Here are some pictures from our weekend at The Breakers!
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Weekend in Palm Beach at The Breakers
Last weekend I attended a CLE on Trust and Estate Planning at the Breakers in Palm Beach. Let's be honest, I have ALWAYS wanted to stay at this hotel and the fact that I just started a new three year CLE reporting cycle and need to get 33 hours of CLE over the next three years and the fact that this conference just happened to be there at a quiet time of the year for me work wise worked out PERFECTLY! I headed down Thursday and spent the afternoon with my friends that work at Northern Trust as attorney Trust officers and got treated to lunch and the spa while the guys that came down that afternoon did the golf tournament....that night we had the opening event and reception and then I got to stay in the hotel room I had reserved all.by.myself!!! Friday I was up and at the seminar early and spent most of the day in the CLE in various courses about updates on the law on trusts and estates. I actually love CLEs and could be a professional student if I could get paid to do this lol! Friday afternoon Jon drove down with the kids and we were once again reunited for the weekend. We explored the hotel's 4 ocean front pools, kids area and playground, and just beautiful grounds. This hotel is like a museum on the inside and very much looks like Tony and Debbie's old house on the inside... only like 100 times the size! It was just beautiful and really something to see. Saturday brought more CLE for me for the morning and Jon took the kids into Palm Beach for breakfast, they drove past Trump's compound and home, and down the famous Worth Avenue which is like the Rodeo drive of Palm Beach! We met up that afternoon and spent the afternoon at the beach and pools. That night the kids went to the Breakers kids camp and got to cook, do crafts, and play all sorts of games including something like a build a bear workshop while Jon and I had dinner on sight at the Flagler Steakhouse. This entire hotel is one of a handful of grand estates and resorts that Henry Flagler built and funded in Florida. It really is something to see. Henry Flagler is also the one that started the railroad all throughout Florida all the way to Key West, and really is responsible for a lot of Florida's east coast development and early tourism from St. Augustine all the way to the Keys!
Here are some pictures from our weekend at The Breakers!
Here are some pictures from our weekend at The Breakers!
Monday, August 20, 2018
long lost vacation photos
I have been organizing our house these past two weekends and we are finally getting the office room set up properly after two years of it being more or less a dumping ground in between other projects in our house...in the midst of all of that I found a USB drive from our trip on the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship from March of 2016! This was such a fun and impromptu vacation that we booked like 10 days before the cruise was to leave and we sailed all over the western Caribbean
! Enjoy the pictures!!
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
The first day of school
Yesterday, Monday August 13th was already the first day of school! This felt like a fast and short summer, and this is always a hard week of transition but everyone is in good spirits and doing well. I felt this way last year and again this year...I AM SO THANKFUL they are both in the same school and content and comfortable, it makes for an easy drop off and easy transition back to school! I am also thankful that it will be this way for three more years after this one before another big transition! I cannot believe how much they both grew this summer, and that we started second and fifth grade already!
Jackson's class is huge and the last class in his school to still be one class per grade. They started splitting the classes into two per grade the year after he started. While he has a huge class (29 this year, 30 last year) of which 2/3 are BOYS...his poor teacher...good thing she is a mother of twin boys...this is a good class and a tight group of kids as about 20 of them have been together since Kindergarten!! Jackson's teacher this year is Mrs. Gammell. She is a SHCS alum and so knows the drill and Catholic school! At ten and at the start of 5th Grade Jackson is really maturing and coming in to his own, he cares about his hair, his shoes, even his socks lol...and he really loves tennis, golf, and gaming (fortnight). He is very patient and tolerant of his sister ("sissy") and is a good big brother.
Sarabeth has a class of 18 and that seems to be just the right size. She has a good mix of boys and girls and our babysitter and someone she really adores, Miss Grace, is once again her teacher's aid this year. Grace is in school at night to become a teacher. Her teacher is Mrs. Whipple and she is also a SHCS alum and knows Catholic school as well. She is expecting her first baby any day now so this first part of the year they will have a long term sub, Mrs. Frederickson who is also Sarabeth's tutor. We met her this some and she has a master's in reading education and works with children that need some extra help in reading and phonics...it all fell into place that she already knows Sarabeth and will work with her not only now as her tutor once a week for some extra reading help but will be her sub in the classroom these first few months. At age 7 and in second grade Sarabeth is excited but a bit shy, cautious as always, kind, caring, gentle and excited about school and the big sacraments she gets to make this year...she asked me at mass on Sunday if the "bread of Christ" tastes good or bad...they don't really taste good...I was not sure what to say, haha!!
