Dinner with Friends

We were so very sad when our friends the Lasleys moved last year.

They are back in town visiting family for a few days though and organized a dinner meetip at Chick-fil-A with several old friends.  A great time was had by all and we certainly enjoyed the mini friend reunion.  We miss you so much Lasley Family!

Extra hugs for Hayes and Quinn!

We ended one friend reunion and started another one!

The Kiernans are also in town visiting this week so we got to spend time with them (and Cannon Parham) too!

Summer Fun

Friend filled afternoon!

Why does summer break already have to be half way over..... 

And while we spent the morning with friends at the Cumberland Harbor pool, we got to spend the evening with even more friends celebrating Jackson's birthday at the Aquatic Center!

Fur Baby Friends

These are two of the sweetest animals ever....

and I love that not only are they sweet to us, but they are also sweet to each other!

Jacksonville Sharks

Fun with Cub Scout Pack 226 at the Jacksonville Sharks arena football game. It was Star Wars night!

Now, personally I think arena football is one of the silliest sports.  The whole game seems choreographed and the fans are a bit nutty.  But, it does make for a fun night and the kids certainly enjoy being there with friends!

Roaming characters in the lobby....

Aside from the Star Wars characters, the Sharks mascot, Chum, was also wandering around the arena.

It's Game Time!

Free light sabers for the first 1,000 kids....made for a fun sight when the lights were turned out!

One thing is for sure, choreographed or not, arena football is all about

having a good time and putting on a fun show for the fans!

Of course Darth Vader came out to start the game...

Anyone have baby wipes?!?

Delicious, and super sticky, cotton candy....an arena necessity for any event!

It was all yummy until he realized how sticky it made him...then he was not a happy camper!

The boys of Pack 226...

Two of my favorite Cubs...Mason & Gabe

Is it all choreographed?!? My vote is yes, and with a score of 47 to 47 with 47 seconds left,

I have an even harder time believing this is real football! It was fun though.

Morning Adventures

Morning adventures with my walking buddy.

While I'm trying to lose some weight and get in my Fitbit steps,

Grant loves to join me on my morning walks and go on adventures around our beautiful city.

Learning to Swim

 First swim lesson was a success....he'll be ready to join the swim team with his big brother and sister in no time!

Thanks for Coach Bri for being an absolute perfect fit for Grant.  I was amazed at how much he learned today.

Back in Baseball

Excited to have Gabe back out playing a game that I love!

Thanks to the Diamond Kings coaches for helping my boy today.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the three most important men in our lives! We're thankful for all that you do, for the example you set for us and our children, and for the unconditional love you always provide. We love you Daddy, PawPaw, and WaWa!

The kids were all very excited to give out the homemade gifts this year...

These kiddos may never know just how blessed they are to have such an incredible PawPaw.

I am so thankful that we all live close by and the kids get to spend time with my parents every week.

Freedom

Thankful that, at least for now, we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave! This is a pivotal year in our nation with so many decisions to be made. My prayer is that somehow, through all of this, my three children grow up with the same freedoms and sense of security I have enjoyed.

Cocoa Beach - Day 2

Jon left for work early this morning, and the kids and I got up and headed to the beach.

As usual though, we we moving a little bit slow...we are in summer vacation mode!

That said, I knew there was a rocket launch taking place this morning so we finally got out the door of the hotel an headed to the beach.  Unfortunately though, the trail to the beach is kind of long, and dragging all the stuff we needed for a day of fun in the sun was not an easy task.  That said, we were about 100 feet from the beach when all of a sudden the rocket being launched from Kennedy Space Center appeared in the sky above us.  I wish we could have been on the base to watch from a closer platform with Jon, but it was still a pretty amazing sight to see!

Kate is my nature girl and she was so excited to find these two tiny creatures in the sand this morning.

Next up, my engineers/architects ready to construct some sand castles....

Kate helped add in some finishing touches...

We spent the late afternoon back in the hotel relaxing and waiting on Jon to come home from work.  Once he did, we headed back to the beach with flash lights for ghost crab hunting!  We met another family on the beach doing the same thing and ended up joining with them to collect twice the number of crabs.  Once the bucket was full, we let them all go and headed in for bed.  Thanks for a fun time Cocoa Beach...we look forward to another trip someday soon!

Cocoa Beach - Day 1

Love when Jon's business trips line up with summer break!

Home for the next two days.....

Once checked into the hotel, Jon had to go straight to work

so the kids and I changed into bathing suits and headed to the beach!

And thankfully, Jon was able to join us after not much time at all.

He is not a huge fan of the beach, but when he comes, the kids love every minute of it!

They had a blast chasing each other with water and sand....

and I threatened to lock them out of the hotel if any of it headed mommy's way!

We are looking forward to a couple relaxing days at the beach and pool....