Dollhouse

Peyton has discovered her dollhouse. This photo looks a little funny because I think she was sick of me being in the room trying to take her picture. She just wanted to play in the dollhouse on her own.

This dollhouse is very significant. My Grandfather built this for me back in 1979. He even used little letter stickers to write a message on the attic for me. I didn't realize until a few years ago what it said. I absolutely love this dollhouse. I played with it for many, many years and my Dad and I have kept it for the last 30 years just so one day my daughter would have the opportunity to play with it. Well, the day arrived a few weeks ago when we decided to turn it around. It's always been in Peyton's room, but the front of it faced into the room. We turned it around and now she plays in it. In fact, sometimes she plays while she should be napping. That's okay though.

Papa and Nanny - thank you so much for creating an amazing gift that would last through my childhood and now my daughters' childhoods. We will cherish the dollhouse and think of you when we play in it. We miss you and love you.

Vacation is the BEST!!!

I know the first question you are asking yourself is "if vacation is so great, why are you updating your blog?" The answer is NAPTIME! We have had a very, very busy few days. Here's the timeline:

Friday, June 12th - Daddy arrives into Raleigh rather than Fayetteville. We spend 3 hours in the care retrieving him, but it was worth the wait. Then that afternoon we went to the 4th annual WOOFStock on Bragg. Very hot, but fun.

Saturday, June 13th - Hung around the house while we finished packing. Left about 2 p.m. for a long drive to Jacksonville, FL. Thank gosh for Chick-fil-a and their playgrounds. Peyton had a blast burning off some steam. The Chick-fil-a in Pooler, GA has a toddler area (good to know if you're every traveling south on I-95.) Arrive at hotel to wind down. We had originally booked two rooms because Rob's parents were going to meet us. They were non-refundable so we went ahead and got both rooms. They were connecting so Peyton ran back and forth and back and forth. The beds were queen so Rob and I decided it would be more comfortable to sleep in separate beds since there were 3 of us. Peyton and I shared a bed. I barricaded her with pillows and my body, but at 3 a.m. I hear a very loud BANG followed by a scream. Yup - she managed to roll off the bed, hit the night stand and then the wall. I have never moved so fast in my life. I'm surprised I didn't pull a stomach muscle. Sorry Bristol. Rob came flying in too. We examined the Princess and saw no blood. Proceeded to get her milk and the rest of the night was spent in a very crowded bed.

Sunday, June 14th - Woke up early and went swimming at the hotel. We spent about 2 hours in the pool. Peyton is so much more comfortable in the water now that we've had our swimming classes. She had a blast. Then we loaded up to head to Tampa. She fell asleep in about 10 minutes. Perfect! Arrived at hotel in Tampa, waited for fridge to be delivered, explored hotel room and headed to the beach.

She really liked the whole beach concept minus the salt water in her face when the waves broke and then the shower she had to take at the end. Heaven forbid we rinse off the sand!

Monday, June 15th - Busch Gardens. Arrived at 10 a.m. left at 7 p.m. Whew...long day! We had a blast though. Peyton loved all of the animals and the rides. She especially loved the water area for toddlers. I have a ton of great videos, but can't load them right now because I'm on my work computer. She ran herself ragged along with Mommy and Daddy. Bristol behaved fairly well as I trekked across all of Busch Gardens in the 90 degree heat. It was hot, but fun. Busch Gardens has a lot of shade. It was really nice. We took advantage of the Here's the Heroes campaign that Anheuser Busch is doing - free passes for active duty military. Doesn't get much better than that.

Funny story on this pic. The lion was laying in the back of the safari truck that was covered by glass, but it was at eye level where you could walk right up and she could see you. So the lady told the woman in front of us to put her hand up on the glass because the lion liked it. Well, about 10 seconds into this exercise the lion quickly pawed at the glass and growled. We all jumped. Peyton went "no, no, no." I have some video of this. It was pretty neat to get so close.

This was the "grotto" area where Peyton spent about an hour and a half getting in and out of the rock area. Again, I have cute video I'll upload later. She really enjoyed this time. We probably could have literally spent all day there.

Tuesday, June 16th- Taking it easy. Woke up around 8 a.m. and then went to breakfast and the pool. Swam for about an hour with Daddy. Daddy took off to work and Peyton passed out on the bed while watching a movie (that Mommy paid $12 for!) I think tonight we'll head to the beach. More fun in the sun. She's already exhausted her multiple swim suits I brought.

More to come later.....