Swimming Lessons, Sleepover, and Summer Fun!

The few weeks and weekends that we were home were filled with fun activities for the girls and family. After we returned from Crescent Beach in June, Mady started her intense swim lessons at Double R. She's been going to these lessons since she was two, so this was her third summer. This year everything clicked and I'm proud to say that Mady is now diving into the deep end and swimming all the way to the shallow end, taking breaths. She also learned the backstroke and the back float. I am so proud of her and it's a different experience at the pool now having a real swimmer! KK just missed the cut-off because she wasn't 2, but we've been practicing with her the same skills and techniques they teach in the classes and she's going to be a swimmer by next summer!

This summer we decided to have Emily spend the night for the girls' first sleepover. They had a great time playing, eating dinner, taking a bath, watching a movie and then going to bed. They lasted in Mady's room for about an hour before they decided they wanted to join Jacob and I. Needless to say, the four of us ended up in my bed, but there weren't any tears and the girls had fun! A few weeks later Mady asked to sleep over at Emily's house and did fantastic. She stayed in bed the whole night, never whined, and even went to storytime the next morning at the library!

This summer we also did some fun activities around town. We visited Monkey Joes, did arts and crafts on the porch, visited the Aquatic Center, went to storytime, played at a birthday party at GMA, went to the splashpad at Trotwood and just enjoyed Florida in the summer!

Last Family Getaway!

We always end our summer with a trip to the beach and this summer was no different! Jacob's parents have a timeshare in Daytona so we get awesome rates! We left on Monday and came home on Thursday. They have 2 big pools and a kiddie pool with a slide. The girls loved going down the kiddie slide on tubes and making big splashes. We had great weather and the girls loved staying in the condo and being at the beach. We were sad that it was our last official getaway for the summer, but we are ready to be back home and on a routine and schedule, at least until Labor Day weekend!

Big Girls Weekend Away!

Since Mady is leaving Mimi's at the end of the summer (sob!) to start Pre-K at my school and she'll be separated from her best friend Emily, we decided to have a big girls weekend at Ron Jon Caribe Resort in Port Canaveral to celebrate the upcoming changes. The girls were so excited that it was girls-only and Mady was excited that KK wasn't invited because "she's not going to school yet". We checked in early on Friday and took the girls to all the different pools. There was a big pool, a kiddie splash area/pool with all kinds of shooting and dumping water toys, a lazy river, and a big slide for the adults.

We hung around the pool until it was time to walk down to the beach and see the ships sail away from Port Canaveral. We saw the Monarch of the Seas leave, which happens to be the same ship we sailed a year ago. After hanging at the beach and watching the ship sail off into the horizon, we went back to the pools and then to room to get ready for dinner.

This resort is so awesome in that each room comes with a mini kitchen and also has a restaurant/grill on site. We had dinner outside and the girls loved listening to the music and just being big girls. This night the pool was closed for cleaning, so we took them to the indoor playground that was AMAZING! The girls could have played in the indoor playground for hours. Unfortunately for them it closed at 9 and they got kicked out. We promised to take them back the next night after dinner.

The next day we started our day out at the beach. We've never been to this beach before and it was really nice and peaceful. The girls enjoyed playing in the water and sand, and we just enjoyed laying out letting our two girls play together. We headed back to the pool for a few hours, making sure to try out the big slide and lazy river! The girls had a late nap, we then went to dinner, played in the indoor playground, and went night swimming!

The next morning we stayed at the pools, had lunch, and then left around nap time in the hopes that the girls would fall asleep during the drive! We had a great girls-only weekend and hope to be able to keep up the tradition and invite more girls along next time.

Safari of Fun!

Since we have passes to Busch Gardens when we took Mady for spring break, we decided to get away for a weekend and take Kaitlyn with us to the Safari of Fun. We knew she was going to love seeing all the Sesame Street characters, but we did not expect her to fall in love with Elmo. I think all kids love Elmo, I remember when Mady was KK's age and loved Elmo! Our first day in Tampa we decided to hang by the pool and just rest. The hotel was awesome and had a pirate pool as well as a big pool. Since the hotel lost our reservation when we checked in, they upgraded us to a first floor, pool-side room. Cha-ching! The girls loved going right out our door and to the pool.

The next morning we woke up early and got to the park around opening. Our goals for the day were to 1.) Conquer Safari of Fun and 2.) Stay only in the morning and leave as soon as it got too hot. We accomplished both goals and the girls loved Safari of Fun. We rode all the Sesame Street-themed rides and saw the show. By the time we were finished it was lunch time and we were ready to head out. We stopped for lunch and then headed back to the hotel for swimming and naps. After naps we went out to dinner and then headed back to the hotel for night swimming- my girls' favorite!

The next day we headed back to Busch Gardens and decided to see the animals and ride the older kiddie rides in Timbuktu. The girls loved seeing all the animals, especially the lions who were actually up and walking around. We did the walk through Africa, saw the hippos, elephants, giraffes, etc... We decided we had enough of the heat and had seen everything we needed and headed out for lunch and home.

The girls had a blast on this mini-getaway. We realized that KK LOVES Elmo and changed her 2nd birthday to an Elmo theme. We plan on going back this fall when the weather is a bit cooler and the crowds are so crazy.

Crescent Beach 2010

Each summer we celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer break with a week-long trip to Crescent Beach. This year we left on Thursday, June 10 and stayed until the following Thursday. We had the Pearson family join us from Thursday to Sunday, and then it was just our family from Sunday to Thursday. It was absolute perfect weather and there was no rain in sight. The girls loved playing at the beach in the mornings and then going to the pool. We ate at our 2 favorite restauarants and just enjoyed being at the beach. It was nice having the Pearsons with us for those couple of days because the three girls played so well together and we didn't have to keep them constantly entertained! Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the week. Our girls turned into total beach bums this summer and have the cutest little tans to show off!

Personalized Minnie Mouse towels we got for each of the girls, plue TS3 water toys!

One of our favorite restaurants is South Beach Grille. They are located right on the beach and have a play area for the kids.

Our other favorite restaurant is Creekside Dinery. Here are Jacob and Stephen shucking oysters using the Ov Glove!

Random beach pictures throughout the week. The girls had so much fun together!

To Infinity and Beyond!!!

We have completed our tour of Toy Story characters. We've met Lotsa-Huggin, Woody, Jessie, and now Buzz Lightyear. At first Mady was a little aprehensive about meeting him, but once I told her she could show him her light-up toy, and after a 20 minute wait to see him, she was onboard!

Excited to see Buzz Lightyear and show him our matching light-up toys!

After meeting Buzz Lightyear we met up with our friends, The Maddox Family, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. We were able to ride the tea cups, the carousel, and It's A Small World. We had dinner and then it was time to stake out our spot for the parade. Since it was Wednesday there was only one Main Street Electrical Parade, so we knew we were going to have to set-up early. We managed to find a good spot on Main Street and set out our blanket and let the girls play with their light-up toys while we waited for the parade to begin!

There's never a line for the carousel!

Once again the parade was awesome and the girls had a great viewing area. We didn't even have to pick them up to see, they just stood on the blanket and saw everything. They even got special waves and kisses from Tinkerbell, Alice, Minnie, Cinderella, and Snow White.

It was almost impossible to get a picture of all three girls looking at the camera. Here they are with their light-up toys since the parade is in the dark!

We told them to look down Main Street and tell us when the parade was coming. It was much easier getting a picture this way, and they are so cute!

I see lots of fun times together this summer with these three girls. They were so well-behaved and all got along so well together. Now that summer is officially here we can start planning our playdates!