Summer Camps 2021
This summer was our first summer venturing into summer camps. Both girls did 2 camps each over the summer. Both of their camps were local, no overnights yet, and they both had a blast.
Ava did 2 different art camps at Christ Church Episcopal School. The first one was a beach themed art camp and the second one was a magic themed art camp. She loved her camps and came home with lots of really awesome crafts. We were super proud of her for going to a brand new school where she didn’t know anyone and being super brave. She even made friends each week and loved it. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of her time at camp.
Zoe did 2 different dance camps at her dance studio. The first one was a Princess themed camp and the second one was a Moana themed camp. At the end of each camp, they did little performances for the parents and she did great. They danced every day and made fun crafts but Zoe’s favorite part was snack time. This was Zoe’s first time being away from us for 3 hours (other than with a grandmother babysitter) and she did so well! I do have some pictures from Zoe’s camps, thanks to the studio, so you can see our cute little dancer!
July 11th
I still cannot believe Ava is 9 years old! It blows my mind that she is only a year away from double digits. But for now, here is a look back at Ava on July 11th for the past 9 years!
July 11, 2012 - Newborn
July 11, 2013 - 1 Year Old
July 11, 2014 - 2 Years Old
July 11, 2015 - 3 Years Old
July 11, 2016 - 4 Years Old
July 11, 2017 - 5 Years Old
July 11, 2018 - 6 Years Old
July 11, 2019 - 7 Years Old
July 11, 2020 - 8 Years Old
July 11, 2021 - 9 Years Old
Charleston - Day 4
We ended our beach vacation on Ava’s birthday. Unfortunately, most of her birthday was spent in the car riding home. But, we made the most of our chances to celebrate her that day. We started with a special breakfast in downtown Charleston. Ava got to enjoy some yummy pancakes for her birthday. Then, we walked a different route back to the battery and got to see some more amazing houses. We walked back along the water and said our goodbyes to this gorgeous city. Once we got home, we celebrated the birthday girl with her presents. It was such a special trip to FINALLY be back at the beach as a family, to let Zoe FINALLY see the ocean and collect as many shells as she wanted and to celebrate our big 9 year old!
Charleston - Day 3
Our 3rd day in Charleston was very similar to the day before. We spent the morning at the beach. It wasn’t as hot this morning so it was very nice! The girls played in the sand and built sand castles. Zoe was very meticulous in arranging the sea shells on her castle and making sure every inch was covered. Zoe didn’t venture out into the waves this day but Ava did and she loved every minute of it! You can see the pure joy in her face!
That afternoon, we headed back into downtown Charleston. We took the girls to a bakery in town to get special treats for Ava’s birthday (a day early since we would be traveling on her actual birthday). Ava got a strawberry shortcake cupcake and Zoe got chocolate gelato. Then, we let them walk off the sugar by walking past Rainbow Row (picking out a house for each of us) and then all the way to battery park. It was hot but it was worth the walk to see the battery and gorgeous houses. Then, we made the trek back to the heart of downtown for supper.
After supper, we headed back to the beach for one last walk on the beach before heading home the next day. After this last walk, we had 2 trash bags full of shells to bring home! The girls were super excited to find their sand castles still in tact! Both girls couldn’t help but dance along the beach as we said goodbye to the beach.
Charleston - Day 2
Our 2nd day in Charleston involved a morning spent at the beach and an afternoon spent in downtown Charleston. The girls played in the sand and water and hunted for shells for hours! Ava couldn’t wait to splash in the waves. Zoe was a little hesitant but finally came out and loved it! That is, until we took her out a little farther and she had a wave crash in her face. She was done with the water after that. But, walking along the beach collecting as many shells as she wanted was a huge hit!
After we cleaned up at the hotel, we headed into downtown Charleston. We walked to the pineapple fountain park and then to the market. It was definitely a different experience going to the market with the girls and explaining the history to them. Zoe isn’t old enough to understand the significance of the Market but Ava does. It is eye opening to look at that historical place through the eyes of a brown skinned person and realize how significant it is to her history. The girls loved shopping in the market and checking out all the amazing items. Of course, they each left with a sweetgrass rose…can’t go to Charleston without getting one of those. It was a fun day together!
