The Bahamas

Mark and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary May 12, 2011. When Ryan was born, I thought....by the time our 10th comes around, the kids will be old enough for us to take a trip alone. I've always had that in my mind, and we really did it! With the kids 8 and 5 now, it seemed managable. It was the first time we've both been away from the kids for more than 1 night. Preparing to leave them was definitely stressful, but once we were gone, we were able to relax.

We went to Sandals Emerald Bay resort in Great Exuma, Bahamas for 5 nights! I left detailed notes about our schedule, house and activities for both my mom and Mark's mom. They took care of the kids, who felt special having "both grandmas" watch them! We were very appreciative that they were willing to do this for us!

I was on email...as I knew my mom could reach me if she needed it to, and It was reassuring to know the kids were doing okay.

One the second day, the kids wanted to write us. Here were their emails:

From Ryan:

Hi Mom!

We had a fun time at Dosey Doe's. The play was awsome, and it was also funny! I have been having a really fun time. The childrens's museum was really fun, too, and the bagels were awesome, as usual. And Shankz was really fun. On the last hole, I got it all the way up, and I got it in hole number one.

Last night I really enjoyed it, but I had a really bad stomach ache.Grandma gave me the medicine she used to give you (I asked her if it was the same bottle! she said no). It made my stomach better.

Please give Dad my news!

Love you! Ryan

From Lauren:

Dear Mommy,

I gotted a pink elephant pillow pet, but I named it Fat Elephant. I love you as sweet as root beer! Yeah! I miss Daddy, too.

I hope you are having fun on your first trip without the children. we are having fun, too.

Love, Lauren

We had a great time and were able to actually relax, wake up on our own terms, talk to each other, hang out together, go sailing and snorkeling, utilize the swim up bar and frozen drink menu and feel what it was like 10 years ago, when we honeymooned at a different Sandals. 

But a big difference is 10 years ago, we returned and went back to our jobs and on with our lives. (which I imagine must have included so much free time I don't know what we did with it!)   This time, we still came back to our jobs....but we also came back to 2 amazing kids who we love so much, and who missed us and were soooo happy to see us. They truly appreciated us for at least 24 hours....and were so sweet and loving.  Lauren told me I was the best mommy ever, and Ryan just makes sure  I know that he REALLY  didn't like us leaving.

So on we go with our busy lives, but I am trying to retain the relaxed feeling of the Bahamas, and the loving, patient feeling I had toward my husband and kids upon my return! They are what really matter! And just think, if we wait another 10 years, Ryan will be 18 and Lauren 15. I hope they will have similar feelings about us then! And really, I hope we don't wait that long for another adult getaway.

View from our balcony

Emerald Bay's beautiful beach!

Professional Photos!

Yes I know...I am the worst blogger. I seem to blog in my head...and never get it down on the computer! I spend so much work time on the computer that I am not spending my free time here! But, I want to document our family and so I plan to post more...I promise! Also, who knows what random order some of my postings may be in....as I feel like I need to do catch up.

Here are some of my favorite photos from a professional photo shoot in November of 2010. These were our first family photos since Lauren was 1 year old! I can't believe it. We do need family photos more often!

Lauren was 4.75 and in her last year of preschool. Ryan was 7.5 and in the middle of second grade. He had just lost his first tooth!!! A couple of the photos show the small gap on the bottom.  

Ryan's Taekwondo

Ryan received his Yellow belt in Taekwondo Monday! He’s been studying for about 3 months and loves it. He has been interested for some time, but we wanted to let other activities wrap up, and make sure he was serious. He seems to be! It's the first activity we've had where I only have to ask him to get dressed once! You can see how proud he was in these pictures! We're very proud of him, and excited to see where this takes him!

Mr. Hoffman

Happy 4th Birthday Lauren

It's hard to believe that our baby is turning 4!

Lauren's favorite things:

- Baby dolls and all related accessories...doll strollers, bottles, etc.

- Painting

- Music class at preschool

- Brynne, Lauren's best friend. They've been in school together since 18 months, and will be very sad to learn that they won't be attending kindergarten together. But, we still have a year and a half before that happens!

- Pink, pink, pink

One of my favorite words she pronounces is "balloon". She says her "l"s as "w"s.  So, Ballon is "kabwoon".

She has been taking gymnastics since August, and it was a perfect place to have her party. She had a great time, along with about 20 kids--either preschool classmates or family friends. She enjoyed being the leader, with Ryan by her side the entire time, and wasn't as bashful about getting attention as she has been in past years.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Brynne, Lauren, Ella

The Group, with Lauren and Ryan in the middle

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Lauren, Ryan, TJ

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas! Yes, I know it's January 15. Where does the time go? We had a great holiday, and a nice December for that matter!  Ryan is 6 years old. Lauren is 3.

