Photo Dump

I take a lot of pictures. A lot. Here are some just from the past week...since we've been home from our trip:

Selfies...

 Poor Hank...

He is so loved...

Clean boys fresh out of the shower!...

Caught them watching a movie like this...

Again....Hank is a good good dog. 

Excited about adding another boy to this mix...

My loves...

He won those medals for being the world's worst sleeper!

They were band-aiding each other...

 

 Momma got some new sneakers!

Andy spent a while building the perfect track...

...and then Hank came and helped...

Reading to each other...

The boys love Mr. Keith!

The newest pic of one of the pups....

 

Little Fish

My frustration level with Andy is high this summer.  Last summer, he was starting to swim and had no fear.  When we went to Mexico, he loved the water and swam constantly.  This summer, he got it in his head that he didn't like swimming...and so he didn't do it.  At all.  I finally gave in a put the puddle jumpers on him (I am against them for many reasons, the main reason is kids tend to forget when they are not wearing them and then jump in-- Andy has done this twice and it was terrifying).  He loved the floaties and it gave him all kinds of confidence- which is what I wanted. But he had zero desire to swim without them. 

I have begged/pleaded/rationalized getting him to try swimming with them off and he refused...

Until yesterday. I got in the water and held on to his swimsuit while he swam around.  I started letting go and he was swimming on his own.  I pointed that out to him, fully expecting him to freak out, but instead he asked to go further and try again.  So, our afternoon started off like this:

{video isn't uploading....! ugh!}

 

I literally had about 12 other moms and lifeguards all standing around cheering for him-- these people could feel my frustrations! So once he started getting confident, I would back up more and more and he would swim farther and farther. 

He realllly wanted to go off the diving board, so I told him he had to take the swim test (swimming the length of the deep end).  We headed over to the lap lanes and he tried it, but got water in his nose.  We tried again and he got 3/4 through and Cal jumped in and splashed water in his face... but that was enough for him to go off the diving board and down the slide!

We went to the deep end and he immediately went down the slide.  He loooooved it...until the very last turn, he flipped onto his back somehow and banged his head.  It scared him enough that he didn't want to go near the side.  But he was allll about the diving board.

He got right up on the board and threw himself off the end with zero hesitation.  He came up from his jump grinning ear to ear and swam confidently over to the ladder.

{video isn't uploading....! ugh!}

He started getting pretty confident and was doing tricks off the board.  He loved it! He would have stayed there until the pool closed if I would have let him. 

We had to take Eddie to his car and soon there after, I looked back and saw this... all that swimming did him in!

We went to the pool today and Andy walked right down the steps into the deep water and sank.  Yes. I said that.  I ran down to him with a lifeguard right behind me.  I jumped in and he was in full blown panic mode.  It appeared he had forgotten how to swim over night.  So I got in the big pool to work with him some more...and he froze up (literally the water was really cold because of all the rain this week!) and started sinking. 

He really wanted to go off the board again today, but I wasn't going to let him unless he could show me he could swim.  Finally he swam a little bit and begged to go off the board.  He did, and swam to the ladder great.  The next time he went off, he swam for about 3 seconds and then froze (I think scared to go under water...?-- totally ironic since he was just under water from the board...?) and I had to jump in and get him.  Now, I am fine with having to grab him a few times, but I won't let it become a habit that I have to jump in every single time he is going off the board-- that isn't happening! So we left the deep end and will try again later.

He was up a TON last night (we thought for sure he would sleep like a log) so I think he was really tired today.  We will see how he does! But he is getting better and gaining confidence! I am proud!

 

 

#carriedaway: week 27

Week 27:

 Day 204: Rest time.

 Day 205: just said goodbye to these clowns...and cried.  Love them. #bvibound

 Day 206: we made it!!!

 Day 207: treetop fun

 Day 208: got dropped on a deserted island with just this guy and a cooler.  It wasn't bad at all.

 Day 209: happy clams

 Day 210: soaking it all in!

 

Bruce

I think we might be crazy.

 Meet Bruce.  The newest member of the Williamson family! I know I posted pics of him earlier-- but the pups were wayyyy little and didn't move at all.  These guys now are certainly moving! They are super playful and fun and FULL of energy!

And, in about 2 weeks (11 more sleeps!), this ball of fur (or a sibling) will be coming to our house!

We have been debating the subject of a second dog for a while now... we have heard that the older dog helps train the newer dog; the newer dog brings out the puppy in the older dog; and, the newer dog helps fill that void of the older dog when he passes.  Now. If you know me, you know that the day Hank leaves us, it is going to be unbelievably difficult and I am going to need a dear friend to come and pull me off of the floor.  Hank is very much a part of our family-- and many times, he is my favorite male in the house.  Kidding.  Not really.  But really I am...kinda.

So, we decided to get a sweet pup and we are super excited about it! We took the boys to visit the puppies this weekend and it was so awesome to get to see them all! We aren't sure yet which one is ours, but it is narrowed down to two-- we don't really care- we are falling in love with ALL of the puppies!

These puppies were SO excited when we walked up-- they ran at us ready to PLAY! They played hard for about 10 minutes and then one by one, they started looking like this:

They were flat worn out! They all started falling asleep around the kennel.  The boys thought it was great because they were easier to pet when they were tired...

