Video of the Week - Week 22 - Turks & Caicos

I shot this video on my phone about 45 minutes before we left for the airport.  Our luggage had already been taken to the "departure lounge" so the girls had to frolic in the ocean in their clothes.  I pulled Amelia's pants off because I knew she would get them wet. Luckily, she wearing a long shirt  :-)  What astounded me about this video, is that this was the most Amelia ever played in the water the entire time we were here!  Yes, the last hour we were in Turks, Amelia finally discovered that the "crazy ocean" (as she called it) can be fun.  I think she didn't like how the ocean waves rolled in and knocked her off balance but here, in the last few moments of our time on the island, she finally negotiated where and how to stand to keep from getting knocked over.

Project 365 Days 149-155

Still playing catch-up...at this rate, I'll still be posting about 2011 in 2013!!  Yes, Ava starts school on Monday and I'm just now posting about the first day of summer!  Oh well, better late than never...here are the daily pics from our time in Turks & Caicos...

Day 149 - May 29

We literally got off the plane, onto a shuttle to the resort, dropped our bags in our room, changed into swimsuits and hit the ocean.  Well, the girls hit the ocean.  Jason and my bag was lost!  We were quite concerned but the airline employees were very relaxed about it.  Apparently this happens a lot there.  We did get our bag back about midnight so by morning, all was well.  Ava was so excited to go swimming in the ocean - she's a fish!

Day 150 - May 30

I think the sun only came out for about 6 hours total the entire week we were there.  At first, I was a little bummed at the overcast skies but I quickly realized how scorching the sun was when it did come out and how nice and balmy it was without the sun!  Ava and I still managed to get a little burned but overall, I ended up loving the warm, cloudy skies. And besides, when you're snorkeling, you don't notice whether it's sunny or not (because you're always looking down)!

Day 151 - May 31

They have many great restaurants at this resort, I think 16 in all, and on this evening, we chose to eat at a restaurant directly on the beach.  As in, there is no flooring, only sand!  The kitchen is out there too!  Anyway, it made for some soft lighting as the sun set and I got this beautiful picture of Ava.

Day 152 - June 1

We also did lots of swimming in the 4 or 5 enormous pools they have there.  This picture was taken after an evening swim, before we went out to celebrate Amelia's Gotcha Day with dinner at a Benihana-style restaurant (new post to follow on that!).

Day 153 - June 2

Today, we took a huge catamaran out on the ocean, did some snorkeling, sea shell collecting and exploration of a small, uninhabited island.  Amelia got very brave and walked out onto the canvas strap "netting" that was stretched between the two "arms" (don't know if that's the right term) of the boat.  Love how exotic she looks here.  We had a great time on the boat too!

Day 154 - June 3

I wasn't kidding.  This is really how Ava spent MUCH of her vacation time here.  Glad we thought to bring her snorkeling gear!

Day 155 - June 4

Our last day here and we booked some time to have one of the professional photographers at the resort snap some pictures so we could get everyone in the picture.  And the sun actually came out for a bit during the shoot so we got some photos where you could really see the aquamarine color of the water! 

I Heart Faces - Beautiful Eyes

Just got back from vacation last night and saw this week's challenge.  As soon as I saw the theme - I thought of this picture immediately...

Video of the Week - Week 21 - Amelia Singing

This is a cute video I shot in the car...I love how Amelia sings "Padda cake padda cake..."  ;-)

Project 365 Days 142-148

Please bear with me as I try and catch up - hopefully I can start blogging about things other than just our mundane, day to day activities!

Day 142 - May 22

The girls had their end of the year awards ceremony for Awana.  Both of the girls did very well - we started late in the year and yet Amelia finished 1/2 of her first book and Ava finished one entire book and got through the first 1/4 of the second book!

Day 143 - May 23

Here is a recent family portrait that Ava drew.  Notice how I am dressed in a muumuu and Ava has drawn herself, well, shall we say in a voluptuous manner? :-)

Day 144 - May 24

Gorgeous butterfly I shot through the window in our bedroom

Day 145 - May 25

Rosie looks like she's been attacked and is lying here dead!  But instead, this was to document my first foray into shaving her.  If you go online, a great battle wages about whether to shave your Pyrenees or not.  But with temperatures getting warmer, I decided to try it and see how she does.  This was about half-way through the shave.  I did not take an after picture, though, because I did not want to embarrass Rosie with my poor shave job.

Day 146 - May 26

Speaking of shave jobs, this one was a much better job because I took Nicky in to have it done at the vets!  Every year, Nicky is very lazy about grooming himself and usually, come spring time, he is one big mat of fur.  So, I take him in, they give him a little sleepy medication, and he comes back looking like this!  Not so pretty but oh so much more comfortable!  Notice his little poochy belly - he is not missing any of his mealtimes, obviously.

Day 147 - May 27

Ava's last day of school!  She is posing here with her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. B.  Her teacher this year was a much different personality than last year's teacher and it was interesting to see how Ava did under the different teaching styles.  She did very well and yet was excited for summer to begin!  Here are her first and last day of school pics side by side:

A little bit hard to see a comparison because I didn't take the shot at exactly the same spot but you can see her face has changed some and her hair is definitely longer!

Day 148 - May 28

The day before we left for Turks & Caicos on vacation, Rosie turns up limping badly on her front leg.  So a quick trip into the vet assured us it was just a sprain but on the way to the vet, Rosie couldn't help but sneak her head out the sunroof to get some fresh air!

Next week's pictures should be FUN because we were in Turks & Caicos all week!  Can't wait to share some with you...

Video of the Week - Week 20 - Ruby is Weaned

This shows a little more horse play between Butters and Prince but also shows a little bit of Ruby's reaction to finally being weaned from her Momma.  It actually went pretty smoothly - this was the most she reacted.