chillen on the hammock....& Marley. :)

This pic of Uncle Oleg, Gracie & brody was right when we got home from the beach on their last night.

A day or so later the girls stopped by for a couple hours while Sarah had a buisness meeting down here. It was good to see them, it felt like it had been a while. The sweet lil loves they are! They just love marley so much... and are going to be wonderful cousins to our little gracie. They are so gentle, thoughtful and protective of her already! ...as are ALL of her cousins. Gracie is so lucky to have such a wonderful family(BIG TOO!)I just love my hammock, Mark got it for my birthday this year...even though I told him not to bother with getting me anything at all, it was the perfect gift!!! ...he knows me so well!

chelle & Oleg's last day for relaxation...

I was glad that we were able to get to the beach one last time with them, they are so humble & relaxing...it was a treat for me to have them here always helping out so much. It fills my heart everytime to see the love they have for Gracie, they are wonderful to her!!
So after a long day on the beach Sheryl & Russ...& Ryan too welcomed everyone over for dinner...it was such a nice atmosphere~ they had a lil fire going on the linai (inside one of those chimney things??? don't know what it's called but i like em!!! the pool was soothingly warm for a night time swim. I love get-to-gethers, they always bring so much joy to me!! (as mama always said "I am a social butterfly!" )

Gracie with Daddy on the beach..."dada"

We spent Saturday (Our last full day) on the beach ... we tried a different beach this time, that was our first time going as well... it was pleasant, another sunny day in Florida, but because there was a little less wind than usual it was a bit on the hot side. We prepared ourselves with the umbrella...which was good for some shade. The water was nice & refreshing.

Gracie is already a daddy's girl, she just lights up around him, it is the cutest thing. She's saying dada all the time now too! :) They were having some laughs here with daddy's hat & daddy's singing. hehehe! looks like he wore her out!

Perfect beach day!

On Michelle & Olegs first "full" day we decided to pack our bags & head to the beach.We got there around noon time which is Gracie's nap time...we wheeled her on the beach right in her big 'ole jogging stroller...it shades her so nicely and there was a steady & calming breeze that kept her fast asleep for a good 2 hrs! It was mommy time, hehehhe! The water was see through green, you could see right down to the bottom where your feet stood~ I love it like that!
We had a nice relaxing day, Sheryl was able to meet us there a little while later, soon after Gracie woke to spend our last hour or so with her enjoying the water and the sand. :) She loves it there....lil water baby!

More pics from pool time @ Sheryl's

Thank you Aunt michelle & Uncle Oleg!!!

Michele & Oleg bought Gracie her very first tube...a car!!....with a roof!!! It is not only perfect for keeping the sun away but she is all about driving it (as you can see) she really does handle that wheel quite nicely! :)

We are so lucky to be in a 2 minute walking distance to aunt Sheryl's house- so soon after settling in we took a quick walk to her pool. Ryan came home shortly after we arrived from school..& not too much later daddy met us there from work. :)

Aunt Michelle & Uncle Oleg arrive w/ Auntie Sheryl!

Wednesday afternoon Oleg & Michelle arrived for a long weekend visit...it was so nice to have them stay with us---my vacation from Jersey was extended into another full weekend & although I feel like i'm paying for it now with all my "catch up" work it was well needed & so much fun for us all! :) What a way to start off the new month~ lots of love & lots of family!!!
Sheryl picked Michelle & Oleg from the airport and they arrived with a yummy lunch for me . We spent some time at the house with our hello's & love to our baby gracie especially!

some fun pics from the day....

Pretty View...some fun stuff from heaven hill farm... and a couple special moments from the day!

Cake Time!!

This was hilarious!!!! What a moment...we'll never forget for his first birthday! I've never seen him just dig in like that, lol!...it was like he knew--"this is MY BIRTHDAY, i'm having fun with this one- MY CAKE-YUMMMY!!!!"

whooo it brings tears to my eyes to see him growing so fast...look at this last pic...words can't describe when he looks at you with those big blue eyes!!! He's one happy lil man. :)

Shanes 1st Birthday Party!

I'm so happy we were able to make the trip up for this special day! We really did luck out with beautiful weather, although a bit on the hot side from what we were expecting -the sight of autum was there- the fall leaves were coming out and we couldn't help miss the mountains when we looked beyond to see all the different fall colors- the sun was shining and so was everyone there! It was a day of fun for shane...the special lil man!!! ...as well as all the lil ones that came along to celebrate with him. The day was a day of love for all those i miss so much! It really did fill my heart all up! It was so nice to see everyone .