The Smith's (Wilmington Neighbors) visit GA

The best neighbors and friends, The Smith's, came for a visit at the end of June. We were all very excited to see them and spend a few days catching up. We miss them so much! It's hard when you go from seeing someone everyday to once in three months. But, the time apart didn't keep the girls from immediately going to Carrington's room and playing (just like they did everyday we lived next door), or keep Bonnie and I from chatting about our favorites like cooking, working out, and cocktails, and the guys had no problem predicting the upcoming football season. 

 

The women and kids hit the pool on Friday while the guys played golf. After dinner and a lot of swimming we got the girls situated for a sleepover. This was their first sleepover with each other. They did great, both nights, going to sleep and not waking up early.

 

 

 Saturday morning we celebrated Hayden's belated birthday at American Girl. The girls took their dolls to the shop, bought a few things, and then had lunch with their dolls at the café. It was very cute to watch them take in everything around them. Carrington asks often if we can go back for her birthday.

 Bonnie and I were able to sneak out that evening for a girls night out. The clubhouse was hosting Sangria Night so we headed there and met some Reunion neighbors for a few drinks.

 The two best neighbors I could ever ask for!!!

Bonnie on the left and Christy (my new neighbor) on the right

 

And then there was the Atlanta Zoo! We went to the zoo after American Girl. All the kids napped on the way there but you wouldn't have known by the way they acted. I guess they were being one with the animals...crazy and unpredictable. The dad's really enjoyed it. Kelly was with us and had a good time (she was also the photographer). The kids were good one minute and unpleasant the next. The mom's were ready to go after five minutes. Yes, there were lots of cool, exotic animals to see but the heat, smell, and whining kids were unforgiving. Enough complaining, on to the picture show...

 See what I was doing the whole time, and a lot of it was uphill and many times I had three kids riding in the stroller! Enough said!

Kids Biking and Swimming

This post is long overdue. In fact, six months has past since Carrington first learned to ride her bike. I don't want the event to go undocumented so here it is! We were having a warm December and Aaron was home with us so why not get outside and learn to ride a bike without training wheels. Carrington did fantastic! It took one or two trips down the road with daddy holding onto her shirt and then she was off riding on her own. She had a great attitude about leaning and listened very well to instruction. I'm as proud of her character as her ability to ride unassisted. She has become an expert at riding up and down the hills of GA and on several occasions has finished a 2.2 mile loop around a local lake without stopping or complaining while Aaron and I run.

 We are on the hunt for a bigger bike and of course, she wants it to go faster!!

 

First day learning to ride.

A few days later and she's ready for the Tour de France!

 

 

On to the pool and the little swimmers we are molding. So, it's no secret that I love water!! It's where we spend all our time in the summer. It use to be the beach but now that it's out of reach, we've hit the pool. At the end of spring, Carrington was enrolled in a swim class. I wasn't a fan of how they were teaching her and spent most of my time pacing the pool deck. Basically, I have no business watching swim lessons because I think they are doing it wrong or not pushing her enough. Before I make myself sound totally crazy, the first couple of classes they were teaching her to blow bubbles. We covered that when she was one years old so I thought it was the biggest waste of time. But, I now see that she came out learning a lot and has taken off with her freestyle stroke. Something she couldn't do until this summer. At mid-summer, she is swimming on her own in the big pool and doesn't need any flotation while playing with her friends. It's nice to know she is comfortable in the pool and can swim well enough that I don't have to keep an eye on her every second.

 

Grayson is proving to be a water baby too! Anything his sister can do, he can do too! At least he's going to give it his best effort. I didn't put him in a lesson because it would have required me to be in the water with him. With Hudson, that's not possible. So, everything he has learned has been purely because he wants to and he repeats jumping into the water and swimming as long as we let him. The video of him swimming with his flotation is a month old. At this point, he can jump in and swim his arms underwater even farther. It's crazy awesome! I have to keep an eye on him because given the chance he would attempt to swim in the big pool alone.

 

As a former swimmer, it's very important to me that my kids learn to swim, As a mom, I want them to have fun in the water and feel comfortable. I'm proud of how far they've come at such a young age.

 

Beginning of the summer

 

End of June

 

End of July

Kelly's visit and 4th of July

Our cousin Kelly came to visit us in GA for over a week and then headed to SC with us to spend 4th of July on the water. I love this girl so much! She has been spending time at our house since she was a baby, and when we lived in PA she stayed with us for two weeks. She is a sweetheart that plays so well with the kids, has perfect manners, and is always helpful! You wish all your guest were just like Kelly.

 

We spent lots of time at the pool, a full day at the water park, trip to the zoo, and did other little fun things here and there during her visit.

 Beautiful young lady

 Carrington talked her into Cotton Candy ice cream.

 Hills were killer for the beach girl (she's not alone).

At one point she looked up and said, "not another hill!"

 Carrington's first big waterslide. No looking back after her first trip down. It was non-stop waterslide fun from that point on, even though she doesn't meet the 42" requirement.

 Baby smiley!

 trying to dodge the water bucket...

 she didn't mind getting soaked!

 Kelly on the super slide.

It's the one slide the lifeguards wouldn't let C go down.

 Girls tubing together

 Grayson had most of his fun on the carnival rides.

 Can you find Carrington?

 Puke-a-whirl!

 

 High fives for the slide buddies!

 

 Had a perfect day with these four!

 They spent a lot of afternoon time watching a movie on the couch.

 Game and craft time

 

 Grayson loved rough housing with Kelly

 

 Kelly's make-up artist skills!

 

We spent 4th of July on the boat near HHI. The sandbar was a busy place with lots of kids and parents looking to have fun. After a day on the water we went back to my in-laws house for dinner and a view of the fireworks from their backyard. It was Grayson's first time seeing the bright lights. We were far enough away that the noise didn't bother him so he was mesmerized.

 Baylor taking Kelly out for a ride on his new boat.

 A glimpse of the party crew

 Pure Bliss!

 There was a pool in a friends backyard that overlooked the river. Life was really hard for Carrington that day. She spent the entire day in water!

He sure makes a cute lifeguard!