Beautiful Scenery

 Here are a few pictures I just had to take because of how pretty it was at the beach.  Had to share...

                                       

                                                         Thunderstorm moving in...

                                    Awesome line of clouds moving in for an afternoon storm.

                                                                 
                                                                   Gorgeous sunset.

It Don't Matter...

Jeffrey and I passed many interesting things/places on our trip to the beach. As soon as I saw the sign for this place I scrambled around the car for my camera and just barely caught it. This picture is intended for my dear sister Amanda. Actually, we are sister in laws but I love her like she was my own sister. This is more of an inside joke so here you go Amanda, if you are reading this..."It Don't Matter!" ha!

Santa Rosa Beach, FL - Anniversary trip

Jeffrey and I decided that for our ten year anniversary that we should take a trip together...just us...so off we went to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Now, I have never left my kids for more than a night or two to stay with grandparents on a weekend, so I already knew this would be difficult for me. I didn't know just how hard it would be. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute spent with Jeffrey at the beach. In  my head I kept telling myself that we deserved this time together, but I felt like a piece of me was missing all week. I'd be sitting on the beach looking at all the beautiful scenery that God had put before me to see...then a little kid would go running by and all I could think of was how much fun Nathan and Lacey would be having there. We'd go to a restaurant for dinner and my eyes would automatically shift to the kid's menu because I'd think to myself, "Alright, what will the kids eat?" and then I was reminded they weren't there.

Thankfully, my kids have wonderful grandparents who agreed to split the week up and watch them for us while we were gone. I'm so grateful to them for doing this. Turns out, the kids had a wonderful week spent with them and I know the grandparents treasured their time with them as well.
Jeffrey and I agreed that we will never leave them again for that length of time. Ever. You can count on it.

Here is one of the pictures of us taking an evening walk on the beach - love the sunset behind us!

Lacey's artwork

I was giving Nathan a bath when I peeped down the hall to check on Lacey and she was busy drawing on Nathan's chalk board. I didn't think anything else about it and finished up with him. Upon entering his room, Lacey is beaming and says "Look moma! I drew YOU!" 

She even drew me in some earrings. Pretty good artwork for a 3 year old. :)

10 Years, Happy Anniversary!

                                                                        7/20/02

'Bota time

Look closely and you will see Lacey barely peeping over the Kubota ATV. This is one of her favorite things to do while visiting Papa and Moma Kaye at the farm. She calls it the 'Bota. Jeffrey loves it because it means he gets some "Lacey time."

Happy Birthday to my Moma!

Today is my mother's birthday. She is one special lady. I am so thankful that God blessed me with such a kind, loving, Christian mother. I love you! 

River Tricks Part II

The Romine brothers often tend to come up with some awesome ideas. We were taking a boat ride when one of these awesome ideas came to Jay's head. Keep in mind the boat is still full throttle.

Sometimes their ideas don't pan out like they think it will, but this one was pretty cool, I must admit.

River tricks

Recently we took a boat ride out on the river when Jeffrey, his brother Jay, and our friend Cody said they wanted to tube/knee board. So here's how it went.

First up was Cody...

Then Jeffrey...

Then Jay...

One word for them: Awesomeness. 

Kudos to you guys for being braver than me.

The best part of having a birthday?

One of the best parts of having a birthday is getting to eat cake. It's a time that I can enjoy a slice and not feel too horribly guilty for eating it. (Okay, I lied. I do feel guilty for eating cake but oh well...I'm sure there will be more posts on my love/hate relationship with food.) Recently Jeffrey had a birthday so the kids and I went and got him a cake. Nathan and Lacey picked it out. 

                                                     I think this one enjoyed it the most. 

They can be nice to each other...sometimes

It's that time of year again

Nathan and Lacey loooove going to the Kiddie Carnival each year. They get so excited when we drive by and see that the rides are slowly getting put out. Then it begins..."How much longer until the kiddie carnival opens?!"
I do not mind taking them at all - I mean, where else can you take your kids and spend $10 and have a night of good, clean, fun entertainment with them? And don't forget the cotton candy!

Cheesecake stuffed strawberries

I have been on Pinterest for awhile and have pinned away so many recipes and great ideas but have never actually tried any of them. I skimmed through my pinned recipes and decided to start simple with cheesecake stuffed strawberries. They turned out really well and were very good!

The recipe:
1 lb. of strawberries
8 oz cream cheese
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Graham cracker crumbs

Rinse strawberries and cut around the top and remove it. Clean out the inside of the strawberry with a paring knife. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. (Add more sugar if you want a sweeter filling). Place this mixture into a pastry bag or ziplock bag and cut the tip off. Fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture and then dip the tops of the strawberries into graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate until serving.

These were super easy to make and only took a few minutes to prepare.
Tip: I love all my Pampered chef things and used the "Core and more" tool for removing the tops and hollowing out the strawberry. Easy peasy.

Two of a Kind

Cousin Layton and Nathan - unaware that I am snapping pictures. Pure sweetness. 

"Poppies"

 Lacey's favorite part of July 4th? The "Poppies."  This girl loved her some snap 'n pops! 

Snap and...

                                                                             POP!

                                                                        She's happy. 

River Rat??

OK, so those of you who know me well will know what I think of river water. I think it is absolutely disgusting for swimming in. I've seen some things floating down past the river house in the water and let me tell ya, it's not pretty. 


I love the river for fishing, catching some sun, and the scenery. The pic you are about to see below is RARE. Really really rare. This weekend we loaded up and went to the river with some friends and decided to take a long boat ride. In this 106 degree weather I was left no choice.....

It was so hot and humid out there that I just had to climb in that water! This is also a proud moment for Nathan too because he takes after me - he doesn't really like the water. We've been working on trying to get him to learn how to swim. This moment was monumental for both of us. :)

This little lady on the other hand, would not get OUT of the water. She absolutely loved it. 
So...am I a "river rat" as they say? Probably not so much, but Lacey sure is. 

Loved this one...

Sometimes it's the pictures that they aren't even looking that amaze me. Pure sweetness!

Beach vacation - Orange Beach, AL

Recently we took the kids to Orange Beach for a few days. This was their first time there (we usually go to Surfside Beach in South Carolina) and they loved it. 

The days were spent like this.....

Nathan spent his time digging and digging...

 until he made a hole suitable enough to sit in to play. 

And no beach vacation is complete without stopping at a souvenir shop!