Birthday Trip!

October is always an eventful month for our family! Fall festivals, Halloween parties, and special birthdays (mine :)) keep us very busy.  This year was no exception.  In addition to the usual cRaZiNeSs, we decided to drive up to see our friends.  They moved to Dallas GA last year!  Its just north of ATL. We miss them terribly, but totally understand why they love it so much.  Especially this time of year!  There were multiple opportunities for pictures.  We tried to take advantage.  

You have no idea how cold we were during this photo.  I couldn't even take off my wool jacket for 1 picture :)

 The leaves were in the process of turning.  It was exactly what I wanted to see!  I wish Florida could enjoy some of this beauty.  

I guess we will have to settle for the beach.  Anyway, here are some special moments!

 Stayed in our jammies until well into the day!

 Best homemade breakfast ever!!

 Bribery to stay still and smile for pictures :)

 Feeding the ducks- impossible to get a good pic :)

Best buddies <3 <3


As the cold set in on Saturday night our gracious hosts built a fire in the fire pit. 

We enjoyed s'mores, sweet tunes, and a serious game of hide-and-seek in the dark!!

The last day of our trip we enjoyed the Georgia Aquarium together.  It houses some of the coolest animals I have ever seen, and that's a lot coming from me-who doesn't even like wildlife.

 2 Albino Alligators!! For real!! I have never seen anything like that!!

 Always on the brink of disaster :)

Beautiful Beluga Whales! They were so cool! Also, it may or may not have been mating season for them :/ Kind of awkward with the kids!!
We also saw otters, oh, and a bunch of fish! The whole experience was fantastic! 
Thursday through Sunday flew by and then reality came rushing back  very quickly. We are now back to our hamster wheels!  I wish it was always October!!!  

Torn

Look at this face....

Let me back up.  I hate wildlife.  All kinds.  I am not really scared of it, just grossed out by it.  Except snakes.  I am deathly afraid of snakes.  When my husband killed this one in the backyard, I didn't go back there for like a month.  

Its actually quite painful for me to post that picture.  Gross.  Anyway, I have never developed feelings for anything that wasn't human.  I don't really know if I can.  I don't really know if I want to.  But lately I have had this feeling.  Gav and I actually went into one of those puppy mill stores the other day.  I just wanted to look around.  It smelled horrendous.  And it was loud.  Both of which come along with dogs, I know.  Some of them were kind of cute.  But none that I would take home.  Gavin, of course, wanted all of them and couldn't understand why I couldn't just "charge it".  We left and talked about it at home with Andrew.  He is not a fan of the idea.  He does, however, LOVE dogs.  He just says its too much work.  But I think if I was really committed, he would cave.  I am scared of the commitment.  What if it is annoying? What if is gets sick? Is it going to keep me up at night? Poop in the house? What if we get one and then I change my mind?  I am so torn.  I just keep thinking that somewhere out there is a tiny perfect, designer, hypoallergenic fluff ball waiting for us. It is almost my birthday.  Maybe I will ask for one.  Or an IPhone.  I know I want an IPhone.
I'm torn. 

Family and Fun on the Fourth!!

I should begin by saying that blogging has become somewhat of a chore as of late.  I do not have a lot of free quiet time when I can sit for extended periods of time.  So in those few quiet moments that I do enjoy, blogging seems about as appealing as grocery shopping or doing dishes.  However, we have had so many fun adventures this summer that I must share.  So this is my first attempt to get back at it!! :) 

My husband and I already took our "big" trip this year.  He is a big budget-er. So we are allotted so much money each year in the vacation fund! I know! I know! Crazy right?  Supposedly I will thank him when I can retire.  But for now it is hard to abide by!  On a side note- I very much appreciate this side of him because I have zero saving skills! So anyway, all that to say that when we started thinking about the 4th of July, it needed to be an expense-less trip.  So what better place to go than to visit my family in the fantastic Panama City beaches??? So the plans began......

We would go and stay with my cousin and cousin in law, Michelle and Steve.  They live in a highrise condo just steps from the beach with beautiful gulf views.  This is what they wake up to every day...

Can you even imagine??? So this whole trip was pretty much a no brainer!  There was only 1 problem.  My cousins' kids are all grown.  They have no need for lots of room and as a result, their condo only has 1 bedroom.  Now I should remind you this is my husband, me and 2 rowdy kids! We have stayed there before for 1 night.  They were super hospitable! There were enough couches and even a blow up mattress. And free which is my husbands favorite!  But this time, we were staying longer.  And Lucy is currently deep in the midst of her terrible two's, which by the way, are more terrible than I remember!  She desperately needs structure and routine, neither of which I can provide for her over the summer.  Thus the reason her irrational tantrums are multiplying :) Good times! LOL, so they are all my fault, I know! However, I try not to expose those I love and care about to too much of her craziness.  

That sweet smile can be so deceiving! LOL! Anyway, in addition to "fun with Lucy" my kids are loud!!  

Furthermore, I won't lie, the older I get, the more I want a good night sleep in a comfy bed and my own space.  Alllllll of that being said, I decided to attempt to convince my husband to let us rent a condo at my cousins resort.  "You already spent your vacation money for the year" he said.  Just as I expected, so I had to get creative.  Everyone knows I have a little side job. And luckily it gives me the extra dough to do extra things that I wouldn't be able to do.  So I volunteered :) to pay for the condo with hair money!  Now we had a deal!  Friends! I was soooo excited! Here's what was waiting for us...

