Hellooooooooooooo there!

Well, well, well... you decide to "take a little time off from blogging" and five months slip away!

To say that the past few months have been busy would be the understatement of my life.

Here are just a few things that have happened:

• Brian and I went to San Francisco
• Payton graduated from elementary school
• Parker graduated from preschool
• Payton attended his first sleep-away camp with our church
• We met my cousin's twin daughters for the first time when they came to visit from Utah
• Went on a cruise with my side of the family
• Went to Texas for 4th of July
• Brian's parents moved to Tampa
• Went to NC for my grandmother's 97th birthday
• And of course fit in lots of trips to the beach, camps and much more along the way!

Phew... I'm tired just looking at that list!

But they were all fun and meaningful events and I wouldn't change one bit of our crazy, busy lives.

In just a week and a half my little "boys" will be starting kindergarten and middle school. I simply cannot believe it. I can vividly remember Payton's first day of kindergarten and how I gave birth to Parker while he was in that grade. And now here we are, both of them starting a new chapter in their lives.

I too, am excited for some changes this fall. I will begin working with Brian at his mortgage company. It will be part-time and obviously flexible enough to help out at the boys' schools and whatever else pops up. But I am excited to get involved in the family business and get back into the "working world" after a 12-year hiatus. And don't worry mom... I won't be doing anything with numbers. :) I will be working more on the marketing and customer relations portion of the biz.

So, with that quick update, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from the past five months...

When we went to San Francisco we visited one of our best friends from college, Jason, and his wife Kate and their two beautiful boys. Jason took us to some wineries and we visited all of his restaurants in downtown San Fran.

Kate, Jason, Brian and me at our favorite winery, Iron Horse.

One of the most fun things we did in San Fran was take a boat tour that went under the Golden Gate Bridge. We lucked out with fantastic weather that day! Definitely a "bucket list" trip!

 Once we got back from CA, reality kicked in and this Mama had to prepare for BOTH of her boys to graduate their respective schools (cue the tears!).

Parker & his best bud, Ben at graduation

Walking down the aisle to the "Pomp & Circumstance" music (yes - I was a crying mess!)

Payton all dressed up for his 5th grade dance. Everyone thought his blue hair was "so cool!!"

Payton's graduation day. We could not be more proud of him! He was awarded the highest-ranking Presidential Academic Achievement Award as well as pins for all of his extra-curricular activities. Such a stud!

Parker with his 2nd cousins Kate & Maddy. Even though this was the first time they had met, they were instant friends, and I fell even more in love with my cousin's sweet daughters.

The girls came to Tampa to hang out with us for a little while too. We all bonded so much and were so sad to see them go. I know my cousin Wendy would be so proud of the beautiful, smart girls they have become.

Instead of renting a beach house this year, my parents decided to do a family cruise. We all had such a wonderful time. The cousins loved every minute of it!





After the cruise, we tagged along with Brian on a work trip to Texas. Fortunately, we had a couple of families to catch up with while we were there.

Our first stop in Texas was to visit our friends Tony & Claudia and their boys Nathaniel & Nicholas. Payton & Nathaniel have been friends since they were babies. It was so fun to see them together again.

Our second stop in Texas was Brian's friend, Kenneth. He put on one spectacular fireworks show for 4th of July (we're talking professional-grade fireworks for like 30 minutes!)

This was our crew of crazy kids at Kenneth's house!

Next stop... an 11- hour car ride to NC!

We had such a wonderful time in NC visiting my grandmother for her 97th birthday. I sure hope I inherited some of her amazing genes! She's still a spunky little thing - full of smiles and laughter.

And I always look forward to spending time with my Aunt Bobbie, who lives in CA. She means so much to me. Ever since my cousin Wendy died, I feel like we've become so close. I love every moment I get to spend with her.

This was most of the crew from the weekend in NC (minus my kids who were already in bed).
From L to R on top: Dad, Uncle Brent, Uncle Bob, Uncle Herb
From L to R on bottom: Cousin Chris, Brian, Aunt Bobbie, Aunt Linda, Grandma, Mom, Aunt Cheryl, Cousin Trevor, Cousin John.
I'm sitting in front with my soon-to-be Cousin-in-law, Michelle,  holding my Aunt & Uncle's dog, Desie.

It's been an amazing few months, and a whirlwind summer, but one that we will never forget!

I hope you all have been safe & happy and surrounded by those you love. 

Cheers!

Stact

Life Lately...

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted on here! It's been kind of nice not having to think about the blog, but to be honest, I've also missed documenting our family life. I guess after so many years of doing it, it became part of my routine; so when I decided to stop blogging for the most part, it felt like something was missing.

