Florida vacation...part 1

Wow, what a trip! We went to Destin with Jeremy's dad's side of the family...well, everyone except Anthony, unfortunately, he had to work. Jenny and Layton decided to come down without him the day before we left. Jeremy's dad gets the condo for a week through his work. Nice perk! The condo was beautiful and right on the beach. There were 13 people total in the condo. We had a wonderful trip, but feel like after a trip like this we need a vacation to recover! Enjoy ALL of the pictures! I had to break it up since there are so many. (Jenny has a a fabulous camera so I have her pictures and ours on here.)


On the ride down. Yes, we had three adults and two kids in one car for a 10.5 hour trip. Don't be jealous! Ha! It wasn't the comfiest ride, but the kids did pretty well. We got there about 3 a.m. and did the same on the way back. We were definitely tired from the traveling! We had many things to occupy them. Luckily Addie watched the DVD player. Here they are with their travel pillows...

Cousins on the beach

I think these sunglasses make her look like Elton John! Ha!

Can you tell they love each other?

We didn't bring a lot of toys down except for beach toys so this was Addie's (and Layton's and Kami's) source of entertainment inside...

One evening on the beach...

A tarball. So sad. Yes, we saw tarballs and oil. We joked and said, "Look, a tarball!" and then we realized it really was one. There ended up being lots on the beach that night. Maybe it was because of all of the algae and the storm the week before. We called and reported it and the rest of the week we never saw anymore evidence just people walking around surveying the beach. It wasn't an overwhelming amount and we still played in the ocean and on the beach after that night. It made the oil spill sink in even more and made us all so sad/frustrated!

This is a metal sign and all of the black on it was oil/tar.

Oil on Jeremy's toe that he cleaned off.

Boogieboarding!

Layton wasn't feeling well and fell asleep

The next day Addie came down with a slight bug. She was tired, had a fever and no appetite. She feel asleep on me and then laid on the towel like this. I tried to get her to go inside, but she didn't want to miss out on the action. She gets that from her mom! She asked for her bucket so I laid it right next to her and about 10 minutes later she had enough energy to start playing with it. So sad! Unfortunately the next day I came down with the same type of thing. It wasn't awful, but it isn't fun not being 100% while on vacation! NOTHING compares to how sick Addie was last summer when we were in Florida so we aren't complaining!

Mamaw bought Addie this outfit, including the tutu. Here she is posing. It was funny seeing her run around the beach with a tutu on.

Handsome boy!

So silly...laying in the water

Enjoying snacks by the pool

We went to Destin Commons, an outdoor upscale mall. They had a kids' area with water fountains and slides and such. The kids had a great time, but Layton I think would have preferred to be there than at the beach or the pool anyday! He loved it!

We were able to get a parents' night out...thanks to Papaw and Mamaw! Tiffany, Dave, Jenny, Jeremy and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Boathouse. That night a nearby resort had fireworks. We then raced go-karts after dinner. It was fun and was a nice break!

More pics in other post!!!

Summertime catch-up

Home, sweet, home!!! It is so wonderful to be back with my family, to just "be" with Jeremy, to be in my home, to read/play/sing with Addison, to relax and not think for 12+ hours straight, to sleep in my bed, to not have cafeteria food, to love on my dog and so much more. It was a wonderful summer program yet again. The students, faculty and staff are so inspiring, but I was definitely ready to be home and I know that Addie and Jeremy were ready for me to come home. I can not praise my husband enough! He is incredibly busy at work right now and he had to be a single-dad for a month. Love him!

I feel like over the past month Addie's little legs have gotten longer, she has gained weight and grown up even more. Since I haven't been around much this month I mostly noticed her language development. The girl talks NON-STOP! She is very curious and asks questions all the time. "Mommy, what are you doing?", "Where did Daddy go?","Mommy, what is that?" and then she will ask these questions about 10 times straight, we then give her the answer and she says "Oh!" or "Ok!" and repeats the answer about another 10 times. It can be funny and so sweet, but it is definitely teaching us patience. She is also being bossy telling us what to do often. No fun. On the way home tonight while Jeremy was driving I was acting silly and dancing to some Alicia Keys/Beyonce (gotta love them!) and Addie said, "No, Mommy. Don't do that! No dancing!" I said, "Addie I love to dance. Why don't you dance with me?" She replied, "No, I'm too busy!" What? Too busy doing what in the carseat? She cracks me up!

