Christmas 2015!!

We traveled to South Carolina for Christmas this year and it was so much fun! 

We weren't sure how we were going to get all our luggage, two kids, and a stroller in by ourselves inside the airport but Rob was a rock star! I had Luke in the ergo and I pushed Marshall in the stroller. Rob had 3 suitcases and a car seat. Haha! 

I was super nervous about flying with two little ones. They did great for the most part. Luke was no problem and didn't cry at all. Marshall had a couple moments but nothing we couldn't handle. The worst part was actually waiting to board the plane in Columbus. There was a 2 hour delay so we had to wait in our airport. I gave him cookies and popcorn at 9:00 AM before we even went through security because it took forever just to check in!

 

Once we got through and had awhile to wait we let M run up and down this ramp to get some energy out. He loved it! 

We also hung out in Starbucks for a bit. 

Once we boarded I found two empty seats that weren't taken so Luke and I had our own area all to ourselves! It was nice to be able to lay him down on the seat next to me if need be. All the planes we flew on only had one or two seats on each side so the whole family could never got to sit next to each other. 

Marshall was not happy to be strapped in. We got him a Nabi Jr. for his birthday hoping it would be great for the plane. He didn't play with it too much. He still prefers the iPad. 

My sweet boy.

M fell asleep on me as soon as we landed in Charlotte so he only slept 5 minutes that entire day.

We had a layover in Charlotte and got bumped up to first class so that was nice and spacious! He's eating more popcorn in this picture!

We arrived in South Carolina and it was 75 degrees! This is really warm for this time of year. Its usually in the 50's.

My in laws had lots of baby and kid toys that their friends had given them. Luke loved this exersaucer! I wish we could have brought it home with us even though we already have two at our house! lol

They were also given this tricycle that Marshall loved! 

He also loved riding in the golf cart!

So did Luke!

A couple pictures of Luke! hehe He looks like he's saying whats up?

Love their tub!

Waiting for Santa Claus...not really because he didn't quite understand Christmas this year. In fact he only opened one present the entire time we were down there. He was obsessed with the piano and kitty cat, Chloe, instead of the presents. 

Watching muffins bake. One of his favorite foods!

Luke loved Grandpa!

Chilling on the couch!

This was Christmas afternoon. While Marshall was napping the adults opened presents. It would have been pretty hard to do while he was up since he loved running around the house and had no interest in presents. Every Christmas we divide all the presents out and set them in the spot where we are each sitting...

Marshall holding Luke

The day after Christmas we thought it would be fun to take the boys to the beach. Marshall was not a fan but it was fun to walk the beach in December!

He had fun running up and down this ramp. This is where the in laws have a timeshare condo and where we will be for two weeks in May. We CAN NOT WAIT!

Luke fell asleep in the car so Nana stayed with him while he napped. 

That night we decided to try out a new restaurant where there was a playground close by and lots of outdoor shopping. It was fun! There was a bubble machine blowing bubbles and the restaurant had a wait so M had a blast playing at the playground. 

 

Family photo!

Dad and son hand in hand

We were so sad to leave the warm weather and go back to reality! The flights back were a breeze. During the flight from Charlotte to Columbus Marshall slept the whole way! Woo hoo!

 My boys waiting on the elevator. Love them so! 

I hope your Christmas was wonderful and the start to your New year has been great!

***Yes this is almost a month after Christmas. It takes that long to slowly add pictures and compose these posts! 

The last 10 months

Hi! Its been a long time since I posted anything. I have been debating whether or not to keep up the blog now that we are married since its called "brown-eyed bride". After looking through some old posts and realizing how much I had forgotten I decided to dive back into the blogging world. It was so great reminiscing on wedding memories. I am so glad I blogged about my wedding planning journey.

Since the wedding not much has happened around the Stan household. My little bro turned 28 in August. Rob and I went to Phoenix, AZ to celebrate his Grandma's 90th birthday. My cousin got married in Nashville In September. It was beautiful. I left my phone and camera in Ohio so I don't have one picture to document it. Fall came, which brought our first trick or treaters. We celebrated the holidays in our new home. For Thanksgiving, Rob's parents came up which was wonderful but sad not to see my Dad, brother, and other family. For Christmas, my Mom came up. It was great spending time with her, but sad not to have everyone together. Both holidays were bitter sweet. It's great to spend time with my mom and his parents but the holidays are hard on me because A- my parents are divorced and B- the first 25 years of my life I spent the holidays with my grandparents, my Dad, cousin Emily, and her mom, brother, and step-Dad. I always get sad when there's not a lot of us around during the holidays. It just doesn't feel right. I need to realize that life is different now with Mimi and Papa gone and with me living in Ohio. I hope one day I can move back to 

Kentucky. I miss my family and friends so much. It's a blessing that I've made such great friends here in Ohio.

The other sad thing that happened since we got married is one of my best friends, Melissa, passed away from brain cancer on February 8th. We thought she was going to beat it. I was sure she was going to beat it. I couldn't believe the news when she told me in October that they had found another tumor and it was inoperable. It was heartbreaking to lose Missy. She was one of my bridesmaids and I thank God everyday that she was at my wedding. Two of our mutual best friends, Lauren and Becky, are not so lucky. Becky is getting married July 4th and Lauren, October 10th. I know they are heartbroken that Missy can not be there to celebrate their marriages. I hope they know she will be there in spirit. 

Actually, Missy is the reason why I decided to jump back into blogging. I was lookign through and reading some previous posts and she was in them. It made me so thankful that I have the memories and so sad that she is gone. I miss her everyday. I don't know how her parents or sisters are surviving. It must be so hard. I'm so thankful they have Henry and Darcy to brighten their lives. She was beautiful in so many ways, smart, strong, and soo funny! I miss you sweet Melissa! We all miss you and will forever miss you. Our mutual best friend, Mandy, has the cutest blog and wrote a eulogy for her. You can read it here: Mandy's blog. Her sister has a pretty awesome blog too and blogs about Missy often. She also wrote a eulogy which you can find here Bio Girl- Missy's sister


Some pictures of sweet Melissa:

Her sister Boo helping her put on her necklace.

Becky, Missy, Andrea, Mandy, and Rachel

Missy caught the Bouquet!

Random picture from years ago (the good ol days)