Gould Lake 2010

When my grandmother died 2 months ago, she left her lake house to my mom. Given her age (93), she wasn't too tolerant of toddlers and dogs so we didn't visit very often. This is the first year we can all breath easy and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. She is missed, though:( We are incredibly lucky that she didn't sell it as she got older and it became harder to care for. We spent most of our 10 days playing on the lake, riding in the Gator, and running into town to eat and shop at Costco.

Robin Robin Red Breast.....

Lake=NO INTERNET

I am sitting in a little coffee house about 8 miles from the lake house. It is the ONLY place that has internet service. I promise to update the blog when I get home on Sunday:) Only 1 more week until we CRUISE!!!!!

I hope you aren't thinking about dipping into this Frosty?!

Love Me, Hate Me

Isabella decided to eat dinner tonight in front of the tv. Like that is EVER allowed. She did her best to cry her way from the table and sneak the bowl of food. She stomped. She bargained. And finally she yelled, "I don't like you MAMA!!" and slapped me on the leg. I think she knew what was coming because she immediately covered her little ass. I quietly got up, took her darling little arm, and led her to the bottom of the stairs for a time out. For the next 5 minutes, we heard "I don't like Mama! I don't want Mama!! I am mad at Mama!!" while screaming at the top of her lungs. I finally went to her, giggling to myself. The minute I sat down on the stairs, she threw herself into my arms and cried, "I love you Mama!" Do you think she is too young to be hormonal??

A few hours later, as I was leaving to go to a movie, she told me I needed to get rid of my mad face and then scrunched up her face to show me what I look like when I am angry. I think I will keep it for future tantrums:)

Swimmin' Fool

Isabella is LOVING the water....she attempted to swim without her floaties when we were in Florida. She was able to touch in most of the pool and would lift her legs up and try to swim on her own. Last night when she was at the pool, she took her floaties off and hasn't put them back on. I think she swam about 2 hours tonight (which is probably why she fell like a rock when she went to bed)....and jumped in about 50 times. She has also been watching the Leap Frog videos....the letters and words. She actually wrote out CARROT CAKE 2 days ago with me telling her the letters. I had no clue she even knew how to make a C or a K. AND...she knows all the sounds that each one makes! I believe I have a genius on my hands:)



Isabella ADORES her old babysitter Bonnie. We met for lunch the other day and she brought along her daughter and new baby grandson Lucas. Lucas was born at 21 weeks at a little less than a pound and LIVED!!! Isabella was quite enamored by him and held him a few times. She didn't quite understand that he wasn't a dog and didn't like to be rubbed vigorously on the top of the head. I asked her if she wanted one and luckily she said 'no'.



The other night I needed to talk to my sister on the phone. I put Isabella in my bed to watch Sprout on TV. An hour later, thinking she was still awake watching it, I went upstairs to tuck her in. When I didn't find her in my bed, I went into her room and found her sound asleep with her mask on. How frickin' cute is that???


Elisabeth Disclaimer: I am not talking about Elisabeth in the most recent posts because she won't leave the house. When the kid is on vacation, she truly believes in staying in her pajamas until it is time to shower and put clean ones on. I did manage to drag her lazy butt to the pool for about 30 minutes today.

Ships Ahoy!

Isn't that what you say when you are on a big ass boat sailing to the Eastern Caribbean?? In less than a month, the girls (Mom, Elisabeth, Bella, and I) will be having fun in the sun on the blue ocean (not sure which ocean that would be as I suck at geography). We will be on Royal Caribbean's newest ship called the

Oasis of the Seas

. As far as I can tell, it is THE most amazing ship ever built.

Experience our most innovative and imaginative ship yet, Oasis of the SeasSM - where, for the first time ever, entertainment areas have become neighborhoods at sea. Find a revolutionary public space combining nature with nautical in our Central Park neighborhood, or old-world charm with a modern twist in the entertaining Boardwalk neighborhood. Visit the Pool and Sports Zone to explore an entire deck of pools, rock-climbing walls, basketball courts and more. And don't forget the Youth Zone - where kids can be kids and parents can be worry-free. With a total of seven distinct onboard neighborhoods, everyone can discover a place for unique experiences.

With 28 ultra-modern loft suites and 2,700 spacious staterooms, this 16-deck marvel proves that the impossible, is possible. You have to see it to believe it. Visit oasisoftheseas.com for the latest news, images, blog entries and more, or take a look at what’s happening on the ship right now via our live webcam.

A great finish to her 8th year in school....

Eventhough she just finished 7th grade, Elisabeth has been in school for 8 years if you count kindergarten. Brilliant, aren't I??? That must be where Elisabeth gets it from. That kid pulled off another remarkable marking period:) At the end of it all, she GOT ALL A's for the entire year!!!! WOW!!! We are so proud of her:) And....she got an award from her Tech. Ed. teachers....only one boy and one girl out of 250 students were given this award at a ceremony in June. Out of all of her classes, she dreaded this one the most and then ended up getting an award for being one of their best students! I swear she must have been switched at birth.

Daddy and his beer

Isabella loves driving her Barbie Jeep to the pool. Yesterday, as we were leaving, Elisabeth said to her, "Don't drink and drive!!" Of course, not having a clue what that meant, I had to explain it to her. I told her people should never drink beer and then get in the car and drive somewhere. She told me that "Daddy never 'doos' that....he never gets in a car and drinks. He sits on a chair and drinks."

Super Saturday

We had a wonderful day today....haircuts, Art's Festival, "Marmaduke", and then dinner by the pool. Couldn't get any better than that:)

Catching Up

With just spent July 4th with Jacqueline, Jim, and Sadie. We had a wonderful time:)