World of Coke

I can hardly believe we are already in the middle of June!  It's just crazy to me that time is flying by so fast this summer. I knew it would though and today is extra special because we are celebrating this girl turning 8!

She's been asking to go to the World of Coke and we couldn't go on her real birthday because of the swim meet, so we went yesterday instead. We invited her BFF, Olivia, along with her mom and brothers to go with us and we made a day of it!  We all piled into their car and were off on our field trip!

First stop was lunch.  We wanted to try something different (aka - not Chickfila) so we ate at Taqueria Del Sol with all of the other trendy people dining on their lunch breaks.  I hadn't been there in years and the food was just as good as I remembered.  It's super laid back and casual, so perfect with the kids.  

Next we were ready to get to the World of Coca-Cola or "Coke Land" as Harper called it.  

We had the best time!  It was so interesting to learn about the history, see the vault where the secret formula is kept, and taste sodas from all over the world!  To read a full review of our visit you can check out more details on my Magnolia Mamas blog HERE.  

 We learned about the history of Coke and the kids had a great time during all of the interactive exhibits.

They even got to hold a real Olympic torch and sit on the real American Idol Coca-Cola couch! 

Hudson loved the 4D movie!  

And we all had fun tasting sodas from all over the world! There were some funky flavors, but some were really good.

Handley and Olivia tried the "Share a Coke" BFF blend and said it was their favorites!  

And of course you exit through the gift shop so we now have 3 cute Coke Polar Bears to remember our awesome day!

Handley's 8th Birthday Party

I can hardly believe that this past weekend we were celebrating Handley's 8th birthday!  Her real birthday isn't until Wednesday, but we had her party this weekend. We actually had a double birthday party for her and our neighbor who was also turning 8.  They offered to have it at their house (complete with a pool, sports court, and water slide bounce house) so we quickly said YES!  The kids all had so much fun and it was so hot that day, so the perfect day for a pool party.

The birthday girl and boy! 

We had an ice cream bar set-up and Handley decided that she would like cookies instead of a cake so of course we called on my friend, Christy, to make her famous iced cookies for the occasion!

Handley had invited friends from all different places.  A few from school, others from dance, some from the neighborhood, etc.  I told her to make a point to include everyone and introduce them all so that no one would feel left out.  At one point the girls were all sitting in a circle and going around telling their name, their favorite color, and how they knew Handley.  I have to imagine that was orchestrated by her!  It was the sweetest thing!

After all of the guests had left Handley opened what will probably stick out in her mind as the best gift ever.  A framed Taylor Swift photo and autographed CD and the news that we are all going to the Taylor Swift concert in October!!!!  It will be the girls and I, with our amazing neighbor and her son. We are so excited!!!  And, to say that totally made my Taylor Swift loving little girls dream, would be a huge understatement.  She was beyond thrilled.  :-)  

Jumping Rock

Most weekends when we are at the lake we are there with friends or family, but this past weekend we had a rare weekend up there alone.  It was just us and we had so much fun!  After getting there just after dinner on Friday we ate dinner and went right out for a sunset cruise.  The views were so beautiful!  

Saturday we spent the day at the north end of the lake and found the best beach ever.  We hung out there all day long and spent lots of time paddle boarding and just relaxing in the sun.

After that we stopped by the jumping rock.  We used to go all of the time before kids, but I think this might be the first time we took our little ones there.  Of course they were all up for jumping at varying heights.  At first, Handley jumped off the lower ledge.

And Harper did, too!  They both loved it and were so brave to jump again and again.  

Of course Hudson didn't want to be left out so Robby helped him jump from the very bottom.  

Then Robby jumped off the big jumping rock and Handley swam over to the boat and begged me to let her jump.

 I was nervous and not sure, but Robby said she would be fine and I knew I couldn't deny her adventurous spirit so I let her go.  And she loved it!

We spent Sunday wake-boarding for most of the day and Harper even gave it a try.

It was a wonderful weekend and we can't wait to be back there in a few weeks!  

Swim Team!

Last week the girls had their first swim meet and I was totally unprepared for the chaos that is a swim meet.  I honestly had no idea what to expect and I'll just say that things ran very differently than how I thought they would.  Because the girls had only had a few practices, I also felt like they were unprepared and didn't really understand all that was going on.  All these numbers and letters and code for the events they were swimming in felt like a foreign language to me and them.  They swam their hearts out, but didn't have any great finishes, to say the least.  I left there thinking there was no way we would be doing swim team again next year.  I have changed my tune though.

Last night was their second meet and what a difference a week makes!  We felt so much more prepared!  I knew how things would go, what to expect, and the girls and been practicing like crazy all week at their swim practices, but also at the pool on their own.

When we arrived I was able to get their events written on them arms (this helps them know when and what events they are swimming) and then it was time to "decorate" them.

Handley was so cute because last week I wouldn't let them write anything but their events on them because of the dance recital and I was worried it wouldn't come off.  She had asked if I could please write on her more this week so that is what we did!  Some kids go crazy with the Sharpie, but we kept ours in check. :-)

Handley swam so great in all of her events and came in first for the breast stroke.  She even got a late start because she is still getting used to diving when she hears the horn, but she caught up and won that race in a big way. This was her climbing out of the pool after that race. She was SO excited.

Harper also did awesome. She is super fast and helped her team win the freestyle relay and she also won her back stroke event.

Despite the girls swimming awesome, the rain moved in last night.  Let me just tell you, there is nothing like volunteering during the meet in the pouring down rain with Hudson in tow because he wanted nothing to do with Robby.  Fun times...or not.  But, seeing how awesome the girls did and how much fun they had made it all worth it.  It's sweet, sweet memories they are making.  They are spending so much time with friends they all cheer each other on so much.

Plus, the ribbons and donut party they had this morning is almost enough to make me forget the misery of being soaked last night.  Almost.  They have this little party each morning after the meets and the girls are always so excited to eat donuts and get their ribbons. They are really racking them up!

Rhythm Orphan Annie - Dance Recital Time!

Friday night was the big show!  The girls had been practicing and practicing for their recital and were so excited to finally have the big day arrive.  

We stopped for dinner on the way down there and then arrived just in time to get the girls all settled backstage in the dressing room. There we met up with all of their friends and the excitement from all of these cute girls was on overload!  

I didn't take any pictures during their performances because I was just so excited to watch and soak up every second.  They both danced their little hearts out and did such a great job!  

Gigi and Papa were there, along with Handley's best friend, Olivia. Both girls were so excited to have so many people watching them in the audience and they loved the beautiful flowers from Gigi and Papa! 

Hudson fell asleep after the girls performed and he was out until Robby got him home later that evening.

I stayed with the girls after intermission to let them watch a little more of the show and they were in awe of the older girls.  Each of them got a CD with a lot of the music from the show and when we got home Handley didn't want to go to bed because she was listening and dancing around in her room.

We're happy to have another year of dance in the books, but they are already excited about next year!