I'm not going back to posting regularly on here because most of my family members get lots of family updates through my Instagram account. But I do occasionally want to pop in and say hello.

My last post was a little before Christmas, and since then I've turned the big 4-0!

It's funny, because I remember when I was little, I thought 36 was "old." Now that I'm 40, I don't feel old at all. Seriously, sometimes I still get nervous when I get carded for buying wine...and I know I look older than 21!

My 40th birthday was a week-long celebration and I soaked up - and enjoyed - every. single. second.

On my actual birthday, my neighborhood girls surprised me with day of pampering starting with pedicures at my favorite local salon and then they decorated one of their golf carts and came and picked me up for a late-afternoon happy hour up at our community Village.

When they dropped me off back home, Brian and the boys had decorated the house and were waiting to take me out to dinner (Brian even splurged for some fancy champagne and beautiful long-stemmed roses!!).

Kinda looks like a streamer jellyfish!

Then a week later, once the holidays had passed, my parents came into town and I had a few friends over to enjoy some more birthday fun at our house. Needless to say, the next morning, I definitely felt 40!

My mom and I spent the day shopping and had a fancy lunch at Nordstrom

"Cheers!!"

Turning 40 was everything I had hoped it would be and more. The celebrations, the generous words of love and support from friends and family, and the true feeling of contentment. I really feel like God has blessed me so much; and even though life is not perfect, it leaves me feeling very peaceful when I lay my head on the pillow at night.

After all of my birthday celebrations were over, then we switched gears and started thinking about the boys' birthdays. Never a dull moment!

The boys enjoyed a family party with both sets of grandparents and two separate small celebrations with a couple of close friends. We didn't do a big party for them this year, and it worked out really well. They both got to do something they wanted with just a couple of their closest friends, and we didn't break the bank on either one (it's ridiculous how expensive birthday parties can be these days!).

As everyone knows, I love celebrating birthdays!

Can't believe these boys are now 11 and 5! They are the light of my life.

One thing Parker has always wanted to do on his birthday, is have a pinata. Since we didn't do a big party, I invited over his favorite neighbors and we did a pinata in the backyard. It was HYSTERICAL and he had SO much fun knocking the snot out of that thing!

Just moments before there was candy EVERYWHERE!

Another major milestone that we recently celebrated was my mother's retirement. She has worked for the same group of banking partners since I was in middle school! It was definitely time for her to retire and enjoy life without an alarm clock!

My brother and I arranged a surprise dinner for her at my one of my brother's restaurants and she was so excited to see all her grandchildren together.

Such a special evening to celebrate such an amazing mom.

In other news, we experienced our first broken bone this month. Our wild child, Parker (a.k.a. Hank the Tank) fell off the rings next to the monkey bars at our park.

Thank God, the fracture was so minimal that after 5 days in a temporary cast and 1 week in a sling, he was back to normal. He's a tank, I tell ya! :)

Here are just a few more fun pictures to document life at the Heckmans lately...

So proud to give "Paca" his perler bead popcorn creation.

Birthday boy!

Cinnamon roll "birthday cake" for Payton.

BB8 cookies for him to hand out to his classmates.

Artist of the week. He was so proud!

And Mr. Harry is being loved on just as much as ever. He is definitely a member of the family and is the sweetest, most patient dog I've ever seen!

So that's life around here lately in a nutshell.

It's been fun to pop in and update the blog. I've been thinking about doing a "beauty regime" post. Now that I'm 40, skincare products and "procedures" are way more important than they ever used to be. If that's something you'd be interested in reading about, let me know.

I also have some recipes to post, so keep an eye out for those.

Until next time...

Cheers!

- Stac

Christmas Pop-In

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis (which I'm pretty sure only consists of my parents) may have noticed that I don't post here any more.

Life has become quite busy this year and most of my daily updates are now generated through Instagram.

I will always treasure this blog and what it has documented over the years, but for now, it's become more of a chore than a joy. And I've got enough chores in my life right now - Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, while there may be a day that I have more time to post on a regular basis, for now, I am planning on only using it to document big things like vacation summaries, birthdays, etc.

......................................................................

To sum up the past month, we have been thoroughly enjoying the holiday season on every level!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-law's house. The food was delicious and the cousins had so much fun swimming, playing, and wearing each other out!

Annual matching Christmas jammies from my mom.

Then we surprised the kids with a trip to the Tradewinds Resort on St. Petersburg Beach. Even though it was late November, we had beautiful, warm weather!

It was truly one of my favorite family vacations we've ever taken.

After Thanksgiving, we rolled right into the Christmas season. Lots of parties, lots of cuddle time on the couch watching Christmas movies, and lots of yummy food!

