Ballet Recital

Kate is one very busy girl...school, soccer, art, kids church, ballet.

But, she loves it all and excels in each area too....very much a firstborn!!

Now all that hardwork in ballet can finally be seen!  It's recital time!!!

The girls had a dress rehearsal yesterday...I think they are ready!

Harper, Emma, & Kate enjoying an after practice treat.

With rehearsal behind us, it's time for the big show!

I think Gabe is pretty proud of his big sister!  He picked out a tie and attached it himself.

He thought Kate would like purple.  :)

Only "authorized" stage moms were allowed in the dressing room, but I snuck in to take a couple quick pictures!

It was NOT easy to take pictures in this auditorium, but the girls all looked so beautiful and did a great job!

We are so proud of our ballerina princess!!!

Kate, you make us proud in everything you do.  You are so talented, beautiful, and such a precious gift from God.  You are so full of life, you make life fun, always keep us on our toes, and bring laughter to our family every day.  Congratulations on an outstanding performance tonight!!

Our beautiful ballerina

And where was Grant this whole time?!?  He was at Grandma & PawPaw's house with his very first babysitter, McKenna!  My phone died while in the auditorium so I was a nervous wreck until we got home.  But, he was all smiles when we got there and she told us he did great!

Jacksonville Zoo

Look at this crazy crew I get to spend the day with today!!

We are in for a fun day at the Jacksonville Zoo....

think I can just lock them in with the monkeys for about 30 minutes so I can have a cup of coffee before we get started?!?  :)

Everyone wanted a turn holding Grant!!!

He was laughing the whole time but by the end was definitely done being their toy!  :)

Our first stop....StingRay Bay!

The kids were all excited to feed and touch the stingrays....until they realized they would be feeding them dead fish!

In the end though Kate, Stephen, & Avery all fed the stingrays and Gabe enjoyed just watching...

Gabe thought this anteater was so cool today!

We usually pick one or two "pay extra" things to do, but today we bought a card that got us in everything.  It was of course cheaper than buying each thing individually, but still a little too pricey to do very often.  We like frugal fun, but every once in a while it's also fun to splurge.

This was our first time inside the Butterfly Garden.

There weren't an abundance of butterflies in here, but it was pretty to see them flying around us.

Next up....Dino Land!

We were getting scared just crossing the smoky bridge.

I loved visiting this area with all these funny little actors!

Grant wasn't scared, but I would love to know what he was thinking!!

Each dinosaur roared and moved...very realistic...especially if you're only one!

Stephen & Avery wanted these pictures sent to their mom.  :)

Let's get out of here!!!!!

After all that exploring, it was time to finish up Dino Land with a fossil dig.

Our day is almost over, but not before heading to the water play area!!!

And just before heading home, let's get a slushy!!!

We had so much fun today!

The Barlow Beach House

A week on a boat but we didn't get enough sand and surf...more beach time!!

My parents were offered a beach house for a few days by their friends who own it and they just thought they were going to enjoy a relaxing vacation away from us after a not-so-relaxing but fun vacation together every minute on the cruise!  :)  After visiting with our friends, The Whitney's, last night, we decided to spend the night with Grandma & PawPaw at the beach house so that we could wake up and play in the sand!

Buggy Boards in tow....the kids were ready to hit the waves!

Little surfers....

Kate & Gabe laughed so hard while trying to stay on their boards and ride in on the waves!

"This is awesome!!!"

My beautiful, confident surfer girl.

Grant didn't really want to get into the water (which was fine with me!) but he did love running in the sand, chasing the birds, and trying to avoid letting the white foam touch his toes.  I think he actually wanted to get into the water but the foam freaked him out and he wanted nothing to do with it!

And finally, time to treasure hunt with PawPaw before heading back home....

Visiting the Whitneys

 After adjusting back to life on land we were excited to meet an old grad school friend of mine, Meghan, and her husband, Ryan.  They were amongst our first friends in Atlanta and we were thrilled they were vacationing close to us....because we've never met their twin boys, Lincoln & McCann!  We had dinner, ice cream, and a nice walk along the pier hoping to see some manatees....but we did not.  :(  Still, it was a great evening and we especially enjoying getting to finally meet their adorable boys!

Carnival Cruise - Day 5

I woke up early this morning and snuck outside in time to watch the sun rise as our boat pulled into port in Jacksonville.  It was so quiet and peaceful this morning!  I am not a morning person and enjoy my sleep, but I can certainly understand how many would enjoy this time of day. 

After gathering our things and saying goodbye to our rooms we headed to the Lido deck to wait for our number to be called to leave the boat.  And what better way to wait than with one final bit of ice cream!

We were sad to see our vacation come to an end, but glad that this is just the beginning of summer!

Grandma surprised Kate with her very own copy of the Towel Creations book so that she can learn to make lots of animals when we get home.  Kate was so excited about this gift and can't wait to start creating!!

We arrived home on Memorial day and in honor of the holiday

there was a huge American Flag hanging down above the lobby!

This vacation wasn't what I would consider to be easy, chasing Grant around and constantly worried he would run out of reach and jump off the boat.  But overall we had a wonderful week and really enjoyed our first cruise and visit to the Bahamas.  I'll be honest though, this trip made me really want to start saving to go on a Disney Cruise before Kate gets too old for all the magic and wonder of Disney, but Carnival was fun (and alot less money!) and give Grant another year to mature and we'll be ready to do it again!!  Now that I have a better idea of what to expect I would be so much more prepared for the next cruise.  Thank you Grandma & PawPaw for such a great vacation we will certainly never forget!!!