Mommy, which way is Ferda?

EVERYTIME Sarah gets in van and we get moving, she says, "Mommy, which way is Ferda?" (for those of you without toddlers/preschoolers who cannot pronouce "L's" yet - Ferda is FLORIDA) Its so dang cute! And each time I try to point south and say "that way" and she says something like "are we going NOW?" or "only 2 more minutes?" or "5 more days mommy?" She has ZERO concept of time, which is normal for this age. She knows we are getting ready to go back because we've been talking about it and she has been so chatty about it! Today she asked "are the big waves in Ferda?" I said maybe (because really...we never know!). She said "can I jump in the big waves?" I said "of course!" She said "can I wide (ie: ride) in the big waves?" I said "of course" and she says with a huge giggle "that will be so fun!" and then a big pause and very seriously...."but mommy, the water taste yucky when I get it in my mouth." I told her to just spit it out when it gets in her mouth and she promptly says "but mommy, you don't let me spit!"
And I'm back to trying to explain the difference in "intentional" spitting, which is NOT allowed, and spitting yucky water out of her mouth....again....concept completely lost! She continued to chat on and on about the sand and waves and crabs and seagulls...she's excited! So am I!!

The proof is in the pictures- she's swimming!!

Beth decided to swim! Just like that! Maybe it was peer pressure in the pool and watching all her friends go off without her..or maybe something just finally clicked! Who knows! Regardless, she is going under the water, attempting to swim (arms and legs flailing!) and NOT SCREAMING IN TERROR!! It makes me feel so much better about having her at the pool - a lot less stressful!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's swim lesson. They aren't great a I was standing far away and there were a lot of people in the pool.

Oh- Sarah is also taking lessons, but so far, she has only mastered kicking while holding on to the side of the pool and putting her face in the water. Progress for a 3-year old!!

Tiger Lilly Girls

We have two big "batches" of Tiger Lillies in our backyard and they are blooming like crazy! Last night the girls wanted to pick some for their hair! Silly things!

Waiting Game.

Sometimes it seems that all I (we) do is wait. Waiting for vacation to get here (2 weeks!). Waiting for the rain to stop! Waiting for nap time. Waiting for payday. Waiting for whatever.....

Bob is waiting to find out IF he got a pretty big job in Cherry Pointe, NC - a marine base. It would mean that he would be gone for three (3) weeks! AUGH! We know they are checking his references and they have called for his tax ID #. We know "they" met to review bids on Tuesday. Yet...we are still waiting for "the" call of YES or NO. Its frustrating.

AND, yesterday he got a call regarding a job in southern Mississippi - Keesler Airforce base (we think). THAT job would require him being gone at least a week, he thinks. We are hoping that this job works out, too, because its with a company he works with a lot here in town (but they have projects all over the US) and their business has really slacked off with Bob lately. This would be a nice boost.

So..............we wait. Wait to find out if he is headed to North Carolina for 3 weeks. Wait to find out if he is headed to Mississippi for a week....waiting. I hate waiting.....

UPDATE - He got the Cherry Pointe job! Yeah! EEK! Now we're trying to figure it all out....

The Minivan saga is finally over!! NEW VAN!!

YEAH!! I finally got a "new-to-me" minivan! After almost 2-years of going back and forth on whether to get one, then deciding yes, then figure out which ONE I wanted....to trying to find THAT particular van....I finally got one. I just didn't get "THAT" van. After a 5th very frustrating week with Toyota of our town and working with them to try to find the perfect Sienna for me, it just wasn't working. I was tired of looking on autotrader.com and ebaymotors.com every day...and talking with Toyota 2-3 times a week, SOOO....on Saturday, I starting browsing Honda dealers' websites in our area for an Odyssey. Within an hour, I found pretty much exactly what I wanted. It was a year "older" than what I originally was looking for, however, it was several thousand dollars cheaper...win-win! After doing some scrambling for childcare and getting to Nashville in record time, we test drove it, then started the horrible process of price negotiation. All-in-all, we "won" the negotiations and now I'm wondering if perhaps we couldn't have talked them even lower, but what is done is done.

Its a "slate" (dark gray/dark blue) color 2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L with tan leather interior, DVD and Navigation. The girls are totally in love with it! Its going to be SO nice. I'm sure I'll get sticker shock the first time at the gas pump. The gas tank is almost 20 gallons, whereas my Sebring only had 12 gallon tank!

SO, I'm now a minivan mom and I'm 100% excited about it!! Now, I just need a "my kids on the honor roll" bumper sticker and I'm all set! :-)

Edited to add: my Insurance went DOWN $14 per month! The Odyssey has a higher "safety" rating than my Sebring did. YEAH!!

Teacher woes.

Monday afternoon, the Director of the Kindergarten/Nursery School where Beth went to last year...and Sarah will begin next year...and where I am Chairman of the Advisory Council called me. The Kindergarten teacher (Beth's teacher last year) had just resigned to take a full-time job at a private school where her son would be attending next year (and where Beth will be going next year, too). I was very surprised, but not shocked. I would have probably done the same thing - she will be getting "free" tuition for her children, which is awesome! SO, I will be spending the summer searching for and sitting in on interviews with new Kindergarten teacher prospects. Yeah! I'm pretty sure whoever we hire won't hold a candle to the one that just resigned. If she stays at this private school for at least 3 more years...we will probably send Sarah there for Kindergarten. But, we'll just have to wait and see...

So, in the midth of all this hoopla, I found out yesterday that Beth's first grade teacher she was supposed to have next year, resigned. Ugh. I was devastated. Beth was devastated. She was incredible. Beth loved her already after only meeting her 2 times. They have already hired someone to replace her, but I have not a clue who she is. I guess we'll meet her at the open house before school starts. Its not a comforting feeling not knowing the person who will be teaching you child next year. I feel a tad stressed!

Party weekend!

A friend of the family got remarried this weekend and it was just a 48-hour party. Friday night we had a "tailgate" party at mom and dad's house (and I forgot my camera!) and it was a LATE night for the girls (9:30 bedtime, I think) and Saturday morning everyone slept late, I went for a jog, did laundry and then the girls and I went to play with our friends! (and again, I forgot my camera!) The wedding and reception were that evening and I did get an okay picture of all of us - not wonderful, but it will do! The evening went till 8:30 for the girls, 10:30 for me. I'm told the "young crowd" was there till 1 a.m. - I just cannot do that anymore! We are all tired and ready for a NORMAL WEEK!!

Destin Days 4 & 5

Days 4 and 5 were pretty...and long days, so I never got the chance to blog from the beach. Tuesday was beautiful and our last full day there. The girls continued to have fun on the beach and it was date night for Bob and me. We went to dinner and then to see Angels & Demons, which we enjoyed! We also made a quick stop at Books-A-Million to get a cool workbook called "Summer Bridge K-1" for Beth for this summer - to keep her sharp! :-)

Tuesday:

Sarah & Bob on middle deck. She was sick of the beach after about 30 minutes!

After nap, they were both sick of the water and opted for building sandcastles with Dandaddy.

Tuesday night - date night!

Wednesday we decided to go ahead and leave a little earlier than originally planned (Thursday moning). The girls were tired and Beth flat out refused to go to the beach. After a full morning on the beach with Sarah and packing, the girls were exhausted. We packed up and left after naps and drove over 1/2 way home and finished the trip home on Thursday morning. It was a nice trip! When we go back in July, I think we need to come up with something other than the beach for the girls to do about Tues/Wednesday, which is when they both seemed to get bored with the beach. OH - we also saw a dolphin on Wednesday morning - VERY close to us! Sarah even saw it because it was so close to us and she was SO thrilled!!