Our Illinois Trip

The trip to Illinois was awesome! Bobby and I left on January 30th (Friday). He stayed through the weekend and I stayed until the next Friday to catch up on all my family. The main purpose of going was to finally meet Vera...our new niece, adopted from Russia. And we definitely got some Vera time in, which made me so happy. Right after we got off the plane in Peoria we met my sister, mom, dad and Ryan (and Vera!) for lunch...so the first few pics are from that lunch. After that we went to Nikki's house that night for dinner, etc....and I finally got to see Kiara as well. Since they couldn't come to the wedding because of the adoption, it was so neat to see Kiara and give her her flower girls gifts. She put on her dress for me that she would've worn (and can wear for Easter now hopefully instead!) and I brought her flower girl basket with some rose petals she would've thrown. She practiced what she would've done for us and it was so cute...she was so serious about it...I can only imagine if she was there that day how seriously she would've taken it! Vera was such a cutie...her hair is much more blonde than red from the pictures. She seemed to go to me and take to me (and Bobby too) right away, which was completely endearing for us. Both Bobby and I completely melted each time she held out her arms to go to us and then put her head on our shoulders! Ugh...too cute!

Yah! Vera and I's first visit...and she lets me hold her and play with her!

So big!

Kiara's flower girl dress

She's so cute...I'm glad she got to have a little flower girl time!

Cutie! Excuse the orange nose...she was fighting a cold and in pictures it showed up orange!

Um...excuse me Aunt Dani...but what the heck are you doing? =)

Pa and Vera

Bobby doesn't like me for posting this one...but it's so cute!

I know this may look like child abuse...but she was having a great time, I promise!

It's always dress up time with Kiara!

I LOVE this picture...not sure why...just think it's precious!

Saturday, Bobby and I got to sleep in a bit and then we hit one of our favorite Illinois eats - Flattop Grill. Yum! After that we went and spent some time at Nikki's again and ate dinner at a pizza place with the family. Stayed and visited for a while, and then Bobby and I even got a little karaoke time in with my friend Sheri in East Peoria. We had a great time.

Pizza time!

Vera loved Bobby

Sunday was a day at mom and dad's...watching the Superbowl, especially since our Arizona Cardinals were in it. Great game, even though they lost. Nikki, Ryan and the girls came over for the whole day, so we got another day of cuteness from Vera and Kiara.

The new family

Vera couldn't grasp that we were taking our own picture =)

Sisters!

This was so funny...again, I promise she loved it. We thought she looked like a little baby Joe Dirt!

Monday, I took Bobby to the airport. After that I stopped by Nikki's for my Vera fix for the day. More cuteness and warming up to me...which especially makes me happy since I am so far away from them and worry that she won't really know who I am. After that I got to go to my cousin Leah's house to see her two twin boys, Ethan and Lucas. Abby, Leah's sister/my cousin, was also there...so I am so happy I got that opportunity to spend time with them all...it had been waaaaay too long! The boys love TRACTORS...they are almost two and can say a lot of words...but TRACTORS and BOM-BINE (combine) are definitely their favorites! It was adorable. Alissa (another cousin) had wanted to come to mom and dad's that night for dinner, so we ate dinner with Lis and Travis (her bro, my cousin). I was happy she suggested coming over...she was at the wedding with her boyfriend, Jim, and they had the best time exploring the Phoenix-area/Arizona. They went everywhere. It's neat to see Alissa so happy! =)

Cutie Ethan!

Twin Cutie Lucas!

Aunt Abby with the boys!

The next day my mom and I went over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house (literally...no lie!). We stopped at Grandma Betty's first and visited and showed her the wedding pictures. Her knee is still hurting her, which is not fun for her...but she seemed to be in good spirits and it was great to have some time with her, especially since she wasn't able to come to the wedding. Next to go to was my Aunt Marjie's house...my cousin Bryce's kids were there - Brookelyn (7 months) and Lexi (2 1/2 years). My cousin Travis was there, along with Uncle Dan and Aunt Marjie (they flew out for the wedding too)...it's always too short of a visit...but I am so happy to have had at least an hour or so with all of my family. Mom and I went to see my other set of grandparents (on my Dad's side) after that too. Luckily everyone is very close together! Again, great to see them and show pictures and talk with them some that day. After that, mom and I went to Morton to pick up Kiara to spend the night at mom's that night. She was excited to come and we headed back to Chillicothe for a night with Kiara! She wanted to sleep with me, which I wouldn't have minded at all...I had started to get a sore throat...so mom got her normal duty of a sleeping partner with Kiara! She's so cute...we had a great time together.

Brookelyn and Katie - sisters!

Does she have some blue eyes or what????

Sisters...love this pic!

