While the beds would be made each day & there may have been a “continental breakfast,” we opted to rent a home.  And we are thrilled that we did.  As you can see below, the home is lovely, with amenities the entire family can love.  The decorating style isn’t necessarily my taste, however, my kids loved the pool out back, the playground, & the large living area.  For this home, you can expect to pay between $2500-$2900 for a week.  It is about 2,000 sq ft, right in a fabulous neighborhood close to everything… beach, stores, cute restaurants, a library… ALL within 10 minutes.  We highly recommend this option for families with kids rather than the hotel.  This home in particular was fabulous for the relaxation time I needed!  The below are NOT my photos, and you can contact the owner for your own vacation by clicking HERE.  (Oh, & you can skip Legoland… at $72/person, it was a total rip off.  It may have been nice at one point, but it isn’t worth the money.)

And of course my babies having a great time in/around Newport & the home.

The winner, is at the bottom of this post

Meet Liesel: She was my daughter’s ballet teacher for two years, & she is an amazing woman.  She’s a fabulous Mother, wife to a busy Attorney, DANCER, an active Democrat, active in the LDS community, & she is passionate about her work with Hands & Voices. Two of her three beautiful girls, are deaf.  While getting to know Liesel in a quick facebook message session, I decided to scrap the Mormon thing.  Her work for hearing loss & her own circumstances, are so interesting & admirable, I decided to focus on that instead (& include some photos of her with the girls… dancing).  She does have a lot of faith in her church/religion, which she says has carried her through, but she was woven with some pretty great fabric as it is, in my opinion. Read further below about what caused the hearing loss of her two girls & further about her work.

When Liesel was pregnant, she had a disease called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)  that lasts the entire duration of pregnancy. HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease with severe nausea and vomiting. “I had felt like I had food poisoning, a migraine and mononucleosis all at once for the past eight months and was more than ready to return to normal life.”

When the nurse told Liesel that her baby’s hearing test came back as “referring,” she went home & found an Audiologist.  It was confirmed that her baby girl was experiencing hearing loss.

Three & a half years later, they had another daughter.  She had no hearing problems.

Another three & a half years later, another girl came… & this time, the hearing was an issue again.  The journey with Liesel’s family is going to be lifelong.  They speak fluent American Sign Language, & are a force to be reckoned with.  I am so inspired by Liesel, & by the work that her family does for this cause.  Hands & Voices is a parent-driven, non-profit that helps family find resources & information they need to improve communication & educational outcomes for their deaf children.  Liesel works tirelessly for this cause, & for her children.

To read more about Liesel, hearing loss, & Hands & Voices… click HERE.

And the winner is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   TIM WELTY! “Romney got to spend his two years in Paris. I’m stuck in Westminster with this dolt…”  Starbucks is on the way, Tim!