20 Months!
We had a great family vacation at the beginning of August. It was me and Mark's 11th anniversary so we all went to St. Simon's Island in Georgia. We never have been there before and were excited because we knew nothing about the area. There was another adjoining island, Jekyll Island, were we also visited often. We had so much fun because we were able to bring our mountain bikes with a seat for Adisyn on the back too! We found out the area (especially Jekyll Island) is famous for the migration and nesting area for sea turtles. Even though we didn't witness any nesting, we were able to see two sea turtles released back into the ocean after being rehabilitated due to injuries. On Jekyll Island we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center:
http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/. Adisyn loved seeing the live sea turtles and we were also able to see other sea turtles that were being rehabilitated in the hospital because they have "boo-boos", as Adisyn said.
 |
| Looking at a sea turtle in the museum |
 |
| Watching a sea turtle in the hospital |
 |
| Baby sea turtles in the hospital |
 |
| Watching the sea turtle being released into the ocean |
 |
| Adisyn watching the sea turtles being released into the ocean |
 |
| Adisyn & I on the beach waiting for the sea turtles |
We also took a carriage ride to tour the historic district of the island:
http://www.threeoakscarriageandtrail.com/#!. Adisyn loved our horse, Daisy, and loved sitting in the carriage seat like a big girl. The history of the island was very interesting as the millionaires of the past, such as the Rockefeller's, had "cottages" on the island, which were more like mansions. The first phone call ever was done on the island during this time as well as the first indoor pool is there.
 |
| Adisyn loved her own seat! |
 |
| Family picture on the carriage ride |
 |
| Our horse "Daisy" |
 |
| Adisyn loved touching Daisy, but kept pointing to her eyes |
We found a hard-to-find area called Driftwood Beach:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g35034-d2415179-Reviews-Driftwood_Beach-Jekyll_Island_Golden_Isles_of_Georgia_Georgia.html. We heard the beach existed, but it's not well marked so it's actually hard to find. The first day we went looking for it, but didn't find it, so after a little more research we found a trail head leading to the beach! We brought our mountain bikes along for the ride and we felt like we were on a deserted island! There were conch shells everywhere and Adisyn loved roaming around the beach. We also got some cute pictures on the beach, it felt like a different world!
Adisyn loved playing in the water!:
Another exciting place was Summer Waves Water Park:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g35034-d105070-Reviews-Summer_Waves_Water_Park-Jekyll_Island_Golden_Isles_of_Georgia_Georgia.html. We did not realize how much Adisyn LOVED water until we went here. She went down the kiddy slides by herself and kept wanting "more". She also loved the lazy river and just walking around in the area.
Warning: I have an overload of cute videos:
 |
| Adisyn & I in the lazy river....I think she was relaxed! |
The only entertainment we did on St. Simons Island was the St. Simons Island Lighthouse:
http://www.saintsimonslighthouse.org/ were we got some pretty pictures. It was right at one of the parks next to their pier.
Right next door to the lighthouse was Neptune Park:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28931-d531861-Reviews-Neptune_Park-Georgia.html, which was basically their community pool, but it had a GREAT kiddy section that Adisyn just LOVED! She would just laugh continuously the whole time she was walking around in the water, going down the slides or climbing up the cargo net (by herself!). She even met a friend there, Adalyn, who was almost 9 years old. Adalyn would walk with her up the stairs, race her down the duel slides and push her around in her floaty in the pool. When her and Adalyn would get to the top of the slide, Adisyn would count on her fingers "1, 2, 3" before they would race down together. Adisyn was actually the one who initiated the friendship because she kept talking, saying "hi" and smiling at Adalyn when she was playing. Adalyn played so good with Adisyn and they had a great time! We actually went back the next day (it was within walking distance from the townhouse where we stayed) and Adisyn got to see Adalyn again. She had so much fun in the water, that there was nothing to compare to it!
Adisyn and Daddy going down the slide - she loved it!:
 |
| Adisyn & Adalyn ready to go down |
 |
| Adisyn & Adalyn getting ready to race down the slide: Adisyn would count: "1...2...3" |
Adisyn going up the cargo net all by herself:
Adisyn climbing up and going down the slide. You can hear her laughing the whole time!:
This month we also went to the WNC Nature Center:
http://www.wildwnc.org/. It's a nice, small zoo in Asheville, NC. Adisyn loved the otters and the big cats! She's really learning her animals and animal sounds! We also stopped by the Greenville Zoo too!
 |
| Walking thru the Nature Center |
 |
| Adisyn looking at the "kitty" |
We had a cold, rainy weekend so we took a trip to Atlanta to go to the aquarium! It was surprisingly cold there too, but inside the aquarium was perfect. Adisyn is really getting to know sea animals, as well. She loved the penguins!
We participate in the Imagination Library which is a non-profit organization that sends Adisyn a new book every month. The books are perfect for her age and this program sends books up to age 5. This month was their anniversary, so we went to the celebration in downtown. Adisyn wasn't too sure of the large animals! You can see that we had another cold day, as we had her jacket on her!
Adisyn also had a couple of big FIRSTS (and they were caught on video). She is now in her big girl bed and loves it! She loves that she can have her stuffed animals in there and she can get in and out by herself. When she's playing in her room, she'll actually get up in her bed to play or pretend to go "night night". Here's a video of her first night:
Adisyn also had her first kiss! We were invited to a cookout with the Rousey's, at their neighbor's house. When we were leaving, Adisyn was following Jefferson around to give him a kiss. He was running from her at first, but then he just leaned and kissed her back. We have a cute video of it (even though it sounds like a horror film because the Rousey's neighbor was screaming when she saw them!):
This month at school her teacher, Alex, told us that she is very sweet. When another kid is crying, she walks over to them, pats them on the back and gives them a kiss! This made me so proud! She is learning her friends names and she likes to point them out when I come to visit. She especially knows Drake and Aubrey. She also likes to show me new decorations or things she made in class, as she points them out on the wall. She moved up to a new Sunday School class now and it's called the "Hedgehogs". She doesn't know her teachers yet, so she's not quite sure of it, but every time we come in to pick her up she snuggling with one of them, so I don't think she minds!
We had such a fun and busy month! We love the summer and really love being outside and see Adisyn enjoy everything! I think we're having as much fun as she is!
