There's A Ham in Our Tub!

Swim Little Fishy...

Sawyer LOVES LOVES LOVES being in the water! She's been a "water baby" since she was old enough to sit up in water, and I cant even tell you how happy that makes me. Last year we started taking her to my grandparents neighborhood pool, and from the very start she couldn't get enough. She was too little to really learn how to swim, so I got her a life jacket to wear, but it didn't really do much...I still had to keep hold of her the entire time we were in the water. It was fine, but I could tell- being the independent girl she is- that she wanted to be able to do more by herself.
Fast forward to this year...My grandparents pool opened this weekend, and we've already been twice. Sawyer is even more in love with the water, if that's even possible. Before we went out there on Wednesday, I decided to run to Target and buy some arm floaties and give those a try. She was SO excited about wearing them because there were several other (older) kids who had them on, so she really felt like a big girl. After about 15 minutes of working with her, helping her realize she wasn't going to go under if I let her go, she GOT IT! From then on, there was no stopping her...she was swimmin' all over the place! I honestly couldn't believe I was watching my almost 3 year old doggy paddle across the pool...it was just so neat. so of course I had to break out my camera! (You'll have to excuse the not so great quality of the pictures, these are just taken with my little point-and-shoot. I don't like getting my other camera too close to large bodies of water OR splashy toddlers. Ha!)

The Mini Daredevils...

Alright, so these pictures don't even do this post justice, but I had to write about it anyways, because it was just too funny. Kendall spent Tuesday with us, and after the girls took their nap, we went outside so they could play in Sawyer's little blow up pool. By this time, Leah had come over and we were sitting on the porch talking while the girls played in the yard. All of a sudden, we hear VERY LOUD splashing, and when we looked, we couldn't believe our eyes. Kendall (aka Evil-Kanevil) was literally FLYING off the top of the slide that goes down into the pool! I don't mean just jumping, I mean full out belly flops (legs and arms out behind her back) into the water. It was HILARIOUS! Of course, Sawyer followed her lead, but she wasn't brave enough for the belly flop...she played it safe and landed on her bottom. Still...I couldn't believe I was watching two little girls pulling those kinds of stunts! They're fearless I tell ya...
I scrambled to get my camera, and I did manage to get a little video of all the action, but of course, I'm having trouble getting it on here. I'm determined though, so wait for it!

Slumber Party, Round Two...

Sawyer's best buddy Kendall got to come spend the night with us on Friday! Sawyer was SO excited, and they had such a good time playing together. It was really warm out Friday evening, so they got to swim for a while, and later, after their bath we finished the night off with a movie and popcorn. They both went to bed without a single peep, and ended up sleeping later than usual the next morning...probably because they'd worn themselves playing so hard!
We're already looking forward to our next slumber party!

Florida...

Preston and I had a BLAST in Florida this past week!!!
The place we stayed at was right on the beach, our room was nice, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.
We spent most of the days laying out at the pool, walking the beach, napping, and eating delicious food...all the makings of a great vacation. While we spent the majority of the time just relaxing, we did get to go check out a couple of the local attractions; the Ponce De Leon Inlet/Lighthouse, which made me feel like a 97 year old woman while trying to climb all the stairs to the top (but I made it!) and The Marine Science/Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, which was super neat. The Lighthouse was my favorite, just because I'm a big history buff, and there's A LOT of history behind that place.
And what would be a real Florida vacation without someone losing their bathing suit top at least once? Oh yeah, you read that right. It was me. And I really shouldn't say bathing suit top...I obviously don't wear a two piece, but The story went a little something like this: We were walking along the beach late one day, and the waves were pretty high, so we thought it would be fun to go wave jumping. We're a little above waist deep in the water, and the waves are really rolling in...we were getting hammered, and laughing our heads off. Then, it happened. I came up from getting plastered by a monster wave, when Preston turns to me a few seconds later with a horrified look and yells, "Oh!!!! Erica!!!!" while pointing to my top. Let's just say my right "chest part" was hanging completely out of my swimsuit for all the world (or at least the 40ish people who were on the shore) to see. Nice. But, there was a plus: I didn't get arrested by the beach patrol for public indecency, and I learned my lesson. The next day, I was sure to wear my other, more "supportive" swimsuit, just just case we decided to go for another round of wave jumping.
We'd also been seeing previews all week for the new movie, Robin Hood, that was coming out this past Friday. Preston was dying to see it, and I wanted to see it to, but we didn't want to spend our last day there in a movie theatre. So, we did the next best thing and decided to go see the 12:01AM showing on Thursday night! At the time, it didn't really register with me that we wouldn't get back to our room until 3:00 that morning. I will tell you that I was FIGHTING sleep toward the end of the movie, but oh my goodness...I SO WISH I would have taken my camera. Y'all, first of all, the theatre was PACKED, and there were several die hard fans...okay, get ready for it...dressed up like Robin Hood! I don't mean a little dressed up either. I mean full out costumes... swords, shields, hats, and armor. I was DYING! If you know me at all, you know just seeing that alone made my night.
We're glad to be back home with Sawyer. We were able to talk to her on the phone almost every day, but I missed seeing that sweet little face! It always stinks to have vacation come to an end, but it always feels good to be back home. We're already talking about the next time we'll get to go again, and we cant wait to take Sawyer to the beach for the first time.
Florida, you were good to us, and we'll see you again soon!
Oh, and Mothers Day was the best! I never got to post about it, because we were trying to get ready to leave, and we were just so busy. We actually celebrated the Thursday before Mothers Day. Mom, Dad, Preston, Sawyer and I went to our favorite, Bonefish Grille, for dinner...always so yummy. Mom and Dad wrote me the sweetest card, and gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure, which came at the perfect time. I used the very next day before we left! Preston, once again, completely out did himself, and he got me a bunch of my favorite candles and lotions from Bath and Body Works, AND...DRUMROLL...TICKETS FOR NEXT WEEKEND TO SEE...WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost passed out when I opened them, because he knows (everyone knows! ha!) Ive been wanting to go see it forever! I don't know how he's kept it a secret for this long, because he's had the tickets for months. Needless to say, I'm going to have to do some serious thinking about his Father's Day gift.
Hope ya'll have had a good week! We're glad to be back!

The Only Thing I Have to Say Right Now...

Is that I'm in sunny Florida, with my best friend (who just so happens to be the the hottest guy around,) and it is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. Really...just fabulous.

Sweet Girl...

My heart just about melted (again) this morning.
I was in the kitchen making blueberry muffins, and Sawyer was, as always, right by my side trying to "help" me. We were laughing and talking, and out of nowhere she says, "You're so silly! What in the world would I do without you, Momma!?!" (Of course, with her saying it, it came out more like, "What in the whirl would I do wifout you") So cute!
Man, I LOVE that girl!!!!!