Pirates

So, the girls came out of their room the other day and were dressed as you see below. 

They told me they were pirates. 

"Well, OF COURSE you are!" I said.

That's pretty clear, isn't it?

You can't make this stuff up people. 

They crack me up.

Puerto Rico

Oh, Puerto Rico.  Will you be mine?  Tyler and I were able to take an "adults only" vacation here and fell in love with it.  Thanks, Khaki & Ben, for letting us tag along on your 10th Anniversary trip and BIG thanks too, to Mimi & Grandbob, for taking such good care of our little squirts while we were away!

This was the longest both Tyler and I had both been away from the girls, and apart from crying a little bit when the plane took-off, Tyler handled it very well.  Hmm?  It was me who cried when we took off?  Oh, right.  Maybe it was.  And then I watched a movie about rescuing whales.  Were they TRYING to make me have an emotional breakdown? 

Moving on.

We stayed in an apartment in Old San Juan that was quite lovely - minus the air conditioner that did not work in 2 of the 3 bedrooms.  Tyler and I ended up in the one room that did have it.  Khaki and Ben?  We owe you. 

San Juan is beautiful and charming and relaxing and I would go back yesterday.  We visited the birthplace of the Pina Colada.  We ate mofongos & empanadas.  We toured the Bacardi factory.  We had delicious fish tacos from Jersey Mike's place.  We visited the Old Fort.  And at the Old Fort?  We sweated.  We sweated much.  But boy was it awesome and beautiful.  We laughed.  We had awesome travel companions.  Mostly, we just relaxed and enjoyed.

And we missed our girls.  But we are so thankful we were able to take this trip! 

First Day.  First Pina Colada.  Not our last.  :)

Old San Juan

Ahhhhh

Enjoying one of our free drinks at the Bacardi factory

Tyler getting all artsy with the camera.

Giggity. This just makes me laugh.  And it's a great picture of Caty.

I want to go to there.  Again.

Waiting for dinner.  And by waiting, I do mean W-A-I-T-I-N-G.  The scenery helped.

Fort!

 

More fort

View from our balcony.  That's Ben driving down the road in our awesome Jeep rental. 

So much fun.

Hello Sunshine!

We took our annual trip to the beach a few weeks ago with my family and had a lovely time!  We had some quality time with Mimi, Grandbob, Uncle P & Mallory, some tasty seafood, lovely weather and of course, Pina Coladas (made with love by Uncle P).  :)

I am so excited to report that BOTH girls loved the sand this year.  I was hoping Kate would outgrow her tactile issues with it and she definitely did!  She had fun being "buried" in the sand by Daddy and playing with him in the waves.  I hung out with Elle, who played and dug in the sand most of the time, as she was not cool with all the seaweed that had washed up because of a big storm.  

The pool was a big draw too, though it was COOOOLD.  Again, didn't bother the girls one bit!  Daddy was the biggest chicken about getting in.  :) 

Unfortunately, Elle was sick most of the time we were there, but she so tried to be a trooper.  You know your toddler doesn't feel well though when she just lies on the couch without moving and watches 47.2 straight hours of Dora.  But she managed to make it to the beach and the pool and in an effort to convince us that she was fine, would happily exclaim "I'm AM feeling better!" at the top of her lungs.  And then she had an "episode" that resulted in the pool bathroom looking like a scene from CSI.

Fade to black.

Kate had a grand ole time - she was ALWAYS ready to go to the pool and had a lovely time splashing around with everyone.  She was such a silly, joyful little waterbug! 

Can't wait for our next trip!  Thanks, Mimi & Grandbob!

On the road to Eufaula, AL (the halfway point) - Elle is WAY into High Five magazine.

Breakfast at the hotel.  They thought they were SUCH big girls.

Kate was so worn out, she fell asleep in my arms at dinner.  Nothing much better than sushi for dinner and a sleeping doll in your lap.  No really.  It was so sweet (and delicious).

Mother's Day!  Happy to be snuggling with my girls even though one is sick and the other looks like she just smelled something disgusting.

