mmmm...chicken casserole...

Alex's birthday

One of Charlie's best buds, Alex, turned 4 on July 20th.  We went to church that night with him and his family and had ice cream cake afterwards...

Alex said that he wanted to go to the zoo for his birthday and that he wanted Charlie to go with him.  So, Becky and I set a day to go the next week and all 7 of us packed into her SUV headed for the zoo.  The kids had so much fun.  Being the end of July, it was quite hot and muggy but we survived.  Here are some pictures from our day:

Riding the train...

Riding the carousel...

Seeing the animals...

This was Philip's first trip to the zoo.  Since he's still really little and not walking, he spent the majority of the time in the stroller which he wasn't happy about. He noticed the animals but that was about it.  Philip was content as long as the stroller was moving.  He did manage to get a nap in...

This was also Philip's first time to ride a carousel.  He loved that too!

progress...#10!

Charlie reached #10 on his chart yesterday! Woo hoo! 

It was a challenge to talk Charlie out of going to Toys R Us immediately. He stuck his sticker and said, "Ok. I'm ready to go to Toys R Us!" Somehow, I convinced him we would go today. Philip is running a fever so I decided not to get him out and about today. Daniel took Charlie to Toys R Us. From the report I got from Charlie, he got to see the 4-wheelers, the jeeps, the police car and all the tricycles!  They also had lunch at Chick-Fil-A and went to the music store. Daniel needed to get a few things there and Charlie was all excited about going to play the drums like Daddy. However, Charlie informed me that he doesn't like the drums. "They are too loud!" :)

So, on to the next reward at 15...bowling!

Panama City Beach - July 2011

We took our annual trip to Panama City Beach, FL, in July, with Daniel's family.  This was Philip's first trip to the beach so it had a little more excitement with it this year.  Not to mention, Charlie was so excited to go!  The water had alot of seaweed the first couple of days so we didn't get in the water but by the end of the week it was better.  I enjoyed just being able to sit on the beach and watch the boys enjoy the beach.  They were well taken care of since there were many hands to spoil help so it gave Daniel and I a little bit of a break.  We had all of Daniel's family there, except Uncle Michael.  He had to work for most of the week but joined us on Thursday.

Charlie enjoyed jumping waves.  He took whoever was willing to the water with him.  He also enjoyed playing in the sand and building can sassles (sand castles).  He enjoyed destroying them more!

Philip did NOT like the water.  I don't know why but if you got him near it, he would start to cry and try to climb up your shoulder.  We did make him put his feet in...

Philip did, however, love the sand.  He especially loved a bucket full of water.  He also really enjoyed the baby pool.

Each afternoon, Gram and Papa took Charlie and Branson out somewhere.  They each had a choice as to where to go and every day, they chose putt putt golf.  I think this was one of the main highlights of this trip for all involved.  Stacey and I did go one day with them and had fun but boy, was it HOT!  Here some pics from our outing...

We ate dinner at Pier Park one night.  There is a little kiddie part there with a few rides like the ferris wheel and carousel.  A few of them are from Miracle Strip Amusement Park that they demolished a few years back.  Charlie got to ride his first carousel that night...

Since the water was yucky the first few days, we decided to go to Shipwreck Island.  Since Charlie has been taking swimming lessons, he has become a fish and loves the water so I knew this was going to be fun.  Gram and Papa stayed back at the beach house with Philip so it was just the three of us as well as Stacey and Branson.  And, as I expected, this place quickly became one of Charlie's favorites.  He asked all week to go back. 

I was quite surprised though at how easily and without hesitation he took to the slides.  I'm thinking though that he saw all these other kids sliding down and realized that it wasn't so bad so he just got in line and down he went! 

Charlie not only got to have fun in the kiddie pool. He also got to play in the bigger kids area. The water was about chest deep for him so he was able to walk around with no problem. He did avoid the busy area of this pool though and stuck mostly to the little water slide that was there. This area had the big bucket of water that would dump periodically. Charlie thought this was great to watch!

We rode the White Knuckle River ride at Shipwreck.  It was a family ride with a huge innertube that seated 4 people.  I could tell that Charlie was a little hesitant about it at first but he was a trooper.  He climbed all those stairs to the entrance to the ride and then got right in the big innertube.  I'll never forget his face when we went down that first hill.  It was sheer terror but it then changed to an "Ok. I can do this." look.  The rest of the times he rode, it was smiles.  I rode a couple of times with him and Daniel.  But then, Daniel and Charlie rode about five times before we left the park. 

What a great week it was at the beach! My SIL took some pics of us on the beach. I'll try and get those posted sometime. Looking forward to next year...