They Kinda Like Each Other

 

Jacoby and his side kick, Jace.  That's what he calls him.  "Hey Mama, me and my sidekick are going to read books or hey mama, me and my sidekick are going outside".

I love that they love each other so much and I love that they are actually playing together for long periods of time.  The sweetest sounds are them laughing together and watching them interact.  Their favorite things to do together right now are to read books.  They will lay on Jacoby's bed and Jacoby will "read" books to Jace.  Jace loves books and will sit there forever.  They also love to play in the sand box together or ride their cars around the house.  They also enjoy playing with their little people toys and play baseball or basketball.  Actually for the most part they prefer to just be together doing any thing.  Yes, they have their moments when Jace needs a little more space for Jacoby's kisses or Jacoby needs a break because Jace is breaking everything he is building or hit him but the huge majority of the time there is no one they would rather be with then each other and I could not be more excited about that. 

 

Mowing the Lawn

 Jace loves helping Daddy mow the lawn.  He gets all excited if Jarod even starts talking about it and when he pulls the lawn mower out, watch out- he goes crazy!  He hangs out, sings and points out every stick to Daddy.  Daddy picks it up, hands it to Jace and then Jace chucks it where it is suppose to go.  He loves every minute of it and so does Daddy unless it is over 100 degrees outside then we wait until Jace is asleep before we mow.

While they mow, shockingly Jacoby is in jammies and his work boots chasing around bubbles trying to catch them in his mouth.  Great entertainment I tell you.  There is something about watching those yellow boots jump, gets me every time.

Dominican Republic Part 4

Yep, this is my heaven!  On the beach with the people that I love most in the world! 
This was our last night in the Dominican.  We really had the best time and none of us were ready to go home.  We made the most of our time away and made memories that will last forever. 
On our way home from dinner they were handing out fresh coconut water again.  We got one and drank it while we were walking around and then we decided we wanted to try and break it open.  Jarod was trying to be discrete and was tossing it from balconies and throwing it up in the air.  Jacoby and I were laughing so hard.  Then Jacoby kept trying but he was not nearly as discrete and was chucking it every where.  That thing had one tiny crack in it but we were able to rip it open for enough for all of us to have some of the coconut meat.  It was one of the memories I will always cherish not because of what we were doing but all of us were laughing so hard including Jace.

Dominican Republic Part 3

A pool day and by a day I mean ALL day at the pool.  We ate lunch by the pool and snacks.  We did go to the beach for a little bit as well.  It was awesome!

Domincan Republic Part 2

 Since we travel every year over our anniversary, there have been a few times we have been out of the country for the fourth of July.  This year in the Dominican they had a little party for the Americans. 

 Since we only brought one stroller with us, this is how the boys liked to ride all the time.  Jacoby was so excited to get to hold Jace since Jace doesn't let that happen very often any more.  They were so cute and both enjoyed it!

 Jacoby was so excited to see cotton candy and that they were making it right in front of us.  He loves it!

 Jace is never interested in it at the games, too sticky for him but put it on a stick and he loved it.

 It made my teeth curl with the sugar but as you can see it was devoured by the boys. 

It was a great night celebrating the fourth.  I am so thankful I live in the land of the free!

Dominican Republic Part 1

 We had the best time in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic!  When we first got there it was a little concerning because all the guys in the airport were handing around money but trying to be discrete.  They were really bad at hiding that they were given kick backs.  I was a little unsure how the rest of the trip was going to be with that being my first impression but honestly we loved it! 

 Once we got to our resort we never left!  Not one time!  Every day we played at the beach, the pool and at the water park at our resort.  We rotated through all of those through out the day and had the best time just playing, playing, playing. 

 Jacoby was in heaven being at the beach!   Jace loved it too but Jarod and I both agree that we have one beach baby, Jacoby and one pool baby, Jace. 

 I am just glad that they both love the water.

 It was so nice to have Daddy with us for 11 days between the Wisconsin trip and our beach vacation.  We could get used to having him with us every day.

 The food was really good and we loved to get drinks at the pool side bar or at the beach.  Jacoby and Jace's favorite was the banana mama and of course ours was the pina coloda. 

 They also had great ice cream and we all took advantage of that every afternoon.

 We really just had the best time with our little family.  We would wake up and go and eat breakfast, then head to the beach or the pool.

 Stay and play until Jace got tired.  I would go put Jace down for a nap and then I would either stay with him or Jarod would come and Jacoby and I would go on a special date.  Those were great days.

 Jacoby and I played Octonauts the entire time one day for a couple of hours.  We was in heaven pretending to rescue animals and telling me all sorts of information about each one.  That is his favorite show. 

 Then he insisted that since we were on a date we had to have a special treat so we headed to the pool bar and sat and drank our drinks.  It was so much fun to have a little time with just him.

 One day while Jace was sleeping I stayed with him and cuddled with my baby during his entire nap.  It was so nice to hold him and just look at him and whisper to him how much I love him.  I didn't have anything else to do in the world besides be with my baby and it was perfect.

 Another day, I sat out on the patio of our cottage and watched as the ladies were cleaning the cottages and the grounds.  I was so taken back by how happy the Dominican people are.  Here they are cleaning hotel rooms and raking the grounds but all of them were singing out loud and smiling.  It left a lasting impression on me that I need to be happier no matter what I am doing and how that happiness is contagious to the people around you.

 After nap we would have lunch, play some more, go get ice cream, play some more and then go shower up for dinner.  It was the best routine!
Jarod caught these great pics of me playing with Jace and I love them so much!  He loved being tossed up in the air and would come down and give me the biggest Jace kisses. 

 We were all so happy to be in paradise with each other

 and away from all the noise that our crazy life can bring sometimes.

 There is nothing like a vacation to get you back in tune with the most important things in your life.

 I feel like I do a pretty good job of being present but when you take away technology it is amazing how much more you connect.

 I made a choice this trip that when I got home I was going to do a better job of putting down my phone and just playing with my family.

It has been amazing to see the difference that small choice has made in my family and I hope that we will continue to find ways every day to connect with each other even more.