Back to School

Well, the first week of going back to school went off without a hitch.  She was excited to be back in school and with all of her classmates.  I pray that she has a great school year.

Halli is also adjusting well to "no paci".  She has made it 14 nights so far.  Not to say that there hasn't been a few tears along the way, but we're getting there! She also made it through her first day of dance.  After begging for weeks to go into dance with Molly & yelling, "It's my turn to dance!", we had to bribe her to make her go in when it really was her time!  But, in no time, we were hearing her yell "Ta-Da" every few seconds.  Val & Kathy said she put on a show...I have no doubt!

I am so proud of my 'big' girls & how great they are.  They make my heart smile...and my face, too!

End of Summer...

Well, the end of summer is drawing near...boohoohoo!  We have Open House tonight and then both school and dance start back on Monday.  Molly will be going into the 3rd grade and is so excited to have Ms. Kate Page as her teacher.  She will have dance classes 3 days a week plus gym once a week.  Miss Halli will be starting dance this year, too...that should be interesting.  I cannot wait to see what this next year holds in store for my girls.

Molly & I just got back from dance boot camp at The Southern Strutt last weekend.  She had a blast and was able to take classes from Nick Lazarinni, Ivan Koumaev, Molly Long and many others.

She also had her first ever dentist appointment last week & great news...no cavities!

Halli also had a "first" last night...first night with NO pacifier.  I really hope that we are able to "nip it in the bud" this time for good!

Bon Voyage!

Eric & I just got back from a wonderful cruise with some of the greatest friends!  We left out of Jacksonville, FL on the Carnival Fascination. 

Our first port was Nassau, Bahamas.  We spent this day exploring the town...we went shopping in the straw market, purse shopping in the bag market (which is POTENTIALLY illegal), got kicked out of McDonald's for taking a picture, had a crazy cab ride, ate lunch at the Sheraton hotel, visited the beach briefly (it was raining all day), played in the casino, had my first Starbucks (yummy), had an even crazier cab ride back to town, went back to the straw market & finally to the jewelry stores (where I got my Pandora cruise ship charm) before heading back to the boat!

Our second port was in Freeport, Bahamas.  We had a BLAST this day as we spent the entire day kayaking in the inland creeks with our awesome tourguide, Sam.  After kayaking, we visited the beach where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed & then taken to a private beach where they had lunch waiting on us.  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach before our bus ride back.

On the ship, we met our favorite waitress, Gini.  She was so sweet & we looked for her everywhere we went. 

We also spent a good bit of time in the casino playing cards.  We enjoyed sitting down at supper each night & talking with our friends about the days' activities and laughing at Tadd as he argued with the bar waiter! 

We all had such a great time & are already looking forward to our next get-away!

I came home & jumped right into planning Miss Molly's 8th birthday party.  It is so hard to believe that my little girl is already 8 years old.  I don't know if I can handle her growing up so quickly!  She had a great time at her party spending the afternoon swimming with all of her friends. 
                                                
However, she did have to take matters into her own hands (literally) to ensure that Halli didn't blow out all of her candles during the "Happy Birthday" song...LOL...

                                     

Beach Vacation

We recently got back from a trip to Daytona Beach with the girls and Eric's family.  We had such a great time!  As usual, Eric got stopped for speeding on the way down, but luckily we were able to sweet talk the officer into just giving us a warning.  I picked up the Molly's dance video the morning before we left, so it kept the girls entertained the entire trip.  Molly took her friend, Abigail, along for the trip so that she would have someone to slide down the tubeslide with at the hotel and splash in the waves with on the beach. It worked out great!

 Little Halli really enjoyed herself playing in the sand this year, too. She even met a new little friend that she played with almost everyday on the beach. Her name was Ava, but Halli insisted on calling her Abbi the entire week. Halli loved playing with her new friends beach toys but wasn't too happy when Ava would play with hers!

