Summer Whereabouts...

Hello friends!
It's been pretty quiet here on my blog for a few weeks now. Summer is in full swing and we've already been on a huge family vacation and completed a week of summer camp. Life has been very busy, but full of great times and exciting adventures.

The second week of summer break, Brian's parents took the whole family on a cruise to the Bahamas! It was a retirement gift to themselves and I sure am glad we were the lucky recipients!

I haven't been on a family cruise since I was about 16, so this was a totally new experience for our family. The kids had an absolute blast hanging out with their cousins and hitting up the endless ice cream machine.

Okay, maybe I enjoyed the ice cream too. :)

Cousin Alex, Payton, Cousin Zachary, Parker & Brian

The cruise was the perfect mix of entertainment and relaxation. The cruise director, Tom, was very friendly and more than happy to come say "hi" during the cocktail  hours. The kids loved the shows every night and by the end of the cruise we were allowing them to go to the arcade by themselves as long as they came back to check in after 30 minutes or so.

Snapping a pic with the Cruise Director one night before dinner.

Brian with his parents

The first day we were at sea all day, so we hung out by the pool and got to know our way around the ship. The second day we docked in Nassau and got off to explore the Atlantis hotel. It was quite amazing and definitely is now on our family bucket list of a place we'd like to stay!

Exploring the Atlantis aquarium

Looking at the resort's new aqua park, which opened the weekend after we were there.

Crossing the giant rope bridge (which overlooked a pool of hammerhead sharks!)

The second day, we docked at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay. The kids had such an absolute blast playing at the aqua park there!

The water was so clear - it was a tropical paradise!

Seriously, you can't get much more beautiful than this!

Back on the ship that evening, we enjoyed our last formal dinner. Our waiter out did himself and served Parker an enormous cookie sundae. He was in heaven!

We all disembarked the next day feeling so grateful for such a wonderful family vacation. I highly recommend a cruise if you are planning a vacation with your extended family. It provided such easy entertainment and wonderful mealtimes together without anyone having to cook or clean or shop for anything. Just pure relaxation!

It was a bit rough readjusting to "normal life" when we got home. But Payton did a fantastic art camp that week and Parker did a little mini camp at My Gym, so they were both happy to have some planned activities mixed in with plenty of free time.

Payton's art camp was so wonderful, I wish she offered more camps this summer. He created several really unique beautiful pieces that we will be displaying in our home.

They learned out to make a silhouette of themselves, and then melted crayons to make the "water" effect. I LOVE this piece! 

He also recreated Van Gogh's Starry Night. Another beautiful piece.

How cute is his teacher? She was so fabulous with the kids.

Last weekend, my parents took the kids to their house, so Brian and I had some much-needed alone time. It was so nice to go out to dinner and not worry about babysitters, etc. 

Dinner Friday night at Catch 23

Saturday morning we drove out to the beach and ate breakfast on the beach. It was a gorgeous morning with a nice breeze and barely anyone was there because it was so early.

Saturday afternoon we headed out to St. Petersburg for lunch at Locale Market with our neighbors. Wow - this place blew my mind! I could seriously spend HOURS just roaming around that store looking at all of the fabulous local goodies they sell.

We ended up ordering the conch fritters, warm olives and two different flat bread pizzas. It was all incredibly delicious.

After lunch, we went out on our neighbor's sailboat. It was the most perfect day for sailing. Warm, with a good breeze... heaven!

Me and my friend, Bahama.

Brian steering the boat for a few minutes.

We even stopped the boat at one point and all jumped off the back into the water for a swim. It was so refreshing and fun! Then we headed to a local restaurant on the water for dinner and a 70's beach party. We had such fun watching all the people in their 70's costumes. It was neat to just pull the boat right up to the restaurant and walk on up!

Meanwhile, at my parent's house, Parker somehow lost a tooth over the weekend! We're still not completely sure how it happened, but he says, "I just bit down really hard and it fell out!" 

I know he shouldn't be loosing teeth at 4 years old, and certainly not his bottom right incisor. So needless to say, we have an appointment with the dentist later this week. :)

So, in a nutshell, that's what the Heckmans have been up to the past few weeks. Now you know why I have been completely absent from the blog. As usual, my summer blog posts will continue to be few and far between since I rarely have any "free time" while the kids are home. 

But if I come across a great recipe or a fun craft, I'll be sure to post it. In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a fun and safe summer. Have a wonderful 4th of July this weekend!

Mother's Day Recap

I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I know for most moms, it's a day to be showered with love and attention from your kiddos, but I also know from experience that Mother's Day can be difficult for a lot of women.

