She, He, & We: birthday

For the Kim family vacation, we went aaaallll the way to Florida. And I say it like that because this is how our flights this summer were:
1) NC --> Portland
2) Portland --> SLC
a couple days later....
3) SLC --> Florida
4) Florida --> SLC
a few weeks later... .
5) SLC --> back to NC

Never. Never will I do this again. Going aaaaalllll the way across the country to the farthest (continental) time zone... then going back to the original time zone we were in.... then essentially back to the same time... then back again to our original? (I can't even write it correctly because it is just so nonsensical). Anyway, needless to say, not the most efficient way to spend our time, but it was a lot of fun this summer. And hey, at least we can say we did it, right? (But seriously, never again).

Anyway, we wanted to go to Florida because 1) Yunnie is on her mission and minus one in my family is kind of a big deal. So, in order to compensate, we decided the Happiest Place on Earth would do the job in replacing her. 2) The beach. Enough said. Sure, we could've gone to California... but we really thought the airline business needed our business. ;) [my parents actually were condo shopping. Main reason why we tagged along/turned into vacation.]

So, here are our adventures in pictures with (hopefully) small/short commentary! Enjoy!!

Magic Kingdom:

We had four-day/amusement-park hopping passes. We went to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, then Magic Kingdom again during our time there. I only have pictures for a couple places though!

I dream about going back all the time. Seriously overpriced. But so so so happy.

Not quite sure what to think... but boy, was he in for a GREAT surprise!!

See that really dark raincloud behind the castle? Shortly after this picture was taken, it was Hurricane Disney. No joke. Winds were CRAZY. We were separated from my parents and Auden to buy some ponchos, so Nelson went to go get them and he was outside for 2 seconds and got soaked. Just the back side though because he was holding on to a pole so he wouldn't get blown away. After about 30 minutes of the hurricane, it calmed down, but rained off an on for the rest of the day which was great because it wasn't hot at all. It was the perfect temperature. People had left because it was midday when we got there and the rain was comin down. The lines were tolerable (especially if you had a FastPass :) It was the perfect day for the Magic Kingdom.

Same day, just a change of clothes. He was SOAKED. Good thing I came prepared! Good mama point!

My happy, happy boy.

PS: Nelson picked out this outfit. Adorable, right?

This was his pose after he told me to take his picture. I love the little hands in his lap.

(and i love his short-shorts. :)

Hollywood Studios:

This was at Hollywood Studios where they did a live Disney Junior show. If we went now, Auden would have the time of his life. He LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Especially when the confetti came down. "What is this garbage doing?!? Clean this up! Stop singing! There is garbage on the floor!"

If I could blur my face....

Auden wasn't a fan of the ponchos, but isn't he sooo cute!?

When we were in Boston, Auden LOVED to chase all the geese. So, naturally, when he saw the ducks, he went to go greet his long lost friends.

Always battling each other... [insert hashtag: boyswillbeboys]

We discovered that Auden is not afraid of the pool. And will run to it every time he sees it......

I'm pretty sure I sabotage all our family photos.

Siesta Key/Sarasota, FL

Then we made our way West to the beach!! Fun fact: very minimal shark attacks on this side of Florida! Woo hoo!

After the Star Trek movies... we've really been into Star Trek. And Auden does the Volcan "live long and prosper" sign well (sometimes) so we tried to get him to do for Yunnie. Obviously, we failed. But I still think he looks so adorable all tanned in his jumpsuit/swimsuit!

Last full day we were there, we did the funnest thing: paddleboarded and kayaked in a manatee zone!! AAAAHHHH! Why hadn't we done this the whole time we were there! Ever since I was in the 2nd grade, I have LOVED manatees! Sadly, so so so sadly, after four hours (and crazy nasty horrible BRIGHT red sunburns on my legs) later... I didn't see a single manatee. We can however, say we are expert paddleboarding/kayaking wizards! In calm/non-shark infested waters AND the ocean! Go Team Pace!

Auden got this great gift from one of my dad's clients in Florida. It plays extremely calming music or sounds of waves and shines a light as if you were looking on the bottom of the ocean floor at night. It's pretty much the best, life-saving toy ever.

Thumb in the pocket: Kills me every time.

yeah... that tan went away very quickly.

Back to Utah!!!

This was my birthday. Great day with my family.

Well, these are about all the summer pictures I have with me currently. Hopefully I'll be able to do a post later once I get my pictures from my other computer.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't go MIA again after this....... keeping my fingers crossed.......

Hope you had a fantastic, happy, happy, happy summer like us!!!

oh my stars...

it's been {over} a year of cuddles... kisses... cries... laughter and just so much bubbly goodness. like a really good soda.... It's pretty predictable that my day will include all of these every single day. And that is not a problem for me. To be completely honest, it has been the hardest year of my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. but every night, I realize how worth it this all is. I have never felt more "at home" with myself in a role that I've taken on. This is what I was meant to do. I feel that. I truly feel that all of the things I have learned has led me to become Auden's mama.

So, for this boy's birthday, he didn't have one party-- but two!! Talk about spoilage.... I guess we don't have to do one next year!! ;) Like I said in Auden's birthday banner post we celebrated with the our friends, the Mangums. On the Saturday of the birthday weekend, we all gathered at the Mangums' home to enjoy the boys' welcome to toddlerhood!

Look at those boys eating their cakes!!! "sugar... sugar.... SUUUUGGGAAAAR!"

they're still not the best at playing with each other, but it's pretty much already planned that they will be friends.

***********

The next day was Auden's birthday, the 24th. My parents were in town (they would not miss their first grandbaby's birthday... ever) and we had a Korean traditional first birthday (called dol-- pronounced like the "Dole" juice.. but with a stronger "d" sound), well, as traditional as we could do. We had lots of fun and ate lots and LOTS of great food (which is a great thing about Korean parties/get-togethers), but in some of these pictures, Auden may indicate otherwise. Disclaimer: we had just gotten out of church, I don't think he napped very long... and he was hunger. Basically: DISASTER. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes got nothin' when it comes to a baby/toddler and their basic needs for survival.