Crescent Beach

We just got back from our annual summer trip to Crescent Beach! The weather was perfect and there were literally no clouds in the sky the whole week! I won't bore you with the details of every day, our schedule went something like this: at the beach by 9, then the pool, up for lunch at 12:30, nap, back down to the pool, dinner around 6, back to the pool or beach, bed. The girls were completely exhausted each night and slept pretty good. It was hard having both girls in the same room with us, and next year we'll probably put Mady in her own room. Normally when we go the girls get their own room, but since we had another family with us, for a total of 8 people, we were crammed together! This was KK's first real trip to the beach. We took her to NSB for Labor Day weekend when she was about 5 weeks old, but that didn't really count. This time she actually put a swimsuit on and went down to the beach and into the water. By Thursday we had, had enough of the sun and decided to head home after dinner. We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant, Creekside Dinery, and then came back to the condo, put the girls in their pajamas and hit the road. We were home by 9:30 pm. Since the condo is going through major renovations right now, we probably won't be back up until September. The good thing about Florida weather is you can go to the beach almost year-round. We're hoping to fit in one more trip to Crescent Beach in the fall! Until then, we'll have to settle with going to NSB for a week in August and some day trips in between!

This is KK's first real time in the ocean. She loved it and was not scared one bit!

The kids riding on Jacob in the pool. That's Mady's friend Bryce.

KK hanging out underneath the tent. She was really good about staying in the shade and playing with her toys.

Mady and Bryce hanging by the pool. If you look at the fence behind them you can see where the umbrellas blew into the fence and knocked it down. I guess a big storm came through over the weekend and the umbrellas were left open.

KK loved hanging in her float. This child LOVES the water!

Just like Mommy getting some sun!

Mady in the hot tub. She loves it!

All the construction at the condo. They're putting in new windows and balconies. We'll be glad when they're done, the place was a wreck!

Since we were in Gator country, we had to proudly display our Gator towel on the beach! (This is for you, Renee)

KK couldn't wait to go in the water now that she had her swimsuit on!

Mady posing at the pool. I do not know where she comes up with this stuff, seriously.

KK, Daddy, and Mady in the pool!

We had such a wonderful time. I won't lie and tell you it was easy, though! With Kaitlyn it was definitely a challenge and 3 nights was probably the most we could handle! We are looking forward to our trip to NSB in August, Kaitlyn will be a year old by then and off of bottles, etc... Jacob and I are so looking forward to our cruise to the Bahamas the week after next. It will be so nice to go to the pool and beach and not have to pack a million things. We will miss the girls terribly, but can't wait!

The Big Recital

Today was Mady's big recital! The show started at 1pm and Mady had to check in at noon. I left her backstage and met up with Jacob, my mom, Jacob's mom, Renee, and Emily. Mady's group was #6 so we didn't have to wait long once the recital started. We were in the second row right in front of Mady. Mady's group came on stage and did their 45 second dance to When You Wish Upon a Star. It was really cute and Mady seemed to keep up with the routine as best as she could. Once they were finished we had to wait until intermission to see her. After a few more acts, it was finally time to find her. I got her from backstage and everyone greeted her with flowers! We had lunch at our house afterwards and now she is in bed taking a nap! These pictures are mostly from the practice on Friday, but it's all the same. I had a really cute picture of Mady that I took on Friday, but I accidentally deleted it just now when I was going through my photos. Maybe I'll try to recreate it once she wakes up!

My little girl up on stage!

Look at all those flowers!

Her friend Emily came to watch.

Mommy and Mady!

Mady with her grandmas!

Saturday at Sea World

Today we headed over to Sea World and met up with our friends the Townsends and Pearsons. Jacob's mom watched KK for us so we could enjoy our day! The first thing we did was see the penguins and sea lions. After that we went to the Elmo and Abbey show. While we were at the show, Jacob and Jeff went over to ride Manta, the new rollercoaster.

Waiting for the Elmo show to start.

After the show Jacob, Jeff, and I rode Manta and it was unbelievable. I've never been on a rollercoaster where you look down at everything. We said goodbye to the Townsends and the rest of us ate lunch. After lunch we headed over to Shamu's Happy Harbor. Originally the plan was to visit the splashground, but the water wasn't running.

Mady and Emily on the carousel.

We ran into these guys in Shamu's Happy Harbor!

After riding the carousel we saw the beluga whales and walruses. Up next was the dolphin show. The last time we took Mady to the dolphin show she wasn't even a year old. This time she totally loved it because not only did they have dolphins, but they also had high divers, acrobats, and birds.

Totally into the dolphin show!

