A Close Call

Last week, we had something very scary happen...a close call with Millie in the pool.  We were invited to another neighborhood pool with friends.  Two of the other kids were in swim lessons that week, so they were practicing going without their floaties.  Since Millie was just playing in the shallow end, I let her go without her floatie, as well.  A half hour passed, and all was well...and of course I got too comfortable.  Then Millie spotted a toy floating in the deep end and crept along the wall to go get it.  Once she let go of the wall to get the toy, she got in trouble.  Thankfully, my friend alerted me of the trouble immediately.  I had to wade through the entire pool to get to her, and it felt like everything was in slo-motion.  She couldn't keep her head above water and the look on her face was pure terror.  I scooped her up and we both cried.  It was easily the scariest moment of my life.  What if my friend hadn't been watching?!  How long would it have taken me to notice?  I'm still so mad at myself over the incident.  So many what ifs.  I'm so so grateful for other moms' watchful eyes, and I'm actually grateful for this awful close call, as well.  It really scared both of us, and now Millie won't go near the pool without her floatie on.  After weeks of swim lessons and then our time at the beach house with the shallow pool, I think Millie didn't really understand what deep water was or how she needs to respect it.  She is a little more timid in the pool now, but at least she'll still get in.  

Syd's doing great too!  These puddle jumpers are pretty amazing.  We didn't go to the pool at all last year because I didn't feel like I could keep them both safe.  Now that Syd is old enough to wear one too, we've been having a lot of fun at the pool.  New rule though:  anytime we are inside the fence with the pool, you must be wearing your floatie!  I've heard a lot of scary stories from other moms after sharing my own on Facebook.  No taking it off to eat snacks or change clothes before going home; we won't be taking those things off until we get to the car.

Father's Day for JKK

Father's Day for JKK was fairly tame this year.  JKK got to spend the entire day driving the "bus" home from Memphis.  At least he looked good doing it!  He drove the entire way to Destin and back...and never complained.  He's not a complainer; more of a suffer in silence kind of guy. ;)  He impresses us with his ability to drink black coffee and get a gorgeous tan in a single day.  He can drive anything with wheels and fix anything that needs fixing.  He's always pleasant to be around and loves to take us on adventures.  Thank you, JKK, for always giving them baths (my least favorite parenting activity), for playing chase & hide-n-seek, for kicking balls with Millie (she said this is her favorite thing daddy does with her), for snuggling them when they need it, and most of all, for being the best daddy around.  We appreciate you!

For his Father's Day gift, we painted pottery this year.  Millie picked out a lovely unicorn and Syd got stuck with a bowl...they both had an absolute blast painting them.

The best part was giving them to him.  Millie was so proud.  They now are at home on his desk at work, and he said he's had to field a few questions regarding them. ;) 

A very happy belated Father's Day to my own daddy.  He makes a big effort to come see us and spend time with the girls.  I've loved watching him with the girls...so patient and involved.  He's a master of the grill and a great teacher too.  Always content to sit outside and enjoy life at a leisurely pace.  He's the best.  Love you, dad.  About a month ago, we also got to spend time with Papa Tyson.  Such a special day.  <3

Destin, part deux

Most everyone knows our wedding story by now...beautiful beach wedding all planned out, then Hurricane Rita swung through and we ended up getting married in a tiny room with no windows.  Since this year marks ten years (technically not until Sept 24), we decided to go back to Destin and hopefully enjoy the beach this time!  We did, we did!!  Not a bad weather day the entire time we were there.  Friends and family joined us throughout the week.  We rented a house right on the gorgeous, white-sand beach...worth it!  It was heaven.  I can't wait to go back next year.  Definitely an annual event!

This is the girls' first time to see the ocean.  Syd wasn't even awake for it.

We pulled in to Destin and first stop was the beach!  Millie was super duper impressed!

Syd...not so much.  She was a bit scared and didn't want to go down near the water.

 Whereas, Millie cried when we made her leave for lunch.

My favorite kind of lunch...right on the water with some french fries.  Syd's new favorite too.  The sea salt air made her hair super curly.

Then we headed to the house we were sharing with Midge and her family.  The girls were excited to see Kyle again!  And what a view!

I was excited to see Midge again!  She makes me laugh.

our view <3

The next day, we were on the beach early.  Mills was so excited, I can't even describe it.

