Fun Friday…

Growing up, Fridays in the summer time were usually fun days for us. My mom always had Fridays off work. I say there were “usually” fun days, because, probably the first half of her Fridays off were spent at my Grandparent’s house putting up vegetables from the garden… picking and shelling peas, canning tomatoes, creaming corn, cutting up bell peppers---you name it, we probably did it! At the time, those were not my favorite Fridays, but I look back on those days with the fondest memories of my grandparents and their back patio. I can see their dog, “Charlie-Boy” chewing on whole pea pods… I can hear my Papa, in the voice he only used with those he was affectionate towards say, “Annie-Girl, won’t you please go make Papa a glass of half-and-half, sweetheart?” (half and half, for my diabetic Grandfather was half Coke and half water. He couldn’t stomach a Diet Coke, so he’d just drink a watered down “real” one. :) I can smell the fried hotdog sandwiches Granny would cook in her big cast iron skillet mixed with the scent of whatever vegetable we were putting up that day.

On the days we weren’t gardening with the Grandparents, Momma usually planned something fun for us to do. It was always a given that on one of our Fun Fridays, we’d visit Homosassa Springs State Park. The tradition lives on, because we do the same thing with AB now (and we did with Cooper, too).

Mom’s Fridays off started a couple weeks ago, and on the Thursday before her first one, AB was packed and ready to have a slumber party!

Excited?!?!?

My aunt got her this backpack and it says, “Off to Grammy’s” on the back.

 

This past Friday, we took our annual trip to Homosassa.

We got there just in time for the last boat ride of the day over to the park! There was hardly no one else there, and AB loved getting to walk and run around.

We saw, “Lou,” which has always been a favorite of our family.

He was actually out of the water and eating this time. In fact, all of the animals were moving around and providing quite a show!

We saw lots of birds, which AB said were “Sheweeee” (that part of the park does get pretty smelly).

We even saw some ugly ducklings swimming by. One of them had a broken leg that was bent completely backwards and was sticking up out of the water. When AB saw it, she said, “awww, it “boke” (broke), Pop fix it.” She’s like her momma and thinks Pop can do anything.

AB’s favorite sighting of the day, “Albert!” Any and all alligators, are “Albert” to our girl. Her Daddy is so proud. The first thing she did was “chomp” at them, and the next was holler, “Shoot ‘em, Pop!” I’m afraid she’s watched one too many Swamp People episodes at my parent’s house.

 

We made our way to the other side of the park and saw this big guy swimming under the bridge. We haven’t actually seen a manatee the past couple of years that we’ve been, so that was neat.

The last stop was the underwater fishbowl to see all the fish.

And no trip would be complete without the standard manatee picture.

I’m not sure what our next Fun Friday outing will be, but I’m sure we’ll make a memory.

~amw~

Clip & Curl

Two weeks ago marked a momentous occasion in our household.

Annabelle got her very first haircut!

As long as it took us to get any hair, I was certainly in no hurry to cut it off. But, when talking to my hairdresser about how bad AB’s hair tangles and knots up, she suggested a trim.

Here’s a picture on a REALLY bad rat’s nest day.

It made me laugh so hard, I had take a picture of it. It looks like a whole family of rats could be living in there, along with who knows what else!

AB did so good at the salon. She is extra shy around new people and in new situations, so I wasn’t sure how she’d do. I talked it up all morning though, preparing her for what Mrs. Aubrey was going to do.

She thought she was such a big girl with her new ‘do!

Aubrey was right, AB’s hair has been much easier to keep tangle free.

Of course I brought home the tiny little pieces of hair to keep. I forgot to take a baggie to put it in, but managed to find a ziploc full of goldfish in my car. AB will one day wonder why there are goldfish crumbs in the bag of hair from her first haircut. I’ll just tell her it came out of her rat’s nest.

~amw~

Girls Only…

Every Summer, my sister-in-law, Lauren and I do a girls beach trip. We planned this year to be the week after Lauren was done teaching for the year. It was a fun trip to kick off her summer vacation.

We spent our mornings between the beach and the pool.

Building sand castles,playing in the water,

and having “tea parties”… I love to watch her play…

 

Somebody’s getting some freckles this summer!

The afternoons were reserved for naps for ALL…

Evenings were spent eating out and doing a little shopping…

The last night we ate at Aunt Catfish’s and the cinnamon rolls are always worth the wait… thankfully they have a playground, too!

 

Then it was back to the condo to walk on the beach one more time every night at dusk.

Of course some serious snacking went on while we were there, too!

