siesta key...the first days

one night we made a trip to:

for dinner and daiquiri's.

this nice lady decided to play with the kids and pretend to get them.

well, august got her.

and his idea of gettin' is to grab the butt.

oh the laughs that one got.

these three were having a blast!

then bailee decided to have some fun of her own.

little to our knowledge she found the dimmer switch.

another nice lady announces rather loudly,

"i know i've had a few drinks, but do the lights keep going up and down."

we all agree, and then moments later see this:

such a funny little girl,

that totally got caught in the act!!

of course most days were spent on the beach.

poor renner re-broke his leg a few weeks before vacation.

travis and toni caught a crab while snorkeling

and brought it back for the kids to enjoy,

before we sent it back to life in the ocean.

we ended our days with some pool time.

jumping with no hands.

he swam like a fish,

and always asked to go to the big pool.

if you want to become the most popular adult around.

open a bag of these.

cleaning (but mostly playing) in the shower.

a few days before august and e.n. ran around naked,

screaming and hollering.

provided some entertainment for all.

too bad the camera wasn't with me.

we had a fish fry on the lawn.

(the one you're not supposed to gather on.)

followed with one of many beautiful sunsets.

uncle kenny being silly.

mom and dad came for a few days to visit.

tina and gary came to visit too.

love this one!

more posts to come from our time at the beach.

(sorry for the longest post in history,

but i just had to document it all!)

i wanna go back

even though we've only been home a few days.
can you blame me?

the chicken

really the turkey,
but bailee called it the chicken.
(so forever in my mind it will be the chicken.)

great bar/restaurant with good food,
nice song selection on the jukebox,
pool tables for the kids,
funny menu to read through,
(even funnier marque out front),
and awesome place to eat with kids.

these two had a great time.

and danced to the rock 'n roll that bailee requested.
getting their practice in at an early age!

eight years ago

i married this guy. he is a wonderful husband and father,
a good friend,
handsome,
funny,
tells a great story,
a good provider,
loves him some ice cream,
can cook,
and he is so much more.


thanks for eight great years,
can't wait to see what the next eight bring.

i love you babe!

parker's luau

parker turned one and his mama and daddy threw him a luau.leis and pineapples helped put us in the mood.

kari was so very sweet and made august his own special plate.

full of his favorites.

parker liked all his cards and gifts.

big brother cline enjoyed one of his gifts too.

group shot--

i do believe this is the only one that you can see everyone's face in!

paker was ready for his cake,

but the candle gave him a little surprise.
man that thing was hot.

but mama quickly made it all better with some icing.

and then he dug in!

and enjoyed every bit of it.

but he was a nice boy and shared with all his grandparents.

somewhat preoccupied in the family shot.

happy first birthday parker.

thanks for having us join you on your big day!

a mama's never ending battle

it's one that can't be won,
only tamed.
and it always seems to be worse in the summertime!

morning run

a few days after my run or snuggle and play post,
i was able to do both.

august woke up early and we snuggled.
then i pulled myself out of bed and ran before travis went to work
and it was way to hot to even consider running.i must admit that it felt good.
to rise early and get my day going.
to see deer feeding in yards.
to take some me time.
to finish my workout early in the day.

i think i see my good habit working itself back into my daily life.
i'll just have to get in extra snuggles at nap and bedtime!

musuem

the kids sure do love this place.
kid size grocery shopping.
though it seems brooker has a man size appetite.

parker itching to get down.
he had in fact turned one on this very day!

ready to go and fight a fire.

"mama, i'm stuck and can't get down!"

lift that bag of money boy!

heart beat drum

boom, boom, boom

"watch this mama"

so much fun for the kids.

nice and cool for the mamas!

proud cousin

we sure are proud of our cousin, cole.
he won citizen of the year for his act of kindness.

(races 2009)

go here to read the article.
way to go cole!!

our celebration

the day was a soggy one,
but the rains stopped long enough for some lake time.

they rains came back, so sparkler time was on the porch.
(one tired boy and all.)

but they sure did enjoy them.

and kept coming back for more.until they were all gone.

happy 4th of july!

and happy birthday america!
hope you and yours have a fun, firework filled fourth.

run or snuggle and play?

guess it's kinda easy to tell what i've been choosing!