Enjoy the pictures and videos of the past month or so. We leave for Florida on Saturday. We will be there for the week with Jeremy's dad's side of the family. We are looking forward to the vacation! Addie can't stop talking about it! I don't think she realizes it will take us 10 hours in the car before we get there. :)



Before I left for GSA we went over to Jamie and Derek's house to swim. Addie hadn't really been in a pool much this summer until then. She was very hesitant at first, but after seeing a couple of other toddlers in the pool in addition to a babydoll to play with in the water, she was hooked. She even went down a big slide and went under water! Here Alena and Addie are playing with their babies in the pool.

Addie trying to be like her dad one day this summer

I actually was off work on the 4th of July! Jeremy and Addie came to visit me. We met up with our great friends Laura and Cory and their cute little boy, Dane. We went to a pool and then out for Mexican. So much fun! I enjoyed being "normal" for the day (away from work and campus) and being with friends and family. Dane and Addie are enjoying snacks during break time.

Addie LOVED this part. She kept walking back and forth. I however got drilled a couple of times by some kid working one of the splashers/fountains close to this area. He was just waiting for me to walk by. I wasn't paying attention and next you know I am drilled in the face with water! Where was his mother? Ha!

Kissing a turtle

We went back to their house for a bit after dinner. Addie loved playing in this tunnel. Her hair was so curly after swimming. I wish it didn't get so crazy sometimes and always looked like this. :)

I got a couple of days off last week since I worked an insane amount of hours for a month. Addie and I had a Mommy/Daughter day. It was wonderful! We went to the zoo (even in this crazy heat) and cooled off at the splash park. Addie is more of a pool girl then a splash girl (at least the big ones that surprise her), but she started to get into it over time. We then had a picnic at the zoo. We both came home and took naps. Great day!

Yep, she is trying to drink from one of the sprayers. :)

On Friday night we went to Westport Village with Jenny, Anthony and Layton. We ate BoomBooz pizza, ate ice cream from The Comfy Cow and enjoyed the outdoor concert with a reggae band. It was so hot, but we still had lots of fun!

On Sunday we went over to Leigh and Chad's pool at their condo. Addie is becoming a fish! I LOVED to swim as a kid and I am excited to see her love to swim. We need to get her swim lessons. Right now she wears her little swimmer floats for a little bit, but mostly likes for someone to be with her the whole time. She is good about wearing her life-jacket at the lake so that is a very good thing.

Relaxin...

And again...

And yet again...rough life!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Missing my girl

I am currently living in Lexington for my work. The work is intense and stressful, but fun and inspiring! Jeremy and Addie came up Saturday night and stayed until noon on Sunday. We didn't get to spend too much time together and Jeremy didn't get any "me" time despite it being Father's Day. He is so support and sacrifices so much during this month. He is an incredible father! Kevin Flores is the GSA photographer/videographer. He is AMAZING! He snapped a few pictures of Addie on Sunday. Seeing these pictures makes me miss her and Jeremy!

Family visit

My parents came in town one evening and a day so we could all be together for a day since David, Carrie, Dylan and Dawson were in town. We went to the zoo in the afternoon and had dinner at our house. David didn't join us at the zoo because he had a job interview! Although we wanted him at the zoo with us, skipping out for a job interview is totally acceptable! Carrie and David are looking at moving here and both had interviews while they were in town. Keeping fingers crossed! We would LOVE for them to move to KY! Anyone got any job leads? :)

I always love the orangutans!

My parents touching a snake. Both Addie and Dylan touched it, although they were both a little hesitant.

A stop for lunch and playground fun

Petting the goats

Addie was excited about the camels. :)

Dawson took a nap for a little bit. He looks pretty comfortable, huh? Can't believe how big he is!

Dylan posing in front of the elephant with Grandpa

Eating some Dippin' Dots with Grammy

Playing on a rhino statue

Waiting for some dessert that evening. They sure can turn it on when they want something? :)

Hugging each other. Too sweet!

Trying to get a decent picture with all three of them before bedtime. Not too bad!

Although their visit was short, we loved seeing them. I think Dylan was getting annoyed by Addie. She was following him around like she was his shadow. When they drove away she said, "I wanna go!" I said, "Where?" And she said, "Florida! Come back!" Needless to say she loves her aunt, uncle and cousins. :)