bff adventures: florida part 3

 new smyrna beach!

on the way through new smyrna we stopped at a french backery for lunch and also mind blowing pastries!! as a matter of a fact we ate very well the entire trip! at times it seemed as if we ate our way through florida lol!! :)

the girls were so excited to be at the beach! they were just jumping up and down with joy!

new smyrna is on the atlantic side so the waves are huge and fun!

the weather was perfect! we weren't the slightest bit hot so it felt so good to just relax in the sand to the sound of the waves!

 there is just nothing as good as being at the beach! i love the water and sand and shells and sun!

p.s. some of my favorite photos are still to come!!

bff adventures: florida part 2

 sea world!!!!!

this was one of our favorite outings during the trip!! we got to see so many beautiful animals and unbelievable shows!

 our favorite part of the day at sea world was seeing the show with dolphins. it was increadible!! i didn't take pictures because i was too overwhelmed! there were parrots flying over our heads, acrobats, divers, acting, dancing, music, and so much magic!  

  

 the coolest thing about sea world is how close you can get to the animals. you really become a part of their environment! my personal favorite part of the day was getting to pet sting rays. i never knew how beautiful and fasinating they are until i got to be right there with them. they feel like swade or even softer! and the cutest thing is they love to be petted! when you put your hand in the water they come right up to you so you can touch them! again i didn't take a picture because i was so excited i forgot oops.

here are some more awesome animals we saw:

pink flamingos

sea turtles

walrus

  

i love manatees because they are so cute and fat but they were a lil boring hahaha :D

 if this was a video and not a still photo it wouldn't make any difference; they don't move much! lol

of course we couldn't go to sea world and not see shamu!

this was a super cool show!

the music and everything is so moving it made us cry!

if you have never been to sea world you must go! IT IS SO WORTH IT!

it might have been hard to believe it then but sea world was just the beginning of a bunch more fabulously fun outings during this trip!

check back tomorrow for more!!

bff adventures: florida part 1

mom, molly, emily, and i got back from florida last week. it was an amazing trip! we got so many fantasatic pictures so i figured it would be easier to break the trip down into several parts. these photos are from our first two days there, which were very low key.

after a yucky bumpy flight we drove through a scary thunderstorm to aunt karen's house in orlando! once we got to my aunt karen's we relaxed and chatted the night away :)

molly and emily got to meet kya. she lives at aunt karen's.

she was very nice and beautiful!

we had a little dinner then got ready for bed.

traveling is exhausting so it was nice to crawl into bed :)

the next day we went shopping in mount dora then ended the day by taking a walk to get frozen yogurt and watching the sun set on the dock.

that night the girls could hardly go to sleep because they were too excited for the next day!! stay tuned to see what we did!!!!!!!....

beckie's bible verse of the week #2

today rebecca woke up and struggled with what to wear.

"i want to look as pretty as the gorgeous and glamorous movie stars," rebecca sighed.

that's when i shared with her the following verse.  

today's verse is: 

beckie's thoughts: 

i am so fascinated with the beautiful rich and famous people that i forget sometimes that true beauty comes from inside. it's hard because everywhere you look girls are being told to wear such and such clothing to flatter your figure and be trendy; do this and that with your hair; be this size; use this make-up... etc. it's exhausting trying to keep up with it all. it comforted me to read I peter 3:3-4 because it reminded me that god doesn't need me to pretty on the outside. god wants me to be sure i create a beautiful person/spirit from within by being pure, kind, generous, loving, and sweet. come to think of it, some of the most beautiful people i know have these characteristics and that's what makes them so attractive. girls, when we ignore the ways of the world and follow god's path we will find so much peace and confidence in ourselves.

