Canada with the boys

We had an awesome time celebrating 4th of July in Canada with our friends and family. My cousin moved to Ottawa a few months back for an awesome job opportunity. I had been dying to go visit but I don't do Canada in the Winter if I can help it :). Canada is just way too cold for this African girl. Anyway, we decided to take advantage of the long holiday time off to go visit her. We packed the boys and to Canada we went.

A really good childhood friend of mine who lives in Toronto right now with her 2 little ones decided to join in on the fun and meet us in Ottawa for a few days. We had a ball. The kids had so much fun together.

 Here we are on the plane doing our usual self portrait on the plane, what up

How cute are hubby and Tman passed out? The trip there was super easy

YAY we are in Canada, that was  a lot of Canadian flags for sure

The day after we arrived, we decided to walk to the beach which was a mere 20 minute away. I thought that was pretty cool that the beach was this close to the city

Hubby carried the baby while my Tman slept in the stroller. This boy of mine I tell you, he can sleep anywhere (we are so lucky).

Hubby and Jbird doing their obligatory beach picture

Me and my Tman passed out in the stroller

The beach was pretty small but definitely really nice. We just hung out at the park near the beach. We spent a few hours hanging out at the park soaking up the sun, watching the kids run around and catching up on life. It was awesome.

 Me and my smiling Jbird, such a happy kid this one

I love to take pictures of signs. I like to remember where I was and what was nearby. When I saw this sign for the firehouse that said Ottawa on our way back from the beach, I was sold. Picture time

 I even managed to convince hubby to take a pic of me and my Jbird with it

And since this was 4th of July, I had the boys in matching patriotic shirts as you do and I manage to score a family picture. Happy 4th of July.

That night, we put hubby in charge of all 4 kids at bedtime and went out for a drink or two :). We actually put the kids to bed before we left, we would be that mean.

We had a perfect girl night. It felt like we were back to our single days with no care in the worlds sipping daiquiris and margaritas while talking about the most ridiculous stories. Me and my girls

I came home to this beautiful sight (hubby and the boys sleeping together somewhat peacefully)

The next day was spent chilling and taking another walk to the park to let the kids run around some more. After that we headed to Montreal which is less than 2 hours away to visit more friends.

My friend in Montreal has 2 girls (my boys future wives maybe ;). I am always trying to hook them up with potential wives). I caught a glimpse of my life with 4, how perfect would that be 2 boys and 2 girls (dreaming).

We also went down to the old port (vieux port) and explored the city a bit

Us with signs that say Montreal, I am such a creature of habit :)

Because we were walking around with a lot of people, we got so many pictures of the 4 of us. Don't mind if I do.

We walked around for hours, had dinner and hung out with our friends. It was so nice. The old port was so busy and bustling with life. I am so glad that we were able to go out and check out the sights a bit. We planned to go back the next day but we just didn't feel like it so we just hung around chit chatting and catching up. We went back to Ottawa and got another day of rest before heading home.

Happy campers at the airport. Tman was napping in the stroller

We had such a great trip to Canada, I am looking forward to going back maybe next year. We were all so tired when we came back. We are still recuperating. I think I need to start incorporating a day of rest after any trip we take because frankly we need it. I am so glad we got to visit my cousins and our friends. Hope you had a great time celebrating 4th of July.

Travel - Tman goes to Cancun, Mexico

We are back from Canada where we had an awesome time as we do. While I sort through the pictures I leave you with pictures from our first trip to Cancun.

Our first anniversary was spent with our 4-day old newborn, needless to say that we didn't get to do anything at all. We decided to go big or go home for our second anniversary and booked a week long trip to Cancun.

I was a first time mom and my baby was turning 1 the day before we planned to leave for the trip and I just did not have the heart to leave him behind so we took him with us on our trip (first time mom problem right here). I was worried about how he would do on the trip but he did amazing and we had a great time.

We brought baby food with us just in case but Tman ended up eating food on the resort no problem (we stayed away from uncooked food and he did good). He was still nursing so we didn't worry much about the milk. It was relaxing and fun trip and I was so happy that we brought the baby with us, it made the trip that much better.

