Daddy's Girls

We took our time getting out of the house on Sunday. We cleaned out the kitchen, let the kids swim and leisurely got ready in time to be out of the house for 10:00.  Matt is usually a get up and go kind of guy but I don't think any of us were ready to leave.  We stopped at the souvenir store on the way out of town and even sat down for lunch at a Mexican restaurant a couple of hours in to the drive. We were home by 6:00 and I fully unpacked that night. I know that's crazy but yesterday was full of grocery shopping, driving stuff up to the deer camp and cleaning the house. (Plus a little extra excitement when Jackson had to be rescued from my car at the camp by breaking a window.) All in preparation for my upcoming surgery on Thursday.  I'm honestly pretty nervous. Not really about the surgery itself but about recovery. Katie is a Mama's girl and is going to want me all the time. And it's a major surgery that's going to be painful for a little while. I know I'

Last Friday Yaya and Cap'n kept all 6 grandkids so that the 6 "big kids" could have a date night. We started with martinis, wine and delicious food at Cotton's. Then after we dropped off Josh and Hailey (Lane is still little and likes Mama for feedings ;) the rest of us did a little more partying right down the road from our house at Flora Bama.   Nothing too crazy, we were still back at our house by 10:30, but we hung out on the beach till almost midnight. Such a fun night! I love our family! 

Yaya got all of the kids matching outfits for our annual beach pictures and they are absolutely precious.  We decided to try it in the morning this year because we thought the kids might be more cooperative. I still haven't decided if we were right but we did get some cute group ones.  And the ones of just our girls are perfect. They look like little angels in this one But this one captured them perfectly.  Lilli doing what is asked and Katie doing her own thing. ;)  Later Yaya! That's enough pictures for today! 

Poor Matt twisted his knee the week before we left for the beach so he wasn't up to doing as much fishing as he usually does. But by Thursday he was feeling a little bit better and made up for it. He started out the morning by taking Austin and Katie down to the beach and they caught a sting ray And then that evening the whole family went back down to watch and they ended up catching 2 lady fish.  Once it was dark enough, half of us stayed down to catch sand crabs. Chad was great at finding them and Lilli caught a couple.  Austin and Katie thought they were super cool and wanted to show the other cousins but they escaped before we got back to the house. I remember searching for crabs as a kid and it's so cool to be making these memories with our kids. 

Other than the one night we went to dinner, we didn't leave the house from the time we pulled in Monday night until we were pulling out this morning. We had everything we needed and all we were interested in was hanging out on the beach or by the pool anyway. The kids played in the ocean, surf and sand and the pool for 6 days straight. And we watched them with drink in hand :) Exactly what I want to do on my vacation! 

We are on our way home from the most amazing week in Orange Beach with the family. Cap'n and Yaya rented a beautiful house for a week that couldn't have been more amazing. 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, with 4 master suites with balconies overlooking the Gulf. A huge open kitchen and living area with a private pool.  We truly didn't want for anything. That's not all we have to thank them for. Each morning Cap'n got up and took the 4 bigger kids to the beach. They loved their one on one time with him and the Mama's had a chance to get ready Yaya had more food than we knew what to do with and was constantly playing with the kids or offering to sit at the house during nap time so we could have kid free beach time. They also kept them for a night so the 6 "big kids" could go to dinner and Flora Bama. But more on that later... :)  Thank you so much Yaya and Cap'n! For all you do for us, for loving our babies so much and for being such great role models for ho

Not only was Thursday Lilli's last school day, it was also her last gymnastics class for the year. She has really found something she loves so I signed her up for 5 classes for the summer. She got the All Around Award. She's been trying so hard and I'm glad she's found something she wants to stick with.  Katie is going to the summer classes too too but she's going to start ballet in the fall. She's been asking for awhile and I hope she loves it as much as Lilli loves gymnastics.  Katie's teacher gave me a sweet gift on her last day Friday. She did an interview with each of the kids and Katie's answers were cute to read.  We kicked off summer on Friday evening with a couple of hours at the park with Sophie followed by a pizza party.   And even though it's summer, the learning doesn't stop. Lilli hit a milestone yesterday when she learned to tie her shoes. I taught her in about an hour and she was pretty proud of herself.  We leave for the beach to

For Lilli at least. Tomorrow is First Friends last day and also the last day Hallie and Sadie will be at our house. Apollo is technically still in school but her teacher told me they would not be doing any school work and the absence wouldn't count. So instead, she is going to come with me to be my teaching assistant. Something she's wanted to do since I started working at First Friends.  Lilli had a good time at field day. She said her favorite part was tug a war because her class beat all of the others. I didn't get any pictures of the relays or races because I only went the last 30 minutes. Her teacher said she had fun running around and playing until snack time. It had started a few minutes before I got there and she was crying because no one from her family was there to sit with her. I love her teacher though because she sat with her until I got there. She was very happy to see us!  And although I hated to miss today, I couldn't brave being there longer with these

Matt, Shanon and Josh are getting some "guy time" with a camping trip at the farm this weekend When Hailey and I realized we were both flying solo, we made plans to get together Friday for dinner and to let the kids play in her backyard. Then today, our house was showing so we went over again for the afternoon/evening so that we were out of the house and to hang out again. I know the kids love each other but they've (especially Katie and Case) have always butt heads. They could not have been sweeter all weekend.  I hope it continues next week on our trip!! 

We are winding down this year and decided to have some fun and meet Hailey, Case and Lane at the park.  None of them were that in to the water (they said it's still too cold) but my little monkey loved swinging all over the equipment and playing on the slides with her cousin and Hallie and Sadie  And then after gymnastics, Daddy surprised them by bringing home a box turtle that Yaya found in her flowerbeds. She knew they would love him so she made him a little home in a box so Matt could get him here.  They had fun watching him and he even ate some plums from a tree in our yard but he will be going back to Vivian tomorrow. Lilli says its "not right to take him out of his natural habitat." She's  right of course (and her aunt Hailey definitely agrees) but it was fun to play with him this evening. She's such a sweetie.