Camping at the beach???

Did you know that people camp at the beach? They do and some even in tents! I have never heard of such but last week that is exactly what we did and it was great! Except we were in a camper not a tent. Are you crazy, it was HOT! Their were people camping in tents and I commend them for REALLY wanting to go the beach but I think I would rather stay home then sweat to death in a tent, at the beach, in July!

Anyways, my Dad lives in Georgia and owns a very nice camper that he takes everywhere including the beach. So, Addyson, Chris and myself piled in the car and made the seven hour journey south to the coast of Alabama. We spent the week playing in the sand, basking in the sun, and enjoying spending time with family that we never get to see for a week at a time!

So back to the camping thing...It was great. We stayed in the state park, which was very nice. Now our camper has air conditioning and a bathroom so we were not ruffing it or anything but the girls still used the bath house for showers because the shower in the camper is big enough for small children under the age of ten or men. Women have to have room to move around. We have legs to shave! So not only was the place nice but it only cost 25.00 a night! Yes, 25.00 dollars a night. You can stay their for an entire week for what you can stay in a condo for two nights. It's amazing. We did have to drive around the corner to the beach but who cares for 25.00!

We made alot of great memories on this trip....







My little beach bum!



Papa and Addyson searched for seashells....



Daddy and Addyson played in the water.....



And me, I relaxed and read a book! The week was perfect!

Bread Jewelry

Let me just set the scene for you:

Fancy restauraunt, you know the dark kind with the candles on the tables. Leather bound menus, NO kids menu, No high chairs, just a booster seat for you to sit in another chair. If you have ever done this every time your child moves an inch the booster seat slides so its not very safe. And no crayons! Basically, this restaurant was not made for young children.

So, what does my very active two year old do because she is bored......





She makes bread jewelry!

Yes, she ate the middle out of all the bread on the table and turned them into Bangles!

After that got old, she started doing this......



Putting it up to her face and saying "I see you Mama!"

Oh, kids do the darndest things!

The Little Gym

About a month ago, Addyson started taking a gymnastics class at a place called The Little Gym It is a facility that has classes for ages 4 months through 12 years old. They do just basic gymnastics, play with balls, bubbles, and basically run crazy for 45 minutes with about 10 other 2 years olds. Opa described it best when he said, "It's like organized chaos!" This week Opa, Daddy, and Nana came and watched and they took some video and some pictures so I thought I would share!


This week they worked on flipping over the bar!



The balance beam is her favorite!




So, of course I get nervous for JUST a second because my two year old is hanging pretty high in the air. She is only two feet tall and the bar is probably five feet. But of course Nana catches that moment on camera and I look ridiculous!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is Chris's brother Matt and his wife Nicole's two year wedding anniversary! So congratulations you guys! Nicole, my daughter loves you to pieces, and so do the rest of us. I pray that you love each other twenty years from now they way you love today! Happy Anniversary guys! We love you!

The Great Slide, Fireworks, and Freedom

We ate to much food, stayed up to late, and had a lot of laughs with family and friends all over the 4th of July holiday and it was FABULOUS! Friday night we had family and friends over for dinner before making the few minute stroll to the park to watch our cities fireworks show. The Hill Family joined us to celebrate! I wish I could say Addyson was as happy to see them as we were. She threw a fit for AT LEAST an hour because their were BOYS in her room touching HER TOYS! We can only hope in ten year she throws such fits when BOYS are in her room! (oh wait, according to her daddy this scenario will NEVER happen) Anyways, our plan was to go over a little early so the kids could do some of the activities. Upon arriving the lines were crazy and being that I am the parent of a very impatient almost two year old their was NO way I was waiting in line for that long because sure as we got up their one of two things would happen:

1. She wouldn't even want to get in
2. She would get in and I would NEVER get her out

So, we opted against waiting in line for any bouncy time but their was....

THE GREAT SLIDE

This slide was inflatable and about 20 feet in the air. Of course the Hill boys wanted to slide and their was no way Addyson was going to be left out so I chose Uncle Matt to take her down the slide. What I didn't know at the time was they could only go down ONE AT A TIME! Why they even let kids that small go up if they can't slide down with an adult is beyond me but never the less she was 20 feet up in the air and the only way down was to slide and she was terrified! At this point, Addyson amazed me. She grabbed a hold of the side of the slide, stuck her feet in the crease, and inched her way ALL THE WAY DOWN!




Of course once she got to the bottom she said, "Again, mommy!" But it was time to get settled for the big show. Last year the fireworks didn't bother Addyson but this year was different. First she was unsure...



Then she was scared...



Thank goodness Aunt CoCo was their to save the day!

Of course, the boys weren't scared at all...




On Saturday, we packed up the Caldwell clan and headed to my grandpa's house to swim for a little while. Addyson has NO FEAR when it comes to the water. She has only swam three times this summer and she was jumping off the side of the pool and trying to swim by herself. Like mother, like daughter! My mom use to call me a "fish" when I was little. I loved the water, still do!





So, all in all the weekend was great! The weather was nice, the food was fattening and yummy and spending time with family and friends was awesome! I hope everyone else's weekend was great but let us not forget what the 4th is really about. It has nothing to do with BBQ or fireworks it is about celebrating our Independence and the men/women who sacrifice everything to allow us to stay that way. So, Thanks Uncle Matt, Opa, Uncle Eric, and the many others who serve our nation for dedicating your lives so that we continue to have a reason to get together every year in July and eat BBQ and watch Fireworks! We love you!

What's In A Name?

When I first began warming up to the idea of doing this all I could think about was what would my blog be called??? We could always be "The Caldwell Family Blog" but I wanted something more unique than that. I wanted a name that said something about our family. After bugging my husband for a creative idea (because he is very creative even though he doesn't ever show it) and him being no help, I was stuck. So, I started writing down words that pertained to our family and things we enjoyed and in Oprah's words I had an "ah ha" moment! Where we as a family are the happiest is "Somewhere in the Sun." Be it that we are swimming in a family members pool, going to the zoo, or just hanging out in the backyard it seems to be were we enjoy ourselves the most. Now obviously our most favorite place to be "in the sun" is somewhere sunny, where their is LOTS of sand, and waves crashing onto the beach. Being that we live in Tennessee we don't get to those types of places very often. As a matter of fact, the last time we even saw sand was on our honeymoon. Isn't it gorgeous? When this picture was taken I was convinced we would be back before now but my, my how God has plans for you that you can't even imagine for yourself!

So, that's where "Somewhere in the Sun" came from. The place where we as a family get to just be together and enjoy each other. Even if it is only for a few moments. In those few moments we don't think about work, money, or chores. We just enjoy the blessings that God has given us.

Welcome

Well, I finally did it! I have been saying for months that this blog was going to happen and I have finally done it! It only took for me to be off tomorrow and everyone in the house asleep except me to get it completed! So, welcome! Since Addyson was born I have kept a photo website to keep the family that is far away informed on how she is doing but now she is older and I thought this would be a nice complement to pictures. Now I am not promising New York Times Best Seller stuff here just good, simple stories about two parents trying to raise a very energetic two year old and not lose their minds! I am going to TRY and blog at least twice a week maybe more if I have time. So, join the blog and enjoy!