dolphin watching

Our good friends Walt and Beth took us for a boat ride last weekend. Within 5 minutes of being on the boat Morgan was out. She had gone all weekend with no nap and it finally caught up with her.

Addison told me that she was just taking a break from the wind. She was out 10 minutes later.

We ventured downtown to the Landing for some ice cream. I love all the bridges in downtown Jacksonville.

The kids splashed around in the fountain area for a few minutes while I basically ate all of the ice cream.

Then we headed back out on a mission to find dolphins. Right around the time I took this picture we spotted about 7 or so putting on a show for another boat. The girls loved it!

This was the best boat ride yet. Neither one of them was too afraid with the wind and both sat up front with me while we cruised at warp speed. Addison even sat on my lap a little while we searched for more dolphins.

I'm sad that summer is almost over. Hopefully we can get one more ride in before it gets too cool.

all about the icing

I'm testing out my new Blogger app so I took this picture of Morgan tonight. She ate all of the icing on the cupcake so she decided to lick the plate. Silly girl.

never a dull moment

I love when I'm playing with the girls and Morgan just disappears for a few minutes. Everything is quiet and the she reappears looking like this.

Completing the look is the mismatched earrings she put on all by herself. 

What is this exactly? I can always count on her to make me laugh.

she got mail

Addison got this sweet postcard from her teachers yesterday.

I think it was really sweet of her teachers to do this. I'm sure they have plenty of stuff going on, but the fact that they took the time out to mail a postcard shows me that they really care. Addison felt really was special when we told her she had mail. I was so happy and proud of her. Tomorrow is open house at the school. So far I have a really good vibe from her teachers. I can't wait to have a little face time with them and hear about all of the things she has been learning. 

house divided

The third Saturday in September is well know in our house. It's like a holiday. It's marked on all the calendars and no other plans are made. Everyone put on their favorite colors and we headed to a friend's house to watch the game.

My poor girls. Addison is brainwashed beyond believe and thinks Tennessee is the only football team on the planet. Morgan wears all the Gator gear and does the chomp, but if she's looking Michael in the face she'll still say 'Go Vols'. There is still hope for Morgan though. Michael hasn't completely converted her yet.

They are definitely two of the cutest fans around.

Addison really is a Tennessee fan. Just like the fans in the stadium, she couldn't make it to the end of the game.

One day they'll understand. They'll look back at the last eight years that Florida has beaten Tennessee and wonder why they weren't Gator fans the entire time. All in due time.

GO GATORS!!!

it's soccer season

Soccer has started. It was a little crazy at first with all the rain and practices and games getting rescheduled, but we seem to be in the groove of things now. Addison is a veteran on her team and seems to be more into it and a little better at the game than she was last year. She's one of three girls on her team and is sometimes a little scared to really get in the mix of boys and kick the ball. Her confidence is growing and each week she seems to get a little better.

She was so excited during the first game there was a lot of jumping and overall joy.

Since she one of the oldest and biggest on the time she's on the field a lot. At one point she just needed a break. This is my favorite picture so far this season. 

Before the second game the team had pictures taken. I took some of my own.

She hasn't scored a goal yet, but she's a pretty good goalie. She's blocked plenty of shots so far this season. Her time is coming though. I can feel it.

Morgan is ready. She would play today if she was old enough.

Next game is tomorrow. Stay tuned for more.

makeup and dress up

I don't wear a lot of makeup. On most days I don't wear any. If I have a client coming in, a big event, or maybe a date with the hubs I put some on. It must have been the night of the 80's party when Morgan discovered my makeup drawer. The next day she asked if I could put some makeup on her and so I did. That may have been a mistake. Now she thinks she can go in the drawer anytime she wants and doll herself up. There's no doubt that her favorite thing to put on is the mascara.

Not too bad, right?

Addison got in on the action too.

The makeup and dress up clothes are a package deal. You can't have one without the other.

These girls know how to have fun and I love it! Although, I did limit the use of the mascara.

uncle jesse's

We went to my brother's house recently for M's second birthday party. There is no need to go to the zoo when you have chickens in your backyard.

All was going well until the water balloon fights broke out.

Then it turned ugly. Needless to say, I have only these pictures of that action. After this I went into hiding.

Let's just say there were some wet and unhappy people by the time it was all over. And most of those were adults.

that school thing

So far, so good. Addison was completely worn out the first week. I put her to bed each night and when I went to check on her five minutes later, she was sound asleep. So were her best buds - Sammy, Marnie the mouse, and Lucy Bear. She can't sleep without them.

The whole thing has definitely been harder on me than her. It's difficult for me to not know what is going on all day. I feel so disconnected. The information you get from a five year old is limited. I know that she's made it two weeks without having to change her behavior card and therefore she's gotten to pick a prize out of the box. I know that we don't have to work on any of her letter sounds because she got them all right. I know when she eats lunch because I finally emailed the teachers to find out why she was so hungry in the afternoons. I know that she's had cupcakes on two separate occasions.

Addison is shy when it comes to new things, but she's doing great. She's even riding the bus. The first time she rode it I was that crazy mom and met her at school. I wanted her to be comfortable with what to do when she gets there. I also got to meet the bus driver. It totally felt like Forrest Gump. She's made a new friend from our neighborhood and they sit together every morning. However, today her friend wasn't at the bus stop and therefore the routine was all screwed up. Addison was a little teary, but still managed to get on without a breakdown.

Last week we were in the car and Addison said, "We've tried this bus thing. Now I think I want to try the lunch thing". So far she's only brought her lunch. It makes me happy to know that she's open to trying new things. She's definitely growing up and becoming this little person.

day at sea

Our last day of the cruise was spent at sea. The pool gets crowded on the sea day so we went down early and staked out our spot. We spent a lot of time in the sun and I'm happy to report there was no major sunburn. I'm not ashamed to lather my face in white sunscreen. I just wish I would have rubbed it in a little better.

This float cost us $8 on one of the island's. The pool water is salted and chlorinated so Morgan wouldn't get in without it. We had a miserable time when the water did get in her eyes.

We opted for lunch in the dining room instead of dinner that night. We knew we wanted to go to the "show" that evening and we had free drink coupons we could only use at lunch. I'm all about saving seven bucks. Addison picked up this crown kit in the gift shop at Atlantis. She wore it any chance she could on Wednesday. Morgan perfected her coloring skills on this trip. She even colored on the table cloth a couple of times.

A decent picture of me and my dad, even though he hated every second of it.

That night we made it to the early show in the theater. Much to my delight it was an 80's themed show. Me and the girls jammed through the whole thing.

No pictures please.

The last towel creation was an elephant.

We had such a great time. I wish the girls would have went to the kids camp they offer, but they wouldn't let parents past the gate and my kids do not go to strangers that easily. If I would have had five minutes to introduce them it might have been different. They did go to Camp Grandpa one night which allowed Michael and I to go out on the ship and be adults for the evening. We even got to sleep without interruptions. The girls had a blast doing crafts and playing games in Grandpa's room. They schooled my dad in Go Fish. We'll definitely be doing the cruise again, but I want to give it a couple of years. By then the girls will be older and things might not be as hectic. Who knows what we'll do next year.