In Between Trips to the Mailbox...

The past six weeks or so have been consumed with trips to the mailbox to see if our Immigration approval is here. To make a very long story short, our Immigration paperwork is in Missouri where Immigration is trying to create a central adoption department and our case is pending. I was assured yesterday that our case is one of the first they will process and to hang on for another month...this was great news after the lady I talked to on Friday told me to expect to wait another YEAR and completely ruined my weekend and poor Isaac had to deal with a weepy wife all weekend. We are still hopeful that we'll become parents next summer, but as the part of the process continues to be stretched into twice the amount of time we expected it to take, I'm beginning to realize that we might not meet our children until after rainy season next year...we'll prepare for the worst and pray for the best!

After a couple of weeks of no Immigration approval in the mailbox, we hit a major problem while trying to redo the flooring in our house...the manufacturer discontinued it and we did not have enough to finish the project! So, we had to travel to Miami to pick up 42 boxes of Brazilian Cherry laminate flooring one weekend in June. We decided to try to make this impromptu trip fun by staying the night at the Marriott on Biscayne Bay and enjoying a nice night out.

View from our room at the sun was setting Friday night. After we took this picture, we rode the metro to dinner after the recommendation of the front desk worker not to drive to Bayside because the parking was $10 but the metro was free. Not a good recommendation. We were the victims of reverse-racism on the metro and had to walk a block through bums to get to the entertainment area and then, my high-heeled sandal fell apart...needless to say, we paid the $10 for a cab ride back to the hotel! We did, however, enjoy a great dinner at Los Rancheros and music from a band that must have formed in the '80s while in high school and just never bothered to update their hairstyles...awesome.

Views Saturday morning from our balcony...


After taking the above pictures, we had another incident with the crazy people of Miami. Our GPS couldn't locate a satellite while in the parking garage, so Isaac just turned in the general direction we needed to go to pick up the Ryder trunk to haul all the flooring. We ended up in the projects and witnessed a homeless man and women get into a fight involving a 2x4, not pretty...and it was only 9am!

And the skies were blue and beautiful on Alligator Alley on the way back home and we were so ready to get out of Miami! Next time we go, we'll stick to the beach!

4th of July weekend we both had a long weekend to celebrate the holiday. It unfortunately rained most of the weekend, but we made it to Anna Maria one of those days.

We ate at the Rod and Reel Pier for the first time that weekend and hit the beach for a couple of hours...one of the many benefits of living in FL...quick trips to the beach!


On July 10, we celebrated SIX years of marriage! Crazy that all this time has already passed us by, but it has been filled with lots of love and good times! We stayed at the JW Marriott in Orlando for the weekend and it was wonderful! We can't wait to go back again!

Our room was very modern and we loved the decor.

View from our balcony of the pool and lazy river...we lounged at the pool both Saturday and Sunday...so relaxing.

View from my lounge chair...paradise! If you ever visit this hotel, the chicken nachos by the pool for lunch are a must and plenty to share!

We ate dinner at The Oceanaire restaurant...a lovely meal...they even personalized our menu with "Happy Anniversary" across the top!

After dinner, we went to see Cirque Du Soeil's "La Nouba". Fantastic show, and I must say that the cheapest seats are the best in the house because you can see the performers coming out of the ceiling without craning your neck! Overall, it was a great anniversary getaway planned by yours truly...I wonder what Isaac has up his sleeve for next year...