Syd hung back for a bit, watching...waiting...until she finally told me to take her to the water.  She never quite embraced it like Mills, but she was in it quite a bit throughout the week.  She preferred sand play over the ocean though.

best day ever

Kyle and Syd did a lot of digging together

Mills was happy to show off her new suits.  I don't know where she learned to pose.  Seems so grown up lately...especially with her attitude.  We call her brown bear...so dark (her and JKK both)!

The house we rented was great.  It had a tiny little pool on the bottom floor that the kiddos loved!  Perfect for a quick swim before dinner.

cannonball queen

Mills doesn't like to get her head wet, so this pool was perfect...she jumps in and can still touch so no need to go under the water.

Syd gets up soooo early (like 4:45 early), so what else is there to do but walk the beach?!  Special times with my girl.  We usually had the place to ourselves.  She's the sweetest.

Loved every moment on the beach with my family.  It's so fun to see your kids so happy.  Really made the whole trip worth it.

my big girl

napping

practicing

Coco in tha house!  Funny story:  JKK asked Millie "are you having fun with Coco?" and Millie said "I'm gonna have hot cocoa."  Then she turned around to Coco and said "I'm gonna have YOU!"  and she cracked us all up.

funny faces

lemon face ;)

Mills, Dan, Luc...Mills still follows Dan around everywhere.  She was often heard saying "Dan, watch this!" ;)

Two of my besties at the beach...blessed!  Christie joined the party on Tuesday...

We ate at Pompano Joe's almost every day.  We could walk to it from our house, which worked out great for lunch.  Then we usually had dinner at home.  Seemed to work better with the kids, since they are so young and like to eat early.  It's a fun place...the kids loved the corn dogs and french fries; the parents loved the cold beer after carrying the kids so far down the beach.  Good memories.

After the babies were in bed, the adults like to play their own games.  John and his sister Colleen must've driven their mother crazy with their picture-taking antics.

Millie loves to crawl in bed with Syd.  One afternoon, JKK went to get Syd after nap and found Mills in there snuggling her.  Sweetest pic ever.

Aunt Kathy is the best at reading to the kids.  They actually pay attention.

another beautiful morning with this early bird

first time in pigtails!  i've made her wear them almost every day since.  love them.

Thanks, Tony, for sharing your pics!  Look at Kyle!  He is such a sweet little boy.

love these shots of the girls

Syd calls sand "snow".  And she calls sunscreen "ice cream".

daddy's girl...most days she actually napped because she was so worn out from the beach

some fun shots with the waterproof camera

the water is emerald and look at that sky!

Wednesday, the three sisters flew in!  Nana!!

Big family dinner night...so fun!

twins

The cousins...just missing Ben!

brothers

my midge <3

curly haired beauties

BFFs since high school

I love this pic of Mills and Uncle Mike playing in the surf

Millie was often seen on her phone...working from the beach #thisishowweRF

love this pic of Nana and the girls

Aunt Dina!  We sing "someone's in the kitchen with Dina" quite a bit.  I'm pretty sure at some point one of the girls told Dina to go to the kitchen. ;)

Thursday night = party time!  Midge was very thoughtful in organizing a little ten year anniversary celebration!  We had delicious BBQ and Aunt Cathy provided the bubbly.  

We even had some wedding cake with adorable number 10 sparklers

lots of photo shoots on the beach ;)  it's too gorgeous not to...

my momma <3

So thankful for everyone that came to spend some time with us.  It's such a great place for everyone to do their own thing too.  Coco went parasailing!  The big cousins visited some museums and gulfarium...and one day they even went deep sea fishing!  Proud of their catches.  Hope everyone had a great vacation, like we did!

And then, sadly...the week was over all too soon.  It flew by.  These three really bonded throughout the week and we've had lots of talk of Kyle since then.  Millie was super pissed that we had to leave the beach.  She asked if we could move there.  Wish we could, girlfriend...

We did have some fun on the way home too...we stopped by Grey's new house near Memphis!  Millie was so excited to see him.  They played a lot of superheroes and Grey named her Laser Girl. ;)

Syd was more excited about the fast food stops on the road.  Ask her to show you her teeth and you get this...cracks me up every time.

Yay for Summer Vacation!!