so close your eyes, escape this town for a little while

I've been looking forward to today for quite some time. Not only did Ethan and I have an awesome playdate at the park this morning, but today was the day he got to meet his Aunt Ashley and Uncle Josh. No, neither my husband nor I have secret siblings we've been hiding out from the world! Josh and Ashley are simply a couple of our best friends who happen to (unfortunately) live four hours away from us. I met them in college when all three of us worked at a Barnes & Noble and (because I totally like to brag) I'm responsible for setting them up with one another. They were both in our wedding party and all-around awesome enough to earn the "aunt" and "uncle" titles that I'm usually pretty stingy about handing out, so that speaks volumes for their levels of awesomeness. Take my word for it. Or take Ethan's, as he was full of sleep-deprived giggles when meeting his new aunt and uncle!

The three of us took Ethan to the Sandoway House Nature Center to watch the fish and sharks swim around and then went back up to their hotel room for a bit to escape this horrible Florida heat (that seemingly never ends). Josh had gotten Ashley a massage at the hotel spa and after loitering around just a bit longer after she left, Ethan and I excitedly and nervously headed home to sit by our phone and wait.

Why?


...Because that's most definitely a ring box that Josh is hiding under the bed!

Ethan and I nosily took a peek at the gorgeous ring (okay, Ethan slept. We all know I'm the nosy one!) and then made our journey home, singing extra loud to the last verse in Taylor Swift's Love Story! (Don't look at me like that. I swear, my son refuses to even be in a car if Taylor Swift isn't playing. He has his favorite artists already, I suppose.) It was a wonderful day even despite getting stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home while Ethan screamed in protest the entire time...but we don't have to go there. We'll end it at "it was a wonderful day." It was.

(Oh, and to everyone wondering...she said yes!)