End of Summer Mini-vacation

We spent a couple of days over at Sunrise Ridge the first week of August as an end of summer mini-vacation. We enjoyed swimming, hiking and pancakes!!! It doesn't get any better than that. The weather was hot and sunny so we spent lots of time in the pool.  On our last day, we went up to the Pancake Pantry and had a delicious breakfast before heading up to hike on the Laurel Falls trail.  This was the girls first time to actually walk the whole trail....2.5 miles round trip!  They were real troupers!!

We all got our toes painted before the trip...Allison, Mommy, Lauren

Sweet picture of Lauren swimming...love that smile

Lauren's pancakes....Bears in the snow..

Allison's Bears in the snow

Silly Sisters at the fountain

Sweet sisters at the fountain

Daddy and his favorite little girls

Granny and Pawpaw and their girls

And we're off and hiking...Lauren, Allison and Mommy

Can you see the snake?

Lauren taking a rest

We made it to the falls....the girls are getting their shoes off to get in the water

Aaahhh...the water felt great!

Lauren and Allison at Laurel Falls

Lauren and Allison climbing on the rocks

More rock climbing



Sweet little Allison



Rainy, Summer Days

The weather forecast for today was supposed to be the hottest day of the week, with the temperature topping out at 97 degrees with only a 30% chance of showers.  I had planned to take the girls swimming after working out at the gym.  After a really gray morning waiting around for the clouds to lift, I decided to go on to the gym and not plan to swim.  I told the girls we could go to the Y if it cleared up in the afternoon.

It did not clear up, instead rained quite steadily for a large part of the day.  The girls enjoyed putting their raincoats on and splashing in the rain for a while.

Lauren and Allison playing in the rain












 After lunch, realizing the weather was not going to improve for swimming, the girls played together so sweetly.  They built a camping site with blankets, pillows, and their stuffed animals upstairs by the banister.  They enjoyed "camping" for quite a while. 

I decided to go ahead and start my house cleaning that I usually do on the weekend since our swimming plans changed.  The girls played so well together and cleaned up all their messes,  I decided to reward them with a night of camping (I called it a slumber party) in the Bonus Room tonight.  They were super excited to get to sleep together.  

Lauren declared she was going to put Allison to bed by reading her bedtime story and Bible story to her.  Here she is reading Sleeping Beauty to Allison.

Lauren reading to Allison before the slumber party

Lauren posing while reading

Allison peeking at the camera

We gave the girls until 9:00 to talk and giggle before they had to go to sleep.  At
9:00 I went in to settle them down.  Lying between them on the floor I was able to get them to go on to sleep in just a few minutes.  Hopefully they'll sleep through the night and not wake each other up too early in the morning.



I took this picture of them after they went to sleep.

                            

Home Again

My little girls enjoyed their first weekend alone with their Granny and Pawpaw, and now they are back home sleeping in their beds!!  Bill and I enjoyed our time together being carefree for a few days, but we are so glad to have our babies back at home. 
I love going in to give them one last kiss before I go to bed.  Good night sweet girls.  I love having you home!! 

A Very Quiet House

Well, my girls have finally reached the age where they wanted to go to stay with their Granny and Pawpaw by themselves.  My parents have been waiting for this day for a while, but whenever I would ask the girls if they wanted to go stay with my parents, they were not ready to go unless Bill and I went.  But this spring they both decided  they wanted to go stay with Granny and Pawpaw by themselves this summer.  Lauren, the little planner, worked out a schedule on her own.  She decided they would go on a Thursday and spend Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and then come back home on Monday.  Well her schedule was changed slightly because of a doctor's appointment for Pawpaw.  When I told Lauren they would have to go up on Friday instead of Thursday, she said without missing a beat, "Well, we're staying until Tuesday!"  That sweet girl, when she gets something in her head, it's very difficult to change her mind.

This is the first time both of our girls have been away from us!  Lauren stayed with my Mom while Bill had back surgery and was in the hospital for 5 nights.  Then she stayed with Mom again when I had Allison.  But Allison has never been away from us.  I had never spent the night away from her until the Laurel Ladies retreat this past March.  Bill was home with the girls then, so they haven't been without one of us.

They were very excited, but Allison was a little quiet as she was about to leave with Granny and Pawpaw.  When I talked to the girls just a few minutes ago, they both sounded great!  I know they are going to have a great time.  I will, too!  It's just a big milestone and I can't help but be a little sad with the quietness of the house tonight!

Bill and I enjoyed an afternoon out running around. We ordered pizza for dinner and ate it in the living room while watching a movie!!!  We haven't done that in years.  I'm sure I'll find plenty to keep myself occupied.  I just have to remember to slow down and realize I don't have to rush here or there to get back to the girls!  I do miss them though.

Picking Blueberries

 The girls and I went to the Fruit and Berry Farm in Halls today to pick fresh blueberries. It was a fun experience. I was afraid the girls would pick any berry they saw, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they were very selective in which berries they actually picked. Lauren had eaten some really good blueberries and my parent's house this past weekend, so she was eager to pick her own. She also realized from eating them this past weekend, that the fatter the berry was, the sweeter it was. So she really searched for the biggest, fattest berries she could find.




Lauren picking blueberries

                              

Allison picking blueberries

Lauren and Allison picking blueberries

Sweet sisters

Fortunately we did not see any snakes out in the berry patch.  The lady at the store told us to go inside the middle of the bushes to find the best berries.  We encountered lots of June bugs and several bees, but no snakes.

This wonderful farm is only about 3 miles from our house and I'm so excited to find such a neat place.  I can foresee many trips there for some delicious fresh fruit.

Here is the fruit of our labor today.  I'm off to make some homemade blueberry muffins!

Through the Eyes of a Child

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.

Vacation at Hilton Head

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.       



Allison at the pool

Allison at the beach

Allison and Lauren on the balcony

Allison and Lauren before church on Sunday morning

Allison and Lauren eating ice-cream from McDonald's

Allison with her ice-cream

Lauren and Allison at the pool

Lauren with her ice-cream

Lauren with her ice-cream

Allison in the ocean

Lauren getting a body scrub

Daddy, Allison, Mommy and Lauren's toes at the beach

Daddy tossing Allison up at the pool

Daddy throwing Lauren up

The alligator we saw in the pond at a golf course

Allison and Lauren on the balcony again

Allison and Lauren playing in the hole they dug

Lauren and Allison on the beach our last night

Lauren and Allison on the beach the last night

Family picture on the beach the last night