Camp Perkins

While we were in Seaside, Ellie and Abby had a blast at Camp Perkins with Papa and Granna!  Granna had a jam-packed schedule ready for the girls -- lots of fun crafts, activities and adventures.  I don't think the girls missed us a bit, they were having such a good time at Camp Perkins!
They spent their evenings on the side terrace with mock-tails!

One evening, there was a huge rain with pea and nickel sized hail.  They loved playing in the rain and collecting the hail in a bucket.

Papa and Granna took the girls to a petting zoo in Franklin County.  They saw zebras, camels, big fat pigs (Abby's favorite), mini horses, goats and more.  From the photos Granna sent, I'm not sure who had more fun -- the girls or Papa!

Camels and zebras and cute girls!  Oh my!

They had a special seafood supper at the Iron Horse Grill downtown.

They love their Papa!

Fun meal in Natchez!

Thank you Papa and Granna for Camp Perkins! 

Seaside 10th Anniversary!



Tim and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on June 1.  We've always said we'd go back to Grand Cayman (one of our favorite spots on our honeymoon cruise) but we just weren't ready to be that far away from the girls.  So we decided to head to Seaside!  It was our first time to leave Ellie and Abby for more than one night (yikes!) but we made it, and we knew they were in very good hands with Papa and Granna!



Seaside is gorgeous and even though it was end of May/first of June, it really wasn't that crowded.  We spent five days relaxing and just being lazy.  We'd hit the beach in the morning and read or just watch the waves, eat lunch in Seaside, back to the beach for the afternoon, explore Seaside in the evenings and finish our days with a delicious seafood supper.  Perfect vacation!

We had a loft style apartment overlooking the center of Seaside.  It was really airy, modern and just the right size.  Our favorite part was the spiral staircase.

Here's our view from our balcony.  We were right in the heart of Seaside.  We spent hours on the balcony, people (and ocean) watching.  One night, there was a huge inflatable movie screen in the pavilion showing the Muppet movie.  People watched from blankets in the lawn and children ran around with glow bracelets.  Another night, a huge thunderstorm rolled in and we watched the spectacular lightning show from our balcony.

My morning coffee from our balcony overlooking Seaside.

Mmmm!!!  Fish tacos!!!  Lunches were fish tacos, bbq sandwiches, grilled cheese or grass-fed beef burgers.    Everything tastes better when you're eating it in an open air market overlooking the sea!
Tim's favorite supper was at Stinky's Fish Camp (crazy name, great restaurant!) -- he had the Taste of Stinky's (crawfish pie, catfish meuniere and crabcakes).  My favorite was shrimp and grits yaya for our anniversary dinner at the Great Southern Cafe (followed by a rich chocolate cake!).

The Meltdown!  I took this photo for the girls -- we'll have to replicate some of these delicious sounding grilled cheese sandwiches! (I had the goat cheese and prosciutto -- delish!)

We picked up a few happies in this cute shop.  Abby loves ducks!  And we were missing the girls terribly!!

Beach!!

This is how we got down to the beach every day. . .  gorgeous!

Coffee at the sea.  Perfection!

I loved these sandy paths that run all through Seaside between the houses.  You feel like you're walking down a secret trail!

Downtown Seaside

Everyone rides bikes in Seaside.  We didn't think to rent them, but we definitely will next time! 

Seaside style is very retro old beach cottage.  Clean, crisp and a little artsy/whimsical.   Seaside's motto is "A Simple Beautiful Life" - so fitting.  Gorgeous!
(I need these chairs for our kitchen!). 

All the beach houses have cute names like Blue Suede Shoes, Cherished By the Sea, Dune House, Gimme Shelter, Plum Lazy, Sea Ya, Salad Days, and Fur Fins and Feathers.  This was our favorite!  Our family's favorite bedtime story.

Seaside has a school for their full time residents' children.  The children have planted an adorable garden!

Anniversary Sunset!!  It was an amazing, relaxing trip! 

Happy Anniversary, Tim!  I love you!

Farmers Market Fridays

We are so excited summer is here -- and the Farmer's Market is one of our favorite summer activities!  The girls have gone with Granna on summer Fridays for several years and they looked forward to it all week.  Abby loves visiting all her "Farmer's Market Friends."  She knows them all by name and the precious vendors save little treats for the girls every week!  This summer, I'm off on Fridays so I can join them!  Yay!

This past Friday, we purchased honeycomb, honey, blackberries, blueberries, squash, and farmer's cheese. 

Several weeks ago, we watched the Pioneer Woman make blackberry cobbler so we decided to try it!

Abby liked licking her fingers after buttering the baking dish!

(she did wash her hands before she sprinkled the blackberries in the batter!)

Yummy!!! 
We're looking forward to all the recipes we can prepare this summer with our Farmer's Market finds!

P.S.  -- Look at how I discovered Abby Sunday morning before church. . . ironing!  Cutie pie!!

Four Seasons Ballet Recital

Ellie and Abby were lovely ballerinas last week in their recital!
This year, Mrs. Kathy's ballet school performed The Four Seasons and several praise songs.  The recital was held at Co-Lin's auditorium, which made it really big-time for the girls -- a real stage (and air conditioned -- happy audience!).

Ready to perform! 

Abby was a tiny bit nervous before the program. . .

. . . but when she danced out onto the stage, she was allllll smiles! This happy ballerina is not shy on stage!  She was a delight!  She remembered all her steps and giggled through the entire program!  It was precious!

This is my favorite photo -- Abby and sweet Anna Louise!

Ellie was perfect!  She practiced very hard this spring, talking with Mrs. Kathy about the music cues and even practicing at home with her ipod.  She was lovely twirling and leaping across the stage during her dances!

During the finale, the entire ballet school performed a dance in unison.  Abby said that was her favorite part!

Following the performance, Mrs. Kathy hugged each student and presented them with a pink rose!

Our beautiful ballerinas!!  Beautiful night!  We can't wait to watch the DVD when it arrives.

Lots of pretty flowers!!

Ellie's last day of 2nd grade!

Good morning, Ellie!!  Last day of 2nd Grade!!! 

She celebrated with a breakfast of donuts and chocolate milk!

Off to school!!  Most of the children decided to play hookey on the last day of school, but Ellie wanted to go!!  It was a small class -- Ellie, Kaytlin and Olivia.  They watched movies, did crafts and helped Mrs. Porter clean up her classroom for the summer.  Great way to end the school year!