Amelia Island

After our fun, but exhausting day at Disney we headed north to the beach.  Michael's conference was at this beautiful resort on Amelia Island that felt more like an awesome family camp than anything else.  They had putt putt golf, fishing, a nature center, a spa, and a bunch of restaurants right on the property, just to name a few, but we spent most of our time enjoying the pool and the beautiful beach.

A serious shell collector

 Enough pictures already, mom.

 I sure do love my crew

 Because Langley is giving us a run for our money lately in terms of parenting...I'm thankful for our sweet moments all the more...

 Beach baby

 His sand castle "town"

 "Mom, take a picture of this."

 Of course we picked the only windy and chilly day to try for a family pic.

It was a wonderful respite from the cold and snowy spring we were having up here in the mitten. 

Where dreams come true...

As I said earlier, Michael has been doing a lot of research and got accepted to a few conferences that all fell in April, so in true Merrick style we made it one crazy, month long adventure.  Our last stop was Florida where we made a visit to Disney for a day.   Langley was at such an awesome age for it this year and was absolutely enamored with the characters.  

She was so excited she had to get dressed up on the plane.

On the ferry over to the park.  Someone looks up to their big brother.

Admiring the magic of the castle

 and dancing along with the show. 

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Sunny, blue skies all day!

 Luke was big enough for all of the rides this year and this is what he thought of Splash Mountain

 Waving at Minnie in the parade

 Langley finally had her moment with Minnie and she was mesmerized! 

Daisy was pretty awesome too!

This little lady loved the carousel!  She thought she was pretty big.

 We made it a full day and stayed for the light 

parade.  I was glad we didn't miss this because it was really awesome, but Luke was the only one who lasted.  :)

It was a magical day but I was thankful the rest of our trip took us to the beach to relax...

My baby is 1!

My heart is a little sad to admit our baby girl turned one last week.  Since April has been an unusually busy month for us we decided to have a little gathering with some of our friends for lunch on her special day.  It was fun to celebrate our sweet girl and watch her dig into her cake. 

She was a little unsure at first

But then decided she liked it

Some of the party goers

This little girl is a baby lover if I've ever known one.  It is pretty remarkable to see the maternal instinct of a one year old.  

Nana nicknamed her Sweet Cheeks while they were here and it sure sums her up quite nicely. She is as sweet as can be.  We love you baby girl!

Oh and just this week she has decided she's ready to walk.  

Can't you stay this little forever?

Hong Kong

Michael has done quite a bit of research over the last couple of years and has been accepted to present in some pretty awesome places.  When we found out he was accepted in Hong Kong we both agreed it was a once in a life time opportunity so we had to go.  We were so grateful that Kellie and Robert were willing to come hold down the fort with our crazy crew.

Hong Kong was amazing, but VERY different than any place either of us have ever been to.  We did some touring, ate some interesting cuisine, visited some tourist attractions, and found some breathtaking hikes which was the highlight for me.   

A view from Aberdeen, a fishing village

We visited Big Buddah

And saw a traditional Buddhist monastery 

And these were just some of the views from our hikes

This little calf followed us for quite a while

 The kids were happy as larks back at home with Nana and Papa.   I'm pretty sure we missed them more than they missed us.   I was so thankful for the recaps of their fun while we were away and these were just some of the pictures we got. 

Kirby even got some extra loving with lots of runs and extra treats :)  

Cool man Luke and Nana

Ganging up on Papa

Checking on the neighbors

Papa and his fan club

Our kids are so blessed with awesome grandparents

It was a blast being away with Michael but I was very happy to be back on U.S. soil when we returned and I couldn't get back to our babies fast enough.  They all came to pick us up from the airport even though it was well past bed time and this mama couldn't have been happier!