Every Cowgirl Needs Some Boots

If you know our family at all, then you know that our darling daughter is borderline obsessed with all things Toy Story, specifically Woody and Jessie, who are the cowboy and cowgirl components of the franchise. She talks to them constantly (They're her imaginary friends), plays with their figurines, and pretends to be Jessie with her jump rope/lasso and cowgirl hat. Well, today was one of the best days in Grace's young life, because she received cowgirl boots in the mail today from her Gammie (DJ's mom, who quickly surpassed us in the coolness department for giving Grace these boots) . And these are not just regular, run of the mill boots. No sirree, these are genuine pink boots with silver studs on them. They are precious...and she may never take them off.

Summer Happenings

This is going to be a combo post, kind of a recap of multiple summer days, all rolled in together! Here we go! :)

We went to Lake Hartwell to visit some of DJ's friends. DJ, Brandon, and Ashley all went to college together, and they have a sweet little girl now, so we spent the day with them on the lake. Grace enjoyed her first time on a boat, and DJ even took her out on the innertube. She had a great time, and loved when the boat went really fast!





















Here are some pictures from a doll birthday party that Tiffany hosted for Abby's favorite baby doll, Kayla. Grace and her two closest friends, Taylor and Abby, all enjoyed fruit, yogurt, and birthday cupcakes, as well as fairy princess crafts and stories. It was a sweet afternoon!












We had a bit of a yellow jacket problem in our backyard, and DJ got stung by one at the beginning of July. He had a bad reaction, and had a lot of pain and swelling, plus extreme tiredness and dizziness after getting stung. He and my dad decided to kill the yellow jackets by pouring gasoline down their hole, but DJ was taking NO chances in getting stung again, so he prepared himself with this outfit:

No stings! :)

Grace has enjoyed helping DJ and I take care of Daniel, my best friend's new baby. He was born at the end of April, and we have babysit him a few times this summer to help her out. Grace likes to help me feed him and put his pacifier in his mouth. Such a helper!



Finally, here we are at the end of summer, and I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. Grace is looking so grown up these days, and she brings such happiness to our lives.

Hilton Head Vacation

The second week in July, DJ and I took Grace and one of her friends, Danielle, to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. This was Grace's first time at the beach! The sand was extremely hot, and Grace did not walk well in the sand, which resulted in her straggling behind the whole way to the beach. She got all mad that we walked off without her, and came out of the dunes fussing, until she saw the ocean. Her little face lit up, and all was forgiven! I managed to get a few pictures of her, then got both girl's life jackets on, and then they ran for the water. Grace loved the waves, and gave a little shriek every time one hit her. She did not like the salt water though, and announced that it tasted like fish poop. Between jumping waves, making sand castles, playing in the tide pools, and digging for sand dollars and crabs, she and Danielle really enjoyed the beach.





























Saturday afternoon, we took the girls to play putt putt golf. It was Pirate Adventure, and the course was decorated with skeletons and waterfalls and treasure, which they called "booty".(that, of course, produced many giggles from the girls!) This was another first for Grace, and she did as well as a four year old could do. DJ taught her how to hold the putter, and her excellent grip would have made her Papaw proud. It was brutally hot, and we only played 18 holes.













The last night we were there, I wanted some pictures on the beach, so after dinner we all walked back down to the shore. It had just finished raining and was getting windier by the minute! All in all, the trip was a great success and my little water baby can't wait to go back next summer!

Grace took this one of DJ and I