Southard Family Reunion

Good times visiting with all the Southards (Harwell, Gammon, Barnes, & Mason families too!) at the river on Sunday! It is really great to see all of Rob's mother's family and especially fun to watch Claire play with everyone. She especially loved Brooke.... Presents from Aunt Mary Lynn!! A little practice for the big day in 1 MONTH! Claire got her first Vera Bradley purse!
Who needs toys when you can play with a plastic water bottle or a Snapple bottle???
Reading new books from Joe, Tara, and Brooke. What fun! Claire's favorite thing to do these days is to read her books. She will bring me one after another and hand them to me. (I have all our current titles memorized....Snuggle Puppy, Going on a Bear Hunt....you name it, I know the words.) I am excited to add some new ones to the mix!
Just enjoying a beautiful river day. (Ann, I didn't realize we were in matching outfits!)
Thanks Bob & Coral for hosting and thanks to everyone for making the drive. I love to see all of you and wish we could do it more often.

So long Johnny, it was fun while it lasted...

After checking the instruction book for the Johnny Jump Up, I realized Claire had definitely outgrown it. I kind of figured since her knees were practically dragging on the floor. I was so sad to pack it up!! Thanks Scott & Danielle for hours of jumping and fun! (Now how am I going to get my kitchen cleaned, bottles made, dishes washed.....???)

On the road again...

This has been the busiest summer with all our traveling! This time Claire and I joined Grammy on a visit to see her friend in Virginia Beach. It was a great get-away and fun to spend a little time on the beach!
Here's Claire's first view of the ocean....per her usual style, she was very hesitant at first and a little scared of the crashing waves. She slowly warmed up to having her feet in the sand and enjoyed playing with a bucket of seawater!



Every morning my little "human alarm clock" got me up in time to walk down to the boardwalk and see the sunrise. Here she is having her breakfast on the beach! Not a bad life! As much as I'd love to sleep in, I truly enjoyed seeing the beach in the early morning and watching the dolphins swimming out in front of us. It was so beautiful and relaxing!