Elle & Grandbob

Big fan of filling up and dumping out.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Mommy & Elle

Kate framing Daddy

So much fun.  Sand is my friend!

"Daddy made a hole for me!"

Still diggin'.

Of course Elle had to have a hole too!

Mimi & Kate

Kate & Uncle P

Bless her heart.

Please find the similarity in this picture.  :)

Shave and a Haircut

Well, really just a haircut.  We made it to 2 1/2+ years before the girls first haircut - but it was time.  Elle was starting to look like a ragamuffin!  Kate not so much because of her curls, but she did have a bit of a rattail in the back - which though it does make me think of my beloved NKOTB back in the day - is not so attractive on a 2 year old.

So off we went to Pigtails & Crewcuts for their very first haircut.  Daddy was able to sneak away from work for a bit to witness the excitement (which took approximately 15 minutes total).  They did remarkably well, though Kate was definitely more excited to be driving a taxi and getting her hair cut.  Elle sat and read quietly most of the time.  They also psychically knew that this place would have lollipops because as soon as we told them they were getting their haircut they immediately said "We will get lollipops!".  Really?  It's like weird toddler intuition. 

Below are pics!  Can't believe how old Elle looks with her new summer 'do and Kate is looking cute as always.

Kate really needs to up her fare if she's going to be a successful taxi driver.

Looking sassy in the leopard print.  Dalmatian would have been MUCH more appropriate. 

Getting a little steering assistance from Daddy.

Nose in a book!

Kate giving Elle their other prize - a fancy plastic ring.  Bling!

Enjoying the psychically intuited lollipops post-haircut.  Elle even got a "princess braid" out of the deal!

Morning with My Girls

A few weeks ago, the girls and I went to one of our favorite places together - the Georgia Aquarium.  Usually, we go with friends, but couldn't make it last time b/c of a brief Hand, Foot, Mouth scare.  That stuff is the WORST.  Thankfully, all was well, but we had to miss the Aquarium because of it.

And of course, this is AFTER I told Elle & Kate we were going, so they were none to happy to be going to the doctor instead of to see the fish.  Mommy FAIL. 

So we loaded up a few days later and braved it ourselves.  It was such a fun, lovely morning with my girls. I so often associate outings like these with chasing, herding, feeding, dodging crowds, cajoling, etc., and this was quite the opposite.  I think we were just all glad to be together and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy my girls.  Note to future Mommy:  Remember this time.  Stop being a stress ball when you don't have to be.

Kate loved making friends with the giant penguin walking around.  Elle kept her distance, but would smile and wave at him.  This is actually a pretty dead-on illustration of their different personalities.  The actual penguin exhibit?  Both the girls freaked out a bit in the penguin tunnel and thought they were trapped!  We spent a lot of time watching the otters swim around and play and then we sat in the big tank room (yes, that's the technical term for it) for a long time where Elle kept exclaiming "There's ANOTHER whale shark!". 

My girls.  Love 'em.

Mesmerized.

Penguins are cool.  Literally.  ZING!

This was a spontaneous hand-hold.  So sweet.

A whale shark & his posse.

Elle thinks the whale sharks are amazing!

Derby de Mayo

We celebrated the Derby and Cinco de Mayo in style this year.  Can anyone else not watch the Derby (or any horse race for that matter) anymore because of what happened to Barbaro?  I have to wait and make sure all the horses are okay and then I'll watch the replay.  But I digress.  Derby de Mayo - we got to hang out with some good friends, have margaritas, and swim in an ice cold pool!  The girls were not deterred by the iciness, however, and swam until their lips turned blue.

Sidenote:  Do you want to know the best invention ever?  Puddle Jumpers.  I can now take my girls swimming and not frantically run around in 2 different directions trying to make sure they don't fall in the pool.  Because the puddle jumpers are AWESOME. (Thank you, Kristin. You are my hero.)

Kate totally means to wear her hat like that. 

Elle was fascinated with being able to see her feet.

Despite how it may look, Kate really is enjoying herself.  That's her "I'm having fun, but trying to keep water out of my ears/eyes" look.  :)

Taking a break for a little Mexican fiesta.  Ole'!