We arrived home Sunday night & Monday morning Grandma CeCe was here with the boys for a visit. The girls still had off of school Monday, so it was nice for the kids to be able to play & have them sleep over. They watched a movie together after dinner & had fun being together.

Since we missed Easter at home, I decided to have a little Easter egg hunt for the kids in our yard.

Takes forever to fill all the eggs & only minutes for them to find them all. Always seems to go so fast. I believe they had a good time & it was so nice outside. Perfect day for an egg hunt. They certainly didn't need any more candy, but it was fun for them all. We're back to cold & snow in the forecast today... booo! We'll take the warm{er} days when we get them!

Our trip home from Alabama deserves it's own post for two reasons...

1. We had so much fun & there are tons more photos

2. Way too much happened to clump it in with our week at the beach!

We left Alabama on Saturday morning which was perfect because they were forecasted for two full days of rain down there. It was already very dark & rainy when we left at 7am.
The big girls had decided that they would split the drive. Marin got to sit in the WAY back the entire way down & Marg got the 3rd row seat on the way home. After about 1 hour in the car, Margaux was sick. We moved her back up to the middle row & within a half hour she was throwing up. Poor peanut was really sick the entire drive that day. She only got sick once but she definitely was not feeling well the rest of the drive that day.
After about 10 hours of driving we arrived in Louisville Kentucky. Again the kids hit the pool & we ordered dinner. It didn't take long for Gary & Travis to realize that there was college basketball in town so they were plotting to go. Two hours later...

Two REALLY happy dads at the final four game, Villanova vs. Kansas. In pretty awesome seats too! The YUM! Center was only about a half mile from our hotel downtown so it worked out quite well. They were really excited. 

The next morning was Easter! The kids all woke up & we had a quick breakfast at the hotel. Then we all got ready & walked to church. {It was about a half mile away from our hotel} We had chose Louisville as our stop for the cathedral we saw online, knowing we wanted to take the kids to church for Easter. Sooooo glad we did! It was beautiful!!!

When we entered the church the kids eyes were soooo big. They were in awe. So big & so much to look at. They had a full choir dressed in choir robes that sang down below by us & up on the balcony by the organ. It was very fun for them to see. They were all very behaved during mass & looked so cute together. {No, Wendy & I did not match them on purpose!}

I just love these kiddos! They were all so happy. Not the typical Easter for any of them but they sure enjoyed it. We spent some time walking around downtown after church. Definitely a really cool city. 

Here is our whole Veraghen/Brown crew downtown...

Shortly after we hopped back in the car & continued our voyage home. We were trucking along quite well until Chicago when Gary said that the tire pressure light went on. We stopped at the closest gas station only to hear our back tire leaking air. There was a huge hole in the tire... boooooo!!!!

It was stressful in that it was Easter & there were no places open to fix a tire. So thankful our friends were behind us & were able to stop to help. Travis & Gary tried to use the "fix a flat" stuff from the gas station twice but it didn't work, so off came the tire & the donut tire went on. We drove the rest of the way home going 50mph and it felt like we were crawling. We were supposed to be home by 6pm in time to have dinner with my family but that didn't happen. We ended up getting home around 9pm & we were tired!!! The girls hunted for their Easter baskets, had some candy & we were all in bed.

I didn't even make it to my bed that night! This is what exhaustion looks like...

Needless to say, we had a great week & were VERY happy to be home! xoxo

We did it! Our first family road trip was a success!

We were packed in tight but it worked. Next time we will definitely do some packing differently... we may need a car topper to decrease the amount of stuff inside the car. {The ride home was just as full!!} Best part is all three girls did GREAT! I was so worried about the long car ride, {about 17 hours total} and they all really surprised us. Thank god for ipods, endless snacks, new activity books, music & drive thru restaurants. We made a pit stop & spent the night in Nashville on our way down. The girls enjoyed swimming in the pool & getting some energy out. 

Day two we arrived at our destination... Orange Beach Alabama! 

We had a great condo that was right on the beach with a big balcony overlooking the ocean. Perfect home for the week. It didn't take long for the chicks to put their suits on & we were enjoying the sunshine. Marin loved digging & playing football or soccer, although she spent most of the week vertical doing summer salts and flips on the sand. Total beach child.

 Day two, Margaux developed a heat rash of some sort, so she spent most of the week with a hat on to protect her face. She didn't mind though, she has become a hat girl. So cute!!! All three dug lots of holes on the beach & really loved playing in the sand.

 Maeve surprised us the most. She can be funny when it comes to water & swimming, but apparently not at the beach! She was a little fish. She LOVED jumping the waves & playing in the water.

90% of our days were spent on the beach. We packed loads of snacks, drinks & toys and just made ourselves comfy on the beach. We rented chairs most days so we had a place to call home throughout the day. The kids just loved playing & being outside. We also spent a LOT of time digging for shells.

