Cousins Week

The 3rd week in July we called "cousins week".  Technically, Charlotte had spent the two previous weeks intermittently with Mark's brother's kids, but this week we spent time with my sister's kids.  Mark and I kept her three kids for three days and then they kept Charlotte for two days.  Charlotte had so much fun playing with her cousins!  We took them to several places around us.  We went swimming, to a splash park, and to a jump place.  The kids ran themselves raged everywhere we went, which was exactly their purpose. :)  

Bath time with cousin Skylyn - these two are only 17 months apart!

While she was with my sister they went to a small amusement park called "Kiddie Acres".  It is filled with lots of rides for little ones.  She appeared to have really enjoyed it judging from the pictures.  My sister is a professional photographer, so her shots are definitely better than mine!

We ended the week by meeting my entire family in San Antonio at the Hill Country Hyatt Resort.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures there.  However, we did have a wonderful weekend with my family filled with a lot of water fun.  We are finally back home but Charlotte does ask multiple times a day, "Where are my cousins?"

A BIG move!

Mark and I finally decided to make the transition of moving Charlotte out of her crib and into a "big girl bed".  We were hesitant to do this because she did so well in the crib, but we knew that she was old enough to be able to handle a big bed.  She has done really well. She has only gotten out twice that we know of.  The first time was at a nap time.  She had been singing and playing in her bed for about 45 minutes when she started screaming.  I walked in to see her foot stuck in a toy from her play kitchen.  I put her to bed so I knew for fact that she didn't take that to bed with her.  I asked her, Charlotte, did you get out of bed?"  to which she replied, "No."  So I asked her again and she hesitantly said, "Yeeesss."  I instructed her that if she needed anything she was to call for Mommy and Daddy and not get up.  The other time was when a cousin was spending them night in her room, but we quickly remedied the problem.  So, so far so good for 2 1/2 weeks in her bed!

Helping Daddy take down the crib, which is now stored in our attic.

 Vacuuming before we put up the new bed.

 Tada - here it is!  We opted for a daybed so that we could have a trundle underneath for when family comes to visit.

 About a week later I finally got some art hung.  The three words hung on the wall I made, but I did not paint the owl canvas!

 We also moved the glider rocker to our bedroom so that Charlotte could have more room to play on her floor.  I have enjoyed having a chair to read in our room!

Fourth of July

We have had a very busy summer this year.  We have been hopping from one event and one family to another.  I will attempt over the next week to get slightly caught up on my blog.  We'll see how it goes!  Our 4th of July tradition is to spend the week with Mark's family because this is usually the week that his brother's family comes to visit from Memphis.  For fireworks we go to the Plano fireworks show.  It is free and very enjoyable.  However, we haven't gone to the show the last two years because Charlotte was just so young.  This year be braved keeping her up late and all worked out well!  She wasn't too grouchy and thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks.  But, that girl was exhausted.  She fell asleep on the 10 minute car ride home, and she NEVER falls asleep in the car!  We only got a chance to snap a few shots that night.

Grammy and Charlotte

Our little family

 Charlotte watching the show.  She was really into it, she just doesn't look it here!  P.S.  It was super hot that night.

San Francisco

No, we're not dead!  We have just been having an incredible summer so far.  When we are not out doing something, I'm usually watching TV or taking a nap trying to recover from what we just did.  It has been a wonderful summer filled with so much fun, laughter, family, and friends.  Three weeks into our break Mark and I got to escape to San Francisco for a week.  We had an outstanding time. At the end of each day we couldn't pick out our favorite thing because we really enjoyed it all.  It was a beautiful and fun city to visit.

Golden Gate Bridge - It was really windy, cold, and foggy that day but the bridge was still breathtaking.

 Alcatraz Island

 View of the city from Alcatraz

Lombard street

On one day we took a bus tour of Napa Valley.  This was a picture of the bridge just after we crossed over it.  So, this is on the north side, looking south, just outside the city.

Little did we know that we picked a wonderful time to visit the wineries and vineyards because the grapes had just started to show up.  They were still teeny tiny because they will not be harvested until September.

Another day we rented a car and drove 11 miles north of the city to Muir Woods.  These are some of the coastal redwoods that we saw.  Not as big as you would find in Yosemite, but still huge and wondrous to see.

Nothing like it

Before I was a parent, I never realized the amazing joy that comes from watching your own child delight in simple pleasures.  There is absolutely no other feeling that can replace being happy because your child is so incredible happy!  We are very lucky to live close to a wonderful, FREE splash park!  This morning we met up with some friends for our first water out of the season.  Oh did Charlotte love it!  At first she was a little cautious, as she tends to be.  But, once she discovered the excitement of running through the water there was  no stopping her!  I have a feeling this will be a weekly outing for us.

One of our favorite places

We spent our first weekend of the summer in Austin.  While we were there, we had the opportunity to show Charlotte around the UT campus for the first time.  It was summertime on a Monday, so the campus was quiet and we were able to get some great shots!  I was very excited to be there sharing one of my top 5 favorite places in the world with my daughter.  I know that there are so many more beautiful places that God made.  However, there is something about the emotional connection I have with this place that makes it a favorite.  It is where I met Mark and together we shared so many amazing memories and friends.  It always feels like coming home.

Summer time!

There has always been something fascinating to me about first/last day of school pictures.  It is amazing how much children can change in the course of 9 months.  I have taught 4th grade for 9 years now and at the beginning of every year, silly as it is, I am still always shocked at how young they look.  I guess because 2 months earlier I had gotten very used to looking at almost 5th graders, not kids just out of 3rd.  Anyways, all of that being said, I have made sure to start the tradition of taking Charlotte's picture at the beginning and end of each of her "school years".  I sent her off a baby and she came back a toddler.  How did that happen?

  Back in August

This summer we are going to work on teaching Charlotte the "true" meaning of summer - chilling, relaxing, swimming, and hanging out with friends and family!  She is at an incredibly fun age and we are really looking forward to getting to spend so much time with her.  After our last day of school today, I was working on getting Charlotte pumped about summer time!