February began with Aubrey’s birthday party at the Hanlin household – kicking off a month of festivities! I always look forward to my birthday and Valentine’s Day (which fall in the same week) and this year our team at work did a market research day for Valentine’s Day, Dale and I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Lidia’s, we had a wonderful family dinner at my parents and we capped it off with a weekend at The Elms. This was a combo birthday/Valentine’s Day/mini-babymoon (just like we did before Grant was born). Grant enjoyed Val this year as well and picked out monster truck Valentines for his class at daycare. This month we also visited the zoo aquarium with Grammy and Pop (their Christmas present), I traveled to Charlottesville to celebrate Holly’s Bachelorette party, and Dale, Grant and I had lots of fun everyday moments playing at home and enjoying family dinners. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to Granny this month and had a wonderful celebration of her life at our house with the Smith family. I’m going to miss her (and the sweet voicemails she often left after I mailed her a card) so much. For the shortest month of the year, we sure experienced a lot!
November Memories
In early November we kicked off the month finding out that Baby Smith #2 is another boy and that Grant’s prediction of “it’s a brother” was correct! We can’t wait to meet this second little buddy next Spring. After that we headed on our trip to California, and then I immediately hopped on another plane to Nashville to visit Grace! I got to spend a few nights with her in the dorm, eat in the cafeteria and we went to Kamala’s “107 Days” Nashville book tour stop. The end of the month was full of Thanksgiving festivities and getting our Christmas tree/starting to decorate. Here’s to the holidays!
Huntington Beach, California
Earlier this month Dale, Grant and I headed to Huntington Beach, California to reunite with our Saint Louis “Froends” and celebrate Michael and Joanna’s baby shower! We had the best (and very rainy) couple of days relaxing, playing with trucks on the beach, and spending time catching up with friends. Grant absolutely loved the sand and I am hoping we get another chance to see the ocean (and have the chance to meet the new baby twins) very soon!
Antibes, France
On July 4th we had to say goodbye to Provence and headed to the coast. The last night of our trip was spent at the Royal Antibes Hotel overlooking the water. We spent the day enjoying the beach and had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant Royal Beach. Walking through old town was a highlight and our after dinner ice cream was the perfect finale to our time in France. I’m so grateful for this special trip with our family and that Dale and I were able to make these memories with Grant.
L’Isle Sur La Sorgue
We actually visited L’Isle Sur La Sorgue twice during our stay in Provence! Yesterday we breifly stopped by and enjoyed some ice cream/desserts at Chez Ju Resto & Bistro before heading back to our Airbnb to escape the heat. L’Isle Sur La Sorgue is known for its antiques, and it honestly was a bit more difficult to find the best spots than expected! A few favorites included Le Village des Antiquaires de la Gare, Jardin Antique and L’Ile Aux Brocantes (plus lunch at Le Cafe du Village).
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
This morning we visited the beautiful market in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. I bought a turquoise bracelet from a local gallery and have regrets about not purchasing a few table cloths. We also took some time for family photos along the driveway of our Airbnb. I’m so grateful we were able to bring Grant along on this trip – especially alongside cousin Winnie!
