Back to reality...

Well, we made it home from Florida. We left Ft. Walton at about 10 am on Thursday morning and pulled into our garage at about 1:15 am Friday morning. We had originally planned to stop about halfway, but since Addy was doing so well and we were looking forward to sleeping in our own beds, we decided to push through and drive straight through. Overall, I would deem the vacation a huge success. Here are some of the successes and highlights from our 7 days away from home:

• Both Derek and Adalyn managed to spend many days out in the sun with no sunburn. For those of you who know Derek and his complexion you may consider this a MIRACLE!


• Adalyn loved the sand and the water and spent a lot of time in the holes of water her daddy dug for her.


• Adalyn made many new friends on the beach as she would go up to random families and get their attention by saying "hi" and doing a little dance to impress them. She then usually preceded to attempt to play with their beach toys.


• Adalyn managed to eat several cobs of corn throughout the week. Apparently many restaurants on the Gulf offer corn on the cob as a side and Addy's loves her corn!


• We went on a Dolphin Cruise and actually managed to see many dolphins. Addy also got to sit in the captains chair and "steer" the boat.


• We conquered our camera's self-timer and took a few family photos on the beach. (See photo at the end of the post:)


• Many pictures were taken! (734 to be exact)


• We fought the battle of the sand all week, but only managed to bring a few buckets full with us.
  
• Addy got to make her first build-a-bear, which is actually a dog wearing a Destin t-shirt named "woof-woof"


• While in Florida, Adalyn learned several new words including--beach, pizza, and lawn mower.


• I got to spend valuable time pool-side sun bathing and reading something besides Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.


• It only rained a few drops throughout the week, which was a huge surprise.


• Many priceless family memories we made throughout the week.

We had a wonderful time and loved every minute we spent in Florida. However, now we must get back to reality and begin thinking about the upcoming school year. It's time to start making the mile long "to do" lists in preparation for a new crop of second graders. I have included several pictures from our vacation, but if you would like to see more of the full Freihaut Florida experience you can visit our shutterfly site (see bookmarks in sidebar).

Greetings from the Sunshine State!

Yes...we did make it to Ft. Walton Beach. The trip down actually went much smoother than I anticipated. Adalyn slept a great deal of the way here. When she wasn't sleeping she enjoyed watching Nemo or just enjoyed looking out the window at the lights of the various cities we passed through. We left from IL a little after 5:00 friday evening and pulled into the condo complex in Ft. Walton a little after 9:00 on Saturday morning..(not bad for several stops for gas and a Cracker Barrel breakfast). We have been having a wonderful time so far. Adalyn loves playing on the beach and also really enjoyed the dolphin cruise we took this morning. I have included a few (of the MANY) pics we have taken so far. I will blog all about our trip when we get home this weekend!

Catching Up!

It's been a while since our last post, so we have some catching up to do. We celebrated the 4th of July at home. My family came up to visit for several days. It was great getting to see them for an extended period of time. Addy loved all of the attention she received from her grandparents, aunt, and uncle. The weather during their stay was unseasonably cool, so we took advantage and did a number of outdoor activities. We had a nice picnic in the park and also went to visit the Peoria Zoo. We watched fireworks on Friday in a nearby town. Addy enjoyed watching the fireworks, but was also a bit scared and clung to her daddy as he covered her ears. We were so glad that we went to see fireworks on Friday, because the 4th (Saturday) was very dreary and rainy. A number of fireworks displays were cancelled. My family left on Sunday afternoon and our town had their fireworks display on Sunday night. We were able to watch it from our front yard. Addy enjoyed the show a little more, as they weren't as loud as the ones we saw on Friday.


On Tuesday we packed up the car and started our first leg of a five day road trip. On Wednesday, Derek had a business meeting in Houston in which he was flying out of and back into the Chicago O'Hare airport in the same day. After his quick trip to Houston, we planned to head to Kohler, WI for his consultant's meeting that lasted from Thursday until Saturday. Since Derek's plane from Houston got in very late and Chicago was half way to Kohler, we decided that we would stay at a hotel Tuesday and Wednesday evening and head to WI on Thursday. While Derek was in Houston, Adalyn and I spent the day in Schaumburg shopping at all of my favorite stores. We had a great day. Adalyn loved the indoor Looney Tunes playground and eating at the Rainforest Cafe. She really enjoyed watching all the action going on with the robotic animals and weather.

Thursday we headed to Kohler, WI. The town is home to the Kohler company that makes all types of faucets and plumbing fixtures. Needless, to say the public restrooms in town all have fancy faucets and toilets and our hotel shower was like nothing I have ever seen. During Derek's meeting, Adalyn and I got to explore Kohler and nearby Sheboygan while Derek attended his meeting. Kohler is also home to an award winning spa, which I passed on since Addy was with us. In the evening there were wonderful dinners planned with everyone from the firm that was at the meeting and their families. I was a bit nervous about these dinners, since I didn't know how Addy would act during these multiple course meals. I was pleasantly surprised. Addy did a wonderful job. On Thursday the dinner started at 8:00 and went until about 10:00. Addy lasted through the whole night...even dessert! She loved the tiramasu on Thursday, which neither her mom or dad particularly cared for. During our time in WI Adalyn and I got to visit the nearby children's museum, the Lake Michigan Shore, the gardens of Kohler, and a very fancy ice cream shop the the American Club, and various stores in the village. Derek had a very productive meeting and managed to get in a round of golf with this co-workers at a very nice golf course. Overall, it was a great trip. Addy and I got to explore a lot of neat places and we got to spend valuable evenings with Derek and many of the people at Pinnacle.

This week we have a lot of time to prepare for our next adventure...Florida. We have a ton of packing and preparation before we leave for Ft. Walton Beach! I can't believe the summer is flying by so quickly. I saw school supplies in Target last week and screamed!

***Having photo uploading dificulties..will try to upload again tomorrow!