Fall Vacation

In October we headed down south to Atlanta GA for one of my nieces baptism and another of my nieces baby blessing. Since my baby sister was getting married in Florida the following weekend we were able to hang out with my family all week. Holly kept us busy in Georgia with a trip to the Aquarium & shopping. We were also able to squeeze in a surprise birthday party for my mom's 50th birthday. After all the fun in Georgia we headed further south to Flordia. We started in Orlando and spent a fun filled evening at Disney World. It was the perfect time to go. It was not crowded at all and we did not have to stand in a line longer then 5 or 10 minutes. We were able to fit in all the rides we wanted plus a few we could have done with out. After Orlando we went to St Petes Beach to get ready for Chars wedding. We thought we might have some time to hang out and relax on the beach but between getting things set up for the wedding and getting ourselves ready, the only time I put my feet in the sand was during the actual wedding. It turned out so beautiful and Char was such a gorgeous bride. For whatever reason, I did not even get a chance to take any pictures at the wedding so maybe I will have to collect some and add them later. Aiden was such a cute little ring bearer so I am hoping someone got a picture of him. I was to busy making sure he made it down the isle rather then sitting down and playing in the sand. It did make it most of the way until he started discovering the flowers in the isle and got a little distracted but did I mention that he was so cute?

I had a lot of fun spending that time with my family. It is always fun when we get together. We did miss Chanda and wish she was there. I was thinking about her the entire time but unfortunately she was not able to be there. Thanks everyone for all the fun and I hope we can do it again!

These pictures are going to be out of order because I can't figure out how to move them on blogger but they do highlight the trip pretty well.

Aiden with the beautiful bride. (He was really tired by this point)

Disney World

A little redneck fun

Baby Blessing and Baptism

Georgia Aquarium

Lake Mattamuskeet

This summer we went for a day trip, with some friends from our ward, to Lake Mattumuskeet. It is this lake in North Carolina near the ocean and you can catch some huge crab there. It was quite a drive down there and kind of out in the middle of no where so we packed a lunch and snacks and just hung out the rest of the day. We ended up with a lot of crab and we had a good time.

Always a little monkey

Trying to catch a loose crab

Some of them were so big they had to sit in the bucket sideways

Cow Appreciation Day

For those of you who may have missed it, last Friday was “Cow Appriciation Day” at Chick Fil A so to celebrate, if you dressed like a cow you got a free meal. Well if you know me and my friend Lisa, Chick Fil A is our spot. We can often be found there for lunch on any given day. It is such a kid friendly place (we have the stuffed cows to prove it), they have good food on the fast food level, they are so friendly because it is always their “pleasure”, and most important they have Diet Dr Pepper. So when they are giving away free food, we could not miss out. (Pathetic I think was the word my sister used. A little harsh I thought but that was not going to stop us) Evan (Lisa’s husband) could not stop making fun of us as we were pinning black and white spots on the kids and ourselves. He did get in on the fun later when he put on a pair of ears to get a free sandwich. (I have the pictures to prove it but don’t worry Evan, I am saving them for blackmail later on.)

We joked about coming back for dinner and getting another free meal but you know that Paul is not going to miss out on the action so the joke was on me. When he came home from work we put together a cow costume for him and went to another Chick Fil A for dinner and another and another. That I think might have verged on pathetic. All I have to say (much to Lisa’s dismay) I will not be eating Chick Fil A for a long time. But don’t worry Lisa, I will still join you there for a Diet Dr. Pepper any time.

4th of July Weekend

With the Fourth of July being on a Sunday this year we had the whole weekend to celebrate. Some places had their celebrations on Saturday while some celebrated Monday. We decided this year to head up to the mountains in Virginia in Staunton, where Paul’s grandmother lives to spend the holiday with her, Paul’s parents and two of his uncles and their families. It is so pretty up there and right when you walk out the door of her house you see a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was also a little cooler up there which was nice and refreshing after all this heat we have had.

On Saturday morning we headed to downtown Staunton to watch the parade. It was a good old American small town way of celebrating our independence. Later that night we celebrated some more with a barbeque, sparklers and fireworks. Paul put on quite a show and Aiden was not scared of the bright lights and loud noises at all. In fact he laughed and smiled the whole time.

Switching gears for just a second, Sunday was a chance to put aside fireworks and barbeques and really reflect on our Independence and the sacrifices of those who have fought for our freedom. I am so grateful for those soldiers (past and present) and their families who have risked their lives so that we may continue to live our lives and make our own choices in this country. And for that I thank you.

After lunch we decided to go for a drive. We wanted to go for a little hike but it was starting to get hot again so drove around instead. We stopped at the fish hatchery and Aiden loved it. He was really excited to throw the fish food to the fish until he stuck one pellet in his mouth and mommy took them away. Later that night we sat out in front of the house and watched the firework display the campground near her house, was putting on. It was a pretty good little display for the campground.

On Monday we headed to Richmond to help Paul’s dad out with some preparations for Scout camp. We drove back home early evening because we wanted to try to make the fireworks in our little town but things don’t always go according to plan and we didn’t make it but that’s ok. We will try again next year. We had so much fun this weekend and are so grateful for the time we had to spend with those we love.

First Cucumber of the Season

Paul was outside watering the garden and found our first cucumber for this year. He handed to Aiden who throughly enjoyed it. He ate almost the whole thing.

Quick trip to Idaho

A few weeks ago my brother Adam got married so we were able to fly out to Idaho for the wedding. The trip was to quick, just a long weekend really. We flew out Thursday after Paul got off work. After both flights were delayed we finally made it to SLC only to have to drive another 3-4 hours to my parents home. We of course had to ride in style so when the rental car company offered us a good deal on a Hummer we had to take it. So with the keys in hand we started off and Paul drove as the sun came up. (Aiden and I enjoyed the ride by catching up on some much needed sleep)

The wedding was that morning at 11:00 so we were able catch a few more Z’s in a real bed before wedding filled day began. The sealing was wonderful. It was so awesome to see how far he has come in the last five years and to see him and Ashlee sealed in the temple for time and eternity. Congratulations guys we are so happy for you.

The next day we were able to spend time with family and friends and I was able to go see Chanda at the hospital and spend some time with her. She is so positive during this whole experience and I really admire her strength as she is going through all of this. I pray for her and the baby everyday. I just wish I could have had more time with her and the rest of my family but Sunday we headed back to SLC to spend time with Heather and our good friends the Grovers(who had also come up to Idaho that weekend to hang out with us), and to catch our flight on Monday. Even though it was short I am so glad we were able to go and see everyone. I had a few other friends that I didn’t get to catch up with but hopefully I will be able to next time. It is always hard to leave family behind but I am grateful for the time we were able to spend with them.

Beach Week!!!

Earlier this month we went with Paul's family on our annual beach trip. The past two years we have gone in Aug/Sep but since we barley missed a hurricane both years we decided to try going in June. I am so glad we did. It was so beautiful. The weather was perfect all week. However we were struck with a little bit of illness. Darrell and Aiden both got a virus and were both down for most of the week. Having a sick baby is never fun but fortunately I had lots of help and on the upside a very cuddly baby which is not the norm at our house. But sickness and all we still had a great time and we are ready to go back.

We celebrated Paul's birthday while we were there. Happy Birthday babe!