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.

Happy Momma's Day

I cannot seem to put my Mother's Day joy into words so I'll let our happy faces tell the story.

Artist for a Day

I freely admit that I am neither artistic nor fond of messy projects. Fortunately, there is a wonderful place just down the street where kids are encouraged to make a mess and explore their artsy side. I have wondered about this 1920s bungalow that has become progressively more colorful over the years. Now I know, it's an open studio for budding young artists.

Each room features a different type of project, most involving paint. The ideas are so creative and teach colors, textures, cooperative play, cause and effect, and more. Tessa and her friend rolled and bounced golf balls through wet paint to create unusual designs. Who thinks of things like that?

T-shirts are provided for moms like me that stress about paint stains on clothes.

Tessa's favorite station was the Spin Art table. With her light touch, we were able to add several colors to each card and produce interesting and fun mini masterpieces. The girls were even good about taking turns. I think this was my favorite station too.

Happy Birthday Gamma

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom!

We started her birthday week off with a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. It was fabulous!

Tessa liked the animals but was more interested in the carousel. She wanted to ride again, and again, and again. We were all happy to take a turn with the parade princess.

We also had ice cream and rode the train but the best part of the day was the pony ride. I really can't believe my baby is big enough for things like this! She loved it and was absolutely adorable perched on the little pony's back.

Watch her blow a kiss to my parents. Such a sweetheart!

The birthday continues at our favorite Mexican restaurant where Tessa insists Gamma wear the birthday sombrero. Pretty cute. We love you Gamma!

Happy 101 Award

I was tagged by a fellow blogger to list ten things I am happy about.  I have so many things I am thankful for that it was hard to narrow it down to just ten things.  

1. 
   
   Ryan - he's a wonderful husband, fantastic father, good provider, and overall great head of our household
2. 
   
   Tessa - my sweet sweet baby whom I love more than words can express
3. 
   
   My parents - they have taught me so much and always loved unconditionally, I love the closeness that we share
4. 
   
   Anabelle - my fur baby who follows me everywhere
5. 
   
   Friends - the ones whom I have known forever and the new ones that I am getting to know
6. 
   
   Balancing work with staying at home - I love that most of the time I am home with my Tessa, but the extra money and adult time is good too
7. 
   
   Vacation - there is just something special about getting out of town 
8. 
   
   My camera - I use it to capture all these wonderful moments I never want to forget
9. 
   
   Sunshine and warm weather - I really need my vitamin D
10. 
    
    DVR - yes this one is a little silly, but it makes watching TV so convenient 

Lists like these are great ways to remind us to look at the good things in life and not focus on the negative.  I pass this Happy 101 Award on to three of my friends:  Claire, Caroline, Tobie.

Happy Easter

Alive, alive, alive forever more. My Jesus is alive. Sing hallelujah! Sing hallelujah! My Jesus is alive forever more ...

Just a couple of quick pictures before church. We were almost on time for once, because we were actually trying to be early on such a busy day.


Tessa looks so sweet, she is really reaching for the peanut butter egg in Daddy's pocket.


After church we headed to Gamma and Gampa's for an Easter Egg hunt. More yummy candy for my little sweet tooth baby.

By far, the biggest treat of the day was Tessa's new Princess SUV. My parents have a knack for picking the coolest toys. She loves it! It even has a radio so she can bebop down the road to Disney tunes. Look how happy she is.

Of course, I had to hop in and show her how to drive it. Tessa would push the gas pedal and let go making for a pretty jerky ride. She gets so excited when the car lurches forward that she forgets to hold her foot down.


Such a look of concentration as she turns the steering wheel, so precious!

Here she is hanging out on the back deck with Nanny, my grandma. They are adorable together, I love watching the young and old relate to each other.




My parents fixed a fabulous lamb dinner and my mom's table was so pretty. Thank you for making Easter such a special treat!

Needless to say, we had tons of fun driving the new car.

More Easter Eggs

Another beautiful day here in South Carolina. I am so proud of my little cherry tree, the blooms are fantastic. So, of course, I had to take a picture. Nevermind that we are late for an Easter Egg Hunt.

We made it to Heritage Park just in time for the toddler Easter Egg Hunt. We enjoyed watching Tessa run around and pick up eggs.


There were 30,000 eggs and probably about that many people. Wow! Good thing this park is huge.

After lunch and a great nap, we dyed our own Easter eggs. Notice we are outside, I just knew we would make a huge mess. Tessa plopped the first egg right into the dye, she knew what to do. She loved stirring them and checking to see how the dye was absorbing.

Letting them dry was not nearly as much fun. Tessa and I played on the swingset while Daddy finished up the eggs.

And they turned out beautifully! Tessa was fascinated with these real eggs. She kept trying to open them like she does the plastic ones. The green one is now sporting a crackled effect thanks to Tessa manhandling it. Not a bad result for our first attempt at dyeing eggs.

Springtime Snippets

Ice cream is our new favorite food. Tessa will ask for it first thing in the morning and would probably eat ice cream for every meal if only I would let her. She still has tummy trouble with milk products, so we buy frozen yogurt. Here she is with her first ice cream cone. We had to teach her to lick the ice cream right off the cone, she kept trying to use her spoon. So cute!

Our weather has been fabulous this week. On Monday, Tessa and I went to Falls Park after our library time. The flowers downtown are beautiful! We walked the Swamp Rabbit Trail and played at the park, such a relaxing day.

My little Southern Belle has discovered fried chicken. I was sharing bites with her from my plate when she grabbed the whole breast and started chowing down. She knows the best part is the yummy crunchy outside!

We had a great day at the zoo with our sweet friends. The girls were adorable running around checking out the animals. I think Tessa liked the big baboon the best. My favorite comment of the day was when Tessa looked at some strangers and said "Hey y'all!" So friendly.


We played on both playgrounds at the zoo and Daddy joined us for a picnic too. Lots of other people took advantage of the good weather and the holiday too. It was a zoo - hahaha!!!

I would love to say that Tessa is roaring like a bear here, but I think she is saying "DOWN!" Just wait Baby, Momma wants a picture on the cute bear.