Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Zoo Trip With Friends

With the beautiful weather we are having this week, I asked our friends April, Mackenzie and Josiah if they would like to go to the zoo with us. We had a picture-perfect day weather-wise and had lots of fun with our friends. April and I decided that it is so much easier taking our kids to the zoo together. The four little ones grabbed hands as soon as they saw each other at the zoo entrance and off they ran. April and I had a hard time keeping up with them pushing our big double strollers! While we didn't see a lot of animals today, the kids did enjoy lots of playing at Kids Cove, which is something Lauren and Allison haven't done much. (We usually get caught up seeing the animals and then we're too tired to enjoy the play area.) This was our first time in the water there, so it was a real treat. We loved spending the day with our good friends.


Lauren, Mackenzie, Allison & Josiah


Allison, Josiah & Lauren petting the camel

The Zoo has a new exhibit, the Wee Play Zoo. It's an interactive area that is enclosed (and air-conditioned :)) that lets the kids do all kinds of fun things. The girls enjoyed making pizzas in the Pizzooria Concession Stand.


Lauren & Allison making pizzas


Mackenzie and Lauren with their pizzas



Allison ready to cut her pizza

Say "Cheese", or should I say "Pepperoni"


Josiah and Allison splashing at Kids Cove


Mackenzie, Josiah, Lauren & Allison having fun in the water


Allison on the frog sprayer
We had so much fun with our friends today, we've planned a trip to Dollywood on Thursday. Can't wait for the fun there. That will be the girls first trip!! Lauren is beside herself with excitement!







Sunday, June 21, 2009

Daddy's Girls


Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful Daddy any two girls could have. I am so thankful for Bill and the terrific father he is to our two girls. We have had several days of celebration with Dad's. Thursday we celebrated Father's Day with Bill's family by going out to dinner. After dinner we all took the kids to the park to play. It was a beautiful evening.

My parents came down Saturday morning and we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then Mom, Dad and Uncle Bill took the girls for the day and let Bill and I enjoy some time together. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Bill. Then we grilled burgers for dinner and had some delicious home-grown tomatoes courtesy of Bill's Dad. There's nothing better than a grilled burger with fresh tomatoes!!! Then we made homemade ice cream!! Yummy!!

Today my parents went to church with us and afterwards we took the Dad's out to eat at Aubreys.

The girls got Daddy an ice cream maker, a shirt and a DVD. He really liked the ice cream maker!

I am so thankful for my Dad! I was always a Daddy's girl growing up and can fondly remember sitting on his lap when I was way too big to be sitting there. Today I enjoy watching Dad with my two girls and am again thankful for the wonderful man he is.

Happy Father's Day Bill and Dad! Love you both!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Hilton Head Beach Trip

Well the girls finally got to see the ocean for the first time. We have had two other trips planned that were cancelled, but this time we actually made it to the coast. My parents were so wonderful to get a really nice 3 bedroom place through their time share. We had lots of space for the girls to run around and play and the amenities were great. The drive to and from the beach went amazingly well considering the dvd player quit working after the first dvd the girls watched. Luckily we had plenty of things to keep them occupied. Well, they kept Lauren occupied. Allison has not enjoyed riding in a car seat from the first time she rode in it on the way home from the hospital. She screamed the whole way home, and cried just about every time she went anywhere for the longest time. She really did good as long as she could have a lollipop or gum.:)

The weather was great. They were calling for showers most of the week, but it only rained about an hour one morning and then a storm blew up while we were on the beach late one afternoon. We had to pack up quickly and hop on the bikes to get back to the room fast. It only sprinkled a few drops on our way back.

The girls absolutely loved the water. We took them to the beach after we arrived on Sunday evening. They were dressed in their shorts and got completely soaked. I remember that happening to my brother and I on our first trip to the beach. We got our clothes soaked the first time we went on to the beach. They loved the sand, the ocean, and the pool. We pretty much spent the mornings at the pool, came back for lunch and a nap for Allison, and then went to the beach in the afternoons. Allison didn't sleep during her nap time, but I think Lauren slept almost every afternoon. We think Allison had some allergy problems. The first 3 nights she woke up coughing and couldn't sleep unless we held her up. After calling the doctor and getting some medicine to give her, she slept better at night, but still didn't nap well. The lack of sleep caught up to her on Saturday afternoon as she was exhausted.

We rented bicycles for the week with a babyseat and also a covered cart to ride the girls in. They loved riding. We would ride the bikes to get ice cream in the evenings, and also ride the bikes to the beach.

I have always loved going to the beach, but this trip with the girls was by far the best trip ever. We all had a great time and are looking forward to going back again next year.


Lauren wanted to drive us to the beach

Their first steps on the beach

Getting their feet wet

Allison running in the water

Lauren running in the water

Lauren loves her Uncle Bill

The girls in Uncle Bill's running shoes


Enjoying an ice cream cone

Riding in the bike cart


The ominous storm that blew up while we were at the beach

Lauren and Allison on the balcony

The girls with Pawpaw on the balcony

Family picture on the balcony

Daddy and Allison getting covered up with sand
Lauren getting covered with sand

Playing on the beach

I love this picture

The girls with Uncle Bill's sand castle

Both girls loved tearing down sand castles

Taking time for a snack

Playing in the ocean with Uncle Bill and Pawpaw

Poor Uncle Bill's arms had to be tired from doing this over and over and over
I love their faces in this picture

Soaking up the view of the ocean


Playing in the sand
It was very difficult choosing pictures for this post because we really got a lot of good shots. I love digital cameras. If you made it to the end, you are a real trooper!