Lucy Has a Friend

Well, Lucy actually has LOTS of friends.

Just none that ever come play with only her. The other night, the Parr's came over for dinner and Lucy thought it was all about her. Coco is about 9 months younger than she is, but their age difference is definately becoming less apparent. Being the younger sister, Lucy never has a friend come to just play with her. There is usually a sibling that tags along with Ella's friends, or she plays with her friend Hyatt. But no girls her own age.

While Erik and I enjoyed Donald and Kendra's company, Lucy really had a nice time playing with Coco. Ella kept herself busy pulling EVERY baby toy out of the nursery for Sebastian. (have a mentioned that Ella asks God on a regular basis to put a baby in Mommy's tummy? ahem....that is a different post all together.)

It's funny how when Ella was growing up I made an extraordinary effort to find friends for her to play with. Somehow I convinced myself that she HAD to have someone to play with at such a young age. I am now realizing that I spent so much time growing relationships for her that I have neglected growing friendships for Lucy due to the time I spend maintaining Ella's friendships. I guess there is lesson to learn here and always time for change.

Even our own next door neighbors are exactly my girls' age. But the little girl is Ella's age and the little boy is Lucy's. Does Lucy even stand a chance of having girlfriends? Well, thank goodness for this precious little Coco.

6th Birthday

Why

Have


The Years


Gone
So

Quickly?

My baby is 6!

The End of the Vacation

No trip to East Tn would be complete without a trip to the mountains. And in the summer, it is mandatory that we picnic in Metcalf Bottoms and play in the streams. Remember it was unseasonably cool and the water was FREEZING!!! I was the brave mommy and stayed in that water until my girls had had their fill. Which, by the way, was several hours later. As usual we had a wonderful time.

Later that night, though, Lucy and Grandma both ended up in the Emergency Room. Both were released shortly and have fully recovered.


Lucy before Impetigo...... Lucy after the infection. (This is actually before it got too bad. I just can't bring myself to post the real pictures.)

This is my nephew Alec. When he came into our lives, he was 3. He is 16 now and has grown into such a handsome young man; talented and smart. We are very proud of him.

Ella is smitten with Alec. He is so good to pay attention and play with her.

My pretty girl collecting rocks from the stream.

Day at Fort Loudoun State Park

Once we returned from the beach, we decided that we weren't exhausted enough and decided to try a day trip. Fort Loudoun is only about 30 minutes from Grampa and Grandma's house. We loaded up the kids and set out for an expected adventure. Ft Loudoun is the location of one of the earliest British fortifications on the western frontier, built in 1756 during the French and Indian War.

To my surprise, all the kids loved walking around the reinactment and just enjoyed running around the Fort. On this particular day there were actually docents dressed in period character and spent a lot of time telling the girls about the war and the soldiers who lived during that time.

I love this picture. Look how Lucy is looking up at Abby and Ella.

Randomness from Hilton Head

Here are the last few pictures from the beach portion of our trip:

We ate at The Salty Dog Cafe. Think Fudpuckers or Hard Rock Cafe style atmosphere. This is a Hilton Head "must-do" with tons of fun activities along the marina for the kids. The girls were able to tie-dye a t-shirt which was tons of fun. Do you notice that I took their shirts off? The outfits they were wearing were too nice to ruin with dye. (I'm sure my friend Kendra can appreciate this...)

One night Erik and I took the girls into the main shopping district for cheesy souvenirs and ice cream. Lucy wanted to take this home, but I convinced her to take a picture instead!

Don't you love this picture of Lucy? Those blue eyes just get me every time.

This is a picture of Lucy before the Impetigo struck.

Ella and Abby curled up in the chair. They are only 9 months apart, with cousin Sada 9 month ahead of Abby. They all played so well together. Sweet Annaleis took care of Lucy and gave her lots of attention.

The Lighthouse

One of the most beautiful sights on Hilton Head was this lighthouse. I know there's a lot of history behind it, and I did take a self-directed tour, but I was more preoccupied with making sure my girls did not fall from the viewing platform. I get a little crazy when it comes to heights and open spaces.

Lucy was a great tour guide and helped us navigate our way to the Trolley!

When she got tired she was able to hitch a ride on Grandpa's shoulders.

When we finally made it to the Trolley the girls just squealed. They were so excited to ride the "train."

Grandma and her girls taking a break from all the walking!

Ella outside the lighthouse.

Hilton Head, continued

We went on a dolphin cruise one aftenoon while we were in Hilton Head. It was a great experience and we saw lots of dolphin activity. The girls even got the steer the boat!

Daddy steals a kiss from sweet Lucy.

Ella did not take her driving duties lightly.

The hat is as big as Lucy. I still cringe to think about all the heads that hat has been on...YUCK!

The 4 "big" girls on the dolphin cruise.

Hilton Head in Review

This will take several posts, but I wanted to share some pictures from our Hilton Head trip. We had such a nice time visiting with Erik's family (remember the 10 day trip that included impetigo and a visit to the ER?) Well, that part was not fun, but the rest of it was awesome! Hilton Head is a wonderful place to visit and the memories we made will last forever. It was our first-ever trip with Erik's family and Ella and Lucy were in heaven with their cousins. I hope it is the first of many vacations to come.

Like most beach vacations, we spent a lot of time, well, at the beach. The sand in South Carolina was very different from the white sands of the Gulf Coast. It was more muddy. See?

And the last day we were there, the tide was so low that everywhere you stepped you felt hundreds of sand dollars and starfish. That was so neat! We've never "caught" those before.

The other thing we did everyday was ride bikes. We rode bikes everywhere! It seemed as if everyone on the island rode bikes--everywhere. Hilton Head is a very "green" community. I felt so eco-friendly. The week before we left home, Ella learned to ride her bike without training wheels. It took one time--really, only one time--and she was off! Just like a pro. This 10-day trip was just the right timing to help her perfect her riding skills. Can you tell from the smile on her face how proud she is?

The other adventure included alligators. This fellow was in our back yard one afternoon. I would guess probably 10 yards from our deck.