Babyland General Hospital

We were supposed to go to Stone Mountain yesterday, but with the threat of thunderstorms we decided to take the girls to Babyland General Hospital - the home of the Cabbage Patch dolls. 

See those dolls on display? They are some of the original ones and they are now worth $15,000! I have one from when I was maybe 10 years old (and we read that Xavier Roberts started the dolls around the time I was born). Maybe mine will be worth $15,000 one day!

One excited little girl.

Another excited little girl.

While we were there we saw 3 dolls being "born." The "nurses" had obviously memorized a script, but the girls enjoyed it.

Whenever Brooke slipped out of our sight we could bet she was playing with all the new doll toys like this one.

"Daddy, take a picture of me doing this!"

We spent more time in the car traveling to and from the hospital, but the girls really had a great time.  They each came home with a new doll and spent the rest of the evening playing with them.  While the girls have been in school today Brooke has enjoyed playing with the dolls and not having to share. :)

First Day of Timothy and Open House

This is my first year that I will not be teaching at the Timothy Ministry since I started 6 years ago. It's very bittersweet.  I know God pulled me away so that I can focus on teaching my children on Tuesdays for this season of my life.  Going to the Timothy Open House was hard.  I am used to being the teacher and not just the parent walking around.  I will SO miss teaching with Cherie.  She has become such a good friend to me and it has been such a blessing in my life to see her weekly.  I have seen her children grow up over the last five years we have taught together.  Thankfully I can still stop in and see her on Tuesdays this year since the older girls are each taking a class there and Macy is also taking dance on Tuesdays. 

Marc had to take the girls on the first day of classes because I had both of my King's Academy meetings that day.  He did a good job getting everyone where they were supposed to be.

Friday night was Open House for King's and the girls were able to see their classrooms and meet their teachers.  Macy will have Mrs. Hollenbeck just like Kayla did in kindergarten. Macy is so excited and I am excited for her.

 Kayla's 2nd grade teacher is Mrs. Foster.  I have heard so many wonderful things about her. She had quite a sense of humor, and I'm hoping that my serious Kayla learns to have fun with that.

School starts Monday and we are all very excited to get back into our routine!

Beach Vacation Part 3

I really thought I had more pictures from the pool.  Guess I was busy riding the lazy river and/or reading. :) It's a fabulous pool with a kiddie area, a zero entry pool, a lazy river, a wave pool, a waterfall you can swim under, and several other cool things. The girls had the best time.  A couple of times Marc took all three of them out to play while I read my book and soaked up some harmful rays.

  

 

We enjoyed a night of putt-putt. 

We all rode the ferris wheel at the condo this year.  The older two girls enjoyed their first time on one of these contraptions.  Brooke wasn't too happy that she didn't get a turn.  Thankfully the promise of ice-cream helped heal her broken heart.

 

We finally got around to feeding the seagulls.  We had some bread with us all week, but the beach was always more crowded than I would have liked.  Not everyone likes a flock of sea-gulls descending upon them. This was our last time at the beach before we headed home.  It was after a storm had come through so the beach was almost deserted.

At first there was one...

and then all of his friends showed up.

The kids love their bunk beds in the closet.  Brooke slept in our bed and did quite well going to sleep and staying asleep.  One night she laid up against my back, put her arm over me, and fell asleep.  So sweet! I will say I have missed that little snuggle bug in our bed - but not too much!

We are so thankful for the opportunity to get some time away, especially after the busy spring and summer we have had building a house and moving. School starts in less than 2 weeks so we are going to try and enjoy every moment we can until then.

Beach Vacation Part 2

The next day the girls are up ready to go.  Marc found a fun park for them to go to, so he took the girls to play for a little while.

After the park we headed to the pool (pictures to come) for the rest of the morning. After lunch we all took a nap before heading out to the beach for a picnic dinner and play time.

Not sure the orange glasses do much for the sunlight, but she sure loves them!

Brooke loves her Nini.

LOVE this picture! It it totally Brooke.

 

Beach Vacation Part 1

For the past 7 years I have always needed a vacation after a vacation.  Going out of town with young children is not easy. As they get older I have realized that things are getting easier.  It has been over a year since we have gone on a vacation with our girls, and two years since they have been to the beach. To say they were excited would be an understatement.

We arrived at the condo in Orange Beach mid-afternoon.  After settling in a bit we headed out for dinner (Shrimp Basket, of course!) and then went for a walk on the beach.

This was Brooke's first time on the beach since she was about 8 months old.  She was unsure of the sand and water for about 4 seconds.

The walk started off nice and calm.  Walking in the sand, dipping our toes in the water...

And then the excitement took over.  Macy was drenched by a wave.  They were pretty strong and knocking the girls over.  

Brooke got knocked over and it scared her for a bit, but she got over it once we convinced her that it was okay she was completely wet.

More to come...

Just Some (or a lot) Pictures