Here are some pictures of the first day!
Jackson's class is huge and the last class in his school to still be one class per grade. They started splitting the classes into two per grade the year after he started. While he has a huge class (29 this year, 30 last year) of which 2/3 are BOYS...his poor teacher...good thing she is a mother of twin boys...this is a good class and a tight group of kids as about 20 of them have been together since Kindergarten!! Jackson's teacher this year is Mrs. Gammell. She is a SHCS alum and so knows the drill and Catholic school! At ten and at the start of 5th Grade Jackson is really maturing and coming in to his own, he cares about his hair, his shoes, even his socks lol...and he really loves tennis, golf, and gaming (fortnight). He is very patient and tolerant of his sister ("sissy") and is a good big brother.
Sarabeth has a class of 18 and that seems to be just the right size. She has a good mix of boys and girls and our babysitter and someone she really adores, Miss Grace, is once again her teacher's aid this year. Grace is in school at night to become a teacher. Her teacher is Mrs. Whipple and she is also a SHCS alum and knows Catholic school as well. She is expecting her first baby any day now so this first part of the year they will have a long term sub, Mrs. Frederickson who is also Sarabeth's tutor. We met her this some and she has a master's in reading education and works with children that need some extra help in reading and phonics...it all fell into place that she already knows Sarabeth and will work with her not only now as her tutor once a week for some extra reading help but will be her sub in the classroom these first few months. At age 7 and in second grade Sarabeth is excited but a bit shy, cautious as always, kind, caring, gentle and excited about school and the big sacraments she gets to make this year...she asked me at mass on Sunday if the "bread of Christ" tastes good or bad...they don't really taste good...I was not sure what to say, haha!!
Here are some pictures of the first day!
Sunday, August 12, 2018
The Sleeping Bear Dunes, The Homestead, Leland, Glen Arbor and Traverse City Michigan
***Scroll down to read about 4-5 older posts if you are just catching up with us***
Before we head back to school tomorrow (express train summer that this was) I wanted to get one more quick post in from the last leg of our Northern Michigan trip at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Homestead resort, Leland, Glen Arbor, and Traverse City!
After we left Mackinac Island and got back into our car at the ferry pier with ALL of our gear in tow we headed over to the Sleeping Bear dunes and the Glen Arbor area. The drive was about 3-4 hours but was well worth the move to Glen Arbor along lake Michigan and the M 22 corridor to see the land there, the lake, the gentle hills, the beautiful lake houses right on lake Michigan and this quaint little area that I first saw years ago on a trip babysitting with another family. Not much has changed and my directions led us right to the Homestead resort where we checked in and gave them my cell phone to call us when the room was ready. While we waited we headed into Glen Arbor just a few miles up the road and had lunch at Art's Tavern, a place my parents friends the Bingles recommended. It was a fun little spot and then we hit up the cute shops and the Cherry Republic mega store near the restaurant for all things cherries!!! Glen Arbor was a really cute little town with a lot going on for a random Thursday summer afternoon! You would not have thought it was Thursday!!! I think it must be a 7 day a week party in these parts for these peak seasonal months up there!
After some late lunch and exploring Glen Arbor, we headed back to the Homestead when our room was ready. This is a huge resort with lots of property and it was about 99% booked when we were there. We were able to trade up our original reservation that was nowhere near the lake for an awesome loggerhead three bedroom top floor condo with sweeping views of Lake Michigan and the sleeping bear dunes! I have stayed in a lot of condos and this was really well set up and appointed and well laid out with good space. The kids chose to share a room with two twin beds so there was an entire bedroom we never even used! We were only here for two nights but could easily have spent another week here. We were very comfortable and it was a quick walk down to the beach area and pool and restaurants. We really did not spend a ton of time on property because the next day was our one full day to explore the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park and to see Leland and more of Glen Arbor and it was a bit foggy and misty that day so not really swimming weather. Not to worry though as Floridians we were fine with the weather that day and not looking for a lake or beach day anyways!!
