Freedom!

That's right, FREEDOM...from the past year of stress and worry! School ended last Friday, and after spending an awesome Memorial Day weekend up at the lake with the fam, I officially began my summer (semi-permanent) vacation today. I even went to the baby doctor for a check-up on the last day of school and received WONDERFUL news....after a year of having extremely high blood pressure (from a stressful work situation), my blood pressure was NORMAL....she even used the word FANTASTIC! Woohoo! I was so scared that because of everything from this past year, that my health would continue to suffer with high blood pressure...especially during my pregnancy. I was elated to learn that my body is becoming healthier again and that the baby is still doing excellent with a strong heartbeat :)

As for summer, our plans are pretty open. I'm still feeling a little icky as I reach the end of my first trimester, although it's A LOT better than it was, thankfully! Max and I will be spending a lot of our time up at the lake since Max LOOOOOVVVEEESS it there....he just runs right into the lake like a pro! He enjoys finding rocks/clams/whatever he can on the beach and throwing it for 2 hours straight. I have to say, the kid has a rocket for an arm....possibly a baseball or football career in his future. Another fav of his up at the lake is taking boat rides....Max loves looking down at the water and the waves the boat is making. Grandpa also bought a ton of rocks he brings on board for Max to throw overboard since he has a throwing obsession....and it's better than a sandal or sunglasses going overboard....

Right now, Mark and I are currently trying to agree on a mini-family vacation. Mark has a week of vacation time the week after his birthday (in the middle of June), and we definitely want to take a small family vacation as just the three of us before we become four. The problem is, we can't agree or decide on anything! I really wanted to take Max to Disney World...especially since he'd be free the entire way because of his age. I've been told by several Disney World veterans though that he's still a little young and it'd be better to wait on that one. I guess I do agree....we'd still be paying a lot of money for Mark and I to go, and right now Max doesn't seem to have the patience or attention span for a more expensive vacation such as Disney World. We WILL be going ASAP though, because I secretly really want to go too ;)

Our next thought was Cedar Point. My family went there every summer while I was growing up, and I LOVE it there. I definitely want to make Cedar Point a yearly tradition with my family as well.....some of my favorite memories growing up are from Cedar Point! We're still tossing this one around. The price is still kind of salty, and Mark isn't convinced that Max would have that much fun yet. Since I'm pregnant, I can't ride on any of the rides, which would suck since I am IN LOVE with Cedar Point. My parents had volunteered to go with us a long time ago so they could take Max for a little bit while we rode some rides, but being pregnant makes that impossible. I think it'd be fun for Max to have a hotel pool, beach, waterpark and amusement park all right there - with a lot of options for kids - but Mark is still not convinced, so we'll see.

We've also kicked around a few ideas such as Indiana Beach, going to a few museums in Chicago, etc. Problem is, we need to figure it out FAST because Mark's vacation is in, like, two weeks. Anybody have any suggestions/ideas/comments to help?!