highland Beach, Florida.  This allowed Lee and I to take a weekend trip to Florida!  It was wonderful!

We left Thursday afternoon, arriving to the hotel about midnight.  We spent the weekend, sharing a room with, Luke and Jessica, which made for some very funny and memorable moments. 

Thursday night gave us just enough time to meet up with everyone and have a couple drinks before heading to bed.

This is a picture of the groom, Josh, Lee, and Luke, when we first arrived to our hotel.

Friday morning began with Jessica and I going out for a run and Lee and Luke heading out for a little run of their own, to the liquor store. The houses that we ran past were unbelievable. They were million dollar houses that we were in awe with, making our run pretty fun.

After our runs, we met up and had breakfast, coffee, and cocktails at the hotel restaurant out on the patio, staring at the ocean and sitting in the sun. It was perfect!

We spent the entire day by the pool and in the water on Friday.

This is where we spent our two days.  The pool, pool chairs, and some time in the ocean as well.  You can see the ocean in the background of this picture.

This is Jessica and myself.  We loved relaxing in the sun!

The rehearsal dinner was on a 3 story yacht. This was fabulous! We had a spectacular dinner on the lower level, drinks and music on the main level, and more drinks and conversation on the upper level. Our 3 hour yacht ride rode past more gorgeous million dollar houses. It was so relaxing being on that upper level under the sun/moon and enjoying the wonderful weather. I soaked it all in. However, Lee and Luke were over-served on this day, which made them have some frustrated wives. Luckily, Lee past out by 9:30, so we all ended up crashing pretty early.

This is Lee and I before boarding the yacht.  The yacht that we rode on is the bigger of the two in the background.

Jessica and myself.

This picture was taken while we were cruising.  We were up on the upper level.

The last time that Lee and I took a vacation, was our honeymoon, almost 6 years ago!  This was a much needed weekend!



Saturday morning, after Jess and I got back from another run, we ventured out to Delray Beach and had an awesome breakfast at Luna Rosa.  We were served the best bloody mary's!  After breakfast, we shopped for a bit and got a couple small souvenirs for the boys.

THE THEME SONG!

I just want to say, that the "theme song" for the weekend was going to be 'We Are Young' by Fun.  I was just thinking that with the crowd that we were with all weekend, that maybe someone would need to be "carried home."  By Saturday morning, the theme song quickly turned to 'Too Late To Apologize' by OneRepublic.  The song actually came on the radio Saturday morning in our hotel room after we got back from breakfast.  Because of Lee's and Luke's behavior the day before, Luke thought that this song would be more fitting.  Quite humorous, actually!  Then the song switched again.  It turns out that there was a girl at the wedding that resembled Adele.  So, of course, MANY conversations began with "Rumour has it...."  Therefore, I'm pretty sure the "theme song" that I will never forget from the weekend, would have to be 'Rumour Has It' by Adele.

Best bloody mary's!  At $9.50 a piece, these guys had 2 each.

Jessica and I enjoyed our one yummy bloody mary as well.  It really was delicious!



The rest of Saturday was again spent at the pool and in the ocean.

Here's Lee and I spending some time in the ocean.  I'm making a crazy face and Lee doesn't even notice the camera, so not a great picture, but it was fun!

This is the patio that we sat on for breakfast, lunch, drinks.  Each time that I sat there and enjoyed a meal, the view was breathtaking!

The wedding was on the beach right outside our hotel at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.  The weather was perfect and the wedding was beautiful!

Lee and I right before the ceremony.

Beautiful!

Myself, Jessica, and Julia.

The wedding fell on the same night as the "super moon."  We continued to watch the brightness of the moon throughout the night.  Here is the moon in the background early on in the night.

CONGRATULTIONS to the happy couple, Josh and Alex!

Luke, Jessica, Alex, Josh, me, and Lee.

Boys being boys.

Kyle, Lee, and Luke.

This was such a great trip!  I feel like these pictures don't do the trip justice.  It was so nice to be away and enjoy some sun for 2 full days.  2 days doesn't seem long, but we woke up early and stayed up late, so they were two long days.  It was the first time that I had ever spent more than one night away from the kids.  Lee's parents took care of them for us at our house.  I know they all had a good time, and I'm sure that Sam and Eula were fairly tired after a weekend with the boys.  To make it a little less for Lee's parents, we had my mom take care of Cali while we were gone.  So, thanks to my mom, Sam and Eula, for taking care of our kids while we enjoyed a much needed vacation!

