Only Mimi...

My mom, Jocelyn's Mimi, comes over to see Jocelyn any chance she can when she's not working. Even if it's just to stop by for a few minutes in between errands to see her. Well one day, she came in, scooped Joce up and said, "I have a suprise for you in the backyard!" I was like, "Oh great, who knows what that could be." So this is what we found when we stepped outside...





No, my mom didn't buy Jocelyn her first horse, although I wouldn't put it past her. Only Mimi would throw a horse in the backyard because she knows how thrilled Joce would be. What's even funnier is that mom and Levon had crossed paths as she pulled up and he pulled away from the house. She asked him if she could put Jazz in the backyard for Joce to see. He said, "Yeah, sure as long as you pick up the poop." He thought she was talking about her little 5lb. dog, Jazz. (Mom has a bad habit of repeating pet names) You'd think the big horse trailer would have been a clue. And to think he was worried about little dog turds! We all had a good laugh over that.

Part II: Fort Myers Beach

Her first look at the ocean. She never stood this still on the beach again. :)



We went to the beach every morning and went back to eat lunch in our room before Joce would take a nap. Naptime was better than expected since we had HBO in our room and watched a different movie every afternoon.



After nap, we would either hit the hotel pool or clean up for dinner. We had amazing seafood dinners every night with raw oysters with every meal YUM!!



Our hotel was conveniently located next to the very large outdoor shopping mall so a few nights we went to all the souvenir shops. All I ended up buying was a little shell bracelet that I loved. Oh, and Joce got a bucket and shovel for the beach. It was still fun to just look. We also took a couple road trips to the Bass Pro Shop for Levon's sake, although there were a ton of wildlife for Jocelyn to look at, which she loved.

Most of the time, I sat on the shoreline while Levon stayed by the towel because Jocelyn would constantly run back and forth between the two.



Walking to the beach with pale and shovel in hand.

Out on the pier...



Of course.

new sunglasses

We swam with stingrays the entire time. We got brave after the initial shock of them, and would just shuffle past them to go out deeper into the ocean. They literally lined the entire beach!

Hanging out in our room before dinner one night.

We had a GREAT time!

Florida Vacation part 1...to Grandma's House We Go!

First Stop: Cape Coral (located in southwest Florida)
My grandparents finally met Levon and Jocelyn both for the first time. They were pretty excited, especially about Jocelyn. Grandma was relieved that she approved of Levon :)
It's funny that this was their first time meeting him and we've been together for 10 years! Unfortunately, with them living so far, we don't see them very often at all.

Jocelyn was beyond excited as she was given permission to actually get in my grandparent's pool. The first night we arrived so late and she was VERY upset when she spotted the pool and I wouldn't let her get in.

I think the favorite part of our Cape Coral visit for Levon and Jocelyn was the time they spent in the pool together...

Each time he would throw her up, she would say in that little voice that he can't resist, "more?"

This is the view from their pool. I guess I can see why they retired here.

Sunbathing

Jocelyn's first lizard experience. Of course, she wasn't scared a bit, just wanted me to give it to her already!

Hanging out by the pool with her great grandpa and Angel the dog.

Jocelyn's great grandma used to own her own beauty parlor when she was very young. She decided to put some old school rollers in Jocelyn's hair. I can't believe Jocelyn sat still long enough for this. I guess all girls like to play beauty shop.

Of course, Levon spent most of his time fishing off the canal. He caught some catfish, a few snappers, and a sheepshead. Also, an unidentified fish. He loved that he never knew what would be on the other end.

More on the second part of our trip later!!

Wedding number 3!

Yep, that's 3 of 6 weddings we have this season! It's great, but we have been taking Jocelyn with us to them all and as I've said, she doesn't sit still long, so it is a little bit of a challenge. We take turns being "in charge" of Jocelyn while the other one relaxes and chats with friends without worrying about chasing our little dancing queen all night. This wedding in particular was my turn, but the next one is mine to relax!! Can't wait. Then the 5th one, we are probably going to leave her with her Nana so we can both relax. We really do like to take her to things like this because she has so much fun and we just love having her with us.


Yah!!! Finally a family photo where she smiles and Levon and I both don't totally hate the way we look. A large version made it to my new awesome frame from Hobby Lobby in the kitchen.


The happy couple... Justin and Tiffani Grubb


Uh, who's watching Jocelyn while we took this? She moves fast!


Jocelyn found a little dancing buddy. Boy, were they cute.. couldn't keep their hands off each other. (seriously, this is what they looked like all night)

The little lady's man is the bride and groom's son, Rylan.

Red Velvet cake smeared across her face :)

Here's a little video of the dancing queen... oh, and I mean Jocelyn when I say that not our friend Matt, who I also caught dancing some of his signature moves...hehehe.