Tradewinds Resort: Quick Vacation Recap

Hello everyone! As predicted, I've been totally absent from the blog this summer. Having the kids around 24/7 totally consumes any "free time" I would usually have to blog.

For example, I started this post yesterday afternoon when Parker was napping and Payton was playing at a friend's house - a rare quiet moment. It took about eight more visits to my computer throughout the evening to complete the video montage posted below, only to find out the web site that I typically use for video posting (Vimeo) wouldn't allow me to post my video because I had used a copyrighted song. Huh?? I thought if I owned the song on itunes, I could use it for my own personal use. I guess not.

Anyhow... point being, it's now the next morning and I'm sitting in front of my laptop once again - this time with my morning coffee - trying to wrap up this post before another busy day begins. SO... this may be the last post of the summer, or maybe I'll pop in a couple more times with some random updates. For now, I wanted to share some photos from our vacation last week. Enjoy!
...................................................................................................................

Every year, my family rents a beach house somewhere in Florida and my parents, my brother's family and ours go for a full week to bask in the sand and sun.

However, my brother and his family moved to FL last year so now that we see each other so much more often, we thought we would skip a full-week beach house this year and go for a much lower-key option of staying at a beach resort for a few days.

We chose Tradewinds Resort, Island Grand, located on St. Petersburg Beach after many, many people said it was the most kid-friendly resort around. And after staying there, I would totally agree.

There are endless activities available for the kids - some free, some cost money - but there's something for them to do all day long.

Here's a little video of our time at the Tradewinds (click on the play button).

 I hope you all are enjoying a safe & happy summer. Till next time...

4th of July Goodies

Y'all know I couldn't let a holiday pass by without sharing some fun craft, food and decorating ideas!

4th of July is a favorite holiday in our house for so many reasons...

First and most importantly, we have many family members and close friends who have served in the military, protecting our freedom, and we feel it's very important to recognize that. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have their family members return from war, and we want our kids to realize the cost of freedom that some people have paid is very high. We feel it's very important for our children to understand that 4th of July is not just about cookouts and fireworks.

If you'd like to join us in explaining the importance of this holiday to your children, here are some great links:

• Grandparents.com does an excellent job of hitting up all the historic elements of this holiday.

• KidsKonnect.com helps by putting things into language that kids can clearly understand.

• Parents.com  takes a little bit of a different angle by teaching children why America is so great and why we love our country.

• EnchantedLearning  offers a free printable activity book along with lots of other simple 4th of July crafts for all ages.

Another reason I love 4th of July is the food. I love American food (I also love Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Chinese and Thai and... nevermind.) But seriously, who doesn't love a great burger or dog hot off the grill served with crispy chips, cold potato salad or coleslaw... makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

So if you're hosting a get together this 4th, or want to bring a dish to a party you're attending, here are some very easy dishes with lots of patriotic flair:

Simply Kierste knocks it out of the park with these adorable fruit trifles served with lemon cream sauce.

I love the idea of serving this flag-inspired taco-dip as an appetizer with a bucket of cold beer or a big pitcher of fruit-infused iced tea.

A very easy and refreshing side dish would be this blueberry, strawberry & watermelon fruit salad. Add feta cheese for more of a "red, white and blue" theme.

There are tons of 4th of July-themed ice cream desserts if you search Pinterest, but they all look a bit complicated if you ask me. I like this idea... just take store-bought ice cream sandwiches and let them sit on the counter for a few minutes until the ice cream is softened, then dip each side into a shallow dish of red, white & blue sprinkles. Stick em back into the freezer until dessert time, and Voila! 

Of course there are a gazillion adorable decor and craft ideas for the 4th, but these caught my eye this year...

Whenever we break out the sparklers for the kids, they burn through them at a rate of about 2 per minute. I love this idea of opening up all the boxes and setting them out so that the kids can run back and grab another one while you just have to sit in a chair with a lighter ready to assist them. 

How cute is this DIY Sparkler Station from My Sweet Savannah?

I've seen this idea floating around Pinterest and Instagram for a while now and I think I'm going to have to make it next year. It would be adorable on a 4th of July buffet table.

If you've never made tissue paper "poufs" before, please give it a try. It's SO easy, I promise! I've made them several times for different parties and even though they're a cinch to make, they add a huge statement to party decor. Here's a good photo tutorial, but there are tons of  how-to videos on YouTube as well.

Last but not least, if you are looking for a cute hostess gift (beyond a bouquet of white flowers tied with a beautiful red, white & blue wired ribbon), these confetti wine glasses are an adorable idea!

The full step-by-step instructions are available here, but really it's just a regular wine glass (I would recommend non-breakable if you can find them) covered in dots painted with acrylic paint using a Q-tip. How easy is that? 

Whatever you're doing this 4th of July, I hope you stay safe and celebrate our country's freedom surrounded by family & friends. A special thank you to all of the Veterans and current military personnel out there. We are free because of the brave. Thank you.

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!

End of School...Welcome Summer!

Another school year has come to a close, and I cannot believe Parker is going into his last year of preschool and Payton is headed into his last year of elementary school. It really is crazy to me.

But before I focus on what's to come, I am happy to look back on the last few days of school.

Parker had the most adorable end-of-year program. The theme was "construction" and how we are all still under construction with God's help. It was so cute watching them sing "The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock."

"And the rain came tublin' down..."

Parker with two of his good buddies.

We also had a fun end-of-the year class party. It was beach-themed, so my craft station was making "Beach in a cup" using blue jello, graham cracker crumbs, whipped cream and gummy bears. It turned out really cute.

We sure are going to miss his sweet teachers. I somehow only got a photo of Miss Sheridan, but he's had Miss Corley for two years now, so next year will seem strange without her.

On Payton's last day of school, they handed out all of the awards. We were so very proud of him for receiving an award for straight A's as well as Accelerated Reading. We will miss his sweet teacher, Miss Vega, as well.

I can't believe how old they all look. Yes, I'm sure they are ready for 5th grade... but are we???

The last day of school, the boys woke up to a decorated breakfast table complete with a box full of their favorite sugar cereals (a big treat in our house!).

And after school that day, my neighbor and I greeted the kids with water balloons. A tradition we started several years ago and I'm so glad we were able to continue it this year as well.

Here's a couple of pics from their 1st and last days of school this year. Honestly, I don't think they changed that much... but they've both grown at least an inch!

In non-school related news, we had a wonderful diner party last week with some very good friends who were in town visiting their family. The McCullohs' used to live in our neighborhood, and now they live in VA. We miss them dearly! But it was so good to get together with them and our other good friends, the Laccabue's for lots of good food and fellowship.

I love setting the table for dinner parties!

 

I was even able to get together with April the next day and meet her sweet daughter. I can't believe it's taken a year for me to meet her. She's the most adorable little girl!

Now that school is out and things have settled down, we're really enjoying the relaxing pace of things. We've done many puzzles, played many board games, created crafts, and Payton is even learning how to cook! So far Summer... we like your style!