My sweet Aunt said Mother's Day is very "bittersweet" since losing her daughter 4 years ago at the young age of 35. I have no doubt that the day brings some sadness to anyone who has lost their own mother, no matter how long it's been. And personally, I know the day can be difficult if  you have been trying to become a mother for years and years and still have not been able to conceive. There are many reasons why the day can be tough on some, but overall, the idea of Mother's Day is to celebrate the hard-working, compassionate, loving women in our lives. Whether they actually gave birth to us, or have been like a mother figure in our lives, a day set apart to thank these women is so important.

I count myself extremely blessed to have such a fantastic mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunts, and many other motherly figures in my life. They are all so important to me and they have all played a part in making me the mom that I am today.

For me, Mother's Day is a day (or weekend) to relax, take a little break from the day-to-day tasks of motherhood, and really enjoy my family. 

Friday morning, Parker's class had a special "Muffins with Mom" event where they presented us with adorable handmade keepsakes and had some little breakfast items for us to enjoy. It was so sweet.

That evening, Brian and I  attended an outdoor musical that was directed by one of our good friends. The weather was perfect, the venue was amazing, and we went with a few of our dear friends, which always makes for a fun time.

The amount of food we all brought was pretty ridiculous, but as I've mentioned before, I could make a meal out of appetizers, so I was in hog heaven with a whole table full of delicious bite-sized goodies. 

My neighbor brought little individual sized bottles of Prosecco and fresh raspberries, along with all sorts of little individual desserts. She went way above my box of Pepperidge Farm cookies that I brought. :)

Saturday morning, the boys got up on their own and let us sleep in. It was so nice (perks of having an older child in the house). Then Brian took the boys to church for a community service project while I got to enjoy some quiet time at the house. 

After my super healthy breakfast of coffee and macarons (ha, ha) the boys came home with the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

I have a pretty firm rule that Brian isn't allowed to buy me roses because they're so expensive and they die so quickly. But he made an exception this time because he found a little roadside stand that was selling them for SO cheap. They opened up pretty quickly, which was a bit of a bummer, but they still smell so amazing! Maybe I'll have to get rid of that "no roses" rule after all. ;)

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to go explore downtown St. Pete. It's very unlike me to be spontaneous, so Brian was excited that I was willing to just drive to St. Pete with absolutely no plan!

Our first stop was this awesome restaurant called "The Hangar" which is located at a small private airport. The outdoor seating looks right over the runway so the kids could watch airplanes and helicopters take off and land while we ate. They loved it! And my burger was AH-mazing!

After lunch we just walked around Beach Street, which is dotted with all sorts of cute restaurants, shops and a beautiful art museum. The boys discovered these gorgeous, giant trees along the path and of course had to climb them.

After all that climbing, the boys were ready for some ice cream, so we stopped at our favorite place, Kilwin's. Their fudge and homemade ice cream is so incredible.

That evening, Brian made sure that I had an uninterrupted bubble bath - complete with a glass of champagne! I felt so fancy. :) Later on we ordered in sushi and watched a movie. It was my idea of the perfect date night.

Sunday morning, I was showered with so many sweet handmade cards, hugs and kisses and lots of "I love you, Mom". I was in heaven! It was also very, very nice that Brian and Payton got me with several beautiful gifts. I felt quite spoiled. Payton even used his own money from his dog-walking business to buy me a pair of earrings. How sweet is that?!?

We headed off to church where the service was so powerful. The guest speaker talked about "How to Treat a Woman" and boy was it awesome. Made me so grateful for a husband who loves me and respects me and appreciates me.

They had a little photo area set up after service with cute little signs and props.

Much to my shock, Brian decided that he would prepare brunch for me. I have to be honest, my hopes were not set too high. The man burns scrambled eggs. I was a little shocked that he was taking on an omelette. But he poured me a mimosa and told me to sit back and relax while he took care of everything. Well... okay, I can do that!

Can I just tell you... it was the BEST omelette I have ever eaten. Seriously. That man stuffed that thing with all sorts of yummy goodness and cooked it to perfection. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

I know who's in charge of cooking Sunday brunch from now on. ;)

The rest of the day was the perfect mix of family time and relaxation. Brian really nailed it this year for Mother's Day. All my favorite things, all in one weekend, with absolutely no cooking or cleaning on my part... perfection!

And to my boys, who made me a mommy, I can only tell you that now I truly know the meaning behind Elizabeth Stone's quote:

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”

I could never express the depth of my love for you. It is vast. It is fierce. And it is deep. 

I am so thankful that God blessed me to be your mom. 

Thank you Brian, Payton & Parker for one incredible Mother's Day!