Father Daughter Dance

After all the games on Saturday we spent the afternoon at home relaxing a bit and watching college football.  The afternoon few by and then it was time for the girls to get ready for the Father Daughter Dance at church.  It was kind of a last minute thing for them to go, but they were so exited that Robby agreed to take them and it was such special night for them.

I scrambled to find them dresses at the last minute, but it all worked out in the end and they looked so beautiful!

While they were off dancing the night away, Hudson and I stayed home, ate left overs, and watched more football.  I couldn't wait for the girls to get home to hear all about their night.

They came home all smiles and so excited to tell us about it.  Handley said the whole night felt "magical" and Harper said she wanted to go there again the next day.  :-)

I was thankful for one of my friends that helped organize the dance because she was there and sent me a few pictures of the fun!

Saturday Sports

On Saturday we woke up got got the kids ready for a full day of games at the ball fields!  It's one of my favorite times of the year and I just love watching and cheering for my little athletes.  

It was Hudson's first game and he was so excited. He has some buddies on his team and he is meeting new friends, too.

They started out with a little practice and Hudson was giving it his all.  He even pull out a few ninja moves.

And then it was game time.  He was playing the the defense position and waited patiently for the ball to come towards him so he could kick it away from their goal and took his job very seriously.

And when he got a chance to really go after it and play offense he did it with the BIGGEST smile on his face.  He was loving it and you could just tell by watching him that he was having so much FUN!!!

He also got right into the group of things, went after the ball and even scored one goal for his team!  We were so proud of him!

Handley and I left just as his game was finishing up so we could get to her game on time.  We made the run-through banner for this week so she wanted to be sure to be there a little early for that part.

As always, she had a great time cheering and their team came away with another big win!

We left the football game after the 3rd quarter so we could get to the second half of Harper's game.  She was playing goalie when we got there and was doing a great job!

When she started playing offense on the field she was super fast and had a lot of fun. 

It's hard to have 3 games on the same day and I just hate that I won't be able to be at all of them each week.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of weeks that the games will overlap so Robby and I are just going to have to divide and conquer, but I'm happy I was able to see all three of them for the opening games.  

Florida Fun!

Last weekend we made our way down to Florida for Labor Day Weekend.  Our first stop was Gigi and Papa's house.  We got there around bedtime on Friday so after everyone stretched their legs from being in the car all afternoon we all hit the sack.

The next morning we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to explore.  The first order of business was breakfast.  And in their community the only way to travel in style is by golf cart!  These are not just any golf carts...they are custom, personalized and the snazziest things on the road.  Literally everyone down there rides around in golf carts and it there are special golf cart lanes and paths to get all over.  The kids just adore this whole concept and think it is so much fun!

They were dressed in their UGA red and black for game day and Gigi and Papa's golf cart is none other than red and black!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of all of the golf carts parked in the town center area at breakfast.

After a quick donut breakfast we gave hugs and kisses to the kids and then Robby and I made our way east to the coast.  We were meeting up with our friends Kathy and Corey for Kathy's 40th birthday party!  We spent the day on the beach relaxing with them and then that evening we had fun at the big luau party.

The next day we went back to Gigi and Papa's house to meet up with everyone for a fun adventure to Silver Springs.

Silver Springs is located between Orlando and Gainesville in central Florida and it hosts an array of wildlife from monkeys to alligators.  The Silver Springs is made up of a group of springs that occur in the headwaters, coves and edges of the Silver River, which leads to the Ocklawaha River.  An interesting little tit-bit of info for you is that the water coming from the Silver Springs amounts to over 550 million gallons per day!

The original plan was for us to rent canoes and explore the Silver River up to the springs, but a Boy Scout troop took most of the canoes so we had to change our plans.  Instead we entered through the main state park entrance and it felt like we were stepping back in time.

Right away we popped in the museum and educational center.  The kids were fascinated by the wildlife displays of all of the types of animals found around the Silver Springs and Silver River area. There were also real live snakes and reptiles on display for everyone to see.

We ate a quick lunch in the cafe and then walked on one of the nature paths to observe the springs close up.

We were going to try out one of the famous glass bottom boats, but there was about an hour wait and we knew the kids probably wouldn't last that long.  Walking the nature path was just as fun and we got to go at our own pace and stop and see all of the sights we wanted to.

When we got back we saw this giant turtle in the yard across the street.  The kids saw all kinds of wildlife while we were there and thought that was one of the most exciting things about our visit.  Handley's favorite animal is a sea turtle, with regular turtles coming in a close second.  SO, you can imagine her excitement when they found a big turtle while she was wearing her turtle t-shirt.  It doesn't get much better than that!

We enjoyed our last evening together by getting dolled up for dinner.  The girls always want to take selfies with me when they feel all fancy and this night was no exception.

The kids took another golf card ride to the town center for dinner with the guys and Gigi and I drove together in the car.  We went a different way than they did, so we were excited to run into them along the way!

 We ate dinner and then enjoyed the live music and dancing.  It was a fun evening for us all, but especially for the kids who have no problem getting up in front of a crowd and breaking it down.

The next morning after sleeping in we packed up and made our way back to Atlanta.  It was a lot of driving for a quick long weekend, but so nice to get out of town and have a few days with a change of scenery.

Random Catch-up

Over the weekend we went to Florida for a little fun and I plan to share all about that tomorrow, but for today I wanted to do a little random catch up post of things that have been going on around here lately!  

Harper has met a new friend in her class this year and these two have become fast friends. They both get along really well, have similar interests, and can play for hours together.  

One day when they were having a playdate at her house, her mom texted me this picture and told me they were both on outfit number 3.  I could just imagine them as teenagers!  And, the first thing Harper asked me when we got home was if she could have some boots that go up to her knee!  Ha!

Last week was Pet Week in Pre-K.  Hudson's awesome teachers are so sweet and fun and they allowed anyone who wanted to bring their pet in to school to do so!  Hudson was so excited that Walker would get to visit him at school.  :-)  We set up our time for when the kids were outside on the playground.  Walker had no idea he was about to meet 14 adorable 4 year olds, but he was just happy to be going on a car ride!

Hudson was happy to tell everyone about Walker for about 30 seconds and then he was back off to running around and playing.  I could hardly get him to pause for a picture, so this was the best I could get.

The girls and I have been working on some projects and they just love being crafty with me.  Before we left for Florida they wanted to make some beaded hassle necklaces like I was working on for Magnolia Mamas.  

They turned out so cute and they were so proud of them that they both wore them to school the next day. It worked out perfectly because it also happened to be picture day, so they both felt extra fancy with their new accessories.

In other big news, Harper has a missing front tooth!  She had been wiggling it for weeks and right before we arrived back home on Monday evening it finally fell out!  She's so excited about her snuggle tooth smile because now her smiles matches all of her friends at school.

And last but not least, this sweet little guy is just doing so great at school.  He never had showed much interest in writing before, but with the encouragement (and rewards) from his sweet teachers he can write his name!!!!  I'm so exited for him and knew he could learn to do it when he was ready.  He also is loving his extra curricular activities.  He is in a little after-school sports class called Playball and the mascot "Sporty" gets to go home with one student who did an outstanding job that week.  Well today when I picked him up he was thrilled to show "Sporty" to me, the girls, Robby, our neighbors at the bus stop, and just about anyone else we ran into!