We enjoyed eating supper at Joe's Crab Shack, Bubba Gump's, RipTides and BoneFish. The girls enjoyed walking on the boardwalk, racing the go-carts, playing putt-putt and I even took them to the waterpark one day while Eric was gone fishing. It didn't turn out to be a "day at the park" though...Molly ended up having an "accident" in her bathing suit, she got stuck in a tube slide, almost drowned in the wave pool & flipped her dippin dots upside down as soon as she got them. She said it was "the worst day ever"! 

Last week, Molly had a full week of dance camp, intensives and team try-outs.  She said that she felt like try-outs went well and is hopeful to make competition team this year.  Halli is beyond-excited that she will get to start dance this year as well.  She begs to go everyday that Molly goes and has already told me that I need to get her a dance bag!

Speaking of Halli, I have to brag that she is finally taking to potty-training!  I started working with her last Sunday and we haven't had an accident since Monday...it's been an entire week!  I couldn't be more proud.  We are bribing her with candy each time she potty's, so she may have rotten teeth by the end of all this, but hey, at least she'll be potty-trained!

P.S.  Last night, she pooped in the potty and said, "Look Mommy, I made a mudpuddle!"  Oh, that girl!

I am a proud Mommy!

I have GOT to make myself post to this blog more regularly.  Life gets so busy that it sometimes feels like I am running in circles or meeting myself on the road, but my girls are growing up too fast and I want to be able to look back at this one day as a sweet reminder of all the fun things that we did while they were small.  I don't ever want to forget all the funny and innocent things they say and do.  Right now, they are pure sponges...soaking in everything around them, innocent as can be.  I hope they always soak in the good of the world.

So, to play catch up again...
I haven't posted since last fall and SO much has gone on since then.  We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas.  Halli was old enough to really enjoy opening the presents this year & made it so much fun for everyone.
                                         
Molly's competition dance season geared up in the Spring.  We did 4 competitions this year...one in Statesboro, 2 in Spartanburg and 1 in Savannah.  This was her first year competing with a solo and she did great.  She really racked up on awards and was named Showbiz's Petite Lyrical Icon.  I could not be more proud of the sweet, talented and smart young lady that she is becoming.  I am proud to be her mommy!

Molly recently had a bout with a pretty nasty bacterial infection that got in her blood stream.  We were worried that she may have staph, but thankfully she didn't.  It still was pretty rough on her...spreading to about 12 places before we got a handle on it.  Thankfully, I have some pretty good friends at the Dermatologist's office that worked her in immediately, did cultures & started her on some pretty strong meds.  She gave us a pretty good scare!

Halli has continued to have trouble with her elbow dislocating.  She spent a month with it in a cast after the 3rd incident in hopes that it would help strengthen the ligaments around her joint.  It did seem to help for a couple of months, but then started popping out again.  As of now, it has been almost 3 months with no dislocations, so I am hoping that we she may have "outgrown" it.  She is a real trooper...she is so full of energy, not afraid of anything, loves everyone, talks to every person she sees (stranger or not) and keeps us laughing hysterically.  Right now, she is on a kick of saying 'Thank you' to everyone for everything, "Yes, Please" in the sweetest little voice when she wants something and "Bless You" anytime she hears someone sneeze.  She has also started saying "Hi you guys" in a Yankee accent...don't know where that came from.  She has definitely filled a place in our family that we didn't even know was empty.  I am proud to be her mommy, too!

It's planting season right now, so Eric is busy at the farm...working til late every night.  We have had SO much rain lately, that it is making it very hard to get anything planted.  We are, however, trying to plan a couple of little getaways soon.  Hopefully, we'll be able to take the girls to the beach soon and Eric & I are planning a cruise with some friends next month.  I am really looking forward to both trips!  Let's just hope the rain will let up long enough that Eric can finish planting or else, we won't be going anywhere!

Hello Fall...

Fall...my favorite time of year!  And, undoubtedly, the busiest!  These last few weeks have been super-hectic, so I will just do a picture-story of what's been happening.

Molly cheered at her first game...

And, cheered on the DAWGS to a victory at her first GA game...

 She was elected Homecoming Representative for her class...

