Tuesday, May 27, 2008

ten smile tuesday....vacation smiles!

*DISCLAIMER* this post contains TONS of pictures!
here i am...finally finding a few moments to sit down and share about our wonderful vacation. since it just so happens to be ten smile tuesday, i'll share by smiles. but before i share about vacation i must tell you how excited i am about the summer Bible study i'm doing through my church. i missed the first meeting last week since we were in florida, but this morning i was able to make it, and i think it will be a great study and chance to get to know some different gals in the church. i always enjoy the women's study at church because you have a chance to meet women outside of the "moms of young kiddo" phase...so good to have older women who are in different places in their life and in their walk with Christ. we are studying the book "overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety" by elyse fitzpatrick--an excellent book...one i have actually read and studied before on my own...but how refreshing to review it and have a group of women to be working through it with.


but without further ado...here are the smiles...and some pictures.

1. fabulous traveling kiddos...seriously, the girls did an excellent job. they weren't even remotely phased by the airplane ride...although elizabeth was quite fascinated by the whole thing. among her cutest comments...."daddy...this airplane is slowin' down. i ride a new one." (and she was right...it did indeed feel like we were slowing down). "clouds go fast!" the only minor "upset" for elizabeth about the airplane ride was when we reached the bottom of the jetway-walk and were just getting ready to step on the plane...she saw the "crack" between the walkway and the plane, looked down and FREAKED! i'm sure all the people were cringing as we entered the plane with our screaming child and load of carseats...but she settled right down! kate was her usual social-butterfly self...waving at everyone...grinning....giggling. she spent the entire plane rides (with the exception of a diaper change) shuffled between my parent's laps...even snuggling with grandmommy for a nice cozy nap during both trips.


2. introducing kate to G.G. (great-grandma)...and, of course, showing them a MUCH older elizabeth (she was kate's age last time she saw G.G. and big bapa). one of my favorite moments wasn't captured on camera...when we first pulled up to my grandparent's my grandma walked outside the door and started waving. well, elizabeth took off running to her...and wrapped her in a huge hug....precious!

**the girls show GG their stuffed animals from the zoo!


3. ....and big bapa too! elizabeth had the greatest fun ringing the bells with bapa (which is what they are doing in the second picture) and playing with silly hats. and kate...well, as you can see...she crawled right up to him...rolled over and waved!


4. the beach. though neither of the girls were big fans of the actual ocean (which was quite rough that morning) elizabeth definitely LOVED the sand and collecting "aunt shells" (as she called the seashells. my dad and i were the only ones brave enough to actually get into the water, and after having the tide drag me back in (literally!) i can attest to how strong it was! kate slept through much of her first beach experience...but she did wake up long enough to get her toesies wet!



5. birthday cake makin'....and, of course, licking the frosting off the beaters! we love our birthday boys...a belated carrot cake for mike...and an early treat for dad and bapa!



6. "cart" rides...elizabeth thought this was SO cool...especially when GG was "behind the wheel"

7. she's off...yep...kate finally figured out crawling--well, if you count an army crawl/slither as crawling...either way, she is on the MOVE! how fun that she chose to make her crawling debut for GG and big bapa!

i know this isn't crawling...but check out the mohawk!

8. a delightful day at the zoo...kangaroos...lions...tigers....a boat trip to see the monkey islands...watching the alligator feeding (my favorite part!)...and oh-so-much more! i could do a whole blog of pictures from the zoo...but i'll refrain and only include eight!

**check out our little "animals"...can you see lib's curls!

9. swimming...of course! kate is such a waterbug...i think she would have spent all day every day in the pool if we would have let her. i'd put her on the side, count to three, and she would plunge right into the water...going under and everything...without any fear! elizabeth on the other hand, had a healthy "respect" of the water--to put it nicely! she did warm up...and LOVED being in the water...just as long as it was on her own terms...mostly meaning sticking near the steps and taking things at her own pace. however, she did a bit of jumping to mommy...and was quite brave about swimming with daddy!




10. and everything in between...the date with my hubby--dinner overlooking the beach at sunset....girls who slept through the night all night every night....bapa and the caterpillar hat....kate's first taste of carrot cake....lunch with my mom and grandma--a little girl's afternoon out!...hugs...kisses...memories... it was a trip that will not soon be forgotten! here's some last shots i just couldn't resist!
bapa and the caterpillar hat!
kate's first carrot cake...she was a big fan!
a rare picture where i'm actually on the picture side of the camera!


10 comments:

Little Candle said...

Love all of the photos! It looks like a good time was had by all. I am ever so glad that you all made it home safely.

Hugs,

Sarah :)

Lisa said...

What a fantastic vacation!!!
Your girls look adorable in their swimsuits and the beach looks beautiful.
Vacation is wonderful - you get to escape the day to day, but you are always ready to get back to it...

So glad you guys had such a great time!

Leslie said...

your trip looks so wonderfull and so much deserved Amanda.... good girls, sweet family, nice memories, what more could you ask for?

So so so glad it was worth all the work, and love the slithering Rylan did that for weeks before she gained momentum.. but it is just around the corner...

oh vey.. two on the loose. If anyone can handle it,its you.

Anonymous said...

Love all the fun you guys had! Kate looks so cute sitting there in her swimsuit! So glad you all had such a great vacation!!

Amy's Blah, Blah, Blogging said...

Welcome home! Looks like you guys had a terrific time, which is so wonderful when you go on vacation. You just never know what it will be like travelling with kids, so I'm so glad it went so incredibly well. They look like they had an absolute blast, as do you! Way to go Kate on the crawling! Erika's just started the crawl thing too! Good times all around!

Rebecca said...

i love all the pictures! so glad you had such a wonderful time. how fun that kate started army crawling for your grandparents. leila does that same crawl. your girls are so beautiful. kate looks like a little baby doll, and i love lib's curls! wonderful vacation smiles, amanda!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you guys had a wonderful trip! The photos are so sweet and you look so tan:)

Wendi@EveryDayMiracles said...

Great photos! I really enjoyed getting a little peak into your fun times! You all look so happy! Thanks for sharing. :)
My prayers are with you as you handle two mobile little girls!! :)Woohoo!! Fun fun.

Mommy Mechanics said...

Oh my gosh those are probably the cutest pictures ever. I would love to visit the beach sometime soo. Looks like so much fun!

Nancy M. said...

Looks like you guys had SO much fun. I am only a little jealous! They are such lucky little girls to have family that loves them so much.

Did you like the float in the picture with Kate? I was thinking of getting one for my son, it looks safe and fun.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. It almost feels like I went on a mini-vacation just looking at all the fun y'all had!