Charleston - Day 1
We FINALLY made it to the beach!! Zoe’s dream of seeing the beach finally came true this summer! I realized after the fact, that the last time we were at the beach was the first week of April 2017…when Zoe was born and we didn’t even know it! We spent 4 days in Charleston/Mt. Pleasant/Isle of Palms in July. We timed this trip to be there for Ava’s birthday, which ended up being a super fun way to celebrate her birthday.
They were calling for rain the day we were arriving (thanks to Hurricane Elsa) so we made plans to head straight to the aquarium. The girls really enjoyed the aquarium and seeing the sea turtle hospital. Once we finished there, we headed to our hotel to check in and eat supper. After supper, we surprised the girls and headed to the beach to walk around and let Zoe see the ocean for the very first time. We thought we’d just walk along the sand and put our toes in the water…but as you can see from the pictures the girls (especially Zoe) had different ideas. Zoe ended up completely soaked but it was worth it to see the joy on her face!
Dancing at the Drive Game
Zoe was invited to be part of a special event at a Greenville Drive baseball game. Her dance studio was hosting a princess night at the game and was going to be dancing on the field between one of the inning breaks. They invited the studio regulars who took part in their Princess Dance Camp this summer to do the dance. We agreed to let Zoe do it as part of a fun way to start our family vacation (we were heading to the beach the very next day). It was such a fun night! They hosted a special princess party before the game with 5 princesses. Then, after a rain delay, the girls danced with Mrs. Molly and Mrs. Beth to their Princess Tea Party dance after the first inning. We stayed for a few more innings to let the girls watch their very first baseball game. We had a great time and Zoe did such a great job dancing with Mrs. Beth (although, she was NOT a fan of Reedy, the mascot)! Again, we can’t say enough how much we love our dance studio!!
Children’s Museum Fun
My aunt and uncle were keeping their granddaughter, Blake, for a week so they invited the girls and I to join them for a fun day at the Children’s Museum. The girls had a blast with their cousin! The adults spent the day chasing the crazy girls as they ran from exhibit to exhibit. We love watching them play together and seeing their bond grow! We can’t wait for Lucy and Baby G to join the fun when they get bigger!
Happy 90th Grandmama!
This year was a big year for my grandmother, she turned 90 on June 19th! We had a family party to celebrate her big milestone birthday. It was such a fun day to have our whole family together to celebrate this special lady. I think the highlight for her was having all of her great granddaughters in the same room together for the first time (including Baby G who is due in Sept). We all love you Grandmama/GG!!!
Zoe’s Tooth
Zoe has a new smile as of June 9th. She fell last March (2020) and chipped her tooth right when quarantine started. I had to call the dentist emergency line (since they were closed due to COVID) and send them a picture. They said it looked fine and as long as she wasn’t complaining about it, she should be fine. Well, she and Ava were playing recently and she bumped that tooth again. She started complaining that it hurt and didn’t want us to brush it. The timing was good because she had her regular cleaning coming up. When I mentioned it to the dentist, she noticed that there was a bulge on her gum and suspected it was getting infected. The x-ray confirmed that it was probably infected so we scheduled an appointment to pull it later in the summer. Well, two days later she started running a fever with no other symptoms. DJ thankfully had the idea to call the dentist and they said that yes, the tooth could be causing the fever and it needed to come out. They put her on antibiotics and scheduled her for the following week. It was a very traumatic experience for mama and daddy but Zoe doesn’t remember a thing. She was high on the medicine they gave her to forget everything…she even said the characters were coming out of the TV she was watching while we were waiting for the meds to take full effect, haha. There was a lot of screaming (mainly to get out of the straps they put her in to keep her still) and lots of tears (Zoe and mama) but she doesn’t remember a bit of it. Now we just have to wait a few years for the big girl tooth to come in. She looks super cute with her little gap tooth grin!
