florida vacation: day one-sea world

Boy, it's tough to take a toddler and infant across the country with a car seat, strollers, and luggage in tow. Not to mention getting through security and entertaining a 6 month old for the entire five hour flight to Florida. We made it with only one Lily melt down, our sanity still intact, and lots of those frightened looks people give when they see a baby getting on their airplane with them. Little did they know we have the best babies ever.

We met up with the grandparents (who were the disneyworld dreambuilders who made this whole trip happen) and the Bodines for a week of fun.

Our first day was spent in sea world and what better way to enter the park then by meeting Shamu.

You think she is a little nervous to be standing next to a killer whale?

We rode the kiddie rides and Halle taught Jake the joy of putting your hands up on rides. He was laughing hysterically about it.

After lunch there was more rides for the tots and miss Lily even got in on the action.

I really can't get enough of those baby cheeks. Both of my babies have the most delicious cheekies.

As we waited for the killer whale show to start it began to pour rain. And I am not talking about regular old rain. I mean we got dumped on. I had never seen rain like this that just didn't end. We were completely soaked, except Lily who was safe in her covered stroller sound asleep.We eventually made it to the covered stadium to watch the show totally drenched.

Halle was absolutely mesmerized by the things the killer whales could do. She has always loved whales, but to see them come alive for her was magical to watch. I still can't believe those animals can do all those things.

It was my favorite part of the day.

We discovered Lily's favorite thing about the parks early on: the water fountains. She could not take her eyes off them whenever we were close by any water feature.

The rain stopped and we did more rides and saw the dolphin show.

Walking under the shark tank was a definite highlight. I think Halle walked through it about four times. I had to throw in this picture because it is a perfect snapshot of Halle lecturing Jake on proper park etiquette. She thinks she is the boss, and I must admit he does listen to her.

By the time we headed out Halle was completely exhausted, but totally in love with sea world.

another princess

It's no secret Halle loves all things princess and dressing up. Wes makes sure that miss Lily doewn't miss out on all the fun.

Bracelets, wands, and necklaces.

We start young in this house.

volcano golfing

miniature golfing has officially become volcano golfing in our house because it just so happened that halle's first miniature golf course experience had a huge smoking volcano you play all around. nothing like spending labor day checking out your child's hand/eye/ball coordination. in case you were wondering halle doesn't have any or any real desire to practice. it is all about hitting the ball, no matter which direction it goes.

look at that great form.

the bell family enjoying labor day weekend.

mommy and lily were spectators.

in a tight spot getting help from grandpa.

tiger woods pre-scandal

aren't my sisters in law just gorgeous?

baby bjorn is our best friend.

hogle zoo 2011

a note about gorillas: awhile back halle had a nightmare about gorillas coming to our house and coming to get her. she was terrified of the basement from that point on even though i assured her many imes that gorillas are in cages at the zoo and can't come out. when we got to the zoo the only thing she wanted to do was see the gorillas and basically conquer her fears. she has been fine ever since and really loved watching the gorillas that day.

an artist

Halle has always loved to watercolor, color with crayons, make little crafts, and draw with chalk outside. For a while now she has been painting and drawing people, faces, race car tracks, and grocery lists anywhere she can. She has become an excellent little artist. These are some of her recent creations.

She drew Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas with her chalk. And she looked good doing it in her heels and t-shirt, a true artist with a style all her own or it could be she has a mama who picks her battles and clothes isn't one of them.

She painted this rainbow a few weeks ago and I thought it was fantastic.

Wes is a bit of a closet artist, so I think she gets this creative and artistic ability from him.

*wes's business trip and our disneyworld vacation put me way behind so we will be playing catch-up on the blog for awhile.

grandma ellie

We celebrated the life of Wes's sweet Grandma this weekend after she ended her painful battle with breast cancer. She was an absolutely wonderful woman, mother, and grandmother. She has always made me feel that I was a valued member of her family even though I only entered her life through marriage just five years ago.

As we visited with her over the last few weeks before she passed away she seemed to be passing on words of wisdom she had gathered throughout her full and faithful life to all who came to see her. She shared a sweet little nugget with me as I sat next to her on her bed that I will never forget. We were talking about raising children and she said the most important thing to remember when raising children is to "never give up." I have since pondered on that profound bit of advice and have realized that statement can go so many ways. Never give up on your toddlers with their tantrums, your teenagers with their hormones, your grown children with their adult problems, and never give up on yourself as a mother or a child of God capable of mothering all you come in contact with.

She went on to say she was so tired. We all agreed that, yes, we were sure she was tired, all of us thinking she meant physically tired from her battle with her body. She told us no, she was "the good tired." I know she was the kind of good tired you get from never giving up on anyone and caring so much.

Grandma Ellie has also been an example of always looking outward and thinking of others. She has always thought of our little family. She has picked up quirky little gifts here and there just because and for Christmas just like my sweet Grandma Evelyn used to do. Just a few weeks ago she presented me with a book she had found called "Lily Boop." It is an interesting little story I had never heard of about an animal named Lily Boop that becomes friends with a little girl. When she gave me the book she said, "I haven't even read this, but I saw the title and knew we needed it." Always, always thinking of others in small and simple ways.

I have always admired her gospel wisdom and hope to gather knowledge the way she had.

My last visit with her was three days before she passed away. At this point in her battle with cancer she was sleeping a lot and was barely coherent. She was completely asleep as I said goodbye to her, told her how grateful I was for being such a wonderful grandmother to my sweet husband, kissed her cheek, and stroked her arm. As we walked into her funeral behind her casket, I was incredibly proud to be a part of this remarkable woman's family, to be a part of her legacy. As part of her family we have a duty to carry that legacy forward.

I also have one confession to make: I was the person that supplied the piece of gum that she chewed and put in her ear to block out the noise of screaming girls at an event. The same piece of gum that later had to be extracted from her ear by a doctor. Hehe it sounded like she knew what she was doing at the time.

I loved spending the weekend reflecting on her life well lived.

ballerina girl

Last month Halle started taking ballet classes with Miss Jenny. She loves to dance and I just couldn't send her to preschool this year so this seemed like the better option. Kindergarten comes way too fast so why kick her out of my mommy joy school so early when I know I'll be missing her when the real deal starts. She was so excited to put all her dance gear on and get to the studio. She couldn't stop looking at all her moves in all those mirrors at the dance studio.

She loved her first class and came home and showed me all the new things she had learned.

She wouldn't take her leotard off afterwards and was pretending she was Miss Jenny for the next few days. She loves to pose and desperately wants to learn to spin on her toes.