Early Mornings and Late Nights

The days of Summer are long but we have lots of fun! It becomes so hot in the middle of the day that we try to stay inside during the hottest part of the day unless we are in the water. Sometimes we eat breakfast and head straight out to the playground in our pjs in order to beat the heat. Usually by 10 o'clock the sun is out in full force and we head in for a snack. This past weekend we were at Grammy and Daddy Bob's while celebrating family Birthdays and we were up a little late. While at the dinner table Gracie started jumping up an down and pointing to the lightning bugs outside. She could hardly wait to get her shoes on to capture the little flying friends. I wish I would have gotten her reaction to them on camera because it was priceless. I love that the little things in life can bring such joy to kids. It was their first time catching lightning bugs and we stayed out for about an hour while they chased them around Grammy's front yard. I was glad that we ended up staying up late since it turned into such a fun night.

 

 

Vacation Bible School

 

Gracie and Bailey attended their very first week of Vacation Bible School last week. The VBS was held at Cumming Baptist Church. I really do not think that they had any clue what to expect and they were great sports in "jumping right in and having fun." I have to admit that I felt a little sad about dropping them off at a church where we had never been before with people who we did not know but the fact that I knew they would have each other seemed to help make everything ok. They came home after the first day and loved it. Each day they became more excited to attend. One friend from school was in their class and they also had a friend from their gymnastics class so they ended up having lots of little familiar friends. The theme of the week was a roller coaster theme and it was all about "Facing Fear, and Trusting God." The last day the VBS did a little program for all the parents and then they celebrated with bouncy houses  and yummy treats including ice cream sundaes and snow cones. I am so glad that my little ones loved their week at Vacation Bible School and look forward to them attending each year. 

 

Two Little Fishies

While in Panama City Bailey woke up one morning and said "I am going to learn to swim today with no floaties." We were excited at the fact that he was eager to learn and that he was going to be brave but I have to be honest in that I really did not think that he would learn to fully swim in one day. After spending some time on the beach he wanted to go up to the pool and his Aunt Paula worked with him on swimming for a little bit. While Bailey had his swimmies off Preston also worked on teaching him to hold his breath under the water and such. In less then an hour Preston was yelling at me to come and watch and Bailey was swimming all the way from one side of the pool to the next. He was SO proud of himself and he was actually doing it. He wanted to do it over and over again showing everyone who was surrounding the pool. I was a little worried because he looked so tired but he kept insisting on swimming more and more. The next day we headed to the pool and when we went to go put on his swimmies he said "no swimmies Mom I know how to swim now." He became one confident little fellow and  he proved to us that he can do just about anything he sets his mind to. By the end of the trip he was not only swimming in the pool with no floaties but he would also swim in the ocean which is pretty hard with how choppy the waves were. I was very proud of my little buddy for being so brave and conquering a huge achievement.

Gracie wanted nothing to do with swimming without her floaties while we were in Panama City. I think she was honestly quite astounded that her brother learned to swim so quickly as usually she is "the leader of the pack." Everything has to be in Gracie's own time which is her classic personality so it did not surprise me that she was choosing to not follow in her twin's footsteps. When we got home I took them swimming at her Aunt Nicole's neighborhood pool and she still wasn't budging on the taking off the swimmies movement. The next day we went to my friend Katie's pool and Gracie decided that she would take off her swimmies while on the step and we went through several steps of putting her face under the water, allowing me to pull her under the water, kicking her feet, moving her arms and etc but it was all while I was still holding on to one of her hands. I thought that was pretty good for one day and then two days later we went to the pool with her Grammy and Daddy Bob and she decided that she would learn to swim while the camera was rolling which is very much "Gracie style" and she did it!

I am very proud that I now have two little fishies although it now makes for one very busy momma as I am constantly watching them like a hawk! It is so much fun watching two little ones who are so much alike and also so very different having their own unique personalities.

Family Beach Picture Day

All I ask each year is to get a couple good family pictures on the beach and this seems pretty simple but with 2 almost 4 year olds...nothing is ever simple. Thank goodness we had their big cousins with us to make silly faces behind the camera. I wish we had all the cousins still at the beach for picture day but my sister Mary Ellen had to head back one day early so that is why we only have two sets of the cousins for picture day. The daddy's always love this day and they moan and groan. I am so happy that at the end of the day we were able to snap a couple of great shots which made my heart happy!

