This has been such an exciting month! I thoroughly enjoyed the Fine Arts Explorers program. I got to express myself in different ways through art and music. I made several creations, including a memory box. I did mine in honor of Lizzy. I also did a self-portrait. However, the singing with Mr. Walker was my favorite! We had a celebration to show off our artwork and a concert the night before the last day. I hope I get to do that again next year.
We went to Washington for Father's Day and went out to eat with Papa Ron and Nana Carol, and went to their house for Chinese Checkers afterwards. Then, we went to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Tom's. The girl cousins made an ice cream shop and took orders from everyone which was a lot of fun. The next weekend, we went back for Tom's graduation party and the Frankenberg Fest.
We did a few other fun things like going to the spray park, the library, the Mud Room, out for bagels, to D. Rowe's, and got our hair cut. I also had a fun sleepover with Cami and we spent our time making a dance routine to a song from The Greatest Showman. We had dinner at Aunt Lisa's for the 4th of July and watched fireworks from our driveway.
The real fun started when I helped Mom pack for our trip to Gulf Shores! We divided our drive into two days on the way down and met up with Kristy and her entire family who was going there the same week we were! What a great coincidence! We got to swim in the pool that night and eat pizza. The next day seemed to take forever to get to the beach because traffic was crazy! I enjoyed playing the license plate game and reading in the car.
I loved the feel on the sand and ocean waves our first night there! Unfortunately, the jellyfish were everywhere! A boy next to us had caught 100 of them in a short period of time and buried them in the sand! Good thing they weren't as bad in the mornings, so that is when we enjoyed being on the beach. When they got bad or we needed a break, we either went back to our condo or went in the pool. We went on an awesome dolphin cruise where two boats went out and we watched the dolphins dive and play in the waves! The boat had a container where kids could "fish" for ocean creatures which was pretty fun. Every night, I went out to the beach with Mom to look for crabs. We didn't try to catch any, but we found a lot of them and had fun laughing at the people who were trying to catch them! I also enjoyed playing in the sand when I was scared of jellyfish. A couple of times we got little stings when we couldn't even see the jellyfish! The last night, we met up with Kristy and family and took family pictures. It was starting to get really hot. We enjoyed the sunset that night and the sunrise the morning we left. We decided to power through on the ride home and not stop overnight. we made it home by 11:00 and we were exhausted!
The next day was Mom's birthday. We went over to see Nana Arden and tell her about our trip, but otherwise had a quiet and relaxing day. The next day, I tried out for a competitive volleyball team that Ali's cousin is starting. It was a U11 team, so I was up against girls 2 years older than me. I found out I did not make it. I was disappointed, but not discouraged. This next week is the MU Volleyball Camp!!!
We also met Heather and Sean at the Cardinals game the next day. It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun. We brought home a winner!
Spray park fun
Celebrating Dad's birthday
Hanging out at the Missouri Riverfront
Wear your school shirt day at Fine Arts Explorers
Tie Dye Day
Hat Day
The whole group singing (I'm in the back row)
My new friend Jasmine (she actually used to go to Cedar Ridge!)
I LOVED Mr. Walker!
Showing off my artwork
Self-portrait
Tom's graduation party
Hanging with Hadley
Swimming at the Frankenberg Fest
Owners start to look like their dogs over time...
I love Twist too
Happy 4th of July!
Doing some bagel eating!
Painting at the Mud Room (Molly last year, Twist this year!)-
I made a "Banana Split" fort for us!
We had a lot of fun in it!
All ready for Gulf Shores!
Taking a break at a playground (it was HOT!)
Swimming in Granada, MS on our way to Gulf Shores
Family photo
Feeling the sand in my toes for the first time
And then the ocean water!
OMG-a jellyfish!
Yep, that's a jellyfish! I was terrified of them!
The beautiful waves
Enjoying the first night and avoiding the water (jellyfish!)
We still had fun enjoying it!
Heaven on earth
Emily and I colored a lot during our down time
Signature in the sand
We were able to get in the water the next day
Toes in the sand
Ready for the beach!
The clouds looked ominous, but the water was perfect
It only rained on us lightly
In the water with Daddy
Palm tree
I went crabbing with Mom three nights and we saw a lot of them!
But slept in every morning!
Body surfing
Playing in the sand
Souvenir City!
I got a traditional air-brushed shirt
Next day-ready for the dolphin cruise!
On the boat
Three dolphins!
Looking for more!
He startled me with a giant crab!
Then we got to try our hand at fishing
Sunset walk on the beach
Next day was another beach day
Looking for shells with Daddy
Digging a giant hole!
I fit in it!
Whoops!
Family photo
Pool time
Sunset
I met two dogs on the beach-this was right after this guy licked me in the face!
More crabbing
Last day on the beach-I enjoyed playing in the sand
Dinner at the Original Oyster House-I changed my opinion of this guy!
Arrrrr, another trip to Souvenir City!
And the other one that wasn't as good...
We met up with Kristy and family for pictures on our last afternoon!
I loved striking a pose by this tree!
I staged the photos with Emily
This was supposed to be a heart
Last sunset
Good morning-last sunrise (and only one we woke up for!)
Good-bye beach! Until next time!
I lost this tooth on our ride home
Showing Nana Arden pictures of our trip
Busch Stadium
With the Moenkhoff kids
Happy to be here
The whole gang
Lots of red!
Ready for the game to start
Cardinals are #1!
The only (end of) song from the Fine Arts Festival that would load (the other songs were much cooler!) I'm in red in the back row.
The dance that Cami and I choreographed
We're going to the beach today!!!
Experiencing the ocean for the first time
Dolphins playing in the water
Body surfing
Wipe out
Daddy taught me how to do it better
"Fishing" on the dolphin cruise
We "swam" with dolphins in the distance
