my2doodlebugs: June 2011

Last Thursday Lauren had an appointment to get her eyes checked with a friend of ours, Beth Spann. I had talked to Beth at a birthday party about how Lauren has always tilted her head while watching TV and even as she has started reading. Lauren has complained more and more about things looking blurry. Beth told me it sounded like an astigmatism. Well, she was right. Lauren has an astigmatism and needed glasses. Lauren has been totally ecstatic about getting her glasses. I have been so sad about the fact that she needs them. It's been hard for me to pretend to be so excited, when I know the newness of the glasses will wear off and then the drudgery will set in. But, for now we are making this into something spectacular.

I let her pick out the frames she wanted. The sweet lady at the dr.'s office was so patient and let Lauren try on lots and lots of different frames. I tried to persuade her on a few of my favorite frames, but she kept coming back to this one pair. So, in the end, I let her choose. She was so sweet. When I said she could have that pair, she smiled so big and said, "I can see so much better in these!" Sweet little angel, didn' know they were just clear lenses. I love that girl!

Here are a few pictures I got of her tonight as she was going to bed. We had a busy day and all the neighbor kids were out tonight, so the girls ended up playing outside until 8:45. That's late for us.

Lauren's new glasses.....what a sweet smile!!!

Reading her Bible with her new glasses

Another sweet smile.....she's just beaming!

Sisters getting ready for bed!

My babies look sooo big in these pictures. I'm teaching the baby class at church on Wednesday nights for the summer, and last night I was holding a sweet little boy and remembering the days of cuddling my little girls. They aren't so little now, but I love holding them just as much as when they were little.

Aaahhhhhhh, vacation!!!!! I love going to the beach and we have been blessed with many wonderful vacations. For the past three years we have enjoyed taking the girls to Hilton Head with my family. Hilton Head will always be special since it was the first beach our girls went to. They fell in love with beach life as well as life by the pool that first year we went. I'm so glad they love the beach, because it is one of my favorite places to vacation. (I'm also looking forward to taking the girls to New York one day!)

This year we had a few minor setbacks with our vacation. The drive down was challenging because we drove through storm after storm that slowed us down to a mere crawl at times. We did manage to avoid the speed traps and a speeding ticket (which I got while driving last year). Lauren ended up getting sick with a fever and nasty cold while we were there. She missed a whole day of going to the beach or pool because she had a fever. She did feel better after a day of rest, but she certainly wasn't her normal self they rest of the week. When we got home we had to visit a walk-in clinic where she was diagnosed with an ear infection, sinus infection and also had to have wax from her ear flushed out. It took her around 4 days on the antibiotic to get to feeling better.

The weather was perfect once we got to the beach. We stayed at the same resort we stayed at for the first trip. The accommodations there are wonderful with plenty of living space and a great pool area. This resort is about a mile from the beach, but we really enjoy riding our bikes to the beach. The first day we rode to the beach, we were getting ready to lock our bikes up at the bike rack and as I stepped off my bike, Bill (brother) said, "There's a snake!" I ran over it with my bike!!

Allison and I saw a sea turtle from a distance as we were walking on the beach one day. I could see something as we were walking but I couldn't tell what it was. As we got closer, it went back out into the ocean, but some people who were standing there told us it was a sea turtle! Lauren and I found a sand dollar that was still alive. We saw just one alligator in a pond by the golf course. We were disappointed to not see any dolphins this year.

I really enjoy getting to go to the beach with Mom, Dad and my brother. I am so glad they like to spend a week of their vacation with us. The girls get lots of attention and have lots of fun and I'm thankful for my parents for sharing their time share with us.

Despite not feeling well, Lauren did a great job swimming in the pool. She loved swimming under water. If we could just get her to stop holding her nose and use both arms to swim, she would be all over the pool. She loved jumping in and swimming to one of us. Allison did a great job putting her face in the water and swimming with her swimmies on. She was so cute to watch because she would stick her bottom up and kick those feet like crazy. Both girls loved playing in the ocean.