Travel Club Members

I know, I know you miss me. I missed blogging too. But this girl has found herself to be quite the busy butterfly lately. I won't bore you with those details (for now)...I will get to the vacay as I know you all have been anxious to hear all about!

I wanted to title this "Travel Warriors" because I do feel like, with what P-Daddy and I encountered we are ready and able to handle any travel glitches that come our way from here on out (bring it on Disney World, BRING IT). Lets just say it was a bit rough getting to our location (thank you Iceland volcano) and even rougher getting home (thank you Miami Air).



But alas, we are now officially card carrying members of the FB Travel Club. I have to say, its where all the cool kids are. And we met some cool kids. No, we met some cool friends. Seriously, the group we were with throughout the entire week was great (and great doesn't describe it really). We laughed, we laughed more, we laughed until we cried. It was just a blessing to be with them. I miss all of them actually. And I find it weird to explain this vacation to anyone, even blogger world, because it is one of those experiences that is hard to relive with words. You just had to be there. It truly was a vacation of a lifetime.


Travel stats are

32 hours to get to our first destination (this stopping point was a slight detour to our final destination) which included sitting in Rome's airport for 5 hours waiting and a lovely 6 1/2 hour bus ride through Italy's countryside.
10 hours of rest (thankfully) in a lovely Sheraton hotel in Bari, Italy where I indulged (prior to slumber) in the best red wine I have ever tasted.
2 more hours of waiting
48 or so hours before we united with the FB Travel Club...and we weren't in the group that got the worst of it.
Sat in JFK airport for 11 hours waiting for airplane to come take us back home to Indiana.
Traveled for 32 hours before arriving home sweet home.
Total hours traveled via airports or buses: 80 (Don't.Be.Jealous)

Then there was vacation bliss...

The above pictures highlight the place I would like to now retire to, Santorini, Greece. My pictures do not do my dear Santorini justice as it is literally one of the most beautiful place I have ever seen.



The below pictures highlight our way "out" of Santorini. It involved (as you will see), what was supposed to be a "15 minute walk" down the side of a beautiful mountain, but instead was a over hour walk down a donkey (shit) slippery stone stepped mountain. It was an adventure for sure!

And then there was Athens...

Mykonos, Greece was next and was supposed to be a nightlife location but we couldn't find any. Instead we ate and had a beer and then departed. Was also a beautiful stop though...

The final stop was Dubrovnikkkk (you have to accentuate the k, its just how we do), Croatia. It involved a stop to a local farm where we drank some wine and saw a few local dancers (think men in skirts). We also walked around this city via an ancient wall-PDaddy doesn't like heights so we peaced out on this one as most of this said wall was rather high in the sky.

I said it once and I will say it again, it was a trip of a lifetime. I cannot say I would do it again, but mostly because I know it wouldn't be the same.

And now a few updates:
I rocked the 9 1/2 hour flight, both ways...
...didn't get grouchy once during our two legs of over 24 hours of travel (so proud, right?!...becoming a mom has made me such a grown up-ha!)
...did lose weight (it was not 20 pounds)
...amazed myself at how adventurous I was
...was amazed at how well JD took us being gone in stride
...cannot believe the bond we formed with people we hardly knew going into the week, and I love that

...now I gotta get back to work!

Uncharted Territory

Lots and lots of "new" in the Glory Day's household. Don't know about you or you or even you over there, but we don't ALWAYS deal with change that well. On a side note: while in sales in my former, former life (did you catch that?) I saw several seminars on change and how to effectively handle it as adults. Interesting stuff. At that point in my life I hadn't even thought about change, let alone it being difficult. Turns out, I should have paid more attention.



Lets see, where shall I start? Well Granbecks and The Engineer have been living with us for 2 weeks now. They officially made it here from sunny California and are awaiting their moving truck to come and bring them their furnishings in order to move into their home. A toddler with an acquired attitude (see below for further detail), a Grandma, a dog, a cat, P-Daddy, The Engineer and me have all been living happily ever after. Its been interesting. But I have to say, it still feels like they are here just for a visit.



Having my mom here, in the same vicinity (they are living in the city next to ours), 15 minutes away is going to for sure be a change. I haven't lived this close to my mom since I was 19 years young. Try 10 years ago. Try that was hard to type because 10 years goes wayyyy to fast. I am not complaining about her closeness at all. We are thrilled. Just going to be a big change.



