summer has been wonderful for us, i think gracie and i are about 3 shades darker than we were in april just from the past month. the sun has been shining away and we’ve been soaking all of it in. a couple of weeks ago we celebrated ellie’s birthday at castaway island in TY park. it was our first time visiting this water park and it will most definitely not be our last.
^^we met up with some of our cousins. can we talk about how diverse our family is for a minute??? seriously it’s the cutest thing seeing these girls all play together. also, what a blessing it is to be able to live close to family and to watch the little ones grow up together^^
^^i think this is my favorite picture of baby simon. he was the only boy at the party (other than tio jorge) and i think he held his ground pretty well^^
^^be still my heart^^
^^this little cutie was a bit scared of the slides. she spent most of the time playing in the shallow end but i’m sure she didn’t mind. that smile is priceless^^
^^gracie was so scared of the slides at first that she asked to go home. we had just gotten to the park so i offered to hold her. i spent the entire time at the park with her in my arms while holding other little ones hands, and making sure no one got hurt. this pregnant momma was exhausted at the end of the day but i honestly would not have traded it for anything. i know the day will come when she asks to go down the slides by herself and won’t need me to be there with her. so for now, i don’t mind the exhaustion. i’ll hold her and ride down the slides 100x if it means we get to enjoy them together.^^
^^these balloons were ellie’s birthday present from gracie. it was so sweet prepping for the handoff. the night before the party we bought the balloons and practiced saying happy birthday ellie. we also threw in a lesson on giving and blessing others. goodness, my heart was so full watching her let go of the balloons we both knew she wanted for herself.^^
^^happy 3rd birthday princess ellie. we love you so much!!^^
{T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park is located in hollywood florida. it’s $8 per person and $5 after 3pm (kids under 1 get in free). if you go, bring LOTS of sunscreen and snacks. during the summer there are tons of camps that stop by with busses full of kids but around 12p it dies down while the campers eat lunch… this was the perfect time for us to snag up the big watersides without waiting in line. there’s also a little kiddy area that’s great for the tiny ones but not so exciting for the 3+ year olds. oh and they don’t let you bring balloons inside the park (something about them being a choking hazard) ellie’s balloons sat in the car until it was time to go}
