The Start of Something New...

Well, it is official - Sydney is in kindergarten! I can hardly believe it. (I know - every parent says that but it really is true.) As I have told several people, sending her to kindergarten has been more emotional for me than pre-k last year because, even though it was school, she was at Park - a school I taught at for many years and have always considered home. And she was with Tutu for morning and afternoon care. The deal couldn't have been better! I also knew that, if for some crazy reason it wasn't working out, I could take her out and put her back with Mum!

But, kindergarten brings a new school without the comfort level for MOM! I know some people on the staff but only casually because of my job. No longer will she be in a place I consider my home and she'll have to find her own way without my assistance. She won't be a little star because she's with Tutu each morning and her mommy worked there. She'll have to be a star all on her own! While these things are good for her - I'm sure she'll do a great job and she's at a fantastic school - it was still a bit hard to send her off into that unknown!

Of course, Sydney loved the first day of Kindergarten (and the second day, too)! She made new friends, met new people, and really loved having a locker just like the big kids. I'm sure this "start of something new" will prove to be great!

My Fair Girls!

It is sad but true...summer has ended! Well, not the summer season but summer vacation. So, to celebrate summers last moments, we visited the state fair! This has become an annual tradition for us, as we love to see the animals, ride the rides, and enjoy the yummy snacks! This year, Katelyn was a bit too small to ride most rides and she was not pleased about this - she is such the ride lover. She was able to get on the dump truck ride and, as you can see by the big smile, it was a hit.

Sydney was able to enjoy many rides and activities. Her favorite was the Monkey Maze, which I think we did 4 times! She also insisted on trying the rope ladder game, which wasn't nearly as easy as she thought it would be!

As always, the fair turned out to be a great way to unofficial wrap up summer vacation!

Mytle Beach Adventures

We again visited Myrtle Beach this year. We stayed in South Myrtle this year and enjoyed a slighly quieter trip. The forecast called for rain the first day so we decided to skip the beach and head for the Children's Museum. Sydney loved it there during our last trip and it was a hit again this time. Katelyn loved it!!! She loved running all over, trying everything out, and just having fun. There is a picture of her making pizza in the kids' kitchen below. Sydney enjoyed standing inside a huge bubble. Check out that video below.

After enjoying a trip to the museum, we visited Barefoot Landing. It is one of our favorite "hang outs." We love walking around, feeding the fish, visiting the shops and riding the merry-go-round. But, this year Sydney was really brave and tried the bungy jumping. We never expected her to want to do it but she did. And, while she was definitely nervous about the jumping, she enjoyed it and wanted to do it again! Here's a photo of the girls feeding the fish and a video of Sydney bouncing!

We visited a new place - Broadway at the Beach! It sort of reminds me of Downtown Disney, as there are tons of shops and things to do. The big event here was Sydney getting in the "water hampster ball." I DID NOT think she'd ever try this one! But, she proved me wrong again. While she wasn't able to stand up, she liked floating on the water. Everyone around us was totally amazed that she did it at all. Check out our brave girl!

Katelyn's favorite part of Broadway was the Ripley's Aquarium. She loved the shark tanks that you can walk through.

And, once the rain finally stopped, we enjoyed two great beach days! As usual, Sydney loved the beach. She loves to get in the water and jump those waves. She also loves to build in the sand. Katelyn wasn't quite as big a fan of the sand, as she called it "yucky dirty" most of the time. But, she did like collecting shells and burying them in sand.

Katelyn's favorite part of the trip was the pool. She asked to go every time we walked into our room, so we definitely visited the pool often! Katelyn loved going under the water and floating on the lazy river. Unfortunately, we don't have a single pool photo. We were just too busy having fun. We really had a great vacation and can hardly believe it is over! Time definitely flies when you're having fun.

Beach Preview

Last week, we enjoyed dinner at Mr. Dan and Ms. Leslie's house, which is right on the water and has the most amazing view! (Thanks so much for hosting a fun "work" dinner.) After a short walk, we were able to visit the pier and get a quick "beach preview" by walking in the sand. As usual, Sydney loved it. Katelyn thought the sand was "Yucky dirty" but she loved entertaining everyone at dinner. Thanks to Ms. Jen for taking our family photo! Check out the enormous tree that is right in the middle of the deck! The girls loved running around it. We wish we lived there!!!

The Girls of Summer

We continued our newest annual tradition by taking in a Bay Sox game. As we did last year, we attended on Louie's (the team mascot) birthday. Honestly, I was a bit worried about Katelyn - I just didn't think she'd make it through the game. But, we learned something very valuable from our recent trip to see the movie WALL-E - don't sit down in your seats or give her any snacks until the event actually begins! Otherwise, the novelty wears off before you even get started! So, we visited the Kids Park at Bay Sox stadium. I don't know who designed this but they definitely have families in mind. There are rides for the kids so both Sydney and Katelyn were able to work off some energy before the game got started. Katelyn loved the merry-go-round while Sydney loved the moon bounce.

As it turned out, Katelyn was thrilled to watch all the mascots that came out to help Louie celebrate his birthday. She spent most of the game searching the stands for Louie and enjoying snacks! She really didn't get too squirmy until the very end. I don't know who on the Bay Sox hit the grand slam home run that put us ahead by 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning but he's is my hero. Not only did he give us something to cheer about but he also made it so we wouldn't have to sit through the bottom of the 9th hoping for a win!

When the game ended, we enjoyed the fireworks display that the Bay Sox put on almost every weekend home game. This was way easier than fighting the crowds somewhere to see the fireworks on the 4th. Then, Sydney was able to run the bases, which is always one of her favorite parts. We think Katelyn will be ready to run next year! She might have run this year but we were afraid we wouldn't be able to catch her if she got away!