Speaking of Granbeck, I should probably mention that another big change a coming is that I got a J-O-B! That change still for sure hasn't sunk in. Not even close. Its a cool job. Its giving me the best of all worlds (in my humble opinion) as I will be working from home full time doing interesting stuff. I wanted full time employment but wanted to work from home (at least a little) and this, well I truly believe God handed this one to me. I feel blessed.

Back to Granbeck...she will be babysitting JD full time for us. This is what she wanted. This is what we wanted. I literally got this job the day before she arrived. To God be the Glory!

Speaking of my new job, well I start it very soon. You know, two days after we get back from our Greek Isles cruise. Another change. I have never been abroad....on a plane...for 9.5 hours...anyway back to the abroad part. So excited about that! I am pretty sure I am going to pretend I am in at least ONE scene of Mama Mia while there. I also might catch myself drinking (and shipping home) too much local wine. P-Daddy worked really, really hard last year and was awarded this trip through his work so we will be traveling with about 150 other people from the FBI. Don't worry, I will be on my best behavior. Long time away from JD, another change, but this is a once in a lifetime kind of trip. Pray the Dramamine knocks me out on the flight! :)

Speaking of JD, well he has officially entered the "terrible twos"...whatever that means. But I actually DO know what it means and I actually dislike it and I was actually in denial that my sweet pie son would ever be in this phase of life. He still is a sweetie pie, for the most part. But LORDY LORDY when he gets himself worked up we may as well just realize that the next half hour to an hour is going to be filled with screams and tears and tantrums. Perfect timing for P-Daddy and I to go on vacay right? The FBI knew and totally timed this on our behalf. And to that I say a BIG THANKS!

When we return and I start my new job and Granbeck is settled in her home and P-Daddy starts his weekly golf league and JD is being babysat everyday and most of our home is getting painted and I am 20 pounds skinnier and my house is clean all the time....oh sorry I was just dreaming for those last two...anyway...back to the "when we return" stuff...we are going to tackle potty training and big boy bed for the little man who also doesn't really love change. Probably not in that order and probably not all that well. But doggonit we will look pretty while we are doing it and eventually it will be did. :)

Traveling with a Toddler 101

Lake Tahoe Christmas was our destination and surviving it (and finding time to enjoy it somewhere in there too) was our plan.

Here are the trip details...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Left via US Airways Christmas Eve. Had two flights that day and an hour drive to final destination once we landed in Reno. The first flight was the longest. I would highly recommend this if you are traveling with a toddler and have to do two flights. US Airways was not accommodating to senior citizens or people traveling with children. I would not recommend. JD cried (rather screamed), I cried, it was the definite UGLY part of our trip. Side note: who knew SO MANY PEOPLE traveled on Christmas Eve? Every flight was jam packed!

"Not amused by the length of this flight mom"

Arrived in Lake Tahoe where GranBeck and Tracey were waiting for us at the airport. This was the first highlight of JD's trip as he loves GranBeck. We also arrived to beautiful snow capped mountains and a clear crisp day.

Drove through the beautiful mountains (and very safe roads I might add, which I appreciated) to get to our home that GranBeck's rented for the week. We arrived to a whole new world for JD and a lot of new family for all of us (JD's favorite being 4 year old cousin Alex who he is still talking about daily). Everyone was excited to be together, that was clear. We were excited we survived the first leg of travel safe and sound. We also asked and received for a rather stiff cocktail and appreciated our new family even more when they gave it to us! :)

Christmas was filled with lots of eating, presents, stockings, family, laughs...and a new one for us...gambling. HA! After JD went to sleep on Christmas night...mama and P-Daddy (and Uncle VP) could be found at one of the local Casinos. It was weird but fun at the same time. I think what I found most odd was how many people were there. I don't know...I just kind of felt like we were the odd ones for going to a casino on Christmas. Apparently my logic was off because everyone in Nevada seemed to be joining us.

The entire crew at Christmas dinner

GranBeck and JD Christmas morning

In the remaining time there we shared more laughs, decorated sweatshirts (in true GranBeck fashion), relaxed, sledded and gambled a bit more. Oh and JD slept like a CHAMPION. Call it baby stress from all the traveling, call it being 6300 feet above sea level, or being worn out by his new cousin Alex...we aren't sure but it was AWESOME! People we are talking 3 hour naps and 14-15 hours of sleep every night!

Uncle VP and JD chillin in the snow

We flew home on Southwest Airlines. JD has a peanut allergy and they are one of the few airlines that still serve peanuts as their free snack so this was an obvious worry of mine going into it. BUT I have to tell you they could not have been more accommodating and nice to us. We filled out the appropriate paperwork online when we booked our flight and when we checked in reminded them of this and were treated like royalty... not like we were putting them out. Which is interesting because we kind of were a pain in their rear because once you fill out that information they are flagged to take all peanuts off that plane and ask all passengers to not open anything containing peanuts that they may have brought onto the plane. They never once made us feel like this was an inconvenience.

