Back to the grind

Wes and I enjoyed a MUCH needed vacation to Destin, FL this week.  We left the kids with my mom and although it was really hard to be away from my babies, I knew they were in great hands.  It was so relaxing and we enjoyed ourselves so much! On the first night we ran to target at around 8:30 to grab some beach things and we were laughing at how we haven't left the house together at 8:30 in over 3 years!  We enjoyed not having a schedule and doing our own thing and actually sitting at a restaurant and eating instead of trying to entertain two little ones!

We were gone from Wednesday to Sunday. On the way to Destin we stopped in New Orleans. Neither of us had ever been there and we just wanted to check it out.  We weren't there at night, but we walked around Jackson Square and got to see some jazz bands and eat a little brunch.  It was fun to see a new place.  

While in Destin we enjoyed some fun restaurants with super yummy food.  We of course loved sitting on the beach most of the day.  We ate at a restaurant that was connected to our hotel for lunch a couple of the days and it was such a pretty view. 

One evening we went to a place called the Harbor Walk and it was a fun little boardwalk with lots of little shops.  This is also where you rented jet skis, went parasailing and took boat cruises.  While we were there that night we saw a sunset dolphin cruise and that sounded like fun so we went back the next night and made it on time for that.  

It was SO COOL to see the dolphins so close.  We are geniuses and forgot our nice camera on the cruise and our phone pictures don't do justice  to how beautiful the sunset and dolphins were. But...one afternoon Wes took his camera into the water and got so close to the dolphins.  It was so neat to be laying on the beach and just see dolphins swimming around.

We had a really good time at a piano bar one night that was within walking distance from our hotel.  It was a fun, new experience for us and we had a really good time.  Between laying on the beach, staying up late, sleeping in, eating great food, seeing the dolphins and enjoying some alone time, we didn't have much time to think about the kiddos (although I really thought of them like crazy the entire time). We sure were happy to see them when we got home, and they enjoyed their white sand from our fun trip!

Thanks Granna and PawPaw for taking such GREAT care of our babies so we could enjoy ourselves.  We had such a great time that we may be calling on you more often! 

New things

Now that school has started we are back in the swing of things and I feel like I have a little more time to plan out fun things for me and the kids to do.   There have also been some fun things that have started this semester.

Part of turning 3 means it's time to visit the dentist.  Hannah was SO EXCITED to go to the dentist and thought it was so funny that her male doctor has a pony tail.  Hannah had a great experience at the dentist and we're looking forward to going again soon for our first cleaning!

Hannah and I also made brownies together for the first time last week.  She enjoyed pouring the mix into the bowl, stirring and most of all, licking the spoon.

Wes and I recently worked in the church nursery and I saw a bucket of raw noodles, beans and rice. I thought that looked like fun for the kids and thought it would be fun for both the kids ages.  It was a hit, although Ethan ate a few bites.  They both have enjoyed this activity several times.

Marley came over to play the other day and we made some bead bracelets.  The girls had a great time doing it and it kept them occupied for a while.  They loved showing off their new bracelets when they were done.

And probably the hilight of our year was on Monday when Hannah started dancing.  We've been watching London through the window at dance for months and Hannah has been so excited to be old enough to start dancing.  She was ecstatic to put on her tap and ballet shoes.  Each class the do 15 minutes of ballet, 15 minutes of tap and 15 minutes of tumbling.  I wasn't the best dancer as a child, but tumbling was my thing and after class on Monday Hannah said tumbling was her favorite part. Maybe she will take after her momma!

Love new things with my sweet kids.  So glad cool weather is coming and we can do more fun things outside!

Our summer - in phone pictures

I seem to capture a lot of our memories on my camera phone.  Anytime we're out and about I have my phone, so that's where alot of our pictures end up.  I was looking through  my phone last night and I thought to myself "we've had a fun summer!" - so I thought I'd share.

We started off the summer in not such a fun way - Hannah had to get an x-ray of her throat because of a swallowing issue. Everything turned out fine and the only reason I'm sharing this picture is because I thought she looked adorable in her hospital gown.

Hannah and I attended London's dance recital.  Hannah loved watching all the dancers and she's excited that she will be starting dancing this Monday!

Ethan had his first bike ride.

We went to the Fort Worth zoo and Ethan was worn out!

....and so was Hannah!

We have enjoyed several trips to the nail salon.

We've enjoyed some sweet treats....

...and some messy treats.

We have stayed up way past our bed time acting silly and had many midnight snacks.

We've played with sweet friends.

Played outside every.single.day.

We made home made sunflower seeds, thanks to Mrs. Ashley for the sunflower plant. 

and we've partied like rockstars!

We have made countless trips to the zoo, parks, playgrounds and had multiple play dates with great friends.  We've gone on several vacations with family. This truly has been a really fun summer and I love spending time and making memories with my family.  I'm excited to see what next year holds when the kids are a little older and can enjoy even more!