 Both Molly & Halli were super-cute at Halloween...

 BOO...

And, they all had a great time at the fair...



More to come soon...

Goodbye Summertime...

Summer has come & gone since my last post and what a great & busy summer it was!  Picking up where I left off, Molly & all of our Steps girls did great and brought home many awards.  It rained everyday of our stay in Daytona and we ended up making a trip to Sea World instead of Disney at the end of the week.

As we left Sea World, we met the couple with our new puppy, Stroker Bo...a blue-eyed silver lab.  It was quite a long & interesting trip home with 2 kids & a 6 week-old puppy.  I think we managed to pull into the house around 1am!

For Molly's birthday, we went back to Myrtle Beach again this year.  It was definitely a trip to remember with all of the small 'disasters' that took place.  Halli dislocated her shoulder and we spent 4 hours at the Emergency Room with her just so she could pop it back in place herself before we ever saw the doctor; Molly took a major wipeout by a wave that caused her to be scared of the ocean the rest of the trip; we had our Yeti cooler, Dewalt radio and Oakley sunglasses stolen while we were at supper one night; and, we waited 4 hours to get a table at Margaritaville for Molly's birthday just to find out that all the "stiltmen" that celebrate birthdays had gone home for the night.  However, things could have always been worse & we have another memorable vacation in the books!

For Eric's birthday, he & I made a trip to the St. John's river to do some mullet fishing.  Again, things didn't go quite as planned.  On the first morning, his boat tore up so he rented a pontoon & then it tore up.  He called the camp for help and they promptly sent a boat to tow him in, but then it tore up.  Finally, about 5 hours later he made it back.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the boat shop, and managed to get in about 2 hours of great fishing before it tore up again!  So, we called it quits, headed to Daytona, ate at Bubba Gump's and watched 2 movies!

Molly & I traveled to Irmo, SC for Southern Strutt's bootcamp a few weeks ago.  She had the opportunity to take classes from some amazing choreographers and dancers, including Mandy Moore, Nick Lazarrini, and Ivan Koumaev (my fave)...

Halli is picking up new words on a daily basis and is such a smart little girl.  However, her new favorite word is "NO" and it is her response to everything even if she really means "YES"!  She is just too funny!

Molly started a new school this year and has mixed emotions about it right now.  I am hoping that it is just because it is all just different to her...a new school, new friends, new teachers, new routine, etc.  I hope things continue to improve for her & that she begins to love it soon.  With the start of school came the start of a new dance year, gymnastics lessons & pep squad practices.  I hope we ALL can adjust to the new, BUSY routine quickly!

School is out...woo-hoo!  I was one proud moma on Honor's Day at Molly's school this year.  She received awards Highest Class Average in both Social Studies & P.E., Honor Roll for the Year and was chosen for the Citizenship Award for Outstanding Character & Behavior!  I could not stop smiling! 

She has also become obsessed with 'Swamp People' and has had the opportunity to meet 3 of them recently...

Halli had developed such an outgoing personality.  She now says Moma, Diddy, Pweese, Book, Ball and Bray.  She loves to dance, be outside, have picnics and help her daddy at the farm!

Molly rounded out this year of dancing with a fantastic recital.  She did such an awesome job & I could not be more proud of her.  Even us momas did a pretty good job on our hip-hop routine...LOL!  Now, Molly is preparing for National Competition at the end of the month in Daytona...I cannot wait to see her rock that stage again & I pray that all of our Steps girls do great & have safe travels.

While in Daytona, we are hoping to surprise the girls & Braylon with a quick day-trip over to Disney World!  I hope it will not be too hot or too crowded.  We will also be picking up our newest addition to the family...a silver lab puppy.  We are super excited to meet him!

This & That...

Well, the virus bug hit the Hammock household recently & boy, did it stay a while.  It started with Halli, then went to Eric & Molly, then me & then back to Halli again.  It managed to string itself out for a solid week & we were SO proud to finally see it leave!

Kite Founders Day was over the weekend & we all had so much fun.  It turned out to be a really hot, but pretty day.  Molly did a great job dancing...