A Krispy Kreme trip is a must when we’re at the condo. AB requested sprinkles…

We had a popsicle party on the balcony one night and enjoyed popsicles in the pool, too! We found the best popsicles EVER for toddlers. They are TINY and slow-melting… they were adorable. We’ve looked every where for them since we got back, and can’t find them around here.

I even broke one of my own rules and bought AB an ice cream from the “Ice Cream Bus” as she calls it. She would hear him coming down the beach and yell, “Ice Cream Bus, Ice Cream Bus!!!” How could I NOT get her an ice cream after that cuteness? (Even if the man that drives the Ice Cream bus is a grouchy ole thing who sells ice-crystal-covered ice cream and I swore he’d never get another dollar from me?!?!?)

Annabelle provided much entertainment, as always. She’s become obsessed with Disney’s new movie, “Tangled.” So we had to watch it half a dozen times…a day… And every time we’d cross the bridge to A1A, she’d yell, “Cain-gled (Tangled) Towers, Cain-gled Castles!!!” when she saw all the condos.

I told Lauren I don’t know how we’ll drag two kids to the beach next year. And Lord help us, when she and Adam start a family… I figure there’s no way for just us girls to haul them all to the beach alone. Lauren’s got a plan though… we’ll start loading all our stuff in the car and drive it on the beach every day. I’m thinking I’ll have to get the bigger tires on my golf cart so it will be beach ready and we can drive it. We’ll figure out something, because I’d hate to miss a trip to the beach! :)

 

~amw~

Christmas in June….

June marks the mid point of the year. It’s hard to believe it’s already half over! We’re halfway to December! Our family is quite anxious for Christmas this year, and not just because of all the new decorations I bought for 90% off last year! :)

Turns out, we’re expecting a BABY mid-December!

It’s always a huge relief to hit the end of that first trimester, and we’re breathing a little easier now that we have!

We’ve been to see my doctor several times and have had a couple of ultrasounds already. Our little one is growing beautifully and we are thankful.

We’re excited to finally have our secret out! I know people have been looking at my growing belly and wondering! :)

I’ve been dog-tired, but am hoping since we’re through the first trimester, I’ll start to get some energy again soon. Other than that, I’ve felt great.

Annabelle is very excited about the baby in Mommy’s tummy. She walks up to me at least three times a day and pulls at my shirt and says, “I see it, I see it, Mommy.” She’s a little confused that she can’t see the baby yet. When she and her Daddy say her bedtime prayers, she prays for “Mommy’s Baby” and last week, when we’re saying the blessing at lunch and dinner, she has started blurting out, “And Mommy’s Baby!” So sweet…

Here’s the soon to be big sister at my 12-week Dr’s appointment last week:

and the picture I took of her on the beach on Monday… (we just got back from a trip with Lauren).

We are all so excited!

~amw~

Another Weekend…

Before Saturday, I’d not been to the Chiefland Watermelon festival in years. But, since we were in town this weekend with no plans, we decided to meet up with the crew to watch the parade.

Allie Claire & Annabelle haven’t gotten to see each other in almost a month! They were desperate for some BFF playing time.

Allie brought along her cousin, Gus. Gus and AB are really funny because when they get around each other they’re both SO shy!

We sat on the curb and watched as all the parade entries went by. One of the things I love most about being from a small county and a big family is that you can’t go anywhere without running into people you know, and usually at least a couple of cousins. Saturday didn’t disappoint and we enjoyed waving and seeing lots of people we knew and even saw a few cousins. :)

 

The kids had a big time watching the parade and gathering candy.

After the heat of the parade, we decided a swim at Blue Run would feel so good! Annabelle was excited that Allie Claire could come down, too!

Blue Run is c-c-c-c-cold water, but so refreshing! It always takes me a while to make myself jump in. From the look on my girl’s face, she’s going to be like her momma.

The REALLY funny thing is that I can’t handle the grass that grows on some parts of the river. It scares the daylights out of me. I don’t like the way it feels and I am terrified there’s snakes and gators and turtles and who knows what else hiding in it. I LOVE the nice clear sandy spots though. Turns out AB is isn’t a fan of the grass either. We laughed so hard when she was swimming with her Daddy and looked down and saw that they were over the grass (even though it was several feet below her and she couldn’t feel it and she started yelling, “oh no! oh no! gass, gass, no gass!” DW was cringing wondering how on earth he’ll deal with two of us at the river. :) Ha…

It was such a fun Saturday!

Sunday was church and then a baby shower for a friend. We ended the weekend that evening with some fresh from the field watermelon. Nothing like eating a melon on the tail gate of your Daddy’s truck.

 

~annie~