One of our trip goals was to have the girls swim a lot. We succeeded! The girls were a lot of fun to be with in the water.

Emily has a good deal of fear still, but would find a comfort level in the pool and play her heart out. Sometimes she would swim with an innertube, a noodle, or a kickboard. She found her freedom in swimming in the pool by herself and jumping in with the innertube. When we were at Jolie’s she used a noodle to keep up with Natalie. We challenged Emily to jump into the pool where she could stand. Once she figured out it would be ok, she loved bouncing around the shallow section after jumping in herself. She will be a great swimmer when she figures out how to master her fear.

Julia has very little fear in the water. She has two favorite games to play at the pool. One is an elevator game. I will hold her out of the water and say “second floor”, then lower her into the water and say “first floor”, then let go and give her control. When I say “basement” she bobs herself into the water. Emily plays this game too. She plays it from the side of the pool and does it all by herself. Watching Emily play this game is what got Julia to enjoy bobbing her face into the water. 

Julia’s other favorite game is to jump into the pool. She will jump in holding my hands. While at Grandma and Grandpa’s we started pushing her toward the stairs to come out and she enjoyed putting her face into the water. By the time we left Jolie’s we would give her a push toward the stairs and she would float face down all the way to the steps. She could go three body lengths with gentle kicks.

A vacation can be measured many ways. This trip was about little people and fun play times. It will be measured by the messages found in faces. Our trip via silly faces, sticking tongues out, messy hair, being wet, laughter, thinking, sleeping, being together, wind blown, sun baked, toy chewing and sandy.

We visited the beach for some fun in the sun. It is amazing how entertaining sand and water can be. The weather was beautiful and we had a great breeze. The girls had a blast. Julia knew she was tired and almost took a nap under the palm trees. We tried to build a sand castle, but filling a hole with water was much more interesting. Another favorite of the girls was pretending we were on a pirate ship.

Baby Elizabeth enjoying the sun and attention. What a happy face!

Baby Mikayla not loving the camera so much, but enjoyed her beach time.

We are home adjusting back to life after another trip. The girls seemed a bit disappointed to have returned home from traveling. They were thrilled to see their Daddy and Grandparents, but other than that they miss their friends, swimming, and the easy schedules.

Mama and the girls traveled to Miami and then stopped in Orlando on our way back home. We did some shopping, eating, swimming, playing with babies, playing with family, visiting the beach, more swimming in the pool, and lastly . . . more swimming and jumping in to the pool.

Thank you family for sharing the week with us!

The majority of our trip away was spent camping at Florida Caverns in Marianna, Florida. Emily and Julia knew who we were going to visit with and they were very excited. Julia had been nursing a cold so she was shy when we got there, but it did not take her long to feel her freedom and play with the other kids. Our campsite was pretty full, but thankfully we had one of the larger sites. We were able to fit three cars, one camper, two tents, a picnic table shelter, and still have plenty of room for the fire, chairs and play area. Jolie had planned it all out very well.

In total, we had four adults and five kids including one infant. Natalie did a great job of playing with the younger kids and Julia tried to keep up as much as she could with the older kids. It was fun to watch Dylan play with his superhero characters right along side of the camper and tent toys. His superhero toys even had their own sleeping bags just like the dolls for the girls. They all loved coloring in books at the table.

For our activities, we spent time in a field kicking a ball around, some short hikes, and a cave tour. Everyone seemed to do really well in the cave and the darkness didn’t seem to bother the kids. We got to see two bats along with puddles, cool formations, and a few seconds of absolute darkness. Our evening entertainment were owls calling to one another. They were some of the most unusual calls I have heard. They were not distracting enough to keep us awake, but fascinating to listen to. I would call camping a success. Despite some rain, it all worked out and we staying dry and warm. The girls seem ready to try it again.

A scene of Florida

Julia playing with the tent, camper, and family of dolls. All the kids enjoyed these toys a lot. I noticed that Julia would gravitate to it when the other girls were busy doing bigger girl things. She enjoys her solitary play a lot. I was explaining to Emily about how Aunt Jolie’s camper closed up, and she described to me how she would do it. She then told me she knew all about it because of the camper toy. I was impressed, but didn’t let Emily actually help take the camper down.

Happy Baby Mikayla! She got her “floor” time in the pack-n-play so that she wouldn’t eat dirt. She was moving around the play yard pretty well and got the idea about crawling as soon as she got home. Maybe she wanted to be able to move around like those big kids.

Mama time for the little one.

Maybe one of my favorite times and definitely my favorite photo. The girls were bouncing along the trail as much as their hair was. Emily was trying to be a big girl just like Natalie and having a blast. They just look lost in conversation as they spend time together.

After kicking the ball around at the field for a while they decided that the hill needed to be conquered. They decided that they would play Jack and Jill (renamed to Jackie and Jill). They would recite the rhyme at the top of the hill and then roll down. It took Emily a few tries to figure out how to roll down the hill.

They must teach rolling down hills at school, because Natalie was an expert at it. She even perfected a dramatic ending to her roll.

Dylan and Natalie had been getting Superhero tattoos and were showing them off to Jolie.

Coloring was another of the activities that got pulled out a lot to do. Here again, Julia took advantage of a quiet moment when she didn’t have to share the crayons with anyone.

Three strong Nobles women! Thanks for inviting us to join you and hope to do this again in the future.