THE PAST FEW DAYS OF FUN

Last Thursday, the 19th, was my 31st birthday.  Really, now that I'm past 30, it was just another day!  However, it was still a good day.  The boys and Lee sang Happy Birthday to me and brought me my gift, cards, and cake first thing in the morning.  Brady and I shared a piece of cake for breakfast!  :)  I got a beautiful new watch and a couple great cards from the boys and Lee.  I was also showered with gifts from my students that day.  And they, as well, enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to me.

Lee surprised me and got home from work earlier that evening so that we could go out to dinner.  We went out for Mexican and then came home for some more cake.  It was a good birthday!

This past Saturday was an incredibly busy and long day!  It started with the Iowa Speedway 8K Race that morning.  I did really good and was glad that I did it again this year.  The boys, Lee, and my mom came out to watch me finish the race.

After the race, Tyler had a soccer game.  Again, the Hawks won!  My mom, dad, and Josh all came to watch Tyler play soccer this week.  I know that they all enjoyed it!

After soccer, everyone came to our house for a birthday lunch for me.  We had some great food and the best cupcakes!  Josh and Liz bought some cupcakes from Scratch Cupcakery in Cedar Falls.  Unfortunately Liz had to stay back in C.F. and work on Saturday.  I have heard about these cupcakes and never thought that cupcakes could be so good, however, they really are amazing cupcakes!  So, thanks to Josh and Liz for introducing us to the best cupcakes ever!  I also received a necklace from my mom that I had been wanting.  I love it!

 The boys had to check out the race cars at the Speedway.

While I was gone Saturday afternoon, there was a double rainbow in our backyard that Lee took pictures of.

 Saturday afternoon, after the race, soccer game, and birthday lunch, I headed out to my friend, Megan's, bridal shower and bachelorette party.  It was a great time!  We all wore ugly bridesmaid dresses, which made for some extra fun!  The dress I wore was worn by my mom in her sisters wedding!  Megan's dress was never worn by someone that she knows, but it was a wedding dress from the 60's.

SOCCER

Spring Soccer has officially begun!

Tyler is off to a great season and enjoying everything about soccer!  He loves going to practice and had a blast during his first game.

The weather for his first practice was in the 80's, sunny, and hot!  The kids were tired and hot after that first practice!

The weather for the first game wasn't too bad, but a little cool.  It was a decent spring morning, but no sunshine.  I'd say we were lucky, though!

 They have pracice and their games at the YMCA soccer fields which is in our neighborhood.  It's nice that we can just walk there, as I feel that most of the town is there on Saturday mornings and the parking is terrible!  This picture shows Tyler, Lee (Coach), Tyler's buddy, Caden, and Chad (Coach and Caden's dad) at their first practice.

 Tyler at his first soccer practice.

 Tyler's big fan is Brady.  Brady likes to sit on the sidelines and watch Tyler play!

 Tyler practicing his kick before the big game.

 Team Pep Talk before the game begins.

 Hands in the middle..."Go Hawks!"

 Tyler ran his little tail off and had a big smile on his face the entire game.

 Tyler and Caden

 Caden, Chad, Lee, and Tyler.  Along with Carson, who wanted to squeeze into the picture as well.

 The Hawks won the game!  :)

Lee's teaching them how to go through and shake hands with the other team after the game.

Along with Brady and myself, my mom, and her friend, Michelle, cheered on the Hawks from the sidelines.

Looking forward to the next 5 games!

EASTER, CHUCK E. CHEESE, CHURCH, AND MORE!

We had a very busy and fun weekend.  We did a lot and went many places in just about 30 hours!  Here are some things that we did over the Easter weekend. 

Thursday evening the boys enjoyed dying Easter Eggs before Lee and I left for the I-Cubs game.  Every time that they lifted an egg out of the color, they would "ooo" and "ahhh" like they were watching fireworks.  They liked seeing the final product, but have yet to eat one! 

If you have been to our house, you know how large our couch is in our living room.  I find it really cute that when they sit down to watch a show at the end of the night, they sit pretty much on top of each other.  Some nights this works just fine, other nights they "bother" one another (imagine that!) and we have to seperate them.

