La Playa!

Okay, so daddy loves the beach...Hunter not so much.
This was a beautiful storm.
Hunter took bike rides in the afternoon, unfortunately he was eaten by mosquitoes!
Popcorn!
They were pretending to be lions.
Swimming in the pool.
Sweet baby girl.
Eli's swimming outfit. I think the lens may have been foggy.
Hunter's favorite part about the beach...snacks.

Our family has just settled back into the groove of things. We have been gone on vacation to the fabulous Amelia Island for one whole week! It was a much needed vacation for us all and we were able to get in some valuable family time with the York-Simmons. Hunter and Eli are almost one year apart and it is fun to see how quickly the developmental gap is closing. Hunter doesn't say much (although he is saying so many new words everyday I have stopped counting!) and he isn't as fast as cousin Eli, but he sure does have a good time trying. But, I have to stop and think for a moment....Hunter may never talk as much as Eli or be as fast! Eli takes energy and excitement to a whole new level for a 2 year old. We had the best time playing with him. He reminds you of what it was like to play as a kid. I am so grateful for that. In the rush of our busy lives I think we as adults forget to just play. Even as parents we get caught up in teaching and discipling and forget to play. I love that little boy and will miss him terribly.
Linden, Eli's new little sister, is the spitten image of her daddy. She is a beautiful, fluffy little thing that was just a dream the entire week. Baby Linden enjoyed the entertainment provided by 2 toddler boys. By the end of the week Hunter finally decided it was OK to touch her, on purpose, and one of his peace offerings happened to be his match box cars. At one point he had them all around her on her tummy time mat. I was a very proud mommy seeing that he was willing to share his favorite toys with this little baby that he just wasn't so sure about. I look forward to having another little niece to dote on and buy cute little clothes for.
The weather was HOT and HOTTER. We may have gotten spoiled this year by the cooler temps because David and I can usually weather the heat, but it was just plain ole HOT. Thankfully, the boys' naptimes were from about 1-3 so this kept us out of the hottest part of the day. Basically everyday we had an activity in the morning until lunch which usually involved some part of the beach, pool or playground. Then we would come in and have lunch and naptime. David was so wonderful and stayed around the condo while Noelle and I enjoyed some quite time on the beach. After naptime we had some combination of the same morning activities in the pm. By the end of the day we were all exhausted! It was so much fun and I can't believe the week has already come and gone.
Hunter had the best time at the pool. He wasn't too fond of the beach, but he tolerated it if we had plenty of snacks, some shade and mommy. Okay enough rambling, enjoy the pictures.

Summer Fun

Yes, the dogs love the boat too. Ibis is can be a little difficult to keep IN the boat.
Hunter, Rachel and I on their new jet skies! Hunter didn't feel well this afternoon and wanted off ASAP!
Hunter could have ridden like this all afternoon. Dad used to pull us just like this when we were little.
The mermaid at the pool.
What could be better than an Oreo after lunch on the boat?
Trying to fish.
Their favorite spot. They like looking at the water and for jet skies.
Lots of places to dock, let the kids play, relax in the shade and have lunch!
We tried to tube.
Jenny and Chloe!
My captains.
Can you tell he is out growing this four wheeler. It is his favorite!
My garden. Yes, the rock wall around it is pretty, but it keeps little boys from riding their toys right through it.
After picking our first squash Hunter felt it was really important to put them in the back of his truck and ride them around a few hours before finally handing them over to me to wash for dinner.
Bedtime cartoon time.
Their favorite dinner spot. Chloe calls it her "restaurant."
Your turn in the back!
Now it is my turn!
I know this is blurry, but it was the cutest thing. They were sitting at the edge of the driveway reading the paper.
PAPA!

