Summertime Adventures

I've said it before but the whole Kindergarten and mandatory school attendance thing has really cramped my style and was a total game changer for us.  Until this past year, whenever the mood hit, Kyndall and I could pack up and hit the road to anywhere we wanted and stay however long we wanted.  That was the only reason we were able to survive all these years living so far from family.  With me not working and her just attending part time pre-school, we had nothing stopping us.  That all came to a screeching halt when Kindergarten began, obviously.  We were now on a tight leash with very few opportunities to travel back home and on top of that we were now even further than we've ever been from family.  I'm not and will never be the type of parent to take her out of school "just because".  I just can't do it.  I see how much the teachers pack into each and every day so the thought of casually pulling her out for a week or so just won't fly with me.  Besides, I want her to take school seriously and not think we can just skip out whenever it isn't convenient for us.  But, I digress.

All this to say when summer arrived, we were OUT OF HERE!  I told Matthew he would likely be living like a bachelor for many weeks out of the summer and thankfully he was ok with that.  I wish he had been able to join us on our adventures but at least we did wrap it all up with a great family vacation for all three of us.

In my last post I mentioned that after the dance recital weekend was over Kyndall flew back to Florida with my Mom and Matthew's Mom.  From there she spent the next several days with Matthew's parents and they took her to do all kinds of fun things like a trip to Wild Adventures amusement park, lots of backyard pool time and best of all, a weekend at Panama City Beach.

Terrified to touch a green vegetable but seeks out all things green and creepy crawly!

I practically grew up on the shores of Panama City beach, spending time there every summer with my Grandparents in their RV.  I wish Kyndall could grow up closer to the beautiful Gulf Coast that I once called home.  I'm thankful that Matthew's parents have taken her there for a few days each summer for the past few years.

I recently passed my love for go-kart racing on to Kyndall and what better place to race than at the beach?

Me and the dogs packed up and set out on my first drive alone from Dallas to Tallahassee.  I had made the drive from Tennessee to Tallahassee countless times but that was a ten hour drive and this would be more like fifteen.  I was nervous but determined to do it just to prove that I could.  As I suspected, it wasn't bad at all and I plan to do it again every summer.  Coming back to Dallas with Kyndall wasn't bad either.  She has been making long car rides since she was only a few weeks old so she's a trooper.

These guys are used to the drive too

I was excited to get my girl back after not seeing her for almost a week.  She was still at the beach for the first few days after I arrived but on Sunday I was reunited with her during a baby shower for my sister.  She was fresh off the beach and had a beautiful golden tan and lots of stories to tell me about her trip.

Kelly's sweet friend Jenna hosted a family baby shower for baby Easton at one of our favorite restaurants after church.  

Of course I found a way to monogram the gifts I gave baby Easton!

Kelly and her sweet hostess, Jenna--Friends since high school

Four generations

Cousins

My in-laws love my sister as if she was their own daughter-in-law

That evening kicked off Vacation Bible School at the church I grew up in where my parents are still members.  I LOVE that Kyndall has had the opportunity to attend VBS at Morningside every summer just like I did when I was a kid.  She looks forward to it so much and always has a wonderful week.  This year I decided to volunteer in the craft room with my Mom.  

Craft room crew

Kyndall got really attached to one of the youth volunteers named Skylar.  Skylar was so sweet to Kyndall and by the end of the week they were BFFs.  

She was pretty upset when she realized that after the week was over she wouldn't see Skylar anymore.  Some tears were even shed.  So, we decided to make Skylar a gift that would help her remember Kyndall.

She was SO excited to give it to her on the last night.

Once VBS was over we found all kinds of fun things to do with our remaining time in Tallahassee.  We had lunch at Chick-Fil-A followed by a trip to Giggles indoor place center....

Wyatt likes to eat his Oreos just like his Aunt Sissy does!

LOVE!!!

We went bowling with friends....

Kyndall, Koby, Elijah

Sweet baby Annabelle

My Dad took Kyndall riding in the woods on the gator and she picked me beautiful bouquets of wildflowers on more than one occasion.

Lunch with friends....

Tallahassee Rocks is a HUGE craze right now and Kyndall really got into the rock hunting while we were there.  I have to admit, it's kind of addicting and there's definitely a thrill in finding a new rock! 

