July - Family, Friends and Fun!

July was an incredibly busy month for us. Busy, but fun! It started out with our Myrtle Beach vacation from 7/5-7/12. It was the Powell family reunion. There were 21 of us and most of my family was able to come. We missed my cousin Michelle and her husband John. And of course we missed my Dad. He is spending his life in heaven with Jesus and I'm certain he enjoys beautiful oceans and white sandy beaches every day. We rented a house on the beach and enjoyed the ocean, pool and sun all week. We ate all of our meals at the house, except for one night when Dominic and I went out to dinner at California Dreamin (LOVE that place!) and then we went to Broadway on the Beach. We had plenty of babysitters so we took off for a few hours! It was so nice to spend time with my family and we had a great time!**

We were only home for a few days before Dominic's family arrived (Mom, Dad and sister.) They were in town from 7/17-7/22 and we had a nice visit with them. Their visit revolved around Giana (she is the only grand child on Dominic's side of the family...need I say more?) so we had a great time doing baby friendly activities all week! Giana was attached to Aunt Dee-Dee's hip all week and loved it and I think Aunt Dee-Dee loved it, too! Dominic's brother lives in Atlanta and he was over visiting, too. We see him often now...it's nice to have family in town!**

After the Vitale's left, Giana and I drove to Greenville, SC. We went to see my sister, Julie and her family. My mom was visiting, too. Julie has Sophia (7) and Luke (22 months - 10 days younger then G.) Giana LOVES to visit Aunt Julie. There is no shortage of toys, noise and fun...what could be better?- except for the popsicles and lollipops that Aunt Julie gives to her! Giana would not sleep the first night we were there so we were up all night. It took me back to her newborn days, although she was 16 months old before she was sleeping through the night. I'm not sure how we did that for 16 months!! I've been giving my sister a hard time about living in Greenville, SC. It's not a place I would want to live. We went downtown to sight see and let the kids run around. I must say I saw a different side to Greenville. It was a nice, urban, cute place with a lot to offer. Julie, I stand corrected...but it's still not a place I would want to live! :-)**

We returned home to Atlanta and had a few days to clean my house and write the MOM'S Club summer newsletter before my other sister, Wendy and my niece, Kathleen arrived. They came on 7/29 and left on 8/2. We had a fun visit with them. They came with lots of toys (my poor house - lol!) Katie gave Giana her doll house and chalk board and she LOVES them. And then she bought her a mini trampoline as an early birthday gift. This takes up most of my family room! We had an action packed few days with plenty of shopping, eating out, swimming and Jumping Jelly Beans!! Wendy and I went to see Mamma Mia and we ended the week by going to a Taylor Swift/Rascal Flats concert on Friday night. Let me back up talk about Mamma Mia for a minute. I have two words for you...STAY HOME! I hate to admit this, but I haven't been to a movie theater in years. While the movie wasn't that good, I still enjoyed the whole movie experience. There's just something about a movie theater, the smell of popcorn and having a night out without a 22 month old (lol!) BTW, the only thing I did was smell the popcorn because it was $10.00 for a coke and popcorn. Now, I'm not a cheap person (Dominic can verify this :-) but OMG! $10.00??? It was still a fun evening out with my sister! Now, the Rascal Flats concert - AWESOME! Taylor Swift opened for them. I wasn't too excited about her but she came through for me. She played for 40 minutes and was really good! My niece (almost 14 years old) loves her. Love is a strong word. I LOVED Rascal Flats. We had a blast! On the same note, Dominic and I are going to see Brad Paisley in September at the Lakewood Amphitheater. Be still my heart. He is my husband in my next life. Well, I guess it would be a toss up between Brad Paisley and Nick Lachey. Don't laugh! Dominic makes fun of me all the time. :-)**

We can't let any grass grow under our feet so Giana and I are flying to Ohio on 8/13. We'll be visiting Dominic's family in Solon for a few days then we're going to see my mom in Westerville. My friend, Erin is baptizing her little boy and I'm his Godmother. It will be a fun week!**

Enjoy the rest of the summer!