Parker had his Christmas performance at school where they all dressed up and sang about the "King of Kings" and the "3 Wise Men." It was so cute! I'm so thankful my in-laws were able to come into town to watch the program.

Parker is top row, middle - he's not smiling, but I promise he had a fun time!

Cutest Wise Man ever!

 Payton also had a school performance where he got to play guitar. He did a fantastic job! I can't believe how well he is playing the guitar these days!

My Mom came into town to celebrate her birthday (and possibly do a little daytime babysitting for me!). We went to our new favorite brunch place, called Oxford Exchange in downtown Tampa. It was so delish.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and the following morning, our house will be filled with squeals of joy from the boys, and lots of our beloved family members. We are counting our blessings. Truly. This holiday season has been one of the best yet and we are not taking a single bit of it for granted.

I wish each and every one of you a wonderful, joy-filled, Christ-centered Christmas. I pray that you are touched by the story of how God came to earth in human form to teach the world about pure love and holy sacrifice. Jesus' birthday is one to be celebrated for more than presents and food. More than the gathering of family and friends. It is the celebration of a real man who was born to save the world. Happy birthday Jesus. Thank you for your love & sacrifice.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cruisin' With My Besties

In my second year of college at the University of Florida, I pledged a sorority.

I knew I wanted to be a part of a sorority to help make the massive campus seem smaller in a sense. I knew that I wanted to be a part of something special that would give me that feeling of "belonging" when I didn't really feel like I belonged anywhere at that point.

Little did I know that when I accepted that bid at Chi Omega, that I would not only gain a lifetime of memories, I would gain 8 of my closest life-long friends.

There are 9 of us, including myself, and we fondly call each other "The Toolshed."

I could go into a lengthy, hysterical (or at least we would think so) story about how that nickname came about, but I'll spare you.

The thing about this group is that I never feel judged by them. I always feel loved by them. And we always, always laugh till we cry. It's that kind of group. And I treasure them so much.

So, when one of our beloved Toolshed members got engaged last year and then announced that she would be getting married on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship, you better believe all 8 of us immediately booked our tickets.

Last month, all of us traveled to Port Canaveral and joined our sweet Chi O sister, Jill, as she walked down the aisle to join the love of her life in marriage.

I've never seen Jill look more radiant!

Of course all of us enjoyed the wedding - and I'm sure we made it quite apparent that we were planning to have a fun time!

We took this while we were waiting for the wedding to start (i.e. why Jill is not in the picture)

After the beautiful ceremony and reception, Brian and I headed to our room to unpack and get changed. Our room was very spacious and comfortable. We had a balcony this time, and boy did that make a difference!

Obligatory balcony selfie.

We had a little time to kill before the lifeboat drill, so we all relaxed out on the pool deck.

 

As I mentioned, our room had a balcony, so most evenings, we would pour a glass of wine and enjoy the gorgeous views while we got ready for dinner.

I mentioned to our room steward that I liked "a lot of pillows" and this is what we came back to that night!

We also took full advantage of the balcony in the mornings. We would order room service (included of course) and enjoy coffee and an array of breakfast foods while watching the sun come out. We felt quite spoiled!

(Don't worry, the bacon, eggs & hash browns are on the other table)

Of course we weren't all fancy and civilized the entire trip. :)

One day we spent the entire afternoon poolside enjoying the hot tubs and people watching. 

When the activities director announced they were having a belly flop contest, we somehow talked Keri's husband, Sam, into participating (what a good sport he is!!).

Sam in mid-belly flop!

Of course our group was hootin' and hollerin' from the hot tub and we managed to be obnoxious enough to vote Sam into 1st place.

Great job Sam - you deserved that medal!!!

One afternoon, a few of us went on a snorkeling excursion. This was the boat we took:

 Snorkeling was amazing! I truly felt like I was in a gigantic fish tank. The fish were so colorful and plentiful! We even saw an eel peeking out from behind some rocks. It was a fantastic experience.

On our way back to the cruise ship after snorkeling

Every night we would all get dressed up and meet up somewhere on the ship before dinner. It was so fun and relaxing to know that no one had to cook or clean up and that when we returned to our room that evening, it would be all tidied up with the bed turned down just waiting for a good night's sleep.

The final day of the cruise, we were supposed to go to the private island. A couple of us made it off the boat and onto the island, but not long after, they ushered us back to the cruise ship because of high winds. The ship was having difficulty staying stable and the tenders became unsafe.

But we were able to snap a couple pics before heading back onto the ship.

And although the cruise home the last night was super rocky due to the high winds, we still managed to have a wonderful time.

I am so grateful for the memories we created on this cruise and so happy for my girl, Jill! It was a fantastic trip and we're already planning our next vacation together to celebrate all of our 40th birthdays. Cheers to great friends!