Rain Rain Go Away

As many of you know it rains A LOT in Florida during the summer time, so it's not rare that in the AM you are at the pool and in the PM it showers daily! We have found a way to make even the rainiest days fun with the kid's character umbrellas. Thank you Walmart-they are so cute and I hope to get them in a photo together one of these days.

Ethan is always wanting to play in the rain
Especially loves stomping in puddles
is he having fun or what?

J can barely keep it over her head, but manages

Happy girl!

Another Great Children's Museum

My friend Tiffany discovered a cute little children's museum in Lakeland, FL and it was a great place to meet in the middle for a playdate since they live in Orlando! They had everything from a Publix store, to a bank, space shuttle and orange grove with plastic balls for the kids to pick out of tree and more. We followed up with lunch at Harry's, which is always a treat. Great to see our friends who we are not with as often as we would like to be.

Driving-they actually named it after Grady Judd current Polk county sheriff
Michael takes a turn at the wheel
the firefighter station was a big hit with all

E "putting out a fire"

shopping together at Publix

for those who know how Jillian says "meat" this photo says it all. if you haven't heard remind me next time we are together and you will get a good laugh.

checking out

These colorful swans are all over downtown lakeland

E was fascinated with this set up about rain, flooding, water, etc..

a very cool tree house

Latest News

I'm taking a short break from photos and wanted to give you an update on some of our latest news! The kids are doing fantastic and I am happy to say that they are going to start "school" one day per week beginning 9/21. It is very exciting to think about what they will learn and bring home to share with us. Other big news is that Ethan is well on his way to becoming potty trained and is only in pull ups for naps and bed time. Even Jillian is using the potty a couple of times every day. Jillian is talking up a storm and the two of them crack me up with the things that come out of their mouths. I continue to have 2 days off per week and we are so grateful that mom and Deb will each continue to spend time with them 1 day per week. It is a time of growth and change, but we are just enjoying every minute together!

Casselman Beach House

As school gets ready to start and some of our friends go back to work soon we decided to pack in a ton of play dates over the last 2 weeks. We spent a beautiful day on Indian Rocks beach with Donelle and her two little ones Averi and Bryson at their family beach house. The kids play so well together and some fun in the sun was a relaxing way to spend a hot summer day! We mostly stayed at the pool, but even Ethan allowed us a brief trip down to the beach!

J and B hanging out when we first got there
A loves to hold and pick up J-so cute

my child has no fear-she puts her face in the pool, the shower, and it doesn't phase her

B pulling that wagon in the water cracked me up

monkey girl loving the water and waves

E looking for shells and splashing in the shallow areas

lots of laughs

love this photo-A is quite a ham for the camera

exhausted and full of lunch and ice cream they all lounged and watched a movie together!

Visit with Schillings

On our drive back from Myrtle Beach we were thrilled to spend some time with Uncle Doug, Aunt Lisa and cousin Kayla in Jacksonville! Kayla had a swim meet that weekend and did an awesome job beating some of her times and swimming at national level times-so fun to watch! The kids were so tired ready to get home, so it was a short trip, but we loved seeing them, playing in Kayla's secret room, and hope to go back sometime for a full weekend of Jacksonville fun! Next time I need better photos of us as a group and the kids together...Thanks for having us.

The tent area was a great place to wait, but very hot outside so Uncle Doug tracked down blue icies!
Jillian bringing Kayla her swim hat before a race

Airplane

Aunt Lisa had a spray fan and the kids thought it was SO funny spraying each other

a few shots of Kayla in action. Look how far ahead of the girl next to her she is! she is lane 1.

coming right at us-love this shot

look for the orange/red cap

Myrtle Beach Family Photos

I believe this is the last of the photos highlighting our trip to Myrtle Beach. Thanks so much to Mia and Poppy for letting us stay with them and it was SO wonderful to see our large family. We don't get to do it often enough and it is enjoyable to spend time with everyone and see our kids playing together! The kids did beautifully on the drive and we look forward to the next reunion in 2 or 3 years!

The group in attendance this year!
fam damily
Celebrating Grandma's 86th birthday!

Aunt Sue, Melissa, Aunt Kathy, Jen, Jess and Aunt Karen

Noah, Jillian, Renee, Alaina, Ethan, Isabella and Christian watching Dumbo!

A potty in style

Ethan and K making sand art

give the girl a surf board next

Ethan in the condo "perfect for him" he told everyone when he wanted to leave the beach

outside the ice cream store

toes in the pool one night

perty girl!

Myrtle Beach Children's Museum

Towards the end of the week it was time to take a time out from the sun. We knew about the awesome South Carolina Children's Museum from our last trip to Myrtle Beach and knew that would be a success. So many things to explore and the funny fact is that the kids very much liked different things. The first photo though was one thing they both LOVED!

who doesn't like a good puzzle maze?
Ethan found the train set IMMEDIATELY

J takes a call for pizza order

And Ethan puts pizza in the oven to cook-what a team

this waterbed simulates a boat moving-too fun

ahoy-captain E

Jillian enjoyed the fossil dig and didn't get too messy

gotta love this-Ethan helping little sis with her drink at McDonalds after the museum