No place like home.

Let me just start by saying that I am very happy to be home.  Traveling all around has taken its toll and it feels good to have no obligations for a few days :)

On Monday, Bella and I made a trip to Ikea for a few things including some more butterfly wall stickers to continue the pattern we started on her wall.  Looks like we just need two more packs to complete the masterpiece <3  That was pretty much all we did on Monday.  I would have unpacked and started laundry, but all our luggage was still in Vince's car that he took to work so looks like it will have to wait.

Tuesday began with swim lessons.  Bella is loving her swim lessons, and she even experienced the rope swing for the first time.  I was so proud of her because I could tell she was pretty nervous and unsure about trying it.  She watched a couple of kiddos go first and then gave it a shot.  It took them a couple of times to pry her toes of the side of the pool so she would swing out, but once she did she was in Heaven!  She came over to me with the biggest smile on her face chattering about how she can't wait to do it again :)  After lunch, we got our swimsuits on and ran a couple of errands before heading to the pool.  We had to go to Hobby Lobby for some material because Bella and I designed a 4th of July fairy costume that is mostly being made from a vintage sheet, but we needed some lining and ribbon to complete the look.  It should be quite fabulous when I'm done and she is super stoked about wearing it to Atlanta Lily's party on Saturday!  We know 4 Lily's and they all have a tag in front of their names, I promise she is an adorable kiddo not a street walker :)  We also stopped at the post office to mail Andrew and Sarah's wedding present.  While I was at Papa's house, I found 3 black and white photos that Papa had taken in Africa that I knew Andrew loved.  I mounted them on fabric and paper before framing them, and they really turned out beautiful.  Hope they love them <3  Now back to the pool.  We arrived around 4 and had a major swimming breakthrough.  Bella has been having trouble getting down under the water because she only weighs 36 lbs.  I explained that she needs to blow bubbles while she is trying to go down to touch the bottom, and something clicked because she began diving down to the bottom and grabbing dive sticks like nobody's business.  At one point she stopped, and through the biggest smile ever told me it was like she was swimming like a big kid.  Confidence was oozing out of every pore, and she couldn't wait to tell her Daddy <3  The pool was unusually empty, and we stayed for about 2 hours before a storm blew in and kicked us out.  After dinner and bedtime, I cut out her latest fairy costume while Vince did some web work.  All in all, it was a great day.

As for today, I need to do some laundry/picking up before making a grocery store run because we have no food in the house.  Allie will be here this afternoon to spend the night, so Bella is busy cleaning up herself to make sure the sleepover happens :)  This is what summertime is all about!