Boone Hall Plantation

We started off our summer with a bang by spending a week in the dirty South.  We got to visit Callie & Shaun in South Carolina and Kristina & Bryce in Georgia.  We fell in love with the South and were so grateful to our hosts for showing us such a great time. 

Our first major tourist stop was Boone Hall Plantation.  It is basically in Callie's backyard, it's so close and was such the perfect start to our Southern experience.

The bus ride around the plantation was awesome!  The little one-lane dirt road we were on separated this fresh-water lake from the salt-water everywhere else.  Supposedly it's alligator infested, but we didn't see any - bummer! 

 Lexi and me in the butterfly house.

 Libby liked the koi fish almost as much as the butterflies all around.

 The girls and me on the live-oak lined entrance to the plantation.  Pictures don't do it justice!

 Brad and the girls just cruising the grounds.  The Spanish moss everywhere was so cool!

 Libby loved these giant pink flowers in the garden.

 The smoke-house.

 Lexi enjoyed just cruising around the grass lawn leading up to the main house.

 Rocking on the porch of the plantation overlooking the garden and slave-houses in the distance - what could be more Southern than that?!

 

The docks where they would transport all their crops to the city and just ride the tides to get there.  How crazy! 

 Yep, it's official - we love the South!

Splash & Stache

It's summertime!  So, what does that mean?  WATER!!!  The girls love their water table and have tons of fun getting each other wet.

 The Macbeth girls love having the Chang boys over to play and splash.

Now that Libby is a "super big girl", as she loves to tell everyone, gone are the days of the sippy-cup and welcome are the days of some serious milk mustaches!  I love it!

Father's Day

We hosted for Fathers' Day this year and had a great time dining al fresco.  My dad requested burgers (which I promptly vetoed) and corn on the cob with pie for dessert, and Brad helped me out by barbecuing steaks for the day instead.  We had quite a crowd - us, my parents, the sister missionaries, and our friends the Vargas.  I'm bummed I forgot to get a dinner picture this time.

 Daddy and Libby getting ready to open his presents.  Good thing Libby only knew what one of them was because she blabbed to him on the way to church that morning - no coaxing or anything, just an out of nowhere - "Daddy, we got you shoes for Fathers' day."  Gotta love kids!

 My sisters and I got my dad something we knew he'd appreciate - good food!  He likes to complain about home-cooked meals and would prefer to eat out, so we ordered him some food from Omaha Steaks so it's like eating out, only at home. ;)

 Lexi got to sample some of Daddy's pie and she was hooked!

That is one cute dad with cute girls to match.  (Libby was practicing her elephant noises, in case you're wondering what she's doing).

Happy Fathers' Day to the two greatest dads this world has ever known!  I am so blessed that they're both a part of my life.

Dresses from Grandma

When Diann came down with Paul and Jayann for Lexi's party, she brought the finishing touches for the girls cute dresses she made them.  They looked so cute!

The girls were quite a hit at church!

 This is Libby's idea of putting her arm around her sister - an inescapable choke-hold that got tighter and tighter with each picture.  Good thing Lexi managed to escape for one decent shot (the first one). 

They are so lucky to have such a talented grandma!

The Boat Makes its Debut!

Over a year ago, Jen and Jason gave us their boat to use.  Well, it's just been sitting, waiting for the necessary maintenance and check-ups for far too long.  So, Brad's spent a few weekends getting it all prepped for us to take it out.  Memorial Day was its maiden (CA) voyage and it did GREAT!

 We took it out on Lake Elsinore and had a wonderful day.  Libby loved helping Daddy drive.

 Lexi and I enjoyed the back seat.

 We left our house at 8:30 and were on the lake by 10:00.  We were worried it would be chilly, but it turned out to be another beautiful day.

 My parents joined us for the maiden voyage, and we even convinced my mom to try water-skiing again!  What a champ!

 Lexi getting her "sea-legs"

 She got these new glasses for her birthday.  Super cute, but didn't last long.

 I got to wakeboard for a bit and despite being VERY rusty, it was great!  Unfortunately, no pictures of Brad because one of the bolts fell off the wakeboard before we got any pics of him.  Oh, well...just means we need to go back again!

 We stopped for lunch at the spot where we keep the boat and trailer.  Lexi fell in love with cheese puffs, as you can see!

 Libby discovered cotton candy! :)

 Lexi enjoyed "maxin' and relaxin'" while we dined.

 We shored up on a beach for awhile and the girls had a blast playing in the water.  They especially loved the "hot-tub" Brad dug for them.

 So fun!

 The family

 We love our Lexi!

 And Libby was even moderately brave in the water with her lifevest on.  We're making progress.

She got to finish off the day with a popsicle from the ice cream man that came by with his cart.  What a fun day of water, sun, boating, and treats! 

Can't wait to take good ol' Bessie out again!

Dodger Game

On Memorial Weekend we got free tickets to the Dodger game, so despite being huge fans of the Big A, we decided to don our blue get-up for a day.  It was a great game with amazing seats - row F right behind home plate.  And we did cheer for the Dodgers (well, most of us...not quite sure if my dad ever actually cheered) and it was enough to get them the win. If only we had such luck with the Angels! :)

It's a Sea World Birthday!

Sea World did its annual teachers-get-the-year-free deal again and the last day to get it was May 24th.  It just so happened to be Lexi's first birthday, so I decided to take the day off and my mom and I took the girls to Sea World.

 First stop was Shamu, of course!  The girls loved watching him swim.

 Are they cute, or what?!

 Seeing how we measure up to the dolphins. 

 Lexi and Grammy in starfish heaven.

 Trying to corral both of them at once and take a picture was a bit challenging.

 Lexi loved the Shamu show.

 As did Libby.  On more than one occasion since, Libby has claimed that her two best friends are Shamu and Lexi (in that order).  How sweet!

 The ice wall in the Wild Arctic was a favorite spot, too.  It turned out to be a pretty hot day and we certainly enjoyed the break from the heat. 

 Lexi loved watching the polar bear and the beluga whales.

 

 

 While Lexi took a little nap, Grammy and Libby got to enjoy a show, just the two of them.

 

 

 In Turtle Reef they have this cool part of the aquarium where you are under the water.  One of the turtles was just hanging out there, so Libby wanted a turn to hang out with him.

If that doesn't scream "happy one year old" to you, I don't know what does!  What a great first birthday!  Thanks for letting us share your special day, Lexi.