When It's Not Raining and the Mosquitos Aren't Chasing Us...

Summer is definitely in full-swing in Tallahassee with its heat, humidity and bugs raging. Being the southern family we are, we enjoy it though (well, maybe not the mosquitos) and even though we haven't technically vacationed this season, we've had some fun and firsts. Ella B. took her first swim lessons with friend, Cooper (which was really more splashing and inhaling water, but I'm sure Michael Phelps started this way too). She seems to like the pool and the water which is why we then decided to venture to the beach, another first, to visit her godparents, Maggie and Will, at their St. Teresa beach house. The biting sand fleas and bright sun were a little much for her, but we aren't giving up and will try again when she's a little older.

Ella B. at St. Teresa

Bridget, Cooper, Ella B. & Shelby at swim class at Forest Meadows

We spent the 4th of July at the Phipps' house, an annual tradition, with delicious barbecue and apple pie (because it's just so American - as well as peach and blueberry), followed by impressive fireworks once the sun went down. For a minute there, the fireworks got a little too impressive when one exploded towards the crowd instead of over the lake, but thankfully, everyone was fine and it just got our adreline pumping! Ella B. and I stayed inside and watched through the window since it was loud and a bit late for her, but she didn't seem bothered by the show, either. She did wear her newest red, white and blue "bikini" to the party for the occassion:)

Our little family got a quick get-away by taking a day trip to Thomasville (it can be considered out-of-state even though Thomasville is only 30 minutes from Tallahassee!) to shop and have lunch. We browsed the cute shops like Sweetgrass Dairy, Relish-N-Dash (a half kitchen, half running/work-out store which should be named Shelby's since I loved everything in it), and an adorable bookstore with a precious children's corner, then devoured a tasty lunch at Savannah Moon. We definitely want to go back to do some Christmas shopping, if not sooner.

Other than that, things have been fairly quiet at the Augustyniak house with Ella B. just hanging out with her folks as seen in these two pictures below. She helps me "cook" dinner and sits with Dan while he watches the news, and sits on the porch Sunday evenings with us listening to the sounds of summer.

Doing exercises on Daddy's stomach on the couch!

Sous Chef Ella B.