the last 3 months

i have not bee keeping up. mostly because....well....i'm tired. 

we've done a lot over the last 12ish weeks. 

shortly after my last post, we boarded a plane to mallorca, spain. it was heaven. we spent 6 days at an all inclusive resort kind of in the middle of nowhere. our first day, we just walked around and hung out at the pool waiting for our friends to arrive, at which point we hung out by the pool and relaxed all day. 

the next day, we headed in to palma to check out the sites and see the beautiful landmarks all around the city. my favorite thing was the palma cathedral. it looked like a giant sand castle. 

for much of the rest of the week, we hung out at different beaches. out hotel had a secluded beach for our hotel and for the apartments next to us. it was incredibly peaceful. the babies loved playing in the sand, while the big girls ran back and forth out of the water. 

 the next day, we headed into the next town over (which is a british party town, and i liked it!) and we plopped down on the beach for an hour while we waited for our boat ride. i got a massage on the beach, yes i did. i had to dig a belly hole, which was a little embarrassing but whatever. 

the boat ride may have been the highlight of my trip. everything was so beautiful and blue. it reminded me a little of hawaii, but even more amazing. 

i had to jump in the water, even though it was freezing. it was very.....therapeutic. 

the next day we hopped on a tour bus (bad idea with two babies) and headed to some caves on the other side of the island. the reminded me of the ones we've seen in the mountains of NC and TN. we walked down to the water inside of the caves, where we were serenaded by violinists on boats.  

the big girls were great on the whole trip, and reminded me that travelling with kids can be really great. we stopped by the majorica pearl factory, where they make some very beautiful pearl jewelry. i started talking to one of the ladies who worked there, and we had a nice conversation. she started showing the girls some more of the "how it's made" and they posed for pictures with the lady who made the core of the pearls. 

after they were done taking pictures, she came around and gave each girl a little baggie with a small core, a large core and a finished pearl. they were so excited about their fancy jewelry, and i was grateful for the sweet touch! 

such an amazing vacation and i wish we could go back! 

a month later, my mom came to visit, and settled in nicely with the girls. it was her second time meeting cora, but the first time she really got to know her. we went to bella's dance practice, shopped, played at the park and just enjoyed some time letting her catch up with the kids. 

sometimes i regret that our kids aren't near their grandparents more. they have some amazing experiences, and hopefully there will be time to hang with the grandparents after we are back in the states. 

after about a week, we headed to paris for a girls trip. it was.......exhausting. it gave me a greater appreciation for travelling with joel. we make a great team. 

we stayed on the disney property at the sequoia lodge, spent a day in the park, a day in the city and the rest of the time at the pool. 

my favorite part was jumping in the fountains at the eiffel tower, after realizing we got off at the wrong stop and hoofing it in the heat to the tower. 

we saw all the main sites, but really, didn't get to spend as much time there as i would have preferred. our original plan had us going back the next day, but after that day, we decided it would be a little too much. turns out, mom had a kidney infection the whole time we had been there, so it was a good thing we decided to take a day off, to have her visit the doctor and let the kids burn some energy in the pool. 

apparently, elsa dresses are hard to come by. but not in paris! they were everywhere. so of course, bella had to have one. and she was the most beautiful elsa i have ever seen. i loved watching her twirl all around the park. 

these girls had so much fun this trip, and got completely and utterly spoiled by their yaya. stuffed animals, candy, staying up late, you name it! 

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in baby news, we are having a boy! it's exciting and terrifying and a brave new world. i think it's going to be pretty fantastic. these two girls are total daddy's girls, so it will be nice to have a little momma's boy! and i have been boy clothes shopping like a mad woman which has been a little more fun than i expected. this little mad is going to be a stud. 

so, that's all of it. whew. see? tired. i wondered why today i couldn't seem to shake that feeling that i may collapse into a heap. so i did....i pretty much slept the day away. and it was marvelous.