Sweet and Sour

I added music to the blog, so turn up your speakers :)

The Sweet:
Our baby boy is 9 months old! I can't believe that 18 months ago I found out I was pregnant again. I remember that day like it was yesterday. After seeing the 2 pink lines on the stick, I scooped up Isla, who was playing in the living room, and danced around with happiness. The song that was playing was none other than "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. That song means so much to me and brings back so many happy memories. And I melt when Isla sings it. :) I carried around our precious baby boy in my tummy for 9 months and now he's been in the world for 9 months. And in his 9 months he has made the world smile more, laugh more, and love more. He completes our family and we are happier than we ever thought possible with our girl and boy. Here's our 9 month little man:

The Sour
We made homemade lemonade! I was thinking back to my most fondest summertime memories and the lemonade stand my dad made for me flashed before me. Isla couldn't wait to set one up herself. We set aside a Saturday morning and squeezed 12 lemons, made a simple syrup, stirred it all together with ice cold water and posted up in our driveway. Each glass was 50 cents and they went fast. Coach, Gigi, Uncle B, Heather, a few neighbors and some bicyclists were our customers and Isla made ten dollars and 50 cents when the morning was through. How fun it was watching her scoop the ice, fill up the cup, and hand it over to the thirsty mouths. She sat waiting for their reaction and of course everyone said, "Mmmmm! Ahhhh!" Her piggy bank was happy with the deposit and she already wants to do it again. Another summer memory for my sweet Isla.

And Leo clapped the whole time......his new favorite thing to do. He enjoyed some bubbles too.

It's Video Time

(Here's Isla making her yummy lemonade)

(And here she is getting ready to sell it)

(Little Leo clapping)

Animal Kingdom

Our annual family trip to Orlando was a wild time. In one year we've added a precious baby boy(Leo), a pretty girlfriend(Heather), and her beautiful daughter(Ava), to the mix. We drove down to the Fountains in Orlando on a Friday and spent the afternoon splashing in the pool...
We also sipped frozen cocktails poolside before heading up to the room to cook spaghetti, salad and garlic bread for the family who arrived late that night.

Isla and I wore matching flower headbands, that I made for us, all weekend. :)

Isla and Gigi enjoyed a little game of Break the Ice while waiting on dinner to be served.

And then we dug into our spaghetti plates. It looks like it was delicious....

Saturday morning we headed out early for Animal Kingdom. We arrived at 9 and stayed until 5. It was a long, hot day, which started out great but ended with Isla saying, "Let's get out of this place." The safari ride, which we rode first thing, was the hit of the day. Isla rode in Coach's lap and stared in awe at all of the animals.

Then we headed to the Nemo show. Bruce the Shark terrifies Isla so it didn't go over too well. It looks like Ava liked it though.

By this time the kids were already worn out so John and I found a cool, shady place and enjoyed some pizza and ice cold beer. And look at these two angels. :)

After another show, the Lion King, we headed to the Rainforest cafe for some A/C and lunch for Isla and Leo. This place was really neat but scared Isla because every 10 minutes the sounds of the rainforest rang out. WOW, I don't know how you work there. I was ready to go after 30 min. Isla literally asked for a to go box so she could finish her lunch in the stroller.

Then we decided to go to a 3 D Bug show that ended up traumatizing Isla for life. I have to admit, that thing was scary! There were effects like water and wind blowing in your face at the same time that 100 bees are flying toward you. That's when I knew that Isla would never want to come back here again.

We ended the day watching the parade which was very cute. Little Leo didn't know what to think of the whole day but he was a trooper, esp. since two days later we discovered he was battling an impressive double ear infection the whole time. Poor wittle guy...

Thank you Animal Kingdom for the Safari ride, cold beer, and well, the train ride to the parking lot. :) I think the only Kingdom we'll be visiting in Orlando is the Magic one.

We love you, John!

Where do I begin to explain what a wonderful man John is? I love that he is my husband and the father of my children. There is nobody else on earth I'd rather have by my side than him. He is the man I always dreamed of as a child. He is my prince, as Isla would say. He fits the role of a father perfectly. He loves his little girl and boy with all that he has and they light up when he walks into the door after a long day at work. They know it's playtime and let me tell you, it gets crazy come 5:30 in the Halman house. Instead of sitting down on the couch after being in the office all day, he immediately starts helping me at the craziest time of the day. He scoops up Isla to go check on their garden outside or grabs Leo to feed, bathe and read to him before bedtime. He's amazing. And he loves me with his whole heart too. I love the little things he does for me, like making my coffee for me every morning, calling every night on his way home from work to see if I need anything from Publix, refilling my wine glass, little foot massages, surprise date nights. The list goes on. So on this Father's Day weeekend we celebrated him. Sunday morning started with a breakfast in bed of sausage gravy and bisquits and homemade presents from Isla. Then we rode our bikes to the beach for a morning of sand and salt water. We threw the frisbee, made sand castles, swam deeper then we usually do and just soaked up the sun and all the love we have for our Daddy. It was a perfect day. Thank you, John, for all you do for our family. We love you so so very much!

Later Brannon and I met Coach up at the Brix around 4 to spend time with our wonderful Dad and to enjoy a Father's Day beer. We toasted Granddad who wasn't with us but who will always be in our hearts. Then the whole family headed to our house for some Christmas Night Gumbo in June, pasta salad, rum cake, and a little too much wine. :) It was such a fun evening with the men who mean the most to me.

We ended the weekend with popsicles on the porch. Strawberry and Orange sugary treats dripping down our arms made for a yummy ending. Leo's first taste will definitely not be his last. He loved it!

Smile, it's summertime!!