The Big Kindergarten

She's growing up too fast. Kindergarten is here. It seems like yesterday this one was a baby. She was so excited about her outfit and her new light up twinkle toes. She picked her favorite hair-do and loved having a new backpack. It was an exciting day. I must be honest, I was even more nervous than she was. Something about sending her on a bus and having no control from that point on makes me a little anxious. But then again I feel like these experiences are so good for her. I have already seen her mature in just one week. It's going to be a great year for her. I can already tell.

The extra special treat was her daddy surprised her by coming home for a few minutes to see her off the bus. She was beyond ecstatic. Bryan didn't want to miss this momentous occasion.

So sweet. This just melts my heart.

We are lucky enough that a neighbor rides the bus with Julia and is in her class. It has been SO nice knowing she has a friend to ride to and from school with every day.

Here she is getting on the bus. Oh, this was a little tough for me!

And this was pretty much where the waterworks started. I didn't think I would have a hard time but I was pretty glad I was wearing sunglasses at this point. Watching her excitedly bounce up the stairs and wave to us with a huge grin on her face was just a little emotional. I blame the pregnancy hormones.

Up the bus she goes.

Audrey misses Julia during the day but to be honest I think she really likes having a little one on one time with me. She better enjoy it because it's coming to an end in a couple of months. We love to walk to the bus stop to pick sister up.

Here she comes on her ride home.

We have another neighbor friend that she rides home with sometimes.

To top it off Julia lost two more teeth this week. They sang to her at school and gave her a sticker. That made for some excitement.

I had to take a picture of her later this week in another cute little outfit because it may be the last time she wears it. She thinks the tie makes her look like a boy. I desperately tried to convince her how cute she looked and we even put a red butterfly in her hair. She finally gave in but we'll see if I'll win the battle in the future.

And Julia's also starting a soccer camp this week. She is so excited about it. After I took the picture she told me that I should have had her say, "First day of soccer!" while taking it. Next time I'll remember.

Big week for Julia. We are so proud of what a well adjusted and sweet girl she is. She is taking to school like a fish to water and I am really excited to see how much she grows and learns this year. And I am excited to see her beat the boys in soccer (we couldn't resist her soccer shirt.)

Beach Pictures

We had some family pictures taken on the beach last year and decided that we would do a repeat this year but with my mom's nicer camera. I think they all turned our pretty good. It was so beautiful there on the beach but the mosquitoes, oh my. they were EVERYWHERE. We were getting eaten alive. Luckily we had bug spray and were able to get some pictures of everyone. We even all coordinated.

Carli and Chuck.

Me and Bryan.

Our family.

More family...

The whole group. There were some official photographers there on the beach that took some shots for us which was awfully nice of them. They then offered some maternity shots of me that would be "gorgeous." I don't know. I'm sure they would have been great but the combination of the photographer being a random lady I didn't know, lifting my shirt up to show my giant belly and the mass amount of mosquitoes I felt forced to turn her down. Maybe I'll regret it...but probably not.

What I do like is that Julia is the perfect height to hide my growing belly.

The parents.

I think this is my favorite family shot.

The boys.

The girls.

After looking through the pictures at how perfectly Julia's height covered my belly I figured I better take at least one belly shot. So I had Bryan do the typical "hold the wife's belly" pose (he was THRILLED with this idea). But as you know with Bryan and I...

things deteriorated quickly. Bryan needed a belly shot too.

The girls.

But of course let's be honest. There were a whole lot of pictures that turned out like these too...

I like the sprint right as the picture is being taken.

What are we looking at? And why is my dad wearing those socks? Why must the girls climb those dang rocks?

Bryan's belly shot #2. Can you tell he was mocking my great idea from above?

Third Time's a Charm

The best part about living east is we get to make our annual journey to the east coast. We couldn't break tradition and headed to Folly Beach once again and it didn't disappoint. It was well worth the 11 hour drive to have a little down time as a family. I think even after we move from Ohio we will still have to find our way to this little slice of paradise. Even better my parents met us there once again (after some brutal flights) and Carli and Chuck came along as well. Perfect!

When we arrived we of course had to slip down to the beach just to have a look around. And as any well meaning walk on the beach starts...

It inevitably ended up with the girls in their panties. They couldn't help themselves. The water was calling their name. Luckily even though the ocean call was pulling at Bryan as well, he was able to restrain himself and remained fully clothed.

I love this picture.

And this one even more.