During one of our rock hunting adventures at Dorothy Oven Park she somehow spotted one in the bottom of this fish pond and insisted we weren't leaving without it.  The things we do for our kids....

Grammy framed some of Kyndall's recent artwork and hung it in my childhood bedroom

We visited our friend Mrs. Shanna and her new puppy

My Dad took me and Kyndall out one night for a round of mini golf and some arcade games at the very same place that Matthew and I had our first (blind) date 11 years ago.

One of my favorite things that we did while in Tallahassee was to go back to the college I attended and visit my former professors and take a tour of the updated dental clinic where I spent MANY hours of my life.  It was bittersweet because in some ways that season of my life feels just like yesterday and in other ways it seems like forever ago.  So much has happened since I last walked through those doors in 2005.  

This is my old unit where I learned all about how to be a great dental hygienist.  Much to my disappointment, Kyndall told me there's no way she will ever go into the dental field and is utterly repulsed by my career choice.  Even still, it was neat showing her where it all began.

This beautiful stained glass window was placed in the clinic by my graduating class after we unexpectedly lost one of our classmates just a few months before graduation.

I even drove Kyndall by my old college apartment while we were on the college side of town.

We met up with Nonie and Poppie for lunch one day while they were in Tallahassee

As part of a baby shower gift for my sister, I gifted her a maternity photo session which she had done while I was there.  This was my favorite of all the photos!

I managed to squeeze in a much needed highlight and decided on a whim to chop a solid 5 inches off my hair.

It rained much of the time we were in Tallahassee which was like pure torture as we gazed out the widow at my parents' beautiful newly remodeled pool.

Finally, the rain stopped just long enough for a few hours of pool time

This girl is part fish.  She'd live in the water if she could.

We had a very special visit with one of my favorite people.  This sweet lady was the patient soul who sat and tirelessly taught my piano lessons in my childhood home for many years.  Her lessons went so much deeper than just how to read notes on a page.  She taught me so many valuable life lessons and always encouraged me in my faith.  I was finally able to see her again for the first time since getting married an moving away.  It was extra special being able to to introduce her to my own little pianist!

Another very special thing we did was take a short ride over to Gadsden County to visit my parents' lake house.  Once again, this is another place that holds fond memories from my childhood and teenage years.  Many, many weekends and summer were spent fishing, boating, tubing, relaxing and having fish fries at this place.  I'm (again) sad that Kyndall won't grow up on the water like I did because it made for some great times as a kid!

Another rainy day cut our trip short

We celebrated Father's Day while we were in Tallahassee and though I was sad that Kyndall wasn't spending it with Matthew, it was special for me to be able to spend it with my own Dad....Something I haven't been able to do in many years.  

Kyndall and Wyatt made some special artwork as gifts for G-Daddy

A little water balloon fun to pass the time until Father's Day dinner was ready....

They asked me to do this, I promise!

Celebrating G-Daddy....

We also celebrated Wyatt many weeks early since Kyndall and I wouldn't be back for his birthday at the end of July.  He loves to blow out candles so it didn't even bother him that the cake wasn't his!

He loved his gift!

Kelly and I feel so blessed to have been given this guy as our Dad.  He's gentle and kind and is always giving or doing for others, plus if you know him you know he's pretty funny.

Continuing with the celebration for Wyatt, Kyndall and I gave him his birthday gift a little early as well.  I failed to wrap it so Kyndall instructed him to keep his eyes closed and as you can see, he did just that!

Kyndall loves her scooter and was so excited to give Wyatt one of his own

Our two weeks in Tallahassee was over and it was time to make the long drive back to Dallas. However, my never-gets-sick child suddenly wasn't feeling quite like herself after a quick stop in Two Egg to visit my Grandmother on the way home.  I ended up taking her to an urgent care in Marianna where they diagnosed her with strep!  Ugh!

My child who has not napped in four years could not even stay awake in the lobby of the office.  That's when I knew something was definitely wrong.

Poor girl!  I'm not used to seeing her so pitiful.  I can literally count on one hand the number of times she's been sick in her life and this was one of the worst.  Thankfully we got some good antibiotics and by the next morning she was feeling well enough to make the rest of the drive back home to Texas.  It's a good thing because puking and riding in the car for 15 hours do not mix well together!

Our time in Florida/Georgia was wonderful and we left with some great summer memories.  We returned home for just one week before we were off on our next road trip.....!