May 2011, Florida Photos Galore(Anniversary and Taylor's Birthday Trip)

It is now our family tradition to go to Florida in May for our anniversary (the 15th) and taylor's Birthday (the 16th). This was the 3rd year in a row we've gone, and the 2nd time we've taken the girls (last year we went alone, and went to Jacksonville Beach because of the oil spill.) My mom and dad decided to take a small trip in April down there and ended up falling in love with Fort Walton as much as we did. Since it was our anniversary weekend, my parents decided to come down again so they could keep the girls for us one night while we celebrated (My parents rock huh?) Chelsea came along with my mom and dad too. Since we were all going, and Michael had a couple weeks off school, Michael and his wife LeeAnn (Who is pregnant right now also!!! And due the day after Madison's 3rd birthday!!!!) decided to come as well.  The way we planned it worked out PERFECTLY.  Michael and LeeAnn drove down Tuesday or Wednesday and had a day or two to themselves.  Then My mom and dad drove down thursday morning.  We drove down late thursday night.  Everyone but us left on Sunday and we came home on Tuesday, so we had a good couple days to ourselves.  We also all stayed in the same hotel right on the beach on Okaloosa Island. We got great deals on our hotel room also through Priceline.com name your own price.  We paid less than 1/2 the rate on our rooms.   

The trip was just long enough too... A day or two longer would have been great too.  But last time we went, we were only there for a weekend I think... It's like as soon as you get there you're leaving again.   So this trip was perfect as far as I'm concerned.  And i think everyone else had a blast, besides Chelsea's and Michael's Sunburns. And it's only a 7 hour drive.  Not too shabby. Anywho - Photos now!

As soon as we woke up on Friday we were at the Beach!

 First day on the beach, Madison was very unsure of the water... Taylor loved it.

 Mamie and Papa with Madison making a sandcastle

 We buried the girls

 Madison loved being buried

 Made chelsea into a mermaid... with some big boobies ;)

 Michael doesn't know how to evenly apply sunscreen... hence the crazy sunburn on his chest

 The dolphin cruise, the girls LOVED it!

 LeeAnn (michael's wife) Michael, Chris and the girls

 A real Pirate ship

 So excited for the cruise, they loved it.

 We saw a ton of dolphins... it was fun.

 Photo time, I think i drive the girls nuts sometimes with all the photos... oh well.

 That pouty lip cracks me up

 Daddy's Girls... Taylor slipped and fell at the splash park in our hotel and scrapped up her cheek pretty bad... you can see it here.

 The moon was gorgeous!

 Eating at the SHED!  It was some of the best food I've ever had and very cheap. Definitely a must for anyone visiting Destin.  It's down at the boardwalk.

 The girls really enjoyed the Gulfarium. The seals were way cute, and the dolphins and other animals.

 Chris insisted on taking the camera from me... then took photos of my butt. It is my better side ;)

 GALAPAGOS TURTLE!!!

 PENGUINS! MY FAVORITES!

 my pearls

 There was a boy and girl dolphin in the show we saw that are boyfriend and girlfriend. So we bought a boy and girl dolphin and named them Princess and Zach after the dolphins in the show.  The girls think the dolphin was named after their cousin. 

I love taylor's hair here.

 We all got airbrushed tattoos... the girls loved them... but I couldn't get a good photo of theirs.  Here's mine.

 Our last day we flew kites.  The girls had a blast with the kites. Madison's is the yellow one and Taylor's was the butterfly

Family Foot prints... Chris, keaven, Taylor, Madison 

 Daddy's Girl

The full moon was gorgeous.  I was trying to get a better picture of it, but it ended up looking like a lamp or something.  Oh well... That is the moon. 

Our first sand castle as a family. 

Our Family foot prints again. 

My sand Castle... I worked hard on it. 

Stompin on my castle 

 A little boy sitting not far from us came to help destroy all my hard work ;)

 The water was crystal clear our last day... it was gorgeous.

 Leaving... so sad.

We had a blast in Florida.  Fort Walton is a gorgeous little town just east of Destin and we love it there. We've decided once our kids move out, and we've retired, we're moving there.  Then family can come visit whenever they want. I can't wait to go back too.  I'm praying for another trip before the end of the year, but we may have to wait til next year.

Oh Blog.

No one has been blogging lately.  I think Hannah is the only one to post anything in the past month :/ I know I've been slacking, but with Facebook, it's easier. But here's some thoughts I've had recently...