Our first leg of the flight was again the longest and this time we went scream free. WOOHOO! We made several trips to the airline bathroom (as JD decided right before we left that going potty in a real potty was super fun), ate lots and lots of snacks, and listened to lots and lots of songs on mommies ipod which as a combination all worked! It was no less stressful because I was on edge that he was going to scream but he didn't and that made it one successful 4 hour flight.

We arrived in Chicago, Midway wayyyy past JD's bed time and had a stupidly long layover. Note to parents: when traveling with a toddler DO NOT FLY THROUGH CHICAGO MIDWAY. It seriously is one of the worst airports I have ever flown through. Way too crowded and the gates are not large enough to accommodate the amount of people.

In general it was a wonderful trip filled with lots of firsts and great fun. But I don't think we will be traveling with OUR toddler on a plane anytime soon. :)

Here are a few other items we found helpful...just in case you decide to travel with yours...


1. Children's Benadryl (specifically the "perfect measures")=does not make our son drowsy AT ALL. But as a side note (and before I get baraded about giving my 2 year old benadryl) this was mostly due to JD's peanut allergy and we were taking precautions before getting on an airplane that sold snacks with peanuts in them. Oh and I do hear that OTHER parents use Children's Benadryl for the purposes of drowsiness when they fly and I would have been TOTALLY okay with this happening to us too but, alas JD loves to defy all odds and so awake he was! :)

2. Lots of favorite snacks. For us this includes cheez-its, fruit snacks and dried fruit. We threw in some snack sized oreo's which were a HUGE hit because JD doesn't get sugary snacks that often and he loves "cookies."

3. Antibacterial wipes. This is especially important if you are traveling with a baby/toddler with a peanut allergy because you can wipe down the seats, windows, etc just in case there was anyone sitting there before that had peanuts. We were given this advice before we left and were grateful for it! And really, in the Swine Flu world we live in, this isn't a bad thing to do anyway I guess.

4. While in an airport, anything that moves such as the "people movers" (shown below) can keep a toddlers attention for quite some time. Would highly recommend. Helps pass the time for parents and toddlers very well. :)

5. IPOD with non children music. Yep, thats right our son loves rap music (Timbaland is his favorite) and this held his attention for a good 45 minutes on one of the legs of the flight.

6. Once at destination, if car travel is required of any distance other than 15 minutes, must stop at the nearest fast food place and pick up fries for cranky toddler who has already been traveling for too many hours to mention. This will buy you some time before a meltdown.

7. After arriving be sure to have another toddler or child there available to play with at all times. This one is HUGE and highly important if you would like to also get to enjoy yourself on said vacation.

JD, P-Daddy and Alex on Christmas Day

A Big Thank you to GranBecks for organizing this special trip...one we will remember forever!

Vacation for Turkey Day...

We rounded ourselves up again for another road trip, this time with sunny Florida as the destination! This time it was 12 hours instead of 7 (we are crazy), but we had a lot of fun along the way, enjoying the sun instead of snow on Thanksgiving!

The view from the top of our house (cloudy day but still pretty)

With my mom in California it can be hard (on all of us) for the holidays. My mom has been WONDERFUL traveling here every chance she gets and spending weeks with her favorite (and only) grandson. We were supposed to make the trip to her this Thanksgiving but the thought of getting on a 4 hour flight with 200 passengers while JD is in a SCREAMING phase (meaning he screams when he wants something, or is mad, or is sad, or sometimes just because) I got hives just thinking about it. So we compromised...kind of! We rented a beautiful home (note to readers, traveling to Destin, Florida in October-February is DIRT CHEAP) that had enough space for everyone and then some and decided that driving would be a better option. When we took the last road trip JD's car seat was still turned backwards and he did okay...so we thought with his carseat now facing forward this one would be even better. We were WRONG!



JD slept 45 minutes in the first day, 25 minutes the second on our way down there. He normally takes TWO, 2 hour + naps a day. So he was screaming and crabby! My brother (bless his heart) drove down there with us and I think he discovered that he may no longer want children. He loves JD and had wonderful patience but I am pretty sure he doesn't want to see any of our faces for a while (and I don't blame him)! The ride home was just as bad but it almost didn't feel that way because I was prepared for it.