We spent our morning exploring the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park driving through the scenic drive and we were able to pull off and park and see all of the lookout spots. It was really neat and our first national park...I did not even realize until we got there that Sleeping Bear Dunes IS a National Park!! That afternoon we headed over to fishtown and Leland and had an awesome lunch at a place several people recommended right on the water and near all of the quaint fishtown shops and action. After lunch we headed back to the Homestead to relax and get organized for our trek back to Florida...ALL THE WAY BACK the next day. We ended up just getting pizza from a local place nearby Jon had seen that night for dinner and brought it back to the condo to enjoy our digs and the views of the sunset over the lake for one last night. We all really said we could have spent another week there just exploring that whole area of Michigan. Alas the next morning brought our day of travels and we packed up the car and headed out around 9 am to make our way to Traverse City which was about 45 minutes from where we were staying to head to the airport. On the way to Traverse City we passed many many farms and stopped at one to buy some fresh cherries, and hot homemade donuts and before we ate the donuts we got to see all of their animals as well! It was a good little stop to get some energy out and take in a few more deep breaths of that good up north air. When we got to Traverse City we were ahead of schedule so we decided to surprise the kids and we hit up the pirate adventure golf putt putt! I remembered playing this course with my own family years ago on a trip there! It has not changed and was well maintained and the kids were squealing with delight they were so happy for yet another impromptu stop on the way to the airport!
After mini golf to the airport we finally went. The Traverse City airport was about the side of the Toledo airport and SO EASY. We booked our flights this way because while it cost more we saved about 6-7 hours of driving all the way back down to Detroit and saved ourselves a day! We easily boarded our flight and the only downside to this travel home was that it made for a really long day as we had to connect through Atlanta to get all the way down to Orlando from little Traverse City! When we got to Atlanta Jack was so relieved to learn on the connecting flight we did not have to get our luggage and lug it all across the airport! We had been on the road for 11 days at this point and we had 5 huge bags...I realized this was amazingly their first time traveling on a connecting flight so of course he did not know that we did not have to get the luggage ourselves:) We usually fly direct flights to save time and it is just easier with the kids. We made the Atlanta connection just fine but once we got in the air there was immediately a ground hold in Orlando meaning no one could land or take off due to the thunder storms there that time of day. We ended up in the air on what was supposed to be a short jaunt from Atlanta to Orlando for nearly as long as the flight had been from Michigan to Atlanta! By the time we got on the ground and got all of the luggage and the car (we have a great system for this due to all of our travels) it was nearly 11pm when we got home! The next day was Sunday and boy was I busy as the kids got a week off at home with a babysitter just to recover but Jon and I had to work on Monday! This was an amazing trip beginning with a family wedding and ending with a week of fun and exploration. The kids are still talking about this trip and begging me can we go back to Mackinac Island next summer! I knew they would like it but I did not know they would like it this much!!! Here are some pictures of the last leg of our trip!
Before we head back to school tomorrow (express train summer that this was) I wanted to get one more quick post in from the last leg of our Northern Michigan trip at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Homestead resort, Leland, Glen Arbor, and Traverse City!
After we left Mackinac Island and got back into our car at the ferry pier with ALL of our gear in tow we headed over to the Sleeping Bear dunes and the Glen Arbor area. The drive was about 3-4 hours but was well worth the move to Glen Arbor along lake Michigan and the M 22 corridor to see the land there, the lake, the gentle hills, the beautiful lake houses right on lake Michigan and this quaint little area that I first saw years ago on a trip babysitting with another family. Not much has changed and my directions led us right to the Homestead resort where we checked in and gave them my cell phone to call us when the room was ready. While we waited we headed into Glen Arbor just a few miles up the road and had lunch at Art's Tavern, a place my parents friends the Bingles recommended. It was a fun little spot and then we hit up the cute shops and the Cherry Republic mega store near the restaurant for all things cherries!!! Glen Arbor was a really cute little town with a lot going on for a random Thursday summer afternoon! You would not have thought it was Thursday!!! I think it must be a 7 day a week party in these parts for these peak seasonal months up there!
