Summer

Well summer seems to be coming to an end. As I listen to all my friends discussing classroom preparations and the excitement of meeting their new group of kids, it makes me miss being a teacher. I love the beginning of school, even as hectic as it is. Hopefully one day I will get back in the classroom.

I don't think that our summer is officially over because we have one more trip to the beach next week. We are headed to St. George Island to be with my mom, Charlie (my brother) and Paige and their two kids. I can't wait for Ellie to have a chance to play with her cousins Mac (5) and Wynn (3 1/2).

I just realized that I never wrote about our trip to Vermont. Yeah I know it was only a month ago, but at least I am getting to it now. We had a very easy trip going up and Ellie loved it all. She loved the airplanes and enjoyed watching all the people in the airport. Our last flight was from Boston to Hanover, NH. We flew on a tiny plane, i.e. 8 passengers + 1 pilot + no co-pilot =small. Ellie loved it. She squelled with delight throughout the entire flight. It was a long trip, but so worth it.

Ellie "helping" me pack




A view from above


Ellie enjoying the little plane

We did a lot of visiting, eating, hanging out, and just enjoying being with my side of the family. It was a much needed vacation for Jim! The roll call included Goggie (my grandmother who turned 91 while we were there), Baba (my mom), Aunt Tink and Aunt Peg (mom's sisters), Marg (my cousin) and John and their three kids, Marien, Christopher, and Mercer. We had so much fun just being with the fam. Jim had to leave and return to reality and my sister, Carter, took his place.
It is so pretty in Vermont. Everything is so green and lush. The weather was fantastic and included wearing jeans and long sleeves. What a relief it was to get away from the heat of LA.

Pictures from our trip to Old City Falls

The walk down




A very rare family photo, not sure why we all look so pale.


Hanging out by the waterfall




Ellie and Baba


Our trip home was not as smooth as the trip up. Our first flight was delayed because of fog so that made all of our other flights change. We ran into some bafoon in Boston who took so long reprinting our ticket that we subsequently missed our second flight. Then when we got to Atlanta, my flight to Mobile was also delayed. Needless to say after 15 hours of traveling we were exhausted. Ellie could not have been better. She only got fussy a few times, but overall she was amazing! A million thanks go out to my mom who flew with us.




Sunset after a little storm



I have more pix to put up later.
Peace out!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been crazy since the beginning of June. Here's a recap.

We started the month with a trip down to Dauphin Island. It was fun hanging out with Aunt Missy and Uncle Robert, cousins Catherine (15) and Melissa (13), and all the other friends who came around. Jim, Robert, and some of the cousins and friends went fishing. Most of the older girls stayed behind and played. Ellie loves swimming in the pool, watching the birds and playing with the puppies when we are down there.


Ellie and Hazel


Coco


Hazel and Aunt Missy


Hazel checking out Ellie.


Ellie, Melissa, and Coco


Hazel loving on Ellie.

We went over to Perdido Key for a dental conference the second week of June. Ellie had her first experience at the beach. She sorta liked the sand, but I think the ocean waves were too loud. She really didn't like putting more than her feet in the water. We sat on our balcony a lot because it was too hot and she liked looking out at everything.





Ellie and her daddy


Momma actually got in a picture


Checking out the surf




At the end of the week, my parents meet us in Mobile and then we went back down to Dauphin Island with Jim's brother Robert and his family. Robert and Missy have been so good to us since we moved down here and we love spending time with them and their girls. They are even kind enough to let us all stay at their house at DI. Ellie loved playing with the puppies again and Jim loved the opportunity to do a little more fishing. We had a blast and I am so glad that Baba and Grandchuck were able to join us!








Ellie loves watching the birds.


Hazel and Coco

The next weekend Jim had another conference this time at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear. Ellie and I went over and spent Saturday at the hotel. We loved spending time swinging under the huge oak trees, going into town for lunch and making some new friends. It was hot, but we enjoyed it. We went to a dinner party that night and Ellie loved it. We were outside and she loved watching the birds and listening to the music. Then people started dancing and they had lights...she was totally entertained. We had to pull here away at 10:00 to go home! I intended to take Ellie back on Sunday to take some pictures, but we were exhausted.



Last week we had Ellie's 9 month portraits taken. It was hot, yet again, but she did great. I can't wait to see them! We also went out to lunch for Aunt Missy's birthday, twice! Lucky us!
This weekend we were actually at home. It was nice to just be at home.

On another note, today is our anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been 7 years! I don't know where the time went. Here's a little something from that day.



Now June is just about over and it is on to July. We will be heading to Vermont on the 8th. I can't wait!!! More about that later...

New Favs

Ellie has hit some recent milestones. Crawling, pulling up, using a sippy cup, eating cheesy poofs and cheerios and playing, playing, playing.

She loves to crawl all over the place and will barely sit still any more. She loves to crawl all over the kitchen when Jim is cooking. Another favorite target is the cat. RC is not so sure about her recent ability to move about. He tries to hide on top of the ottoman, but low and behold she learned to pull up about three days after learning to crawl.


After RC...


but he escapes.


Daddy has to separate the "children".


Did you see me, I almost got him!

Ellie also loves her new found talent of feeding herself. She loves the Gerber lil crunchies that we refer to as cheesy poofs. She could eat the whole can if we let her.







She is not as crazy about cheerios. She likes to pick them up and toss them around, but only eats a few at a time.

Ellie is also not as excited about her sippy cup. She would much rather sip out of a cup than use the sippy cup which proves to be very messy.



Ellie loves to play with her toys. We found these great boxes for her toys and she loves to grab them, turn them over, crawl over them, and generally make a big mess.



We also got a baby pool for her this weekend and she went "swimming" for the first time Sunday. It was a little cold at first, but she really liked it. I have a feeling this is where we will spend most of our summer afternoons.






Heading to the slide!


Weeeeee

And They're Off...

Ellie had her first annual Kentucky Derby party the first weekend of May.
Here is the picture from her invitation.



We drank Mint Juleps (or juice boxes, depending on age), wore fancy hats and had a good time with our neighbors and friends.