WOW! Right?  What you can't see is the master bedroom/bath and kids bunk room/bath.  My cousin got us this great deal that was basically cheaper than a hotel room! Oh, and we had that same great view!  Here's a shot of the gulf along with a full moon :)

Okay! So clearly I am still pumped about our accommodations but now let me tell you about our activities.  We had a full agenda.  Most of which involved water.  For this reason, I did not get photos of everything.  I will have to help you visualize it on your own :)
If you are logged into facebook, you may be able to see more photos here.

Day 1 Cape San Blas FL.  We went to visit my dad who lives up near Panama City in a small town.  The plan for the day was to go scalloping in the bay.  Too many things went wrong that morning, but eventually we got to our destination.  Finding scallops proved to be more difficult than planned.  FYI- this is a scallop before they serve it to you on a plate.  I share because I didn't know:) 

We enjoyed the process much more than the product.  We are not seafood fans so my dad and his wife ate all 20 that we found.  A little more visiting and we were back to our cushy condo :)  The next few days were full of a great balance of pool, beach, lake, and rest!  Again I am saddened that we don't have more pictures!  Here are some highlights we did capture....


Snugglin' on the couch

Fireworks!!!!

Our last day, Uncle Steve surprised by coming over and making us pancakes!! So yummy! This is why we need a full kitchen on vacation! I'm never gonna be able to stay at a 1 room hotel again!!!

This was such a great vacation.  We are so blessed to spend time together and with family!  Can't wait to go back!!! :)
PS. I'm already saving up :)

M.O.M.

I have been a mother for 8 years.  I would be lying if I said I didn't look forward to the great cards, flowers and gifts that shower me on Mothers day.  All so that my family can celebrate my awesomeness :) That, of course, is a joke because I know there are many times when I fail as a quality mom. But here is the beauty....they love me anyway!  And they wouldn't trade me for the world.  The same goes for my mom to me.  She put up with the adolescent me.  Yikes!  And I think the 2's are hard! But she still loves me and she didn't kill me.  Mothers Day is to give our Moms a little extra love and attention.  This year, I have to say was probably the best yet.  And it had nothing to do with flowers and gifts.  The day went something like this......

First things first like any Sunday, our family went to church.  I usually sit alone while Andrew runs the computer, but this Sunday, I was lucky enough to sit between 2 fantastic ladies!  My sister in law Jenny on one side and one of my BF's Sarah on the other!  Just a small blessing but a good start to the day!

After church, it was bbq time back at our crib.  We had Andrew's parents, his sisters, and their kids, and my parents over.  Andrew grilled up some sweet hamburgers and hotdogs!  We also had 2 kinds of salad, and baked beans.  My personal fav was the chips and Helluva Good dip!  Sooo goood!  We all just ate and talked and enjoyed each other!!

After all the excitement, and all of the food, the party died down a little.  Some people had to leave.  I'm pretty sure they were going home to nap.  Cause that's what we were ready for!  The kids went to sleep after a bit of persuading and the left over adults took turns napping on the couch.  It was the most relaxing part of the day!  A little later still and all of our guests departed.  It was at the top of the list of successful family bbqs! 

But the fun wasn't over.  Last October, one of my best BF's ever, Katie, moved to Georgia :(  Supposedly they love it there, but how could they without me? Anyway, she was in town to visit her fam.  It worked out that she was able to come and spend a few hours with me.  Thank goodness too because she had to leave the next day.  We were able to spend some great times talking and laughing, and of course planning (we are always trying to plan the next get together)!  All that time we got no pictures together!  The only pic I got was one of Lucy double dipping in Katie's bowl of Helluva Good!  And of course she didn't mind! I will post it because I miss her already!

Can you even believe how great that day was? I have to tell you that it was 1 of the best days ever for me.  It had the perfect amount of everything.  Am am so thankful for the wonderful women in my life.  I am thankful I got to spend time with them in celebration on Sunday.  I am thankful for Andrew, who put much time and effort into the shopping, prepping and cooking for the day so I didn't have to!  And although it wasn't the best part of the day, I did get flowers that were picture worthy!

I would love to hear how you spent yours! Please share! And if you are so blessed to have her close, don't forget to squeeze your mom.  Oh, and don't forget those who make you a mom they are squeezable too!! 

A Few of My Favorite Things

So, here I am blogging world.  I know a few of my friends are thrilled and the other billion of you don't even know I exist.  I thought my first post should be an introductory look into my life and my favorite things.  We can start here...this is my favorite man.  It is a blessing to wake up next to him every morning!

Easy on the eyes, huh? Well if you agree with that, wait until you see my kids.  Gavin, aka, Gav-a-tron is our first.  This one is blazing the trail for us! Then along came Lucy, aka, Tiny Bug. These two fill our days with joy and challenges.  Keeping us young and giving us gray hair.  

I hope to use this blog as a way to keep in touch with some, inspire others, and maybe even challenge a few!
Thanks for reading,
KBO