CHUCK E. CHEESE

I had Friday off of work, so stayed home with the kids.  We ended up leaving for Cedar Falls Saturday morning.  We dropped Cali off at Josh and Liz's and then headed straight for Chuck E. Cheese's with Grandpa Freese, Uncle Josh, and Liz.  The kids have been to Incredible Pizza in Des Moines, but never Chuck E. Cheese's.  They had an absolute blast!  And Tyler is still talking about it!  Tyler's hightlight of the whole weekend was winning the jackpot on a game and getting 100 tickets!

Josh, Grandpa, and Lee watching the boys at the Skee Ball game.

Grandpa watching Tyler on the horse at the "horse track."

Brady way up high on a ride.

No matter if it's the Coralville Mall or Chuck E. Cheese's, Tyler loves to ride in the car with Stuart Little!

Brady on the Police Car.

Both of them on a ride together.

I had texted one of my friends on Friday to see if their family would like to join us for lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday.  I was fully expecting a "NO, that sounds awful," but was pleasantly surprised when she called and told me that they were planning to have their 2 year old's birthday party their on Saturday!  So, not only did we see them, but also a couple other old friends and their little ones.  This picture is of Tyler and Brady and Jake and Nora Bockes.  The Bockes kids could have cared less that I wanted to get a picture of the four of them!

And we had to get a picture taken with Chuck E. Cheese himself before leaving!

The kids had so much fun and I had a blast watching them smile, laugh, run, count their tickets, and most importantly play with their Grandpa, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Liz!

EASTER GIFTS PART 1

Josh and Liz's Easter Bunny gave some Easter gifts to the kids.  They got these fun hats.  Tyler's is a T-Rex and Brady's is an Alligator.  They absolutely love them!  Tyler did not take his hat off the ENTIRE day on Sunday!!!---until he pulled the strap too hard Sunday evening and it broke!  Boy was he sad!

They also got some duck bubbles and kites.

Grandma Mary's Easter Bunny also gave the boys some Easter gifts on Saturday.  They got a kid's croquet set, coloring book and markers, and some colored bubbles.  They had some fun with the croquet set Saturday afternoon.  The bubbles are fun for them, but they are a complete mess!

CHURCH

Our main reason for going to Cedar Falls this weekend was because Liz was being baptized and confirmed Catholic on Saturday night at the Easter Vigil.  Lee, Myself, and the boys, my Dad, my Mom, and my Grandma Kriz were all at Josh and Liz's to have a congratulatory dinner for Liz Saturday evening.  Lee and the boys stayed back at the house while we headed out for the 8:00 mass.  They had a nice reception for the candidates after mass.  We are so proud of Liz!

The happy couple!

After mass, we went back to the house.  I picked up Lee and the two of us headed out to meet up with some friends.  I saw a lot of people who I haven't seen in YEARS!  It was fun and nice to see them again.  Everyone looks the exact same!

EASTER GIFTS PART 2

We started Easter morning with an Easter Egg hunt at Josh and Liz's house.

We left Cedar Falls and went to my Grandma Kriz's for Easter lunch.  We saw alot of my family and met, for the first time, 2 newer members of the family.  One of my cousin's kid's is now almost 3 months old and we got to see him for the first time.  He is a doll!  Lee held him the whole time as Lee is like an oven and every kid can fall asleep on Lee because he is so warm!  We also got to meet a brand new puppy named Ruby Banks Kriz!  My aunt and uncle had just brought her home the night before.  She is so cute!  It was so great to see all of them!  And we had a great lunch!  The boys had a great time playing at the park and trying out their new kites!

The Easter Bunny had been to our house while we were away.  The each got a new plasmacar, they got a new swimming pool for the summer, and their baskets were full of candy!

Lee put the plasmacars together right away and we took them out to go for a ride.  They love their new cars!

Here's those colored bubbles.  They love them!  I'm not a fan!

The shirts are off so that the color didn't get all over their shirts.  And it was nice enough for them to go shirtless, believe it or not!

Look at his arm and belly.  Purple all over!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!  We had such a blessed weekend full of fun and family!

SEASON OPENER

We attended the season opener of the I-Cubs last Thursday night with our friends, Chad and Mandy.  It was a nice evening, a little cool, but not bad.  It was a fun night had!  

SPRINKLER TIME!

We were actually able to get the sprinkler out this past Sunday, APRIL 1st!  It was a hot day and the boys loved running through to get cooled off with the water.  It's been such a wonderful Spring!