Well, after about 2 weeks of non stop rain around here we have been able to enjoy some outside activities. During the rainy season Hunter had his first, and probably last, session of swimming lessons. There are no pictures of this experience because it was a night mare for all involved. In Hunter's defense, the water was freezing, most of the babies were screaming and they had the big kids in the pool at the same time. So with about 50 people in this little indoor pool, it was just too much for him to handle. We made it 5 out of 10 days. We have decided to let his daddy teach him to swim. He loves the pool, just not THAT pool. He does much, much better with his daddy in the water at our local pool.
And speaking of water, we have bought a boat. It is great and I was a little hesitant at first to buy it, but boy am I glad we did. It is so much fun! The lake is beautiful and we have had a really good time as a family out on the water. Hunter enjoys the boat and can successfully find his way from the car, down the docks to our boatslip at the marina. His favorite part of the whole trip is to feed the fish down by the marina. For a quarter you can get a handful of dogfood and feed these poor begging fish that are about the size of Abby. Hunter gets the biggest kick out of them. In addition, we have had several visits from Aunt Jenny and cousin Chloe. Chloe is a little fish and loves the water. She makes me just a little nervous because she is so fearless and wants to do it all. Her favorite part of the boat ride is tubing! She is the cutest little thing out in the water. Hunter has not ventured much off the boat and actually gets quite upset if anyone leaves the boat to get into the water. He cries when David jumps in to swim and he works himself up when anyone gets in the tube. He did get in the tube once with me, but he couldn't decide if he should laugh or cry so we just came back in to the boat. I hope by the end of the summer he feels more comfortable tubing, it is just so much fun!
We had mom, dad Jenny and Chloe up for the July fourth weekend. The days were packed and we were all sad to see them go. Hunter and Chloe or "Clo, Clo" as he calls her play so well together. They have such a good time, Hunter really misses her when they leave and goes around the house for days calling her name. It is sweet and sad all at the same time. Anyway, we had a nice bike ride to Damascus so the kids could have a picnic at the playground and play in the creek, the fourth was beautiful so we spent the whole morning at the lake on the boat and the afternoon at the pool. We had a nice cookout that night and everyone was exhausted by the days end.
In other news, I am pround to say that I have picked my first squash from the garden. This has been a great experince and I have learned some things that I want to do differently for next year.....like plant less zucchini and more green beans. So far everything looks really good. We are going to be overwhelmed with squash, zucchini and cucumbers so if anyone wants some let me know. My tomato plants are growing really slowly. They are full of tomatoes, but I think they aren't getting enough sun. I think I have convinced David that we should chop the tree down that is blocking the sun from the garden! We aren't going to have any blueberries or blackberries for awhile but my raspberry bush is going great. Hunter loves to ride his truck by and pick off the ripe ones to eat. It is like his own little outdoor buffet!
David and I are doing well and having fun enjoying the summer with Hunter. Enjoy the pics!

Check it out tomorrow!

Okay, I am a little behind on posting, but well, I have been busy. For those of you who keep up with us I will be posting tomorrow. Lots to talk about, Hunter, new boat, 4th of July fun, my garden.....So hold on to your seats and I will get some stuff up here tomorrow. Hunter has had me up for 24 hours and I am about to drop. What am I doing typing on this anyway, I need to go to bed!

Day out with Thomas the Train

Getting ready to ride the 'little train' through cheese town.
Sat very still and had Thomas painted on his arm.
Chloe wanted Thomas painted on her cheek.
Riding the boats. This was great, except for the REALLY LOUD bell every kid had to ring 1000 times!
Papa and Chloe on the cars. Sorry I missed the pic of Papa having to get out and PUSH the car. Did I mention that this is a really old park?
Who do you think is enjoying this car ride more?
Riding the big horse. We do a lot better with big, fake animals!

Thomas jumpy thing! Hunter really enjoyed the slide on the other side, even if he did get tromped over by every other kid there.
THOMAS!!!
Aunt Jenny and Chloe patiently waiting for our train ride to begin!

This Wednesday Aunt Jenny, Chloe, Gaga and Papa joined the Simmons family at Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. This week the railway has a special guest, Thomas the Train! The little blue engine lead the way around the park in front of the original Tweetsie engine. It was lots of fun and everyone enjoyed the train ride, the chairlift, the rides and the ice cream!

Atlanta trip!

The tire swing rocks!

Sweet baby!
Cuddly baby!

"We not going to ride the train again cousin Hunter!."
First carousel ride. Wish I could have captured his expression when it started....priceless.
Trip to the zoo. Notice there are no animals in this picture.


The Simmons family just got back from a great little visit to the big city of Atlanta. David and I have a new niece, Linden Holly York-Simmons, so we all went down to squeeze on her and formally introduce ourselves. Granddaddy also joined us for the weekend so we got in some extra family time. Hunter was fantastic. He had his first stay in a hotel, which he thought was fascinating. We probably could have spent all three days in the hotel and he would have had a blast. He loved all the people, the long hall ways to run down, the elevator, and there was a huge fish aquarium in the lobby...he couldn't get enough of all these new things, and as a bonus he got to sleep in a great big bed with mom and dad! What could be better, right?
Little Linden is a beautiful baby, with the sweetest and cuddliest personality. Of course, she is way too small to do anything but eat and sleep, so we just took turns snuggling with her while the 2 boys played and played. Eli and Hunter had so much fun together and are really sweet to each other. They share (most of the time) and they would hold hands in the house and walking down the street. They really enjoy each others company and as they are getting older their developmental gap is closing. It is fun to watch them play and see how the dynamics of their relationship is changing.
In the big city of Atlanta there is just so much to do! The York-Simmons live just a few blocks from the zoo so we spent just about all day Saturday there. David and I just couldn't wait for Hunter to see the animals. We read about these animals, just about daily in many of his books. Well, Hunter was scared to death. I thought he was going to cry when he saw the elephants. I picked him up out of his stroller so he could see them and all he would say is, "back, back" after that he would not get out of his stroller nor would he even look at any of the animals. He tried to hide the entire time. The only exhibit he enjoyed were the otters! He did enjoy the carousel and the little train ride around the zoo. Those things made up for his fear of the animals! Maybe we will go back when he is a little older!