And, then kicked off her dancing shoes to do some greased pig chasing...

Also, I just have to add this picture from Halli's Easter photo shoot.  It is just so funny to me...I swear it looks just like the poor duck is yelling, "AFLAC"...

Happy Easter

Molly's dance competitions have been going great! They have received 1st place awards at both competitions so far...woo-hoo! This weekend, we head out again for our last regional competition of the year. She's super-excited to get back on stage again. She was always excited this weekend about the Easter Bunny coming. Halli is still "learning" all of this new stuff which makes it so fun to watch.

They both had so much fun hunting Easter eggs at moma's. Molly found the most eggs & the prize on the first hunt...

Then, Halli found the prize egg on the second hunt...

It was a wonderful & busy weekend.

Molly spent all of last week doing her first year of CRCT testing. She said she believes it went well & I'm sure it did...she's such a smart girl!

Halli is now trying to cut her "eye-teeth" which has made for 10 sleepless-nights in a row! She hasn't been her normal, happy self so I know they are really bothering her. We have 2 that have cut through, and the other 2 look pretty close so hopefully, she'll have some relief soon...and, I'll get some sleep soon!!!

I absolutely love spending time with these two precious little girls...they keep me busy & make life worth living!

First Dance Competition

Molly's first dance competition went great last weekend. They danced their little hearts out & it paid off. They won 1st place gold in their division and 4th overall for the day. We were so proud of them! Way to go girls! Now, we're headed off this weekend to do it again. I pray that we all have safe travels & a wonderful time.

Let's Dance...

We are SO looking forward to Molly's first dance competition this weekend. All of the girls have worked so hard tweeking and perfecting their dances for the upcoming weekend. Our dance family will be taking a total of 14 routines to the competition. I wish them all safe travels & the best of luck!

Triton

I somehow missed posting this last fall. So, without further adieu, here's a small tribute to a special part of our family. October brought with it a very sad day for our family. Our only "son", Triton, lost his battle with cancer. He was the best four-legged companion we could have ever added to our family & an awesome hunting partner for Eric. Thank you Triton for 12 wonderful years of unfaltered love & dedication to our family. You will be greatly missed & never replaced in our hearts. Triton Cole 2/20/00-10/22/11

Surprise Weekend...

We have spent the last two weeks trying to get both of the girls well. These weather changes have all of battling allergies & sinus problems. Poor Molly had to start back on her breathing treatments for the first time in over two years & go through chest and sinus x-rays at the hospital.

Thankfully, they are both doing alot better....and just in time, too! Because, we had a very exciting weekend planned for Molly this past weekend. We loaded up & told her we were headed to the St. Johns River for a fishing trip. Little did she know, we were actually taking her own her very first visit to Disney World! We managed to keep it a secret the entire way, with her not figuring it out until we actually pulled up to the entrance....she was ecstatic!

Upon arrival, we all got a big surprise. Several men with suits & ties greeted us with balloons telling us were had been chosen as their "Family of the Day"! We were personally escorted to our upgraded room...a top-floor suite which totalled over 3200 square feet! It had three balconies that overlooked the princess castle in Magic Kingdom. It was absolutely beautiful!

Even though the parks were extremely crowded while we were there, we made the most of it by timing our rides & using FastPasses. The longest we waited to ride anything was around 30 minutes...which we didn't think was bad at all.

We had scheduled an appointment for Molly at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where she had her very own Fairy-Godmother-in-Training do her hair, nails & makeup. Then, she put her princess dressed on & headed to her first Character Dining at the Akershus Dining Hall in Epcot. She met all of her favorite princesses.

We also scheduled character dining meals at Chef Mickeys...

...and The Crystal Palace with all of the characters from Winnie the Pooh.

We were able to accomplish alot in the couple of days we spent at the Magic Kingdom. Molly's favorite rides were Splash Mountain & Space Mountain (we rode it twice)! We made so many great memories with our oldest girl & cannot wait to go back again and experience it with our baby girl as well!