Back to Reality

This past week, our little family enjoyed a short vacation in Florida. 

We visited family

swam in our clothes

and spent 2.5 fabulous days at the happiest place on earth. 

It was so much fun to watch my children experience Disney World for the first time. 

Ben (2.5) was in awe of Mickey Mouse and is still clutching and kissing the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal that his grandmother bought him while we were there. 

Amelia (7) discovered a love of rides - especially spinning rides - and I had so much fun taking her on all of them. 

Overall, our flights there and back were uneventful and both kids traveled exceptionally well.  What more can a parent ask for.

But, alas, as is the case with all vacations, ours has come to an end.  We are back home with bloated bellies after too much junk food and the tired crankiness that often accompanies the readjustment to the real world.  It's tough for an adult to get out of vacation mode, and it's even worse for a 2.5  and 7 year old.  Paul is in bed with a terrible cold, and the house is in need of major cleaning.  But, we are all home safe and sound with a batch of fresh memories that will continue to feed our souls.  It was just what we needed as we make our way through the last couple of months of the cold, dark winter.

It's time to get back on track and prepare myself for the upcoming months of races/events that I am registered for.  Half marathon training has begun and I'm slowly adding swimming and spinning as my cross training to prepare for this summer's triathlon.  I'm contemplating another clean food challenge (actually, I'm hoping Emilie spearheads one) and cleaning, organizing and decluttering.  I'm ready to move forward.  I love having a few weeks of vacation mode, but I always welcome the beginning of a training plan and a more structured schedule. 

P.S. Please excuse the quality of the photos.  They were all taken with my iPhone.  Our camera died a while ago and we have yet to replace it.