The last three months have just flown by. Summer has quickly come and come, but it was definitely a great one. As you saw in my last post, our little bit turned one and is growing like a little weed. We celebrated her birthday with some family and had a wonderful time. The girls' great grandfather (Papa V) actually surprised both girls at her party with their very own keepsake chests! They are perfect and I cannot wait to fill them with love and all sorts of memorabilia as they grow and then leave with them when they start their own families (A LONG TIME FROM NOW!!). Here is a picture of Grace thanking (kissing) Papa V and Scarlett loving her cupcake. The keepsake chest has Grace's name engraved into it. When Scarlett is old enough to write her name, we'll get it engraved too :)
Then in August, we decided to try Grace at a different gym; one closer to home and one that was more focused on the traditional gymnastics with the four events (different than a cheer gym). Grace had gotten such a good foundation where she was and absolutely loved it (so much so that we built her a beam in our backyard). She was really enjoying the different apparatus' that she started one, but there you could only go so far and then transition into more of a cheerleading background, which is cool, but we wanted to give her the opportunity to keep moving with the traditional gymnastics. Then as she gets older, she can decide want she wants to do. Thank you so very much to Sheena for all the love she instilled in my girl for the sport and starting her off strong. Now, onto another place to continue that love of the sport. She now has Coach Mark and so far is really enjoying it. She loves the bars and trampoline the best right now, but what 3 year old wouldn't?? lol.
 |
| Her first Coach.... Miss Sheena :) |
 |
| New Coach... Mr. Mark :) |
 |
| Salute! |
This month we spent a day out at Wet n' Wild using tickets that I actually won in a cute kid contest back in the 80's!! Yep, we had tickets that were more than 25 years old, but with the park closing next year, we figured now would be as good a time as any to use them and it was perfect timing! Grace is exactly 36"; so she was just able to ride a lot of the "big girl" rides and she had a blast!! Look at that smile!
Scarlett had a lot of fun too. This was her first time to a water park and I'm sure it won't be the last. She went down the water slide all by herself like a trooper! There were little ones a little older than Grace that wouldn't even go down.
Also, later this month, we went to Universal with Bella and her family (Holly and Jesse). We decided to not tell Grace and keep it a surprise (for multiple reasons, so in case something happened and we couldn't go, she wouldn't be disappointed and so when we did go, she'd be that much more excited!). Well plan worked; when she saw Bella coming up, she said, "Mommy!! It's Bella!!" Those two girls had a blast and so did us parents :) All Grace kept saying, was "thank you for my surprise. I like Bella; she is fun!" To this day, she still always asks when she can see her Bella again... I really do love these two girls and am so thankful for God placing both our families in each others lives when He did. Their family really has been a blessing to all of us and can't wait to see them again!
 |
| Best Friends! :) |
 |
| These three are TOO CUTE!!! |
 |
| "Thank Mr. Jesse for letting me do Magic!" |
Well NanaCare has been absolutely wonderful for my girls. I could not be more grateful for what my mom does for them each and every day. In addition to the typical daily stuff, she has decided to do field trips with them on occasion (not just the splash pad or stuff like that, but actual field trips!) The first trip they took was to GatorLand and look at these pictures. You cannot tell me they didn't have a good time. Grace talks about sitting on an alligator all the time and has the biggest smile on her face. Thank you mom for loving my girls the way you do!
Next big news; my baby sister is getting married!!!! Amanda-Kay has met the love of her life and I could not be happier for her. She is such a wonderful lady and it is crazy to think that she is no longer the little baby sister that I know, but is now a beautiful, smart, talented, and wonderful lady that I am blessed to call my sister and friend. She gave me a wooden placard that says "A sister shares childhood memories and grown up dreams." It could not be more appropriate for us, as we have always shared our childhood memories and she has shared in my grown up dreams (marriage, babies, etc)... and... now I get to share this grown up dream of hers with her! Congrats Boo... LOVE YOU!
 |
| I could hug her this tight right now I'm so excited!! |
 |
| Amanda and her "FIANCE" Thiago :) |
Then, since announcing my sisters engagement, I found out that my sister-in-love is also engaged! Congrats to Sam and her hubby to be Steve. We voted back in June and the votes finally came in... Sam4Wife2016 is happening! :) Much love to you both also. Here is to a blessed lifetime of love together for Amanda & Thiago and Sam & Steve!!
 |
| Sam4Wife2016 |
 |
| Sam and her "FIANCE" Steve :) |