The family on Thanksgiving night

I am leaving out the best part though which was the actual trip! The home we stayed in was beautiful, the area was gorgeous, and Thanksgiving was better in Florida than in Indiana! We actually laid out at the pool the day of Thanksgiving while the turkey was a cookin! I couldn't do Christmas like that but Thanksgiving...I think I could do every year!

One of our favorite stories from this particular trip was from a night out at Stinky's Fish Camp. Yes I said Stinky's Fish Camp. Sounds sort of disgusting and the outside is nothing to look at either BUT this place had the best seafood we had ever eaten! We left JD with my mom and her husband and VP, P-Daddy and I set out for a good meal! We came across Stinky's and thought "what the hell, lets try it!"

We sat at the bar and waited for a table (the wait was a half hour, always a good sign right?) and ended up chatting with a couple because they had asked us if we wouldn't mind moving down a seat so they could squeeze in. We noticed that they were eating at the bar so we decided to just go ahead because our stomachs had started growling. The husband of the couple chimed in and said we had made a very good decision by eating at the bar because the bar tender was the BEST! Well, then the bartender was way excited that it was our first time and explained to us that we shouldn't be fooled by the ambiance...that all of the chefs owned the place and they all came from 5 star restaurants. So we ordered with his recommendations and went along our way. The husband then chimes up again and asks what we had ordered and tells us we HAVE to order the bread pudding for dessert because its the best ever. Apparently this place was just written up in "Southern Living" magazine...and I told him that he could be the spokesperson himself for the place!


Our food was AMAZING! I honestly am not a fish gal but it was the best any of us had ever had! Then the couple sends three t-shirts to our table (now that is Southern Hospitality if I ever knew any) and said that they couldn't let us leave without something and they never wanted us to forget our first time at Stinky's! Now I will tell you something...NO ONE in Indiana would ever do something like that! We bought them a round and took a picture (because my VP insisted, which I thought was cute) with them!

The nice family we met!

JD still loves the water and was braver this time than he has ever been! I have to catch him in the bathtub and show you his new moves too. He now pretends like he is swimming in the tub and had started this right before we left for vacation and pretty much continued it in the pool. He isn't quite sure of the ocean though. He didn't like the lake either...he is a pool snob what can I say?

We are quite thankful for many things this year and I couldn't leave that out...
We are thankful for the opportunities we are given
We are thankful for our wonderful family
We are thankful for our dear friends
We are thankful for our relationship
We are thankful for our health
We are thankful for our home
And last but not least...
We are thankful FOR JD!!!

Mommy and Daddy, lets PLEASE not get back in the car for 12 hours...lets just move here, its nice and warm!

**If you are ever in need of a rental home for vacation I would highly recommend http://www.oceanreefresorts.com/ in the Destin area. Our home was actually in Santa Rosa Beach. They have the best selection in the area. However, our home (probably due to economic reasons) hadn't been occupied in quite some time and we had a few mishaps. Ocean Reef did take care of all of them though with little hesitation so I would still recommend.

Back Home Again

WEEERRR'EEE BAAAACK! Our first family vacation was a success but I will say its always nice to be back home. We had lots of firsts on this vacation that I thought would be fun to share...

First trip for JD to Chicago to see Amy and Paul

First time in a sand box

First 19 hour road trip (all together)

First time in Wisconsin and first time in a lake (he hated the lake-couldn't even get a picture)

First vacation for Mom and Dad since we were pregnant

First time meeting cousin Paige (and stealing our first cracker)

First time in a Little Tykes Car (Grandpa Menard is promising one of these for the first birthday!)

It was definitely a different experience than any other vacation we have ever taken as a couple but a great one! The car trip went wonderful (to our surprise). The last 2 hours of our trip up there were a little rough because it poured (and I mean POURED) on us. The roads were curvy and starting to flood a little...it was a bit scary. But as soon as we made it there safely all was great and the skies opened up to let the sun shine through to start our vacation!

It was a bit hard to juggle planned activities and JD's napping/bedtime schedule. But we worked it out. The first night we stretched JD's night time limit and paid for it as he screamed bloody murder in the middle of the night (and wouldn't/couldn't be consoled). So we were strict about bed time the rest of the vacation and all was fine.

The first night, 9pm. Cranky baby.

It was absolutely awesome that we got to stay with Amy and Paul on the way there and back. We love you guys and can't wait to see you again soon! Thank you again for your amazing hospitality (and great food!).

As far as the random vacation purchases went....hands down the winner was the pre-made Similac Bottles! It made life SOOOO completely easy. The "Bibsters" and the Beach Bag come in a close second though! :)

My absolute favorite picture!