Florida pt 3

I'm ready to wrap up our visit so I'm going to try to post what's left in one big post.

As evidenced by the swimming lesson post, we did a lot of swimming, some with Papa and some with Kaylee and Trey.

We tried to do a little photo shot on Papa's dock. 

We also did a little impromptu singing at church.  Kaylee was already planning to sing "Oh Happy Day" at children's church and at the last minute, they asked Lauren, Christina, and me to sing back up.

While we were there we also celebrated my birthday and my dad's birthday...better late than never.  Emma Catherine was a great present opener. 

We also were able to sneak in a trip to Sweet Berries with Noni and a lunch with Papa.

Florida pt 2

My parents suggested we go to Busch Gardens while it town and I am so glad we did.  They had just opened up a new Sesame Street area and the girls loved it.  There were lots of kids ride, Elmo shows, a water area, and a big play house area.  Seeing all the animals was also fun for the girls. 

The first ride of the day.

Right after Emma Catherine and I rode the Grover Coaster.  She wasn't super thrilled with it because it was a "little coaster" and she wanted to ride a big coaster.

They loved the water area. 

After Emma Catherine rode her first real coaster.  It went upside and everything.  I couldn't believe she even rode it, much less liked it. 

The animals and train ride to see animals were a hit.

Here we are at the end of the day.  We had a great time and the girls were troopers.  They were great the whole day through the heat, rain, and lots of walking!

Florida pt 1

Where to start...we spent the last 2 weeks in Florida visiting my parents so I have a ton of pictures, almost to the overwhelming point.  One important thing the girls did while we were there was to take swimming lessons.  They actually took lessons from the same woman who taught Lauren and me to swim.  It was crazy that we were able to get in touch with her and still teaches a few lessons here and there in the summer.  Emma Catherine improved so much that we couldn't believe it.  By the end she was swimming across the pool by herself and floating on her back by herself for very long periods.  She was also putting her head in the water all the way.  For Bailey the lessons were about getting her more used to the water and getting her to kick and float.  I felt she improved as well.

Summer Playdate

I am so far behind on blogging but I am going to try to catch up.  We were in Florida for 2 weeks which is why I haven't blogged in so long.  Before we left we had a big summer playdate with our friends.  Christy, our hostess, had all kinds of water toys for the kids to play with and she even planned a craft.  It was a fun time for the girls and I to be with friends.  It definitely made me sad though because I will miss these friends so much.

The Aquarium

Last summer we bought a membership to the Aquarium, which is going to expire in early July. We have used it a lot this year and taken advantage of the member nights but it's been a little while since we've gone.  Emma Catherine has been asking to go, so last week we packed our lunches and headed out to the aquarium. 

Emma Catherine was excited to see the butterfly garden just like Fancy Nancy.

It was a great day for the aquarium because it wasn't very crowded at all. We had the penguin exhibit almost all to ourselves, so we stayed there awhile. 

After we finished with the aquarium, the girls changed into their bathing suits to play in the water around the aquarium.  They splashed around and then we ate our lunch. 

After lunch Kathryn, Bryant, and Huston met us at the recently reopened Passage.