Vacation Pictures - Pool Edition

We did a lot of swimming on vacation! We stayed in a beautiful condo that was affiliated with the Westin next door so we got to use all their facilities. The kids loved their pool and koi pond.... Avery loved it so much she swam fell in it trying to touch the fish. My favorite part was the plush lounge chairs. I never did get to lay in them longer than 3 minutes but those 3 minutes were heavenly.

Parker continues to not wear his puddle jumper in the pool but stays in the 3 feet section unless he's got 1 on 1 attention in the deeper end. He seems to enjoy the weightless sensation of falling in the water and rarely spends time above the water! He finally mastered diving for his beloved iron man dive sticks!

Avery surprised us this trip by taking her puddle jumper off and swimming! Who knew she could swim?! This made it infinitely more stressful to be around the pool with 2 kids not in puddle jumpers and 1 who isn't really confident in the water yet but we made it work and the kids all had a blast in the pool!

Avery made quite a spectacle at the pool by yelling "up up!" over and over and over again. She wanted to be throw up in the air, flipped, you name it so she could swim back up to the surface only to yell it again and point to the sky. At one point, we may have had the whole pool deck and everyone at the pool bar starring at her. Whoops. I see some competition cheerleading or gymnastics in our future. Her back tuck was seriously impressive. She would come up to the surface still holding her toes. That's commitment right there.

Liam hasn't always been a huge fan of the pool. He much prefers to bat those beautiful blue eyes to fellow pool goers for snacks. While he still didn't LOVE the pool, he tolerated it much better this trip thanks to warmer water and lots of pool toys. He's starting to get the hang of the puddle jumper and preferred floating in it than to sitting in his baby float. Go L!

 Up next.... sandy faces and beach pictures!

Bring on Summer!

Today was a blast! It was the first day that really felt like summer to me. We got up and went to our friend's neighborhood pool. Most of the usual play group was there and it felt like "old times" but with a whole second group of kids! Last year, Avery was the only baby for most of the summer and even then, she slept in the stroller or wagon most of the time we were at the pool. This year.... is VERY different! The 3 year olds are now pretty easy and self sufficient in the water with puddle jumpers which frees up our eyes a bit to be on top of the busy 1 year olds/babies! 

The babies want to be in the baby pool with the fountains and graduated entrance and the 3 year olds want to be in the "big water" as Parker calls it. Thankfully, we all believe it takes a village so we divide and conquer.... and hire teenagers.

Parker and Logan were excited to see one another

Landon and Avery chatting

I actually think with his hat on, they kinda look like twins

The puddle jumper gang

Avery kept her hat on for 1 minute... a new record! I'm aiming for 1:30 next time! haha

Umm... well.... how's that feel Parker?

Sweet boy playing in the fountains

I am SO blessed with these friends. Anna, Amber and Brandi (and many more) have been amazing friends to my kids and I. We LOVE summer days spent at the pool and running through sprinklers in the backyard! Bring on the summer, ripe watermelon and shriveled pool toes!

Goin' to the Lodge....

If you live in the Charlotte, NC area you've probably heard the commercial or radio ads a million times.... "goin' to the lodge.... the great wolf lodge..." Are you singing the song yet? I sang that dang jingle all day long... because we went to The Great Wolf Lodge and it was AMAZING! The kids, Daniel and I had the most fun family day (technically "afternoon") we've had in a LONG time! It was all smiles, all afternoon. I owe a sweet friend, Becca, big time for giving us her special day tickets since her precious little girl, Riley has to get tubes and can't be in the water.

Parker LOVED the water slides and was such a daredevil! He even went down the slide that was a few stories high. I was shocked! He also enjoyed the wave pool. He put on his puddle jumper and would float on his belly and let the waves carry him. We were hoping he was tall enough to do the tube rides with Daniel or I but he needs a few more inches.

Avery was so pleasant. She loves to splash in puddles and play in fountains. We were surprised with how easily she walked in the water. We had to really watch her in the wave pool because she would just keep walking even if it was over her head. Silly girl. At least she isn't afraid of the water since so much of our lives revolve around the lake, pool and ocean! 

Daniel and I had a GREAT time watching the kids have a blast but we had some adult fun too! We took turns doing the big slides and I felt like a kid again! I smiled and let loose and even "WOO HOOed" a few times! Our favorite ride was the Howlin' Tornado. If you've been there before, you know why! I rode it a few times with the sweetest girl scouts because they needed an extra rider. Each time they would sing a song through the tunnel. On our final ride, I chimed in with a little "Starships, were meant to fly" and the girls thought I was the coolest... its the little things....

The pictures aren't fantastic since I didn't want to get the camera too wet and keeping up with the kiddos around LOTS of different pools was stressful enough but I did get a few. 

You can kind of see the big orange slide on the back of this huge tower. Parker went down that slide no less than 20 times. He LOVED it which really surprised Daniel and I.

The kiddie area had 3 small slides, water shooting jet skis and an graduated entrance with fountains. This was perfect to get the kids acquainted to the water and for Avery.

Sissy loves fountains that come out of the ground to splash around in.

Happy boy going down a water slide

Daddy and his mini me taking a snack break.

Avie takes a shower every morning with Daniel or I so she loved standing under the dripping water. She even stood under the HUGE bucket that dumps water (when she was on Daniel's watch).... and we got a few disapproving looks.... one from myself but nonetheless, she loved it.

Parker at the bottom of the big slide. You could hear him yelling "Woo Hoo!" the whole ride down with his hands in the air.

Eating a cracker poolside... I love the look on her face. If only she knew how much easier it would be if she rotated the cracker.

We showered in the family showers and put the kids in their PJs. 

We were sure that both kids would crash the second we put them in the car. Boy, were we wrong. They had so much fun that they were wired. Thankfully, by the time we got home, both kids were tired and went to sleep easily. I am also barely awake! I tell you what, that was a work out! By the time I climbed the stairs to the top of the slides, my legs were hurting and I was winded!

If you're looking for a weekend getaway, I HIGHLY recommend The Great Wolf Lodge. There is lots to do around the lodge in addition to the water park like Concord Mills Mall, the speedway, tons of places to eat... a BabiesRUs (such a mom)... anyways.... it was awesome...we loved it....can't wait to go back!

Lake Day!

My last post was about Parker's love for water... this is part II! We spent Sunday up at the lake with my parent's and sister. What a fun, family day we had! Parker was IN HEAVEN! He got to see all the things he loves most in life: nana, water and DUCKS! He spent the majority of the day in the water being thrown. The higher, the better! He also has his 1st fishing experience!

Parker's 1st fishing experience

DUCKS! Well geese but they qualify!

1 of the 1000 times Parker made them throw him!

Failure haha Thankfully he came up laughing!

Super Parker!

Swimming lessons from dad! Would you believe he jumps off the dock into the water and swims back to the ladder all by himself wearing his puddle jumper! I'm so proud!

Sister and Avie pic!

Princess Avery's set up

It must be tough to be so loved!

Overall, a GREAT family lake day and Parker slept A-MAZ-ING-LY!