Let's see...the next day we woke up and spent some more time with Kiara...then mom and her were on their way to Morton so that Kiara could make it in time for the bus for school. I headed out to see my best friend Jen, who is at about 37 weeks in her pregnancy. She's been ordered to take it easy, so I just went over and spent a few hours with her...looking at sonograms, she looked at wedding and honeymoon pics...and the baby's nursery (which was freaking adorable, by the way!). It was soooo good to see her...I am so sad that I won't be there for when the baby is born though. I know Jen feels very pregnant and large at this point, but she looked so cute fully prego! =) Later that night, mom, dad, and I went to Metamora to see my Aunt Sandy and Lori (cousin)...she just gave birth to Kamryn Grace about 5 weeks ago...so it was great to see them and the new little girl! Also, great to spend time with Jack and Payton (her two other kids). Scott (another cousin, Lori's brother) and Travis ate with us too...and then we went back to Lori's and talked for a while. Another great visit that I am so happy we fit in to the week.

Jack, Kamryn and Payton

Thursday was the last day before I left, so I went over to Nikki's early afternoon to get some more Vera time in. I got to officially be her first babysitter so that Nikki could to the grocery store and get caught up. I tell you what...that child is the easiest baby to watch. Give her a drawer to open and close, with a few toys to put in and out (and in and out)...and she is good for at least an hour! She moved on to the cabinets in the kitchen and rearranged a few things there for Nikki =) but she still just concentrates and is so into moving stuff from one place to another and then back again. Works for me! =) Kiara came home from school....and then dad and mom came over too...and we headed to Cracker Barrel to eat...after that, it was goodbye to Kiara and Vera. This was the hardest time ever to say goodbye! Kiara is just at an age where she will break your heart with the cute stuff she says about seeing/missing each other. And Vera is just at the beginning of me knowing her...and everything was so great with her and I over the week that it was painful to think I couldn't do that whenever I wanted. In the end...I peeled myself away somehow! It's amazing how quickly you can love a little person...the whole adoption thing is different obviously than what we know with Kiara...but instantly there is love there that makes it like she is just like a blood relative. Don't get me wrong, I was hoping that this is how it would be and thought we'd get there down the road...but you just never know since you have never experienced it...and let me tell you...Vera may not be genetically the same as our family...but she is our family now 110%...it is soooo easy to love her.

Sorry about my voice on the video the whole time. I wanted her to show her little belly...sometimes if you ask, she'll raise up her shirt and show her little outty belly button...but not this time! Vera was still as cute as ever though...so I had to post it.

I love these pictures!

Even with all the fun that I had and the family I saw that week...I was still pretty darn excited to fly back on Friday and see Bobby and the girls! I missed them a bunch. I was actually the first person off the flight, so the first to walk through the door and see Bobby waiting there...my bag came really quickly and we were headed home already. I had been sick...not awful, but not feeling great for a few days...so the air pressure in the plane stuffed my head up pretty good...I was pretty much useless that night...and I am still fighting this darn thing. My sister and I both have it now...on the same schedule. Both Vera and Kiara (and my parents and Ryan I think too) have had this...so it makes sense that we would get it...Nikki held out for a while though!

The family is planning on coming at the end of April for a week...so we are definitely looking forward to that! The girls and Bobby and I are headed for their Spring Break to San Diego in March for four nights. SUPER excited about that....I have never been to California and have wanted to go to San Diego for a while now...and I found a great deal at a hotel right across the street from the beach at Ocean Beach. So...we have lots to keep us busy in the upcoming weeks and months!

The Honeymoon - Riviera Maya

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted yet about our honeymoon. Just when I thought things would settle down for us after the wedding, they seem to have sped up instead! I am just getting around to posting pics for our honeymoon. I will post a couple here directly and then include a public link to my Facebook photo album too.

Bobby and I had a blast on the trip...the flights to Cancun were great, so we were definitely grateful for that! Our resort was 30 mins south of Cancun along the Mayan Riviera. We stayed at The Grand Mayan, a gift from my parents - thanks Dad and Mom! =) The pools were INCREDIBLE there...I can't say that enough. We spent the first day at the pool and met a couple from New York that were fun to hang out with and it was a great day at the pool. The next day, Bobby and I found our way down to Tulum (Mayan Ruins about an hour south of our resort) by taking a bus from Playa Del Carmen (about 15 minutes south of our resort). Luckily, my man speaks fluent Spanish, so it was an easy and cheap trip! Tulum is a great site in terms of Mayan Ruins because one side of them is the coast/beach/ocean. You will see that in some of the posted pictures....it just makes it gorgeous! Plus, since the site isn't enormous and they are fairly compact, it's a great spot just to spend 1-2 hours looking around. After Tulum, we took the bus back north into Playa. It started raining right when we got to Playa...so we actually were complete dorky tourists (laughing at ourselves the entire time) and bough rain ponchos and walked up and down 5th Avenue (the popular street in Playa with tons of shopping and eating) with them on. I think there is a picture of us with them on too in the bunch...we had to capture how dorky we looked! Luckily, the rain let up some and we could walk without them on...we found a great restaurant called La Parilla where we experienced some amazing food! The best tacos I have ever had there....and the guacamole was awesome too! Yes mom, I kind of like quacamole now, believe it or not! We just spent the day walking and looking around, buying the girls some souvenirs and then headed back to the resort.

