O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Our lovely branches are decorated! Grammy brought over all our decorations this afternoon. Lola couldn't wait to put all the ornaments on, especially the Angel. It's her favorite part. Johnny got in on it too. He loved hanging the ornaments...and we tried to explain to him that you don't throw the Nativity scene figurines into the tree! :)

While we were away in Florida for Christmas last year, my mom took down and packed away all our decorations (on top of cleaning and organizing every drawer and closet in our house...yes, I suck at organization. I admit it.) Anyways, she used leftover Christmas wrapping paper to wrap some of the ornaments and Lola thought she was opening a new present with each one. I highly suggest this!

Turkey Trot

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Sue signed her and I up for Orland Park's Turkey Trot (2.5 miles) and it was a gorgeous run this morning.  Much of the course was through the John Humphrey woods, so it was very much like a cross country course, with some decent and challenging inclines. I'm obsessed with trail running. And while I do not like running I LOVE the atmosphere of the race. These short runs don't require any training, but I am looking forward to training for the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in Nashville this spring for two reasons 1) The thrill of the race and 2) Getting my body toned again! I was amazed at what the training did for me this past year gearing up for the Princess Half and I can't wait to see those effects again, HA! 

Getting ready to run...proud of our results. 10:37 and 16:44 mile pacing, respectively. 

We meet up with Margret and Adam before the race started. Margret thought she'd stop running after her Half in September. Nope! She ran an awesome 8:30 mile pace.

Nursery + Pre-K school pictures...

What a difference a year makes!

A sneak peek...

It's hard to put into words how amazing our trip was and how badly it was needed, for many reasons. First and foremost, we miss and love our Florida family and friends so much and hate the miles that separate us. Our time together is always special and full of memory making moments. Usually, it's just in the simple moments, but this trip, we got to make some incredible ones at Walt Disney World as well.

John and I were both coming off extremely busy periods of work, he ramping up for his new position with Chase (and doing an amazing job) and me with photography (think tax season for accountants). None of it could be done without our support system :) I can't help but think of the best line from the movie RETURN TO ME, when the old man says "I'm blessed with work." That we are! But life isn't just about work. And we LOVE to experience the fun joy life holds, especially with our children!

Experiencing Disney with them was nothing short of MAGIC. From the moment you start seeing the signs on the highway that it's approaching, it begins. And not only are you making new memories, but you are reminded of old ones. I was recalling so much in my mind and heart the memories I had of being in Disney World on my first trip when Dad and Sue took us...and then when Mom took Brittany and I for Britt's 13th Birthday...how we laughed as my mom screamed all through Space Mountain (we promised her it wasn't scary, haha!) and also how full circle it was to see Lola carrying the Winnie-the-Pooh I purchased on that trip for the children John and I would have together...we had only been dating 4 months at that time, but I just knew...

Here are just a few of many, many more moments captured this trip. It was a good balance of capturing the moments artistically...while being fully present in them, something we as Mother's sometime struggle with.

Pretty sure I'm going to turn this image into a canvas. Every now and then, John will snatch the camera from my hands and shoot from his perspective. And when he does, the results are always impressive. He took this...I just edited it.

 Our gorgeous "Briar Rose"...

 Waiting for Dumbo with Daddy...

 Disney JOY!

 Up so high!

 Meeting Mickey!

 Uncle Mikey, Papa + Nonna with their loves.

 Can you spot Pop?

 Sometimes this boy looks so pretty in pictures he could pass as a girl! Seriously?!

 Classic.

 High fives for the awesome Disney cast. Ever accommodating.

 Exploring.

Johnny's 1st Magic Kingdom Visit!

I wanted to share some special moments from Johnny's 1st trip to Walt's magical kingdom on Thursday since it'll be awhile before I have the chance to edit my own images from the day...Mom captured these on her phone...SO CUTE!

Getting his ears at the Emporium.

{the hernandez four} meet Mickey Mouse 

Kisses from Uncle Mikey

LOVE the carousel.

Some Instagrams from my phone...Lola NOT appreciating having her picture taken without first requesting permission!

We've arrived!

Our second road-trip down to Florida was a complete success. John rocked it, driving 20 hours in 2 days...and no speeding tickets this time :) The kids were AMAZING. They deserve lollipops the size of Texas, ha! And our good ol' Subaru, with a fresh oil change and tire rotation from Timmy at the shop, gave us a SWEET 27.9 miles to the gallon. Love!

 What's better than a sleeping baby on a 20 hour road-trip?!

 2 hours from Florida, Johnny decided it'd be a good idea to poop all over himself, hence the naked baby. How sweet is this brother/sister duo?!

 This morning, we headed to Park Ave. to a little shopping. New fun sandals for Mommy & Johnny and a big pretty bow for Lola.

L is for Lola...and Lilly!

Making wishes.

Mommy happy in her MJC :)

Watching the Amtrack roll through town.

In the candy store. John holding up the "Marital Bliss Bar"...HA!

There's my girl!

After a fun morning of shopping, we stopped to visit Titi at the Sweet Shop and have a delicious lunch a 4Rivers Smokehouse, complete with a back of the house tour...wow!

Halloween {2012}

This Halloween was one for the books. The weather was PERFECT! Before we headed up to Mt. Greenwood to participate in the "Trick or Treat Walk" up and down 111th, Mom stopped over to give her favorite little Gobblins some Halloween treats and lots of kisses. At the walk, Lola had one of her very best buddies (Preston) join us. She was so excited to see him pull up at the shop! For once, I was able to keep a secret, ha! He told her he wanted to hold her hand and that's exactly what he did...all afternoon long. It was the absolute sweetest thing ever. They had the very best time together and would get so excited when they saw a cool costume. We're so glad Tif + Preston decided to join us!

We figured we'd just push Johnny in the stroller, but he walked the first half of the afternoon and it was so awesome...he really got into it! He loved going up and collecting his candy. But then he realized his bucket was full of some major goodies and DEMANDED he eat as many suckers as he possibly could. Sweet little angel, how could we say no?!

I can't think of a better Trick or Treating experience or tradition than what we get to do in Mt. Greenwood every year! Enjoy the pics...

Halloween {2012}