After some late lunch and exploring Glen Arbor, we headed back to the Homestead when our room was ready. This is a huge resort with lots of property and it was about 99% booked when we were there. We were able to trade up our original reservation that was nowhere near the lake for an awesome loggerhead three bedroom top floor condo with sweeping views of Lake Michigan and the sleeping bear dunes! I have stayed in a lot of condos and this was really well set up and appointed and well laid out with good space. The kids chose to share a room with two twin beds so there was an entire bedroom we never even used! We were only here for two nights but could easily have spent another week here. We were very comfortable and it was a quick walk down to the beach area and pool and restaurants. We really did not spend a ton of time on property because the next day was our one full day to explore the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park and to see Leland and more of Glen Arbor and it was a bit foggy and misty that day so not really swimming weather. Not to worry though as Floridians we were fine with the weather that day and not looking for a lake or beach day anyways!!
We spent our morning exploring the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park driving through the scenic drive and we were able to pull off and park and see all of the lookout spots. It was really neat and our first national park...I did not even realize until we got there that Sleeping Bear Dunes IS a National Park!! That afternoon we headed over to fishtown and Leland and had an awesome lunch at a place several people recommended right on the water and near all of the quaint fishtown shops and action. After lunch we headed back to the Homestead to relax and get organized for our trek back to Florida...ALL THE WAY BACK the next day. We ended up just getting pizza from a local place nearby Jon had seen that night for dinner and brought it back to the condo to enjoy our digs and the views of the sunset over the lake for one last night. We all really said we could have spent another week there just exploring that whole area of Michigan. Alas the next morning brought our day of travels and we packed up the car and headed out around 9 am to make our way to Traverse City which was about 45 minutes from where we were staying to head to the airport. On the way to Traverse City we passed many many farms and stopped at one to buy some fresh cherries, and hot homemade donuts and before we ate the donuts we got to see all of their animals as well! It was a good little stop to get some energy out and take in a few more deep breaths of that good up north air. When we got to Traverse City we were ahead of schedule so we decided to surprise the kids and we hit up the pirate adventure golf putt putt! I remembered playing this course with my own family years ago on a trip there! It has not changed and was well maintained and the kids were squealing with delight they were so happy for yet another impromptu stop on the way to the airport!
After mini golf to the airport we finally went. The Traverse City airport was about the side of the Toledo airport and SO EASY. We booked our flights this way because while it cost more we saved about 6-7 hours of driving all the way back down to Detroit and saved ourselves a day! We easily boarded our flight and the only downside to this travel home was that it made for a really long day as we had to connect through Atlanta to get all the way down to Orlando from little Traverse City! When we got to Atlanta Jack was so relieved to learn on the connecting flight we did not have to get our luggage and lug it all across the airport! We had been on the road for 11 days at this point and we had 5 huge bags...I realized this was amazingly their first time traveling on a connecting flight so of course he did not know that we did not have to get the luggage ourselves:) We usually fly direct flights to save time and it is just easier with the kids. We made the Atlanta connection just fine but once we got in the air there was immediately a ground hold in Orlando meaning no one could land or take off due to the thunder storms there that time of day. We ended up in the air on what was supposed to be a short jaunt from Atlanta to Orlando for nearly as long as the flight had been from Michigan to Atlanta! By the time we got on the ground and got all of the luggage and the car (we have a great system for this due to all of our travels) it was nearly 11pm when we got home! The next day was Sunday and boy was I busy as the kids got a week off at home with a babysitter just to recover but Jon and I had to work on Monday! This was an amazing trip beginning with a family wedding and ending with a week of fun and exploration. The kids are still talking about this trip and begging me can we go back to Mackinac Island next summer! I knew they would like it but I did not know they would like it this much!!! Here are some pictures of the last leg of our trip!
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