Living the Life and Loving It!: July 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

We Are LOVING Busch Gardens This Summer! (Plus 2 Videos)

We decided to take another trip to Busch Gardens this past Saturday! It was the 2nd Hottest Day of the Year ~ Some called us crazy for even attempting the trip with our 2 small chicas and with me being pregnant, and it was DEFINITELY HOT AND HUMID (Don't get me wrong) but all in all we were still glad that we decided to make the trip! The girls had fun with all the animals, the rides, the food and the spray bottle that we brought along to keep ourselves cool, Micah got to ride a roller coaster (Apollo's Chariot) and I got to see Colbie Callait live in concert!

Haley practicing making Grape Juice!

Both Girls Stomping Away!

Gotta have a shot with the Grapes, right?

Going to ride a ride together!

Off to stand in line!

Heading to find the perfect Hot Air Balloon for them:)

Going Up Up and Away!

Haley takes her rides VERY Seriously!

Emily's Absolute Favorite Pass Time of the Day!

As you can tell she REALLY got into it!

We decided to cool off by seeing a 4D Pirate Show!

Emily did well through most of it, although near the end she got a little too nervous so I took her and we stood up in the back to watch the rest!

Little Miss Hollywood Herself!

Haley also really enjoyed seeing all of the Clydesdale Horses! She really didn't want to say Good Bye to them!

However, she was happy that we found this little horsey ride shortly after saying Good Bye to the Clydesdales!

HILARIOUS!

Daddy and Haley posing with Liberty, the Bald Eagle

Then it was Mine and Emily's Turn!

Emily could barely take her eyes off of him for a picture!

Then 6 o'clock arrived and it was time to go find our seats for the Colbie Callait Concert! She was Amazing!!! Love her!

Here we were in our seats, waiting for the concert to Begin!

Haley Grooving to the Music!! (Sorry the video is sideways)

A short video of the girls riding the hot air balloon ride together!!

A Visit From Some of the Northern VA Grays!!

Last Friday we were fortunate enough to have Micah's oldest brother, sister in law, and their family down for the day to visit! It was pretty special because we are usually the ones to make the trip up north, so we were really excited when they called and said they were coming and bringing their family down for the day!
Our sister-in-law, Sarah, really wanted to go to Monticello while they were down. They hadn't been in about 10 years so they felt like it was time for another visit to the home of Thomas Jefferson, so we agreed and went along! It was a HOT and HUMID day (it was actually the hottest day of the summer to date) and we did NOT prepare for it! It was SO HOT we were all dripping!! But we were able to get in on a tour and then have some play time at the Children's Museum before we left!
After Monticello everyone came back to our house for a snack, some play time and lasagna for dinner! It was really fun to have everyone over....to show them our house......and to play and spend time catching up with each other.....and of course taking pictures too! With 11 people spending a whole day together, and being out in the heat and humidity for about half of the time, craziness is bound to happen, but overall everyone had a great time together and we were glad everyone came down to Charlottesville!

Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson

All of Nathan and Sarah's kiddos!!

Our Growing Clan!

Practicing Calligraphy just before the tour!

Tour is over, and now everyone was cooling down in the Children's Museum!

They were all hard at work building masterpieces!

Back at our house and Priscilla was ready to cook!

Lydia and Hannah thought it looked like so much fun, they decided to join in!

Priscilla was busy with all the toys in the living room!

After all that playing it was time for dinner! And Lydia and Haley had DEFINITELY worked up an appetite!

Emily came over for some girl talk and yummy lasagna too!

Haley, trying to see just how much bread she could fit into one bite!

Our Messy Cupcake Eater!

Cute Little Lydia was excited about her cupcake too!

Sorry about the open mouth shot, but it was the only pic we had of Emily at dinner!

Abigail, Priscilla, and Joseph were lucky enough to grab a seat at the big table!

Hannah quite enjoyed herself eating her dinner at the bar!

Nathan, post dinner and content

Joseph and his cupcake!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

14 Weeks Along with Baby #3!

I decided the other day (about a week ago actually) that I should probably start recording my "growth" of Baby #3!! Because you know how I like to have those comparison photos:) So here it is! Me at 14 weeks! ( I am a week behind in posting, I turned 15 weeks on Sunday!)
I have been feeling A LOT more nauseated with this baby than with either Emily or Haley! Which also means that the girls have become quite a bit more acquainted with PBS and Disney Movies....which I don't think they have minded at all! Luckily, my nauseousness is pretty much gone now!!
I am just at that in between stage, where my regular clothes are too small and I seem to be "swimming" in most of my maternity clothes, but since this is my 3rd pregnancy I do know, without a shadow of a doubt that I will grow into those maternity clothes in no time:)
That is all that I wanted to share for right now, just also that both girls are REALLY into babies right now and they are SUPER excited that "Mommy has a baby in her tummy" and they can't wait to meet their new brother or sister!!

Here I am in my 14 weeks of pregnancy glory!!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Family Gatherings are The Best!

My oldest brother, Josh, and his family just moved into a new house in Gainesville and they hosted a Housewarming Party and had all of the family up to check out their new place! It was a perfect day for it too, the weather could not have been better! And for once, with all the kiddos around, not ONE of them was sick! It was a Great Time! We all had fun....either playing, eating, watching the kids or just sitting back and relaxing!
I know my favorite part (aside from the opportunity to see everyone) was getting the tour of Josh and Ellie's new place! I even got some ideas for paint colors for when my Dad paints our house for us this winter:) And I know if you were to ask the girls they would both say that their favorite part (aside from playing with their cousins) was jumping on the trampoline! Man, those girls would have stayed on the trampoline if we would have let them! They LOVED it!!!
It was a fun day trip and I am glad that we took the opportunity to go! As our families are getting bigger and bigger it seems like these opportunities get less and less....so we have to go when the opportunities present themselves!

This is how Haley started her day! She is clutching Bruce Dog in one hand and a book in the other!!