I love prayers. I really truly have been enjoying our family prayers morning and night. It makes our home feel perfect. I love it. We've been struggling a bit though, because Madison has been REFUSING to pray at all. For months we weren't able to get her to say a prayer at all.  We tried all sorts of things to get her to pray. We told her she couldn't eat her dinner til she blessed it.  2 hours later, she was asleep from crying so much while refusing to pray, and after a nap, she woke up, we reheated her food, and she ate without praying. We've tried being the sweet Peter Priesthood/Molly Mormon kind of parents.  We've tried all sorts of stern looks, voices, punishments. We've had talks about Heavenly Father and who he is and that he loves her and wants to talk to her. It seems like she's honestly afraid to pray. I have no clue why. But a couple nights ago, we sat down as a family for our night prayers. She was refusing to pray, and our girls can get crazy shy at weird times, so Chris and Taylor went to the other room while I tried to coax a prayer out of Madison. We talked, I tried everything... I finally got her to pray by tricking her.
Me: Can you say tractor?
Madison: Tractor
Me: Can you say TV?
Madison: TV
Me: Can you say Dear Heavenly Father?
Madison: Dear Heavenly Father
And on went our prayer. She knew she was praying though, but she repeated what I said anyways. Trying to help her feel better, and recognize that prayer is a good thing, I had her pray for comfort from Heavenly Father and to know that He loves her and wants to talk to her. The spirit was so strong, we both started tearing up. It was so sweet to share that moment with her, and to know that she felt and recognized the Holy Spirit.  She's said a few more prayers since then, but we still have to try hard to coax them out. Hopefully with positive reinforcement, she'll keep it up and soon be saying them on her own again.

Taylor had also been in a bit of a rut, repeating the exact same prayer for the past 6 months or so.  We've told her over and over again that you can pray for anything, and tell what you're grateful for and such, but it hadn't worked.  But the past few she's said have been so thoughtful and heartfelt.  It's so sweet to hear their prayers. It always makes my day.

We've had some changes here at home... We moved rooms last month.  The girls now are in the back room, and we're in the front one. Thanks to Jennifer and Kyle, we finally have a gorgeous bedroom set (why we had to change rooms, it wouldn't fit in the other one.) It's been a few years since I had a dresser of my own, and I'm loving it.

Chris went to Minnesota for work training for a week. I think it's the longest we've been apart since our first date. :/ I missed him like crazy.  But he did exceptionally well. The trainers even emailed his boss about how well he did. (Is it any surprise though? He's great at everything! Seriously.  If he doesn't know how to do something, he learns, and he's good at it! I wish I could have 1/2 his talent.) We're glad he's back, and I'm sure his work is too.

I also am now only watching one sweet little boy during the day. It's much easier to manage, and I can fit 3 carseats in the back of my car, so we're able to run errands and go have fun during the day instead of being stuck home all the time. We've gone to the park and mall a bit. And done a little bit of shopping. I'm glad that we're able to go out and enjoy summer a bit more, since Taylor will be starting Pre-K in August.  She'll be going all day, everyday.  I'm definitely going to have a HARD time. I already am. I'm way excited that she got into this program, but she'll be in school full time a year earlier than we thought. :/ I'm going to miss her, and I'm sure Madison is going to miss having her big sister here to play with.  But she'll still have the boy I watch as a playmate.

This week is girls camp for me. I get to be the Cabin Mom for our ward's Young Women's camp. I'm so excited. I LOVE camping, but the majority of my summers in Young Women's were spent in Arizona, so I only went to camp like 3 times. I'm hoping before summer is over, we can take a family trip camping as well... maybe out to fall creek falls.  I know the girls will LOVE it.

In a couple weeks Taylor will be going to gymnastics camp. Then the week or so after that both girls will be going to dance camp!  I thought these camps might help her open up a little bit more before school starts.  She'll have to make other friends with kids she doesn't know and get used to a teacher. In September, the girls will be starting their dance classes every week. I'm so excited to buy all the little dance wear stuff. The shoes, the leotards, the tutus. I can't wait. I'm probably more excited than they are.  But I think once we get their outfits, they'll get more excited.

We're also planning on getting hair cuts soon. Me and Taylor at least.  I haven't had my hair cut in 2 years.  I love how long it is, and want it to get a bit longer, but It needs a trim... badly. Maybe some layers... I dunno.  Taylor has never had her hair cut (in all her 4 years) and I thought it'd be fun to get it cut before she starts school. We're not actually cutting any length off (I think Chris and my dad and family would flip.) but since she's never had it cut before, she needs the baby fine ends trimmed off.  I think it'll help thicken it up. I'm afraid she may lose some of her curl though. But it may also get curlier since it wont be quite as weighed down. Who knows... we may actually do that today!

We had a great 4th of july weekend. We got to spend time with our families (who are the absolute best.) We had delicious food (Jeremy is a grilling god!)  We were able to hear Grandpa's band play (we have to make those Grandpa's Groupies shirts next time.) And we saw and shot fireworks.  The only thing that could have made it better is if it didn't have to end today!

I do have pictures, but I need to edit them.  So be on the lookout for a post soon. Or I'll just post them on facebook... So yeah... Later!