Beach Retreat

 This past weekend was Labor Day & the start of football season, a time in which I become completely disconnected from my husband (hunter's wives should understand). John is a huge Alabama fan-the biggest and with that being said he insisted on attending the opening game in Texas. This required a game ticket, accommodations as well as transportation via airplane.

This year I have decided that Ollie and I will not be jilted by his "need" to watch stinky (a term Ollie and myself use to describe said team) Alabama football. So, I took it upon myself to book a beachfront condo for us girls in Destin, Florida. With Issac bearing down on the gulf coast I was afraid the weather would be awful. Wanting to avoid backing out (it's a pride thing) and a $200 cancellation policy, we ventured on.




As you can clearly see, the weather was AWESOME!!

 Saturday was great and Sunday was even better!! The waves were small, the undertow non-existent and the water crystal clear. A small "island" had formed just off the beach providing a wonderful swimming area as well as the perfect spot to set up my chair.

As an added bonus, Sage and daughter Eila joined us on our "girls" retreat. Regrettably, I have no pictures of (or with) them. The girls were well-behaved and were easily put to bed each night with peek cheeks and exhausted bodies. This gave Sage and I some "mommy" time to catch-up and enjoy wine-down time ;).

On Sunday, John joined us. He loves his Alabama football but missed his girls more. After a few more beach hours, we dressed and walked (down the beach) to the Back Porch.

I packed a couple of flashlights for the journey home.

 I can remember hunting sand crabs with my parents so taking Ollie was very special. She had a blast and kept us laughing the whole time. She may be terrified of love bugs but can chase down and pick up (tiny) crabs like a pro.

Looks like we may have started something-

A way to keep daddy from going to those "stinky" Alabama games!

Love to all!

Growing, Going, Gone

Day 1

My baby started preschool this week! Eeek! She is officially a student in the 3 year old class at Little Friends (the preschool in which I attended too). The first day was this past Monday and although she was a little unsure, she did great. She told me she only cried a little bit. On Tuesday it was bad! She did not want to go. I walked her in and got her acquainted before leaving. Although she wasn't as up for it at first, she ended up having a really good day. Today, she was a pro. She got out of the car and walked inside all by herself without the first little peep. She was actually excited about school. I, on the other hand, had to force back tears as I watched her climb the steps and go inside all by herself. She is just so tiny! 

Day 3

She has also been taking dance lessons from Andalusia Dance and Tumble. She loves to dance (and sing)! Her moves are a bit, should I say, modern? But it's precious to say the least. She has even accomplished a back bend.....well, almost. 

We are just a busy family these days! I am now working full time, Ollie is in school 3 days a week and John is now home at night 95% of the time. Life, as we know it, is pretty darn good! I will say that getting up and getting myself along with a 3 year old ready has been a bit of a change but we're adjusting. Thanks so much to my mom and my mother in law for the constant help! We wouldn't survive without you!

First day of school last year. She has grown!!

May Daze

May is such a busy month for our family. John's birthday is May 1st, Ollie's is May 4th and the first Saturday of May, the Andalusia Junior Woman's Club, in which I am a part of, hosts their Annual Three Notch Market. Whew! 

For John's birthday, we had a simple dinner and Ollie and I surprised him with cake. Unfortunately he had to return to work, so our festivities were low key. 

Throughout the week, I was busy preparing for the Three Notch Market. The Andalusia Junior Woman's Club consists of 40 women that work to raise money for the children of our community. 

We achieve this by hosting various fundraisers throughout the year. 

Three Notch Market is an Arts and Crafts Festival. 

Entertainment is provided throughout the day and this year, our day ended with Little Big Town. 

The concert was amazing! It was a wonderful way to end the day!

 Ollie and Row danced all night!

Sunday afternoon was Ollie's birthday party. It was an Ice Cream party with all the toppings!! The kids LOVED it, but I do believe us adults loved it even more! 

We are fortunate to have great friends to celebrate with. 

Happy Birthday Boogie!!

I still can't believe my baby is 3!! 

Park, Parade, Play and Praise

Those are a few of our favorite things!

The weather has been beautiful and we were determined to take full advantage of it. That we did!

On Friday, Ollie, Lesley, Row, Mom and myself met at Dream Park for a little fun. It's so nice that Row and Ollie get along so well (for the most part). They LOVE to play together and it cracks me up to watch them. Ollie is the bossy mean one but Row, being that he weighs as much as she does, can hold his own. 

 Here is a perfect example of the difference between and girl and boy- 

As you see, Ollie is carefully examining the caterpillar with a twig. Row observes. Shortly after this picture was taken, Row picked it up (with his fingers) and threw it on the ground. Boys! ;)

Ollie learned to hang on the monkey bars. These were a little high, but once she found something she could reach, I couldn't get her to stop "hanging". She was so proud. Pretty good for a girl!

 Row was a little hesitant of coming down the tunnel slide. He prefers to slide on his belly and eventually worked his way down, very slowly. Don't let this fool you, the kid is scared of nothing!

 Saturday morning our church's annual Easter egg hunt was held. In the past we have hunted eggs on Palm Sunday but this year things were done a little different. 

 Following tradition, the kiddos hunted eggs at Springdale. I'm not sure how many eggs were hidden but it had to be close to the thousands! That or Ollie Pearl rocks the egg hunt ;)!

 This picture was taken before the hunt (was suppose) to begin. As you can see, both Ollie and Sylie (Ollie's BFF) had eggs in their baskets! Too funny! They were both saying cheese just not looking at the camera.

 Told ya she RoCkEd the egg hunting!!

 Sylvie had her hands full!! Happy girl!

 Not only did we hunt eggs and enjoy a picnic, but what's Easter without a parade?! We all decorated our kid's favorite riding toy and did a loop of Veteran's Memorial Park. 

 Many thanks go to Katie King for planning such a wonderful Easter celebration!

 Saturday afternoon was family time! 

We headed up to my parent's house to spend some time on beautiful Gantt Lake. 

 My beautiful mom and sister Leanne.

 Mitch, Lesley and Row.

 My awesome and amazing family!!

 Happy Easter!