We stayed at a beautiful all inclusive resort that we absolutely loved

Most of our days were pretty similar. We would always go to the beach early in the morning before the sun was out and super hot. It was pretty easy to do with a baby that woke up at 6ish everyday anyway. The beach was also pretty empty which was awesome. The water was so blue and beautiful

 Tman touching the ocean water for the first time

 My boys lounging :)

Tman walking on sand for the first time

After hanging around the beach in the morning, we would go to breakfast then it was nap time with our little man. This baby was still napping twice a day. After nap time it was lunch time. Tman was usually pretty sleepy and tired so we would just put him in the stroller and go to lunch that way we were both free to enjoy our lunch

 My favorite thing to do was getting daiquiris because they matched my nails :)

 My hubby had his fake super happy smile on the whole time :)

After lunch we would usually walk around the resort or just lounge around listening to music. Me and my boy chilling, I just love this pic (probably because it's a candid shot and I almost never get these because I am always on the ready with a smile :))

Tman and hubby chilaxing in the hotel room

This picture pretty much sums up all of our afternoons, Tman napping in the stroller while we drank the fruitiest and most colorful drinks. The stroller's cup holders were super useful :)

One of the days we actually ventured off the resort to check out the town. One of the times we ended up at the mall and Tman started chasing the cutest little Mexican girl so we had to say hello. I just love that my hubby captured this pic. My boy started chasing girls early :)

Me and my little Kangooroo

Before we headed to dinner, we usually fed Tman and got him ready for dinner then we took a walk around the resort to get him to fall asleep. My sleepy boy before dinner

Once he was asleep we could then go to dinner and actually enjoy ourselves. It was grand, our plans worked so well the entire week

After dinner we would go for a walk and enjoy the beautiful night scenery before hitting the bed completely exhausted. I know, it's hard work doing nothing all day. Me and my matching drink ;)

On the day of our anniversary, my hubby booked us this awesome dinner for two on the pier, it was awesome. We didn't want to leave the baby so we took him with us. He was awake for the first 30 minutes then he passed out in the stroller

Romantic dinner for two with a baby sleeping in the stroller (check)

The hotel had a deal where you could get a professional photographer to follow you around for half an hour and you would only pay for the pictures that you liked (pretty common in Cancun actually). You know me, I couldn't pass that up. We ended up with some amazing family pictures. I am totally doing this on all of our trips to the Caribbean :).

Our trip to Cancun was amazing. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary in style. I will surely miss the kids on our anniversary trip to Jamaica this year but it will be nice to celebrate without worrying about our two favorite boys (second time mom with no guilt right here). I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane, I cannot believe how little my Tman was in all the pics.

Weekend fun - A trip to Philly

This weekend was so relaxing yet fun. We took a road trip to visit my BFF Melissa in Philly. We go every year in June to help her celebrate her birthday in style :). The plan was to go to Philly, hang out there for a bit then drive to Melissa's parents who live in NJ a mere 20 minutes away to spend the rest of the weekend.

We hit the road super early on Saturday. Check out my little man on his kindl on the backseat. Kids and technology I tell you, only way we keep them entertained on road trips

Knowing how much my boys love water, Melissa took us to sister cities park, an awesome park in the middle of the city with water everywhere.

Tman was in heaven at this place. From the moment we got there until we left, it was pure enjoyment for my little man. He didn't want to leave, surprise surprise.

 I hung out with Jbird most of the time and he was totally loving the water too

 Of course I had to pose my matching boys for a pic, love my boys

The boys played together for a bit splashing away everywhere

Then Tman wanted to go explore the nearby area so my hubby followed him around. I love seeing my baby so grown up exploring things around him. So proud of my boy

We then moved to the splash area where we found the coolest thing. There were names of various cities from around the world and how far they are from Philly. Well low and behold one of the cities was none other than Douala, Cameroon. Huh, really. I am from Cameroon and I lived in Douala. How cool and completely random is that?

Of course I had to take a pic with that :). Somebody had to represent

Tman thoroughly enjoyed this splash park, it was non-stop entertainment. He didn't want to leave

 I mean, is this a happy kid or what?

 My Tman's feet all shriveled up after almost 2 hours playing in the water

We chilled in the park for a bit having a mini-picnic before heading to Jersey

 Melissa and the boys

Our outing to sister cities park was a great success. If you are ever in Philly and want to entertain your children or just have a picnic, definitely check this park out. We were so tired after a long day of fun that we just chilled the entire night.

Our crew chilling on the couch after a long day of fun in the sun

The next day was just spent relaxing. We did nothing all day and it felt good. We really needed all the relaxing time that we could get.

Check out my boys chilling in the backyard

 Me and my Tman smiling at the camera

How cute are my hubby and Jbir napping together, My two favorite pics of the trip

 

 While they napped, Tman kicked the ball around in the backyard

 Then got on the lawn mower with melissa's dad.

My booboo was loving it

Before we knew it, we had to hit the road and go home. What a great weekend we had. It was so nice to visit Melissa and her family. Next up is our trip to Canada in 2 days, eeek, I am so excited. I am so happy that my kids are such good travelers. Hope you all had a great weekend.