The Pirate Ship

My Bailey is in LOVE with pirates and he has probably about 10 different swords at home. I think he brought 4 of them with him to the beach so he could have sword fights in the sand with is big cousins Michael and Andy which they did each and every day. Along with his swords Bailey also has the whole Pirate ensemble which includes and eye patch, pirate treasure bag, pirate hat, bandanna, compass, belt, name it and I am sure he has it! When I saw a brochure for a Pirate Ship day cruise I knew it would be perfect for my lil buddy. I called and I think I reserved 28 spots on the ship for our big crew. Bailey was SO excited he could hardly stand it and his face was adorable in the car on the way to the ship. We were very impressed as it was an amazing experience for all of us. The Pirates kept the kiddos busy for just about every second of the ride. They had sword fights, water gun fights, shot cannons, swabbed the deck, face painting, tattoos, pirate ghost stories, Limbo, dancing and many more fun activities for the kids to take part in. One of the big events while on the ship was when all the kids spotted the treasure chest in the ocean and they all helped to pull it in by tugging on one big rope. Once the treasure box was on deck they all were able to pick three surprises from it. Our sweet Gracie was the very first child to get chosen to pick out of the treasure box and that made her feel extra special. Bailey received lots of special attention due to the fact that he was dressed from head to toe in his Pirate attire. The ship also had snacks and adult drinks along with dolphin sightings which all the parents enjoyed. It was a blast watching my sweet Bailey have his one of his dreams come true as rode on this real Pirate Ship. All little boys should get to be a pirate for at least a day!

Panama City Family Vacation 2013

The twins absolutely adore their older cousins so they were very excited to be told that we were going to be on vacation with them for a week at the beach. We met my family at Panama City and we all stay in condos that were right next to each other in the Gulf Gate Condominiums. My sister Paula, has a friend who rents them to our family and we love that we can get three that are right next to each other and that are also right on the beach. Another perk of the place is that it has a pool that is half covered by open patio which gives great shade for the little ones. We had a total of 8 adults and 8 kids from our family who met us for the trip and then my Dad's sister and her husband along with their daughter and her family also all came and stayed in the place. They added another 4 adults and 2 kids so we had a big bunch on the beach! The twins were in heaven all week playing in the sun. On the first day Bailey was a little timid of the ocean as he has always been but then on the second day we discovered his cousins boat. Bailey hoped right in the boat and rode the waves all day and after that we couldn't get him out of the ocean for the rest of the trip. This was a HUGE step for my little buddy who is very cautious and scared of loud noises like crashing waves. It was great to see him have fun and enjoy the ocean. By the end of the trip he was even riding the paddle board with his big cousin Michael. We basically played on the beach and in the pool all day and then at night we enjoyed yummy seafood. The twins were always exhausted by about 6:30 and were ready to crash in their beds which made for great time for Preston and I to enjoy our ocean front balcony while eating yummy seafood takeout. We had a couple special days where we took excursions. One day all the men went deep sea fishing and they caught a ton of fish which my Uncle Bobby cooked up for a delicious fish lunch. Another day we went on a Pirate Ship ride which you will find out all about on the post for it. I have about a million pictures so I am going to spend the next couple posts trying to share the ones that I could pick from and I apologize in advance as it is hard to be picky when choosing pics of your cuties on the beach! These first group of pictures are just fun family pics of us enjoying our time in Panama City.

Passing Exams and Heading Out of Town!

I wanted to share with my readers how proud I am of my husband, Preston for passing his Brokers Exam on June 1st. He will now be able to submit his paperwork for his Brokers license and he will be on his way to being the owner of his new Real Estate company which he does on the side of is very full time job. He worked very hard to study and take the test just in time for us to leave on our one week vacation to Panama City. We literally headed out of town as soon as he got home from the test and we were excited to have a week to celebrate! The picture below is a professional one that he just had taken and we are planning on using it on the website for his new realty company.