Ah Sweet Summer

One wonderful thing about living by Galveston Bay is there is always a breeze. We spend a lot of time outside, and it has been really pleasant. We have a covered patio in the back and a sand table and a baby pool so we are set.

The last few weeks have been a blur. Leila is out of school for the summer. Her last few weeks were really fun. The kids had field day, which was hilarious. They had a pool party the last week and a special chapel where they were chosen for specific character awards. Leila was chosen as the recipient of having a "Gentle" character. We think that is really sweet, but as the youngest and by far the smallest in the class she kind of had to go along with everyone else, lol. Not that she didn't hold her own--she managed to make the biggest boy in the class her friend so we think she is pretty smart, lol.

We went to Moody Gardens with Cindy, Mary's closest friend from St. Louis who flew into town to spend time with her and meet Leila. Leila has been asking for Cindy ever since. Thank you for spending your birthday with us Cindy!

For Memorial Weekend we stayed here and had some fun family time. The McKinneys are building a log cabin at the ranch so we will probably wait to go there until it is complete this summer. We went to our "secret" beach in Seabrook and enjoyed a gorgeous day in the (still oil-free) water. We went to the pool, twice, and grilled burgers.

We have had a couple of playdates and parties with friends, and Leila is really into birthdays now. She sang the complete "Happy Birthday" song to her Uncle Sean today which was Adorable. If you ask her how old she is, she will say "two." We have no idea how she came up with that. She knows her birthday is August 3 and is crazy about cupcakes, because they mean "birthday." So funny!

Stay tuned for our next blog... my brother Jimmy is getting married this weekend and we get to meet my brother John's new baby, Samantha, for the first time.

Riding Gray's ATV at a pool party at his house. Did you know they made motorized vehicles for toddlers??

Tanning in our backyard, just like mama

We luuuvvv our pool! Thanks Mimi!

Leila's 1st experience with a push up popsicle was a little traumatic

Chillin at the zoo... and you thought only monkeys could climb

Hanging out with Leila's bff Avery at the zoo.

Mmm.... cupcakes! Leila decorated this one herself. It took me a week to get all of the sprinkles off of the floor, lol.

"Yea Aya!" Leila is proud of herself after she makes a goal at field day. We always cheer her on and now she cheers too. She calls herself "Aya" and I hear the words "Aya do it" about 20 times a day. Leila already has chores (feeding the dog) and if she wants to do more, by all means have at it baby girl!

Cuddling with her Nana after her 1st tea room luncheon

Leila's Mimi, her friend Cindy, Leila and myself at Moody Gardens

A Day at the Beach

Another perk to living in Galveston County is that we are really, really close to the beach. Just a few minutes away, literally. We went to El Jardin Del Mar beach today... ever heard of it? Me neither. But it is a jewel and I want to go back, like, tomorrow.

This was Leila's first "real" experience at the beach. At first we wanted to wait until she could walk, because while she was crawling she put everything in her mouth. We went over the 4th of July to a beach off of the San Bernard River near Galveston Bay, but it was more like the mouth of a river than the sandy shores of the Gulf, and she certainly could not run like she did today.

We had a blast. She loved it all: the sand, the breeze, the waves lapping at her toes. She would have walked all the way in the ocean if we had let her--no fear there. She was sandy and her feet were soaking wet but she was in heaven. She squealed in glee every time the waves touched her. To top it all off, there were dogs there, which are one of her favorite things in the whole world.

The cherry on top of this perfect day was going out to eat for dinner, at none other than "Leila's Mexican Restaurant." She was treated like quite the princess there.