We had to wake these two up before we left-- Bruce is either one of these two:

And, in case anyone is curious... Bruce was my Grandpa's name-- he and I were super close and I wanted to honor him somehow... and then the puppies were born on Father's Day so it made it crystal clear what we should name him!

Adding a little chaos to the house in a few weeks.......!

 

#carriedaway: week 26

Week 26:

 Day 197: may you always be able to make sweet Jane laugh...

 Day198: compare my throwback pic from earlier to this one taken this afternoon...of so glamorous!

 Day 199: two of my dates tonight before hitting the outlets. Really a wild and crazy Friday night! #haircutsneededforall

 Day 200 (!!): got up at 5:30 this morning for championship swim meet. What a fun and chaotic morning...proud of my shark!

 Day 201: heading to the banquet. He broke out his finest.

 Day 202: Cal was worried Andy was afraid of the storm today. He promised to always take care of him.

 Day203: set your goals high, Andy.

 

Little Dix Bay: Vacation Recap

Oh....my.....WORD!

We just returned from an AMAZING vacation.  I can honestly say I don't ever remember relaxing this much or just enjoying my time away as much as we did on this trip. 

My amazing parents kept the boys and I can not thank them enough-- they are truly saints.  And, let's be real-- the brunt of the work fell on my mom....and she is a true angel.  How do I begin to thank them! Especially since the boys still aren't sleeping through the night-- and they didn't break that trend when with my parents.  They were up every single night.  My poor momma was worn out when we got home! 

On to the trip....

We flew out Friday morning EARLY (alarm went off at 3:30!) and headed to the airport.  We had a layover in Atlanta and then we flew to St. Thomas and then on a tiny little plane into the BVIs.

At our layover in Atlanta, we had breakfast...and a few drinks:

And then we took a selfie as we took off (that's a lie-- Eddie would never let me take a selfie while taking off- he has to be in full focus mode during take off and landing...I am sure we were at a safe cruising altitude before I attempted this picture)

All smiles once we arrived:

And then this happened:

 If you know Eddie, you know this is a big deal.  Shockingly, he does better on this itty bitty plane than he does on a giant one.  Something about being able to see out... either way.  He sat right up front with the pilot...

I was in the back-- there was only one other couple on the plane... not joking when I say it was small!

 You really can't beat the views out of the plane:

We arrived to the resort and headed to the grocery store to stock up on some goodies in our room.  After getting everything we needed, we had some time to kill before dinner so we got ready and then sat out on the beach for a cocktail:

We spent our first (and every) day on the beach.  We met some fun friends so we hung out with them after all of the meetings the first day.  I found a jelly fish in the water and was "happy" enough to pick it up and show everyone how it doesn't sting--

The resort had lots of activities for those husbands people who don't like to sit still. Eddie paddle boarded and snorkled and did every other activity  there was!

My hair lately has been acting crazy-- going curly/wavy/nappy... had to document.  

We went to dinner that night with some friends, but hung out on the patio first....

I was rocking my slippers and Eddie asked if I was wearing them to dinner...

 We had dinner at a fun restaurant that had a little tree house in the top:

The next morning we had a great breakfast and then hiked one of the two trails at the resort.  This one was only .5 miles.... but let me tell you-- it was a HIKE! It was a steep incline and we were both breathing heavy and sweating hard by the time we reached the top!

The island of Virgin Gorda

After the hike, we took advantage of a "beach drop." The resort will take you to a deserted beach and drop you off and then pick you up later! It was beautiful!

 ...until one of those jellyfish that I said didn't sting...stung me.  booooo!

We headed back to our resort and spent the afternoon on the beach reading and napping... and it was heavenly!

That night we had the theme dinner on the beach.  This place had incredible food...I don't know how I didn't gain 80 pounds in one week. 

The following day was much the same as the previous ones.... we enjoyed every minute of it!

There was a small cocktail party that night followed by a yummy dinner...

We did another island drop the next day.  Here is Eddie going snorkeling with a few of our friends...

That night we had dinner at this Asian fusion restaurant that had the most amazing food! We sat at a table right next to his fire pit on the beach.  The food was amazing and the atmosphere was great....the service....not so much! ha!

 The next morning, we set out to hike the longer hike-- it is only about 1.5 miles, but it felt much longer.  The other hike was straight up to the end, and then we waled back down.  This one was up and then down and then up and then down-- it was quite a workout! But the views were amazing!

We promptly rewarded our hard work with a fruity drink (which probably was the caloric equivalent to what we burned on the hike).

We spent our last day in paradise like this.... I kept looking up from my book in awe that I got to be here. 

That night was our farewell dinner... wish this picture was in focus...and that Eddie didn't have on his name tag... could have been a good one!

This was also out of focus, but gotta love some filters on instagram!

We set out for our journey home on Thursday morning.  We left the resort on the ferry and then got back on the little plane.  The we had a 4.5 hour layover in St. Thomas.  FOUR AND A HALF HOURS.  And that airport is tiny. With nothing to do. One small little place to eat.  It is crazy.  I started a book sitting there...and finished it on our flight to Atlanta- ha!

We got home around 1am Friday morning.  We were thrilled to be back home and see our boys.... they missed us and we definitely missed them!

It was an amazing vacation and I loved relaxing and not having to worry about anyone but Eddie!