Short But Sweet

We enjoyed a long weekend getaway to Florida with Nana (Drew's mom), and Michael and Emily. We were also blessed by some fun time with Laura and Brent and their two precious kids who now reside in sunny FL. What a great trip!!

We packed it in since we only had two full days there. We enjoyed some beach time on Captiva Island, where Sydney for the first time really got into playing in the sand. In the past when it came to sand, Syd's experience consisted of tasting the sand, and an overall sense of uneasiness about playing in it (getting her hands dirty is not one of her favorite things). This trip she ended up covered in it, and was a very happy camper:) Drew and I found ourselves building castles in the sand with her, and it sure was fun! Sadly I hadn't done that in years. It brought back so many great memories from our family vacations to Hilton Head. Dad would always build the coolest creations......seriously people would walk by and stop to get a good look. I remember him most often making a "dead man" which resembled a man washed up on the beach. Anyway, Drew, Sydney, and I's creation wasn't even close to being as cool. We've got some practicing to do. We also enjoyed some delicious seafood, fun time in the pool, cheering on the Vols, a little shopping, and some nice walks. Thanks for such a memorable trip!

The Mundies

Is this not precious?!

Syd's new fave friend...Emily!

Sweet Parker

Ponytails and Lake Watauga

I have blogged about Sydney's hair recently but here I go again, because woohoo! she's got enough for a ponytail, if that's what you call this;

Syd cracked me up one evening as we were playing with our hair and the camera. She has learned to expect the camera to flash when we count to three and say cheese, so this is the face we've been getting;

Drew and I enjoyed Labor Day weekend with some of our friends at beautiful Lake Watauga. We made the trip last year as well except we had Sydney with us. This adventure was Sydney free:) ... Thanks to mom and dad! It was so much fun. I didn't take many pictures but the snapshots I got were from our "Awesome Off." As we learned that weekend from the Millers, an "Awesome Off" is where each couple teams up against the other couples in random events such as paper airplanes, water balloon toss, rock skipping, corn hole, catch phrase, trying to whistle while eating crackers, and these;

nut spitting

grape toss (We came in 2nd overall)

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!

Sydney and I have been blessed to be a part of a play group through church since she was only a few months old. We've enjoyed many play dates with our friends at the nursery at church, various parks around town, Sara's pool (Thank you!!), and the ZOO!! Today was an adventure at the zoo. We had perfect weather, and the animals seemed to be the most active and visible as I've ever seen them. I don't think the zoo is something only the kiddos enjoy. We enjoy it too!! The picture below was one of the neatest things I've witnessed in a while. This baby gorilla is George, and is just over a year old. He was playing right up next to the window, and is tiny! This is him nursing in his momma's open and loving arms! So neat!! I could have watched him all afternoon.

Sydney enjoyed the animals.....for about 10 seconds per animal, then she was ready to move on. This truck though was definitely a hit! She fought me when it was time to get out. She loved it.

Sydney and Carter crusin' together with Miss Sara as their chaperone.

With our friends Katie and Collin.

Sydney and Bishop explored together in the indoor kids play area. If you haven't been to the zoo, this area alone is worth a trip. It is full of different stations for the kids to learn through hands on fun, such as a play grocery store, kitchen, hardware store, tunnel, dress up area, and even smaller animals like frogs, rats, rabbits...to look at as they play.Very cool place!