We had days spent in some serious humid heat. They have had a record high heat wave there in SC and we were able to experience it first hand. We took a walk to the Folly Beach Fishing Pier and had to sit in the shade to keep our sanity. Unfortunately in this shade we ran into a crazy lady that kept putting her sunglasses on Audrey and asking Audrey to give her some of her goldfish. It was really weird. I mean goldfish are delicious but I think the 50 year old woman should probably go and buy some of her own rather than pilfering them from a three year old.

The girls also spent a great deal of time playing in the sand of course. We had all sorts of creations, castles and lairs for flying unicorns and pink dolphins.

The food, oh the food! We stuffed ourselves with some of the best fried chicken, hush puppies, mac and cheese, seafood, BBQ, and just about every other southern food you can think of. I don't think the scale is going to be my friend this month. I am dreading my 28 week appointment next week. But I must say it was WELL worth it. SO yummy.

We are sitting outside of the famous Hyman's here. Well fed I assure you.

After our delicious dinner we took advantage of downtown Charleston and took a tour by mule drawn carriage. Our driver assured us that mules are the way to go. They are much more heat tolerant and are better workers. So bring on the mules! Julia thought it was awesome. We also learned some very interesting facts about the city. Charleston has such a fascinating history.

We were even lucky enough to look at the mules up and close after our carriage ride.

We of course took more walks on the beach and had to take more pictures. I even made Bryan dress up nice one night and take some "official" family pictures (those will come later). The beach there is so beautiful.

More fun in the sun. Because of the warm water temperature we did encounter a few more jellyfish this year. Bryan got it on his foot and leg and they are still itching. Luckily we found a stretch of beach where we avoided them almost completely. Nasty things.

A family shot.

Oh boy do these girls love the beach. We would stay for hours and they never got bored.

I think this girl's hair went three shades lighter this trip.

And to make things even better they were showered with attention from Nana, Papa, Carli and Chuck. Their every waking need was taken care of almost immediately. Spoiled little stinkers.

We even spotted some starfish this time. Audrey had no fear picking the little things up.

Julia prayed each night to see a starfish, dolphin and for no jellyfish. Almost all of those prayers were answered.

We did a little boogie boarding, though I have to admit my 27 week belly didn't allow me to do much. The waves were a little flat the last two days and so my girls were in heaven floating on the boogie boards. I was secretly a little glad since I couldn't even enjoy the nice waves! Selfish, I know.

Ah, I could just bottle this image up and keep it forever. Such a wonderful trip. It's been such a whirlwind of busy since getting back with getting ready for school to start and such. I'm so glad we could get away for a little while. Thanks again Folly Beach.

The Bike

We spend the vast majority of our time outside during the summer and that means lots of bike riding for the girls. Audrey has had a difficult time with this. She was just not finding a bike that worked for her. Nothing was fast enough to keep up with her sister and that steering business was a tricky one. Well, with some perseverence and hard work she finally figured out how to ride the "flower" bike. And no bike ride would be complete without a helmet to go with it.
I know in years to come as I will think back to this summer the image of Audrey in this helmet will be frozen in my mind forever. I think it is the most hilarious/cutest thing I have ever seen and I defy anyone to not smile wen they see her little body riding her bike with this kitty (that sometime looks like a pig) helmet on top of her head.

Yes we have resurrected the "flower" bike. This is a boy bike that I got from a friend for 2$. Julia learned to ride on it and now Audrey has her turn. It was once coated with princess stickers that have since faded, the seat is cracked, the "Mighty Mongoose" printed on the side is starting to fade and the training wheels are skeewampus but gosh dangit she loves it. Her improvement makes me so happy.

When riding this bike, every once in a while the training wheels will have a mind of their own. This stresses Audrey out a bit. If she ever falls off I will be about ten feet behind her and she will scream, "Mooooooommm! Why didn't you catch me!!?" I love how I get the blame when things go wrong. Needless to say we are required to stand close to her to try and catch her if the bike ever is to take a tumble. Thankfully she is actually a very graceful faller. We have to remind her that she isn't hurt so she'll jump back on and try again. Which she does. Moving at a snail's pace. It's a work in progress...

You should see how good this girl has gotten on her bike. She is definitely a speed racer. I love seeing her long hair swaying under that helmet as she speeds ahead of us.

This may come as a surprise but kitty helmet not only makes an appearance on bike rides but ALL around the house as well. It is her kitty's pack and play, a purse and great for stick horse riding.

Julia went to a luau birthday party and came home with some awesome party favors. The hosts were kind enough to send home some for Audrey as well. So when we head to the pool they often get in their hawaiin gear in preparation.

The girls are becoming quite the swimmers this summer. I have been so proud of them both. I'll save all of that for the next post.

I'll tell you what. I will not be ready for summer to end!