The next day was going to be a pool day....except it was cloudy and rainy. =( So...we ordered room services, waited for the sun to shine, and read as we waited. If we kept waiting in the room for the sun to shine...or even a little blue sky to show, we would've been waiting until that Friday afternoon (it was Tuesday at this point). Yep...that's right, it rained about 70% of our trip...the first and last days were the only ones that were truly not raining and sunny. We got over it after the first day and decided we would just make the best of it and still go to the beach, pool, etc. like it was sunny. So we did...wasn't QUITE as enjoyable...but we really did have a great time regardless of the cloudy, rainy weather. I even had to wear a sweatshirt at the beach during the day when we were reading and spending time there...but it was still nice to have the ocean waves, wind, sand in your toes, etc. We were going to go to Xel-Ha mid-week (an eco-water park with snorkling, cliff diving, dolphins, swimming, etc.), but we just felt it would be a waste of money, so we nixed that from our "to do's." By Friday, it was rumored to get a little sunny, so we were set we were set to get out to the pool. It was nice to just (finally) have a day at the pool and just relax and enjoy a nice(r) day. It was still cloudy and really windy...but it was 100% improvement on our last 3-4 days, so we were loving it! It was our last full day there, so it was a perfect ending. We did get a little more sun the next morning, since our flight didn't leave until 4pm.

All in all, we had such an amazing time. We went to relax and do nothing and mission was accomplished! The resort, The Grand Mayan/Mayan Palace, was absolutely incredible. I have never been to a nicer place. Our room was amazing and HUGE. We had about 1400 sq. ft. of space! We felt almost guilty since we ended up not using one side of it altogether. But...oh well...it was our honeymoon! Oh...and another thing...we have never seen so many different creatures - birds, crocodiles, many, many iguanas - it was like we were at a zoo some of the time! Also, the restaurants at the resort were amazing as well...so many to choose from and just the best food all around - I will miss their steak tacos and real, fried chips and salsa! Bobby also had the most incredible prime rib ever too at one of their nicer restaurants. I can't say enough about the food there....it was wonderful.

I think that's about all to share for now. Bobby and I will be back in IL for this weekend...Bobby stays until Monday and then I am staying through until next Friday, Feb. 6th. Let me know if you have some time to catch up when I am back!

Just a small piece of the gorgeous pools at the resort

An everyday area that we walked by

Our room - living room

Our bedroom and yes, that's our own private pool out on our patio!

Our pool friends Lenny and Cheryl - they were a bunch of fun!

Bobby and I at a resort restaurant that had the best chips and salsa!

Tulum - Mayan Ruins

Tulum - Mayan Ruins - the perfect picture spot

Looks like a postcard, doesn't it?

At the top of the ruins

And the rain begins - the dorky poncho'd tourists on the streets of Playa del Carmen!

The best restaurant in Playa - La Parilla

This was a picture of Playa before we left for Tulum - hence, the sun!

Streets of Playa - at dusk

Yes, there was a fence he was behind! His mouth was open everyday though when we walked by the crocodiles!

The pier on the beach

A shot of the beach at the resort

One of the many pools at night...the pic doesn't do it justice!

One piece of the main pool - the biggest pool I have ever seen!

Click on the link for the full set of photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56939&l=34a6f&id=511058149

We are officially honeymooners!

Adios! Bobby and I are just hitting the hay before we wake up bright and early to fly to Cancun tomorrow (I think the alarm is set for 4:30am...yikes!). Just wanted to say goodbye...we'll have plenty of pics to share when we are back! In the meantime...here's the aerial picture of our resort, The Grand Mayan...and a shot of the pool. We can't wait! We'll be thinking of you all as we lounge on the beach and at our PRIVATE pool on our balcony...that's right...we have our own little pool! We're outta here! =)

The Full Set of Wedding Pics Are Here!!!!

Bobby and I received our wedding pics yesterday....and we have been doing our best to sort through them and figure out which ones we like the best. There are so many! Three CD's full! So, we've done a little organizing and even did some Photoshop work on a few of them already. I have them all out on Facebook and realized that since it is soooo much quicker and easier to get them out there, I will just include a link to the pictures there. You can see these pictures even if you aren't a member of facebook, so everyone should be able to click the links below to view all the best pics we've chosen out so far. In total, I think I have around 90 pictures out there and had to split them between two photo albums, thus, the two links below to each album. Hope you enjoy!

***Once you click on the links below, there are several pages of pictures for each link - you will have to click on the '1', '2', or '3' links at the top (right above the pictures) to navigate to the next page of pictures. Also, you can click on each thumbnail/smaller picture and view it in a bigger format. Once you are viewing the pictures in the bigger format, you can just click on the "Next" at the top right of the picture to go through the entire album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51488&l=23554&id=511058149

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52901&l=ed76f&id=511058149