There were a ton of shell pieces on the surface of the beach/sand but the really good ones you had to dig for. It became a game for us all, we were constantly digging trying to find the biggest/best shells. We brought home some really great ones! All three were very eager to share with their friends.

 Mid-week we did a dolphin cruise with a big group of our friends that were all in Orange Beach as well. We spent lots of time together doing many fun things, but the dolphin cruise was one of the best!

Look at this group of kids! Our group filled the whole boat. It was nice to have the whole thing to ourselves. Marin said the other boat was no fun because they weren't singing & dancing. Gary had to explain to her that was because the people on the other boat didn't know each other!

It only took about 5 minutes for the dolphins to show up. Such a fun experience for the kids, we were so happy that we did it. It was pretty amazing to see the dolphins that close & having so much fun!

The adults had a pretty good time too! We brought snacks & drinks. It was a really nice night.

 The next day it was Gary's turn for some more fun. The guys went out deep sea fishing. They got up really early & headed out to catch some fish. Gary said it was also a very fun experience. I think they were all happy they did it. 

 They caught so much fish! Enough that they gave some of it to the deck hand & the rest was cleaned up & brought back in a cooler. Later that night we took it to a local restaurant & they prepared it for our group of 30! I don't eat fish, but the others said it was amazing. I enjoyed a pretty great salad! ha!

 Lots of exciting stuff & WAY too many photos to post them all. 

 So hard to choose favorites when we had such a great time & snapped so many fun photos.

Love these girls so much. We are so happy we were able to take them on this vacation. They will have so many fun memories of this trip with family & great friends. We are already looking forward to another trip to the beach next year.

Definitely hard to leave the beach after such a great week. xoxo

We've got a lot going on in the next week, so we decided to color eggs a bit early this year. Our kids are all hard boiled egg lovers, so these eggs will not last long in this house!

Nothing fancy this year, for some reason the white crayon was not working well on the eggs. We tried several different crayons & had no luck. You could see it a little on a couple of the eggs, but definitely not what it is supposed to look like. No biggie, the girls didn't seem to mind either. 

No "2016" egg this year!

Late night egg coloring at it's best. Maeve put stickers on a few of them that she is now claiming as "hers," I am sure they will fight over who eats which ones. By the time we finished it was time for bed. Next up...spring break.  We are all very excited! Only a few more sleeps! xoxo

Missing Teeth Twins!!!

 It took some coaxing but we finally got Margaux to pull out that big top tooth! So sweet that she & Maeve are missing the same tooth. They look so cute! Funny to think that Margaux's tooth will grow in soon & Maeve still has to wait a few more years for hers. She asks about it, but I think she's okay with it, esp since some kids in her class are starting to loose their bottom teeth already.

 I stood in the bathroom with Marg for over a 1/2 hour talking her through the tears & the fears! She was so scared & when it actually came down to it she pulled it out & it didn't even bleed. It was THAT loose. Seriously hanging out of her mouth. She insisted that no one else pull it out except her & it was somewhat painful talking her through the process! We're hoping when the big guy next to it is ready to come out it won't be such a production!!!

Maeve's buddy Bhodi was here when I snapped the pic & he really wanted to be in a pic as well. So I snapped these two cuties together too. So many cute friendships between the neighborhood kids. I just love it.

The girls have all been spending lots of time outside again & it is soooo nice! The temps are still cool, but 50's feel fantastic after the long winter. They've been on their bikes/scooters trekking to the the park & all over the neighborhood. We are looking forward to 60's & 70's but for now, we're happy with what we've got! xoxo

 Yesterday the Brown's had their first circus experience!!

My uncle John won tickets through the radio & offered them to us. 

We gladly accepted & had a great time. So thankful he gave them to us.

All three of the girls really had a lot of fun. Maeve was pleased that there were not many clowns, she was a tad worried about that. She clung to me a few times, but nothing too bad. They enjoyed seeing the animals {elephants, tigers, snakes and a few ponies} but really loved all of the human stuff like the tightrope, juggling, the acrobats on the swings, etc. At the end a guy even got shot out of a human cannon. It was loud & they all got spooked by the loud bang... lots of giggles after that.

 All three enjoyed MORE than enough sugar. They had cotton candy, m&m's & much more. Margaux posed for a close-up of her teeth below. Her smile will look quite different in a few days. Both of her top teeth are extremely loose & need to be pulled out. She will look so different!

Maeve & Mommy circus selfie! I could just squeeze those baby cheeks!

Gary was with us as well, just didn't make the photos. He was busy taking video of all of the circus acts. We found it quite amazing all the stuff they could do, we were shocked & sometimes terrified for their lives! Fun afternoon, other than the circus we've had a pretty low key weekend. Trying to rest up before spring break in less than two weeks. Lots to do before then, I have to get packing! xoxo