Florida Part 1

At the end of June, we headed off to Florida for a big family vacation. My mother in law planned a trip for 15 of us... her 3 kids, their spouses, and all of the grandchildren. We were suppose to be in Disney World, but with COVID, we had to change plans,  so, we headed off to Daytona and then spent a few days in Orlando. 

Our flight was mid-morning, and I don't think flying has ever been easier. We flew Southwest and airlines are not sitting anyone in the middle seats. DJ and Adalyn sat together. Gretchen had a row by herself, and Megan and I were seat buddies. Masks are mandatory in the airport, although there were a handful of people not wearing them at all or had them off while sitting at the gate. During the flight, you could take your mask off when eating or drinking. The flight crew only gave water and a small snack, but other than to pick up trash twice, they weren't walking around.

Megan turned her doll's sleep mask in to a face mask. 

We finally took our masks off at snack time. Megan's baby ate too. 

Once we arrived in Orlando, we headed to dinner. We skipped lunch since we had a late breakfast and were flying over lunch time, but we were starving when we got off the plane. Because we ate around 4, the restaurant was practically empty. After dinner, they gave the girls hats. 

#littlethugs

We settled in to the rental car for the drive over to Daytona. 

We passed the Daytona Speedway before hitting up the grocery store and checking in to the hotel. 

A1A........ Detroit Avenue. 

Our room had a spectacular view of the hotel pool and beach. 

After getting unpacked a bit, we headed down to the beach and eventually called it a night. 

Friday morning, we woke up and were ready for some fun in the sun! 

Bomb Pops were a great way to cool down on the beach. 

We headed to the hotel restaurant for lunch, then hit up the pool. Megan and her cousins did lots of cheer stunts in the pool. 

Eventually, we made our way back down to the sand. Megan found the coolest piece of coral.

Love this big girl of mine. 

Our nephew will be a senior this Fall. We're praying his senior year goes off without a hitch! 

#allthecousins

#allthemommas

Megan loved playing in the sand and water. 

Eventually, we all cleaned up and headed for dinner. 

By this time, DJ's cousin and his cousin's girlfriend joined us.

#partyof17

After dinner, we had a little cousin sleepover. These girls couldn't wait to get up and do it all over again. 

Adalyn's 7

Addy Pearl, you are 7 years old!!!! Yesterday was your birthday and I'm sure no one forgot because you've been telling everyone about it for weeks!

We celebrated with a few neighbors in our driveway with a cookie cake and a trip to American Girl. Mary Ellen now has a new home with us. 

In so many ways, it feels like you were just born, and yet, you're 7!!! But, you're still my baby. Still my sweet girl who loves to crawl up in my lap and cuddle. Still the girl that is obsessed with sucking her thumb. Still the smiley, silly little girl that we love. You were the best thing we never knew that we needed. 

You are obsessed with turtles. You've been asking us to buy you a pet turtle for over a year. For now, you've settled on a turtle toy on a leash, but you have big plans for your pet turtle and taking it on walks in a stroller. 

You love playing with Barbie doll and you worship Megan. She is your best friend through thick and thin. You two are tied to the hip. You sleep with her every night, and I don't think she minds. 

You my child love candy. You'd choose it for every single meal if you could. You also love curling up and watching YouTube videos, Lab Rats, and Disney Plus. You're not a fan of reading or school work. 

You love our Longhorns. It's been really fun watching you embrace football and cheering for your daddy and the team. Lots of nights you ask for "The Eyes of Texas" as your bedtime song, and you're quick to tell everyone that OU Sucks. 

In so many ways, you're still our little girl. Your sisters are getting big and grown, and I know that you are too, but you're also still our baby. I know you won't stay that way, but I sure do love that I can still pick you up and carry you, and that you'll curl up beside me.

You're a tiny bit mischievous and sneaky. 

And oh you make us smile. 

You love taking gymnastics but you're also interested in dance, and maybe one day, you'll take lessons. 

This year, you finished 1st grade and learned lots of sight words. You prefer math to reading, but you'd rather just play. You learned to ride your bicycle without training wheels and you had your first sleepover. Your best friends this year were: Shae, Ria, and Carolina, and lately, you've been loving playing with Boston and riding your bike around the block with him.

You have a super wiggly tooth that just won't come out quite yet, but I know you'll be excited when it finally does! 

You love wearing dresses, but hate to have your hair brushed and fixed. 

You bring so much sunshine in to our world Addy Pearl.

Happy 7th Birthday! 

Father's Day Weekend Camping Trip

Father's Day weekend, we headed off on another camping adventure. This time, we traveled to Spicewood, Tx. 

Bailey gets to tag along too, and she's slowly settling in to the camping dog life. 

The campground pool was closed Friday night, so we decided to go for a little drive and found several deer in a neighborhood. It was so fun to see them so up close! 

We went back to our campsite and grilled chicken fajitas for dinner. While DJ was working on the meat, Adalyn and I were cooking the tortillas. 

The pool finally opened around 8, so we headed down for a swim. 

That evening, we settled in for a little outdoor movie time. 

This was our first trip with all 5 of us. The little girls claimed the bunk beds, and Gretchen was on the table bed. Just like at home, she was curled up with a book. 

After breakfast, we decided to drive out to Willie Nelson's ranch. He owns 700 acres in Spicewood, and we were able to see the entrance gate. 

After our little tour stop, we spent the afternoon swimming in Lake Travis. 

After swimming, we had a little break time. 

Megan also found seashells. 

We headed back to our campsite just in time for dinner, then headed down to the pool for more swimming and a game of cornhole. 

Eventually, Megan started in with a little workout. 

The girls gave DJ their Father's day gifts on Sunday morning. Megan made him a countdown chain so he can countdown to Father's Day 2021. 

Gretchen made an apron for him. 

It's a little long! Ha! 

His actual gift was the camper.... it's also his birthday gift, anniversary gift, and Christmas gift- ha! 

A Little Bit of Summer

Summer is in full swing around here and we are loving it! Before our vacation, there had been full of play time with neighbors, riding bicycles, and late nights! 

I have had zero motivation to cook lately. So, we headed to Torchy's Tacos to grab dinner. It was one of our first nights eating out again. 

We sat outside and enjoyed the evening and yummy food.

Gretchen spent ten days with my parents in Arkansas, and we were thrilled when it was finally time to pick her up!

The girls started back to gymnastics. Addy and Megan go on the same nights, but Addy's class begins before Megan's, so we're getting some bonding time in the car before she heads in to her class.

Give us all the popsicles with this heat!

Our Summer has been made of late nights, popsicles, and bicycles.