Fun Times in August

Ella wearing a flower girl dress my sister wore.
Emma wearing the peach flower girl dress I once wore.

They asked me to take this picture of them
pretending to be asleep.

Talent Show

Playing in the rain.

First Visit to the Dentist

Ella and Emma had their first visit to the dentist this morning.  Mommy and Daddy had their teeth cleaned first.  When it was Ella and Emma's turn, they decided counting their teeth was ok, but not cleaning.  The hygienist said their teeth look good!

Clean Teeth 

Ella

Emma

First Backyard Campout

Ella and Emma recently watched something on TV that was about camping.  They have been begging to go camping ever since.  Mommy is not much of a camper, but Daddy was up to the challenge.  So, we set up the tent in the backyard for a first campout.

Ella, Daddy, Emma

Pretending to sleep for the picture

Ella and Emma had a great time!  Daddy had fun too, but unfortunately there were some roots under where he was sleeping.  Mommy enjoyed the nice quiet house and the king size bed, and she went for donuts for breakfast.

Ella and Emma's Alaskan Adventure

This is a link to the photo book I created on Shutterfly for Ella and Emma about our trip to Alaska.  (The picture is not showing up on my screen, but the link is working, I think.)

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Alaskan Cruise Day 10: Traveling Home

It was a long and weary day with a very early start, but everything went as well as could be expected.  Flights were on time and and the girls were great travelers.  It's good to be home!

A very special thank you to Memaw and Datt for this wonderful vacation!  We had a great time and got to see many new, wonderful, and beautiful things.  We had a great time and loved being with our family!

Alaskan Cruise Day 9: Seattle, WA

We were up early for one final breakfast by the pool before disembarking the Star Princess one last time around 9:00 AM.  We gathered our luggage and checked back into the same hotel we stayed in the first night of this vacation.

We used the public transit system to make our way to Chinatown for lunch.  Not knowing the food was served family style, we ordered way too much food, but it was very tasty.

Datt giving Emma a ride.

We then made our way to the "Ride the Duck" tour.  (While we were waiting for our tour to begin, the Blue Angels flew over a couple of times.)  We started our tour on land, but then made our way to the water.  It was an interesting way to see that part of the city with some added information from our guide.  Sweet Emma fell asleep in my arms during the tour, and I loved every minute of that.

Ella and Emma with their Duck calls 

Daddy and Ella

Mommy and Emma

 

Sleepless in Seattle House

We went back to the hotel via the monorail and city subway/ train.  Memaw and Datt ordered pizza for dinner.  On the way to the pool area for dinner and some swimming, Emma missed a step or tripped or something and fell down 5-6 stairs.  Scared us all!!  She banged her nose and right cheekbone, and strangers from the pool area even came to check on her because of her screams.  Thankfully, she was not severely hurt.  We kept a close eye on her the rest of the evening, and saw no signs of concussion or anything  more than the bumps and bruises.  

So today we've been on a ship, car, subway train,  duck, monorail, and our own two feet.  It was an interesting but exhausting day.

Alaskan Cruise Day 8: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

We had some time on the ship before docking in Victoria.  The girls wanted to go to the kid's area for a while, so we let them go have fun while we started packing.

Ella and Emma saying Goodbye to one of their Counselors

After some pizza for lunch, we headed to the kids pools on the back of the ship for a little swimming.

Ella

Emma 

 

We arrived in port 4 hours early because of a medical emergency involving a man we saw collapse at breakfast yesterday morning.  After looking at the prices for the shuttle around town, we decided to walk.  (We found out later that we would not have had to pay for the girls on the shuttle and had we known that, we probably would have taken it, but then we would have missed out on our own little adventure.)

 Not sure which way to go, we asked a couple of ladies in the shop next to customs where they would recommend.  They pointed us to a walk along the coast that would lead to a park where the girls could play.  The walk was longer than we had anticipated, and the weather was almost hot, (especially since we had not packed for warm weather.)  However, the park was worth it.  It was HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!!  We first found a splash pad with a giant watering can.  The girls loved running though the water.

Ella

Emma

We then made our way to a petting zoo, but unfortunately, it had just closed.  So, we walked around and looked at all the beautiful flowers and landscaping.  With a park this beautiful and the warm weather, it's no wonder there were so many people out enjoying their afternoon.  We took lots of pictures!

We eventually, with the help of some locals, found the playground with another splash pad.

 

We ate dinner at a little dive across the street from the park.  They served very tasty burgers and fries.  (This spot was also recommended to us by the ladies who started us on our journey.)

We wondered around town for a while before heading back to the boat.  We all had tired feet and legs, but enjoyed seeing all of God's beauty in this town.  (Unfortunately, we did not see many of the tourist sights because we were on foot and not quite sure where to go or how far away they were, but we still enjoyed our adventure through Victoria.)

Rolling down a small hill

 
Oh, and we did manage to get Canadian stamps in our passports.  We had to ask for them, and they took us into a little office, but they did stamp them.  Now the girls have their first passport stamp.