We're back! We made it home from Myrtle Beach around 10:30 tonight. We had a great time! Unlike Dorothy, we were clicking our heels saying "I want to stay here." I love the beach. I could be a beach bum for life and be perfectly happy. However, I am very glad to be home and be back with the people I missed and love. Now, I'll count down the days until I head back to the ocean again in October; and, again in March. I think in March we are going to head down to Florida. The gulf is calling my name. lol. I will try and get the beach pictures posted in my MobileMe gallery within a day or so for you all to see.
Dance Competition Updates: Morgan won 2nd place in her age division for solos. Way to go Morgan! Abbey did extremely well also! We are very proud of both of them. Overall, our dancers won 11 1st place, 3 2nd place, and 4 third place. Way to go! It was a lot of fun. I'll have those pictures up as well. Plus, a friend of mine video taped it and will be putting it on youtube for everyone to see. I'll post the link to the videos as soon as they are posted.
Hope everyone is having an AWESOME SUMMER!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Most Amazing Night...
Tonight has been the most amazing night. It was perfect! Definitely, the most rememberable night of our vacation. It was just Abbey, Morgan, and I. I decided to take advantage of that and enjoy the quality time with them. We went down to the beach, took our shoes off and stood in the tide, letting the waves rush over our toes. Then, with flip flops in hand, we went walking down the beach. I gave Abbey my shoes to carry. Then, took her hand and Morgan's in mine; and, together we walked, we danced, and we played along the shore. 
Morgan let go of my hand and ran a little ahead of Abbey and I playing. Abbey and I talked and laughed as we watched Morgan. We did this all the way down to the pier. At the pier, we enjoyed a nice dinner with just the 3 of us. Then, walked out onto the pier to see what we could spot in the ocean. Abbey was hoping to see a shark! We stood out on the pier and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. As we were leaving the pier, we stopped for ice cream. On the way back to the hotel, we searched for unique sea shells. Morgan found a "baby" conche shell that she was very proud of. Abbey found a shell that still had something alive in it. We couldn't figure out what it was. She put it safely back in the water. A few big waves came in and got the bottoms of our sun dresses wet. That was ok too. We saw a golden retriever playing ball and swimming in the ocean. Of course, the girls had to stop and play with him. This made us miss Emma. The girls want to bring her with us next time. I don't know about that one. LOL. Although, I have to admit, it would have been fun having her with us tonight. Abbey started singing "The tide is high..." Very fitting. I laughed and sang along with her. Once we got back to the hotel, we sat in the sand, buried our toes, talked and laughed some more. They decided they wanted to go swimming again. So, we changed back into our bathing suits and headed to the pool. We swam and then sat in the hot tub. Froze our butts off when we got out of that. After the pool closed for the night, we went back down to the beach to look for sand crabs. Abbey got tired and decided to go to bed. She left Morgan and I on the beach and went inside to bed. Sleepy head. 
Morgan and I stayed on the beach and played in the sand for a little while longer. We were "cooking." Morgan came up with some very unique recipes. Don't know that I would want to try those. We had a blast. Of course, she was telling me how to prepare the recipes step by step; and, I had to "cook" along with her. Silly girl. As the kids get older, I find that it gets harder and harder to have these special moments with them like this. Our schedules get packed with school, dance, ball, etc. Tonight warmed my heart. The quality time spent with them can't be described fully in words. It was so calming, relaxing, and happy. I wish every day could be just like tonight. We enjoyed it so much so that we turned off the cell phones and disconnected ourselves from the world. Only the 3 of us existed for just a short period of time. I wouldn't change anything about tonight. And, I'm so thankful for tonight and the memories that will last forever.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Summer happenings....
Whew! It's hard to believe that our summer vacation is half over. The thoughts of it ending sadden me. Can I stretch it out a few more weeks? We have had a lot of fun this summer; and, more fun is heading our way. While there has been lots of fun, we have also experienced a few struggles, came across a crossroads of sorts in our lives, new friendships formed, and even a new love has blossomed this summer. Here is an update of our summer thus far; and a few upcoming events we have scheduled.
First, we started the summer with a difficult decision to be made. After many prayers and advice from family and friends, we made the decision to homeschool Morgan this upcoming school year. This was not an easy decision to make. In fact, I am still struggling with my abilities to be able to teach her everything she needs to know. Thanks to a talk I had with my brother-in-law, Josh, I am feeling more confident about this new adventure in our lives. Thank you Josh for your support and encouragement. Thank you to all of our family and friends for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. We are very proud to have made the decision to take over control of our youngest daughters education. It was a hard decision to make. But, we know in our hearts, it was the right one. We are very hopeful and excited about this. And, something about it just feels right. Morgan and I are looking forward to this journey. I look forward to seeing my baby reach these milestones with excitement in her eyes. I'll keep you all updated on our progress once we get started.