Here a few highlights from the month:

• The kids were helping Mark bring the Christmas tree box downstairs out of storage (no, not real!), and Mark said to Ryan, "you're a good helper bee." He said back, "I'm Helper A. Lauren is Helper B."  We got a good laugh out of that. It's from Dr. Seuss' story, A Cat in the Hat, with Thing A and Thing B!

Nutcracker Tea


• I took Lauren to a Nutcracker ballet "tea" in November, put on by one of the local ballet studios. At the end, Santa and Ms. Claus arrived. She was so excited, but too shy to talk to Santa. We were leaving the stage, and I asked her if she wanted to tell Mrs. Claus what she would like, and she would tell Santa. Sure enough, she confidently told her she would like a "water baby" and told her all about what water babies can do, such as swim in the bath and in the cold pool and the warm pool. (hot tub). So, since November, she's been obsessed with getting a water baby from Santa, and that was the only thing she asked for.  Indeed, Santa brought a water baby, and Eric, Krista, Shep, Carson and Foster also gave her a water baby! She was so excited to have "water baby twins".

• The kids wrote to Santa and he wrote back! He told both of them that they were on the "Nice" list, and their reaction was priceless. I wish I had the video camera. They were so excited to learn this news! I have used it to my advantage all month, reminding them that Santa is watching. It actually worked, and they would stop arguing, whining or doing whatever they were doing. Somehow I think that will wear off over the coming months, but I'm sure I'll try it. 

•  Another cute thing this year is that Lauren has been intrigued by the Christmas story and baby Jesus. Anywhere we see a nativity scene, she gets excited, yelling, "There's baby Jesus, Mary and Jofess." It's so cute how she can't say Joseph. It's "joe-fess". Too cute.

• We were again fortunate to have Mark home for Christmas. He finished a trip Christmas Eve and was home until Dec. 27. Nancy came in and so the kids had a great time having "both Grandmas" with us. Here are a few photos from Christmas morning....Lauren's water babies and Ryan's presents from Santa.  

Christmas 2009. Ryan (6), Lauren (3)

2 Water Babies!

Legos and Nerf guns!

Where did 2009 go?  Happy New Year!

No training wheels

It's official. Lauren can ride her bike without training wheels! She's practiced a few times over the last few months, but last week she really got it. Here's a video of her.

You can see how proud of herself she is. This video is on the cul-de-sac across the street from our house. This is where the kids ride their bikes the most when we are just hanging out. Lauren did ride her bike to the park without training wheels, with Mark running alongside her. She only had one crash! That's pretty good for a 3 3/4 year old! (Only one crash is pretty good for my 30 something self too!) 

Houston, we have a bed. 2 actually!

Well, we finally did it. It only took us 6 and a half years, but Ryan has a bed!

He never felt deprived, and liked being low to the ground. But as he approached first grade it really seemed like he should have a bed. In true Bonniwell fashion, he couldn't just have a regular bed....no, it had to be the perfect, exciting one! Well, he has his dream bed...with a built in desk with a total of 8 new drawers to store treasures in. He also has a bunk bed, on top, and shelves on the bottom by his head (if he sleeps down.) There are also lots of options for making forts. He had been having bad dreams, and stated that with this bed, he feels safe and won't have bad dreams. He also quickly found a place to store his books near his new book light, and wanted to start reading. So, if this bed alleviates bad dreams and encourages reading, it was well worth the wait.
 
Now for Lauren....she has also been bedless. Once she crawled out of her crib, we moved her to a mattress on the floor. Up until recently, she didn't even want to sleep on the mattress, and preferred the floor. So, why bother with a bed! But she is getting older and has been consistently staying in her bed. We've been searching for the perfect bed for her...one that was equally as exciting as Ryan's, and preferably gently used so we don't spend a fortune on a bed she'll outgrow in 2 years. This weekend we found it!


She was so cute sitting on it last night reading her stories. She said in all seriousness, "I have a ladder and a slide in my room. I can't believe it." The bed has a slide down from the loft, and a pink canvas tent that wraps most of the way around the bottom creating a fort. We've hung a quilt from Grandma over the front to create a full fort.


Lauren slept in her bed all night last night (not always the case), and came down after sliding out of her bed.


I remember feeling so special when I got a canopy bed when I was 7 or 8. I loved that bed, and loved how special I felt in it. Maybe that's why we've waited this long to get beds. It wasn't just a bed for me, and maybe I've secretly been trying to duplicate that feeling for the kids.