I haven't seen the beach yet.

I just wanted to throw that out there. I've been close to the beach twice, but haven't actually seen it or walked on the hot sand. Things change when there's a baby in the picture.

St. Augustine

So, my in-laws were her last week. We met up with them in the oldest city in the US, St. Augustine, which is about 2 hours from Gainesville.

Scotty's parents

Besides the beach that I didn't get to, there is lots of fun architecture, pretty houses, shopping and a big Spanish fort. We wandered around in the hot sun without much of an agenda, other than to eat fried seafood and to modestly nurse in the foyer of the welcome center, which proved difficult as St. Augustine turns out to be a not-so-breastfeeding-friendly town. A bit of a challenge when both you and your baby are sweaty. But, the trip was fun overall.

On top of the fort.

During the week we ran errands together, read, played games, ate and generally enjoyed each other- especially the time all 4 grandparents were able to hang out with Natty.The ladies bowl at UF. Mom comes in 1st, Mims in 2nd and me, pulling up the rear.

At the end of the week, we drove down with Scotty's parents to the home of some good friends of the family, Tom and Marilyn. Marilyn is the hostess with the mostest- meaning gourmet salads, a pool, lots of personal touches in your room, a listening ear and great conversation. Tom is a character and loved playing with Natty and making her giggle.

Tom, me and Natty. We're trying to get Natty a spot in the next Chic-Fil-A calender.

Scotty's dad, whom we call "Papi", volunteered to stay with Natty Sunday morning so we could enjoy a care-free church service without worrying if she'd melt down on the nursery staff. His parents returned home on Monday and now we are starting to get into gear for visiting some of our supporters around here before time runs out on us...it always seems to pass faster than we expect.

"Hello little girl. Why aren't you blinking?"

Natalie is growing at rapid rates and astounds us with how quickly she is changing. We're encouraging her to crawl, which she seems very close to doing. If fussiness is any indicator of soon to arrive teeth, I'm pretty sure she'll have a mouth-full by the end of the week. But, she still is plenty sweet and adorable and is loving the summertime almost as much as her mommy. Public libraries are an indulgence that we sorely miss in Bolivia and have been able to visit twice now to find all the books that satiate our interest in home building and design, novels and board books for the baby. I also checked out a book on signing that will hopefully help us communicate a little better as time goes on. I love the idea of her being able to talk to me without words! So, the enjoyment of home continues...