With that behind us, it was time for the fun to begin. We kicked it off with a trip to the pool. The water was freezing cold. The weather was hot and sunny. And, we loved every second of it. Until we jumped in. Then we froze. Well, I did anyway. The girls could have cared less. It was water; and, that's all that mattered. Much of our Summer, as usual, has been spent hanging out at the pool with friends. Morgan and Abbey are like me; they should be fish. Morgan jumped off the diving board for the first time. Now, I can't keep her off of it. I love it!
Then, with much hesitation and fear, we saw Abbey off on her first ever Beach Camp with the youth group for a week. She had a blast and learned a lot. It took everything I had not to drive to Panama City just to check on her. I survived and kept my word not to come down there. She's looking forward to returning again next year. And, I'm actually looking forward to letting her.
The most exciting events was our family visiting from Texas. First, Logan , Cici, and Maddie came in to visit. Maddie has grown so much! She is as cute as a button. And, is so happy. You can't help but smile every time she smiles. She's crawling now. She crawls faster than any baby I have ever seen. I'm guessing that she will be a runner just like her mommy. We really enjoyed seeing them! We miss them dearly.
Then, Josh, Amy, Garrison and McKenna came in for a visit. We were very excited to see them as well. A lot of events took place while they were in. First, we babysat Garrison and McKenna while Josh and Amy attended Josh's high school reunion. That was a lot of fun! We jumped, bounced, played golf and soccer, sang, danced, you name it, I think we did it. McKenna even serenaded us by singing Bon Jovi's, Wanted Dead or Alive. If you haven't heard a 3 year old sing that song, you should. It was hysterical.
Then, we had the summer Garrison family reunion. We ate too much and laughed to hard. Most importantly, we relaxed and enjoyed our time spent with all of Jason's family. Almost all of the family attended this year. We missed the ones who were unable to attend. Their absence was felt by all. Hopefully, we will see them at Christmas. Later that night, Morgan and I attended Courtney's 16th birthday party at Big Mama's Karaoke Café. Morgan got on stage and sang for the first time ever. She had a shy moment. No fear. Rebecca and Whitney to the rescue. They sang back up for her. It was cute. And, she was very proud of herself. The most special moment of our summer was Abbey's Baptism. On June 14th, at Providence Church, Uncle Josh baptized his niece, our baby, Abbey. She went in the water as our daughter and emerged as our sister in Christ. Dad, her family, friends and I were all so very proud of her! Josh, thank you for baptizing her; and, thank you for being such a great spiritual influence in her life since birth! Thanks to all of our family and friends that shared this special event in her life with us!
Love is in the air…… Yes, Abbey has her first boyfriend. Not to sure I like that or not. At least I can say that he is a nice kid. And, he seems to like Abbey a lot. They go to church and school together. She's still a long way away from being able to date. I'm thinking maybe 30 for her first date. That sounds like a good age to allow that. What do you think? A mother can dream can't she…..LOL
Independence Day! We celebrated Independence Day with friends at the lake. The girls had a great time swimming in the lake. Morgan even tried skiing for the first time. Dad was nervous and insisted on my being in the boat and his being on the jet ski….just in case. She did great and loved it. She can't wait to do it again. Later, we went to my sister's for more swimming, food and fireworks. It was a fun day spent with friends and family.
We will be traveling to Seneca, South Carolina this upcoming weekend for the girls dance competition. We are very excited about that. After the competition, we are heading to the beach for a few days of sun, surf, and relaxation.
In August, our lives will kick back into full swing again. Softball and Soccer will begin again. Abbey will go back to school on August 17th. Morgan and I will go to the dining room table on the same day. LOL
Abbey and I are hoping to be able to go to Nashville and see Def Leopard perform in concert on August 10th.
We will travel to Nashville, again, on September 5th for the girls national dance competition. Good luck to all of the dancers at A Step Above Dance Studio. The following weekend, I'm hoping to head back to Nashville to participate in A Walk For The Cure For Lupus with my friend Lisa, who struggles daily with having Lupus. Here is the link to Lisa's website if you would like to read her story or make a donation to the cause. http://walkforlupusnow.kintera.org/nashville/lisalee Hers is a very powerful story and one I think everyone should read. Any donation you can make would be greatly appreciated. Or, come on down to Nashville and walk with us.
Stay tuned for more updates on the rest of our summer...
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