***in the first "beckie's bible verse of the week" i said i make these bible verse cards for myself and said you are welcome to save and print them so you can collect them in a bible verse box like me. here is the back (sorry about the glare) of this week's card. if you'd like to have it just print it with the front (above) then cut them out and glue them back to back.

spring cleaning

 it's time for spring cleaning!

the girls have been busy with their chores. deedee is coming to stay the week with us while emily and molly are in florida so the girls wanted to get everything nice and neat for their guest.

rebecca was in charge of washing dishes and polishing the silver.

samantha did the dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming.

missy meowmeow stood by wondering what all the hustling about was for.

p.s. we got a new pink trundle bed and new bedding... see it!! it is also doubling as a sofa because that windsor bench was too hard (not comfy) and it left marks on the girls' legs :(

kirsten and addy did the laundry. it was a big job to get all the bedding, table cloths, fabric napkins, towels, clothing, and so on clean and dry but they didn't mind because they prefer to be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine... not to mention it was fun for them to work together :)

felicity was almost too excited to be productive! deedee is one of her bestest friends ever and she was going to get to share her room with her! we did some rearranging in her room which made a nice space under her loft bed for deedee to sleep. although felicity was in a frenzy she did uphold her end of the chores by picking up and tidying up the home along with putting fresh linens on the beds.

molly was also buzzing with excitement of course. on top of helping the girls here and there she also had to get herself packed for florida. poor bennett he knew something was going on as he anxiously watched molly pack her vera bradley bags.

"i will miss you very much bennett! don't you worry, i will be back before you know it. plus you'll be so busy playing with yank, coconut, choco, and daisy when deedee brings them that you won't even miss me."

bennett licked molly's rosy cheeks then curled up in her lap making an attempt to keep her from leaving him.

what kind of chores are you responsible for in your home?

bff adventures: exciting news!

this week felicity joined molly and bennett when they visited deedee and emily at my mom's because deedee and emily had something exciting to announce!

"molly you and i are taking our first trip together!" exclaimed emily. "we are going to florida to visit grammy's and lissy's relatives!"

"really!?" said molly.

"hey, i've been there!" piped in felicity. "you guys are going to have so much fun!" felicity went on to tell emily and molly all about florida and how nice my aunt's home is.

emily and molly listened intently and wide eyed imagining everything felicity was expressing.

then deedee rushed over to felicity bouncing up and down and blurted out her exciting news, "guess where i get to stay while they are gone!"

"where?" asked felicity bouncing up and down with her hyper friend.

"WITH YOU!  and the other girls at lissy's!!!!!!!"

"wow deedee, this is going to be so fun! i can't wait to tell the other girls! they are going to be so excited to have you! we will get our home all clean and fixed up for you so you feel very comfortable!"

"oh, felicity there is no need for that. you know me, i'm not the cleanest person, i just want to have fun!"

"yes i know deedee but the miss neat-nicks kirsten, addy, and samantha wouldn't hear of having a speck of dust in the home if company is coming." both girls giggled knowing felicity was right about their friends' unnecessary yet good intentions.

"ladies, shall we make a little itinerary and decide what to pack over a spot of tea?" asked emily.

"felicity, we'd love your advice and input," added molly.

"yeah, that'd be fun!" replied felicity and deedee.

coconut, bennett, and yank chased each other around the table as the girls conversed and made lists of floridian attractions, matching outfits to pack, and fun things to do on the airplane.

just before molly and felicity went home they helped pull out emily's outfits to pack.

"omigosh, i'm so super-dooper excited for this trip!" cried molly. "i know it's still over a week before we leave but i'm going to pack as soon as we get home!"

mom and i are bursting with excitment for this trip! i can't wait to share the photos with you when we get back :)

are you taking any trips this summer?



beckie's bible verse of the week #1

 after receiving her first bible for her birthday rebecca decided she wanted to try to do a weekly post on my blog of bible verses she really likes.

today's verse is:

beckie's thoughts:

when i first started learning about christianity i was a little confused about what my roll is in this religion, but this verse helped me see that jesus doesn't need me to do anything but love! L.O.V.E. is what the christian faith all comes down to. therefore if you, like me, get to thinking you have to jump through all kinds of hoops to be a "good" christian just remember as long as you are loving to all and especially to god then you are leading a christ-like life.

 *fun project idea* i make bible verse cards (like the one picture above) and spruce them up with scrapbooking materials, stickers, handmade embellishments, etc. i display them lined up in an open box and change the front card periodically to show off one that  speaks to me or one that maybe i need to focus on in my life. it's a fun craft and it helps me memorize the good word. rebecca loves to make them with me and wants to feature them in her bible verse posts. you may feel free to print the photo of this verse's card and the cards to come so that you can collect them and make a bible verse box like mine!! :)