Father's Day

We are so lucky to have these wonderful fathers in our lives. Being a Daddy is a big job and they both do it very well. Sunday afternoon we had presents and a yummy dinner for the daddies, complete with our traditional chocolate pie.

Of course, the presents are really all for Tessa.

Even though Tessa hadn't been feeling her best she didn't miss a chance to snuggle with her Daddy and tell him Happy Daddy Day.

Shipwreck Cove

Saturday we visited a local water park. The childen's area had slides just the right size for Tessa and she had a great time playing in the water. The misting palm trees kept us cool and the zero entry pool is a nice touch. The pirate theme is cute and Tessa crawled over, under and around the pirate ship. I liked floating on the lazy river where we would get hosed down by the water cannons. Tessa liked watching Daddy ride the big slides and make big splashy landings.

We took a break from the water and had a picnic in the park. Then it was back for more splashing fun.

Summertime

June started with a visit from one of my long time friends, Kristin and her adorable son. We were so glad they could make the trip. The kids played well together despite the fact that B is over a year younger than Tessa. In this picture B has just discovered an interesting bug.

How 'bout ... is one of Tessa's new favorite phrases. Can't you just see her saying "How 'bout a ride?"

We did all kinds of fun things with our visitors including a trip to the strawberry farm. Both munchkins had a blast picking and eating strawberries.

We played in the patio pool and ventured up to the neighborhood pool.

We visited the downtown farmer's market and Touch a Truck. The kids drove the trolley and an electric police car. The fire engine honked at us, the ambulance had lots of cool things to investigate and B even got to sit on a huge tractor. Then, to cool off, we headed to the splash park across the river. They loved the disappearing fountains.

Tessa was so cute, if I do say so myself, that a local artist requested my permission to allow her to be a part of his portfolio.

With summer in full swing, we spend most of our days at the pool. We love having friends join us. Tessa is a little fish and loves to jump off the side into my arms. She floats in her Ariel ring all by herself and is learning how to swim. Since I don't use floaties and Tessa has no fear, we have had a couple of underwater experiences. She does great, holds her breath and floats.

Ryan has been hard at work on our deck. Since it's fifteen feet in the air this has been no small project. He ripped up all the boards and then, thanks to days and days of rain, I had a nice pergola for a while. It was kind of strange to watch our kitties tiptoe across the boards to their food. I was so worried Tessa or Anabelle would go charging out the back door that we actually child locked it. Ryan is now almost done and it looks terrific. He was working on it one night in the rain and Tessa begged to join him.

The Beach

For our summer vacation this year we headed to Destin, Florida. It is every bit as beautiful as we remembered. This is the view from our room, definitely worth the extra time in the car.

It's hard to say who was most excited to be there. Tessa ran onto the balcony, jumped for joy and kept hollering "BEACH!!!" She could hardly contain herself while we changed into swimsuits and, of course, took pictures.

Our days were spent playing, swimming, relaxing and just soaking up the warm Florida sunshine.

Daddy built wonderful sand castles that Tessa took special delight in demolishing.

I loved letting the waves lap at my feet while sitting on the sugar white sand.

Occasionally Tessa would lounge in her very own beach chair.

But most of her beach time was spent convincing one or both of us to take her in the water. "Momma let's go water!" or "Daddy turn, come on!" were sentences we heard over and over. Tessa was delighted to ride the waves on her boogie board or sit on a float and look for dolphins.

She and I took a pretty serious dunking one morning. A wave caught me off guard and we both went down and rolled in the surf. Thankfully, I had a nice tight hold around Tessa's middle and there was no real danger. Can't say that was a very fun experience though. Miraculously, this didn't diminish her love of the ocean and the brave little thing went back in the water the next day.

Tessa was a fantastic traveler this year. She slept in a big girl bunk bed and did great at restaurants. Ryan and I were able to enjoy a very romantic anniversary dinner on the balcony after she went to bed one night. Happy 11 Years!

Walks on the beach, photo shoots and trips (yes plural) to Whataburger made me a happy girl.

We took a sunset dophin cruise one evening. I was thrilled to see so many dolphins swimming and jumping with the boat and these two were excited to "drive" the boat.

One of Tessa's favorite things to do was throw sand or shells into the surf. She would gather handfuls and wait for a wave to crash before sending things out to sea. Absolutely adorable to watch her darting around at the water line.

Picking up a seashell.

We were lucky to visit before any oil damage occurred. The beaches and water were pristine. A thoroughly enjoyable vacation.