Dan & Van

Staycation

The way that Daniel's schedule worked out, he ended up having this past week off without taking vacation. In order to feel like we were taking advantage of it, we planned some fun outings - unfortunately, our camera was apparently on vacation too, not many pictures from this week.

Josh vacationing at home!

First, Dan and I got to go to the last Jags exhibition game and had great seats on the 45 yard line. Such a fun date! The next day he took his new boat out fishing for one of the first times, despite having had it for a few months already. (We've been busy and he's been working like crazy!) Later that afternoon I had the luxury of going shopping ALONE. My bargain hunting friends would be proud - spent $69, saved $197 on 2.5 swimsuits! Not too bad! On Saturday morning we had a good time at the Jacksonville Zoo! Josh learned to say rhino.

Back at home with our wild animals safely in their cage!

(Thanks for the cute outfit mom!)

For Labor Day we ventured to the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia. It was about a two hour drive. Once we got there we got to ride a train around the swamp (definitely Josh's highlight), do a little nature walk with alligators, turtles, and an otter, see a program about reptiles, see some black bears (in captivity), and eat very overpriced hot dogs! It was totally worth the drive and hot dog money to hear Josh making his train whistle sound all day long.

Touching a baby gator

The kids decided to take a road trip of their own!

Minnesota

We got to visit my family in Minnesota in August and introduced Brielle to my brother, Marc, for the first time. (Josh has appropriately named him Uncle Haha.) My grandma, Great Aunt Diane, Uncle Joe, Aunt Lori, and their twins, Sofie and Ryan, all came up while we were there too. We were so grateful to be able to see them without having to get in the car again after a somewhat exhausting plane trip up there!

Uncle Haha

Aunt Naenae

Of course, when you go to grandma's you have to get your fill of whipped cream in a can!
Josh is showing Brielle the ropes

Having fun with Great Grandma

Tata has so many fun toys at her house!

We didn't do too much, but just enjoyed being together and getting a break from the Florida humidity. And, the plane ride home went MUCH better than the one getting there, which is good, since on the way up we had vowed to never travel again!

Brielle Update - almost 9 months

Our baby girl is growing up so fast...I keep saying that, but it's true. This year has gone by sooo much faster than the last one - probably because I'm at least twice as busy, probably more! Things are good, but life with two under two definitely has it's challenging moments! I've been thinking that I just need to make it through this first year, but I recently realized that life with a two year old and a one year old is probably more challenging than life with a 1 year old and a newborn - ahhh! I'm continuing to remember that His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in weakness! (Counting down the days until our adults only cruise in November helps too!)

Brielle is on the move now! Since my last update about her, she's started sitting up, eating baby food and some table food, Army crawling, babbling a lot (like she's telling a story), waving bye-bye (couldn't believe it, but she's consistent about it), loving being in the water, and pulling up! CRAZY! We continue to enjoy her easygoing personality, SWEET smiles, resilience to her brother's exuberant attacks and easy laugh, but not to worry, she does have a voice and she knows how to use it. When I went to pick her up in the church nursery this week they said, "She's a sweetie, but she has a little bit of a temper, doesn't she?" Isn't that the truth!

Tata gave her the first taste of baby food - she loved it from the start!

Sweet smiles for Gigi

Love those lil clasped hands

Waving and standing

Perfectly plump bath baby

Crazy Cousins

COUSIN FUN
Not bad for 6 tired kids looking into the sun!

Daniel's sister and her husband and their 4 (soon to be 5) kids came to visit us for a quick overnight in July. The cousins are so sweet, and Joshua loves to spend time with them. The two youngest are close in age to Joshua and Brielle. I had so much fun growing up with cousins my age and look forward to my kids being able to have similar experiences.

We're thankful to Jessie for teaching Joshua how to walk and hold hands, he wouldn't do it until she came and walked him all around the house holding her hand.

It looks like they're sizing each other up - I think Brielle might have her, even though she's younger.

Life's a beach!

For quite a while, Josh's pronunciation of 'beach' sounded very much like the other word that can be used in the title of this post! I'm happy to report, he's now saying 'beach' well and we no longer feel the need to repeat after him in public that "Yes, we're going to the bEEEEEch!"

Lookin' pretty comfortable on the surfboard these days!

The outdoor beach 'condo' in St. Augustine

Inside the real condo in St. Augustine

Many fun times have been had at the beach this summer and we're looking forward to more as the warm weather continues, but the sun gets a little less intense! We usually go to the beach just down the street, but we also spent a few days down in St. Augustine with Daniel's family. For my birthday we checked out Mickler's Landing, a popular beach a little ways down the road. And, a few weeks ago some of our friends from Gainesville came to visit and we had a blast catching up with them and enjoying the ocean.