The King & His Princess

Daddy celebrated his 6th Father's Day! It was a day filled with golf, church, presents and dinner at one of Tom's favorite Lakeland restaurants.

My Lovies....

After church and golf, Skyler, Laney and I gave Daddy wonderful gifts that included cologne, Levi jeans, two golf shirts and a bag full of tasty yummies.

Before eating dinner, we stopped by "Papa's" fountain at Lakeside Village to do our traditional penny prayers for Papa and Grandma Iona. Sky has been enjoying this activity since she was 2 1/2 years old.

She brings her pennies, says special prayers for her Papa (my Dad) and her Grandma (Tom's Mum) and then throws them into the fountain. A true treasure!

 Our evening ended at Fish City Grill for a delicious seafood meal!

 *Love*

The Princess enjoyed her shrimp!

Happy Father's day to all you amazing Dads! It's truly a blessing to be a parent!

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish...

The Florida Aquarium is ranked in the top 10 Aquariums in the country so it's no wonder that Skyler had a fabulous visit to this beautiful Tampa exhibit in the Channelside district.

We enjoyed all five exhibits...We explored the Wetlands Trail, discovered over 20,000 aquatic plants and animals at Bays and Beaches, looked at the beautiful and diverse ecosystems in the world at the Coral Reef Gallery, took a close encounter tour at Ocean Commotion and journeyed to Madagascar to get face to face with ring-tailed lemurs.....Skyler's favorite! Here are a few of my favorite pictures capturing our day...

 Breathtaking....

We took a quick lunch break before playing in a 2-acre outdoor water park adventure zone. Sky cooled off while I relaxed under the shade of the Cantina bar and grill. The Caribbean themed family-friendly exhibit makes for the perfect stop during the aquarium visit!

 Outdoor fun....

We kept returning to the Madagascar Exhibit. It was Sky's favorite. The gallery captured some of the uniqueness of the island while addressing some of the challenges that threaten it natural wonders. It certainly was an an entertaining and educational experience into learning more about this amazing place, and what we can do to help its people and wildlife. 

 Sky fell in love with the lemurs. A future trip is definitely planned!

Summer Has Begun!

We've jumped right into summer and Skyler has not slowed down one bit. The school bell rang on Thursday, June 5th and come Monday morning the 9th, our Princess became a fish for two straight weeks at the aquatic center at Florida Southern College.  

10 mornings of pure fun! 

Skyler completed another level of swim classes and enjoyed Coach Yu. 

 We've stayed busy in the evenings at our local YMCA First Tee Par 3 with Coach Beverly.

Our little golfer successful completed golf lessons for the month and was awarded a medal from Coach Beverly.

 The handshake....

 Proud....

Before leaving to head home, Sky wanted to practice her putting one more time indoors.

During the week of June 16-20, Skyler participated in Vacation Bible School at First Presbyterian Church. The week theme was Weird Animals. It taught the children that God filled the world with a lot of crazy creatures, including US! When kids feel weird, different, or even lost in a crowd, nothing compares to the extraordinary love of Jesus. 

It was such a fantastic program that lasted five days from 9AM till Noon.

Skyler loved the daily activities that included singing and dancing, arts-n-crafts and learning bible verses.

 Outdoor creativity....

Each day, Skyler received a a metal "Bible Buddy" tag featuring a critter that they learned about (Axl, Fern, Milton, Shred and Iggy) along with a bible verse. She loved wearing it each day along with her name tag and bible wrist band. 

On the last day, the children entertained the crowd with a singing and dancing production. It was adorable and Sky nailed every song and move! Here she is modeling all 5 metal Bible tags.... 

Sky has also been attending gymnastics camp during the day. Another fun treat for our active 5 year old!

No summer is complete without trips to the beach. Daddy has taken Skyler a few times while I worked. We recently spent the weekend with Auntie Kevie and Uncle Dawg in Merritt Island. 

Always fun getting together with family! We even got to see Cousin Jared's puppy, Brooklyn, since they were dog sitting. Laney and Brooklyn got along well together and enjoyed many games of throw and catch with the water toy.

Speaking of family, Gammey sold her home in St Petersburg in just 3 days and bought a condo in Grasslands shortly after. We are so excited to have Skyler's #1 Buddy live just 5 minutes away from us. Well, actually my Mum is living with us while remolding is taking place. How blessed are we!! Woo-Hoo! We get to enjoy her every. single. day. Yes, Skyler is in Heaven :) She loves waking up and seeing her Gammey. We're having lots of fun playing together and love our dinner dates. Guess you can just say our Summer is off to the most perfect start!