Chalk It Up

We went outside to draw with some sidewalk chalk the other day. Leah's getting pretty good, and Aine thinks it tastes pretty good :)

Giving big sister a big hug...

See her smiley face...with spiked blue hair. Future punk rocker?

Leah's First Sleepover

Leah had her first sleepover about a month ago. She'd slept the night at Katherine's twice before, but this was the first time Katherine spent the night at her house. It was a blast! I personally enjoyed it because Katherine kept Leah entertained, and I didn't have to :)

I couldn't resist taking this picture before I went to bed. Unfortunately the flash woke Katherine up briefly...oops!

The girls enjoyed watching the sunset both nights...

In the van leaving Tracy's house at the beginning of our sleepover adventure. Katherine was so mesmerized by the DVD player, that no one could get her attention the whole ride. At one point Leah even said, "Katherine...I'm talking to you!"

Feeding the fish off our dock.

The BFFs at the pier in their matching dresses...and of course their shades.

My phone takes good pictures, but it's very sensitive to movement. Thus three people jumping on the bed didn't lend for the best picture....although it is a cool action shot. Katherine's jaw just dropped when Eric and I got on the bed and started jumping with her. We all had a blast!

Life's a Beach...

...and then you move to Little Rock!!

Here are some pictures of our stay at the beach house (or as Leah insisted we call it: "the Orange House"). We had a wonderful time staying on Navarre Beach for six weeks. We only saw about 10 tar balls total (and they weren't any bigger than a half-inch in diameter)...still we kept the swimming to the Soundside to be on the safe side. (Except for one time that Eric went in the Gulf...with his cell phone in his pocket. Oops! Leah asked him repeatedly why he did it...too funny!) Leah loved finding beautiful shells and playing in the sand with her shovel and bucket. Aine went in the water a couple times...but I don't think she really enjoyed it. She just seemed to tolerate it. We were within walking distance to the Soundside or the Gulf, and we also had a canal out back with a dock on it where we'd feed the fish/seagulls. It was a fantastic experience, and we were so lucky to have had the opportunity to live like we were on a vacation the last couple weeks we lived in Florida. God is so good!

Eric and Leah on Navarre's brand new pier. It's the longest pier in the Gulf (supposedly). We saw someone catch a baby shark and kingfish, saw a ray and a really amazing display of fish flapping around in the water around sunset. Leah also WANTED to touch the dead bait fish...so we let her. Then she saw some dead fish next to a fisherman's cooler. She called them "sad fish".

In the sound, just a couple houses down from ours.

We went with Chris, Tracy and their girls to a popular beach spot in Navarre, called Juana's Pagoda. This is the best shot I got of all four of them (Katherine, Libby, Aine and Leah). Eric was like the pied piper when he got out the kite :)

One of the last nights we were in town. We had wanted to get a family shot on the beach...but of course kept putting it off until there wasn't any time left. I snagged these with my phone, and we'll use one of the next two to put in our "beach photo frame". We are going to glue some of the prettier shells onto the frame. Should be a nice memory...

I just LOVE this one...

Eric did look a little too relaxed...he needed some sand on his chest. Good thing Leah was around to help him out.

One of the many beautiful sunsets we saw. It was our nightly ritual to go outside with Leah (and a glass of wine) to watch the sunsets. Leah asked for it every night.

This is the view looking to the left off the master bedroom's balcony. Beyond the last house is the Gulf.

And this is the view looking right....into the Sound.

Leah and Eric keeping the fish full...

Snow Balls

We took the girls for snowballs the other day, and this may surprise some of you, but Leah wanted a pink one. I know, I know...it's shocking! The flavor itself didn't really matter, but the color sure did! Eric got a blue raspberry snowball which Leah soon comandeered...hence the blue tongues. Even Aine enjoyed it :)

Aine's Milestone Pictures

We took Aine to have her one-year photos taken a couple weeks ago. They turned out really great; in fact it was hard to choose which one(s) to get...so we got alot! I know the format is a little off, but I suppose that's part of being on the road. All I can say is: I miss the Mac! :)

More Catching Up

Hi all! Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Things are HOT here in Florida (but it is summertime in Florida, so what's new?!). We have two more weeks until we head out to Little Rock. We're excited and are antsy to get things moving so we can finally get to England. Eric's a little hesistant about LR since he hasn't had too much time lately to study...or even fly for that matter. BUT he'll do well as always. He's turned in his thesis and is just waiting for the instructor to bless it; then he'll be done with his masters!! Yay! Aine is walking everywhere...it's adorable and hilarious at times :) Leah is super talkative and constantly asking "why?". She also has woken up dry for the past month (and for some other long periods back at our old house), so she's gone to bed without Pull-Ups for the last two nights. No accidents yet :) We're trying to hit our favorite restaurants/shops one last time. I think it's finally starting to dawn on us that time is short. We just realized today that next weekend will be our last one here!! Yikes! Well that's all I can think of for now.

The girls in the outdoor pool while Karen and John were here.

Harry-Ts:

the crew:

Karen and the girls on the beachhouse's steps...

I used to sleep like this in college hoping the material would seep into my brain while I slept. I wonder what her excuse is?

Eric and Leah setting off some small fireworks...

Eric and Aine watching the rain from Tropical Storm Bonnie

Our budding gymnast:

We went to Eric's office and had lunch with him:

Our precious Aine in her new car seat

After Aine's party, we walked over to the beach and hung out for a while.

She had to wear the fairy wings to the beach :)

Aine supervising the movers' progress:

Our stuff packed up. It looks so weird...

"Oh yeah, I look goooood!"...

What? Doesn't everyone do pushups in high heels?

We got to see our really good friends, the Smiths, last week. Jeff had a TDY here, so Laura and Joshua came out with him. It was fun to watch Leah and Joshua play together...and to notice the difference between how boys and girls play.

"Helping" make cookies one night...

Tracy, Laura and I took the kids to the zoo last week. It was HOT! Libby and Aine did really great. It might have been because it was to hot for them to act up. I love Libby's expression in this one :)

We couldn't get on the train at the zoo, so the kids settled for the carousel.

Trying on some animal masks...

Feeding a kid...

We fed the giraffe, and the tongue felt really really weird! I could barely keep my hand out for him to eat.

Aine loves to put her forehead up against ours (or the cats), and she usually grabs our face in her hands.

Hanging out at the pier on Aine's birthday. We brought out a bottle of campagne and some mini treats. It was a relaxing time.

John and Aine on the dock...

Karen and John took the girls to the track so Leah could go on the go-cart. She enjoyed it the first time, but wouldn't go on it again. The girls also went on a carousel/swing ride. Aine was all grins.

Aine's first time in the ocean. She took a while to warm up to it. I still don't think she's a huge fan.