Once the show was over we dashed over to the Seaport Theater to see the Pets Ahoy! show. They've changed the show since the last time we saw it and it wasn't as good. Mady still enjoyed seeing all the different animals. By this time we were all pretty hot and sweaty. It was unbelievably hot and summer has definitely arrived in Florida. Mady and Emily really wanted a Shamu bar so we stopped in and got them one. Unfortunately, it was so hot outside that they melted before they could finish them!

Right before they turned into a melted mess!

We all loaded up in our cars and headed back home. We picked KK up around 7:15 and she was so excited to see us! She even said "mama" when she saw me! Tomorrow is Mady's big recital! Grandma and Gma are coming to watch Mady, as well as, Renee and Emily. Hopefully she'll pay attention and do all her ballet moves! Monday we are headed up to Crescent Beach where the Townsends will be waiting for us! I think we're going to have awesome weather, although it will be very hot! We'll be back on Friday so look for an update with all our pictures!

And, a final note... as you all know KK has been so sick with RSV and wheezing since Thankgsiving. She started breathing treatments two weeks ago, but the wheezing and coughing are not going away. Jacob took her back to the doctor on Friday and he prescribed another round of breathing treatments, as well as an antibiotic and oral steroid. Hopefully she'll recover from this and we won't have to deal with it anymore this summer!

You would never know she was sick by looking at her! She is so, super sweet!

Pool Party

On Sunday our friends, The Pearsons, had a pool party. Jacob stayed home with KK since it was in the middle of her nap, and Mady and I headed over right after church. Mady's never been over to her friend Emily's house, so she was super excited to swim in her pool and play with her toys. I thought Mady would swim more than she did because she's taking swim lessons, however, she mostly stayed on the steps and jumped in only once. If Jacob had been there she would've been jumping in over and over with him. After lunch Mady enjoyed playing with all of Emily's toys. Hopefully we'll get invited back soon! Emily only lives a couple of doors down from my mom and they go to Mimi's together so we see them often!

Sarah, Emily, and Mady hanging by the pool.

Mady in the hottub.

Biker Chick!

Mady has gotten into riding her bike lately. She's had it for a while now, but was never interested in riding anywhere. We took her to her friend Bryce's house once, and she left the bike in the cul-de-sac. We put the bike away for a few months and then brought it back out once winter was over. She has taken off like a maniac! It used to be that she'd ride about a third of the way around our neighborhood and then get off and start walking. It was such a pain because one of us would have to push the bike home! Finally, it just clicked and now we have to yell at her to wait up! Hopefully soon all of us will be able to head out on the trail and go on a real bike ride! Here are a few pictures of Mady biking around the neighborhood. Usually Jacob and I walk behind her because she's not that fast. We took a break at our neighbor's house and Mady held one of their new baby chicks!

Here she comes!

This is how KK rolls...

Biker + Chick = Biker Chick!

My Summer Reading

Since I'm almost finished with the Twilight series, I've been thinking about reading the Harry Potter series. Two of my friends are fans and with the movie coming out in July, I've decided to set a goal and read the entire series by the time the movie comes out. I've already read books 1 and 2 when I took Ad Lit, so I'm really familiar with them and actually enjoyed them back then. So, we'll see how far I get on my quest. I'll be sure to post often on my progress.

Swimming Lessons

Today Mady started her swimming lessons at Double R. She will go every day for the next two weeks for one hour. She won't go on Thursdays because she has ballet class and you know, the big recital is coming up and she needs all the practice she can get. I let her pick out the bathing suit she was going to wear today last night before going to bed in the hopes that it would get her excited.

Well, I picked her up early from Mimi's house and by the time I got on the road she was whining. By the time I got out of her neighborhood she was full on crying, and by the time I got to the school she was kicking my chair and yelling. In the beginning I tried talking to her calmly telling her what a great job she did last summer when she was two, and now that she was three she was going to do great. Well, that didn't work so I just walked her right up and handed her over to her teacher. She was wailing and screaming, but within a few minutes she was sitting on her towel and I couldn't hear her crying anymore.

I sat off to the side where she couldn't see me and she did great! She listened and did as she was told. At the end she got a pink lollipop and was ready to go home. I reminded her that she was going back tomorrow and she didn't seemed phased. I'm guessing it's going to take a few days before she feels totally comfortable and isn't spasing. From what I saw today she is going to be swimming all over the pool when we go up to the condo in two weeks. She was kicking and moving her arms so well! I can't wait for Jacob to come up one day and watch her!

Here are a few pictures of my little swimmer. I didn't want her to see me so I took them from far away!

Waiting patiently for her turn. She saw me taking her picture!

Holding on and kicking hard!

More kicking!