Our July

After we got home from the beach, it was time to celebrate the 4th.  We had friends over for a cookout, but I forgot to take pictures! We had a ton of food complete with homemade ice cream. Just when we were serving the ice cream, some more friends saw us outside and joined us. I love that. 

I took Presley to the summer reading program at our library. On the last day, they had a pajama party and the tooth fairy (Shelbey) visited! 

This is apparently what Presley thinks that I look like.  Nick would never say anything about how big I am getting, but each time I have gotten pregnant he starts running! I had to quit running because it got uncomfortable and too hot, so he starts. I really miss running. I hope I can get back in shape and run in a race by next spring, but I bet that lack of sleep may interfere with that plan!

I turned 30 on the 12th, and I woke up to this in my front yard! Aren't friends the best! Thanks Teresa. Next year maybe you won't run to Kansas on your birthday!

We left later that day to go to Branson for Nick's family reunion. We got to take Presley to the Dixie Stampede. She loved it. The only way I could get her to eat any of that massive amount of food was to feed her. She was not going to take her eyes off of the show for a minute!

This guy was getting Chex in his costume, and he stopped for a photo op! Chex was interested in Presley's hair, but I think that the hairspray must have tasted bad.

Presley was definitely in love with those pretty dresses! The people there were so sweet to her!

The big event at the family reunion is always a Saturday night cookout. Nick's mom has lots siblings, so they get each one a different color shirt for their family.  So we all have our shirts on for the cookout, and we all love to hate them. I think it is hilarious because Nick is such a bad sport about it! He refuses to wear it except for the family photo. 

Exhibit A: Notice everyone else in their bright colored Ts? Not Nick. He is wearing a gray shirt while playing in the bag-o  competition. 

The kids had lots of fun playing on the playground. They had more fun at the pool, but I didn't get a pic. It had big water slides and the lights in the pool changed colors. Presley called it the disco pool.

Presley loved the bathtub! She has to have something to play with in the bath. I'm glad a plastic bottle will do.

We went to the outlet stores before we left Branson. The Polo Factory Store is the best! I picked up some of those Polo Ts that everyone is wearing for Will. They were only $15, and Dillard's sells them for $40! Nick got some of the collared shirts for $40, and can get one at Dillard's for around $90. So crazy! Don't you love a good deal? Presley picked this out at the Disney store. She is so silly!

We have been working on Emma Grace's room (finally). Nick reading instructions! What? Had to take a picture!

Presley and Shorty were supervising. 

Yay! I am going with white furniture and I want a vintage feel. I really wanted a vintage Jenny Lind crib, and I found one at a flea market (it had to be fixed), but never heard from them. Nick talked me into getting a new one because they are finished and safer. The other day I went to the flea market, and she said, "We are almost finished with the crib!" Oh well! This one is perfect!

Emma's drawers are filling up fast!

I covered Presley's car seat with a lot of minky fabric. It is so soft and PINK!

My next project: sand, prime, and paint this armoire. I am thinking about painting the inside aqua. I am trying to embrace color, but I love tans and black and white.

Emma's "closet" poor girl doesn't have one in her room! This is in our hallway, but it works! Sort of.

My other next project: make this $5 frame a fabulous hair bow holder. (from Pinterest of course!)

Florida 2012

So I know that most blog posts from anyone are the highlight reel.  We don't post pics of all the laundry we fold, the messes we clean, or videos of temper tantrums we have to deal with.

You would think that a blog post about a vacation would fit into the highlight reel category, but this one not so much.

Nick and I were packing up Thursday, and my mom called. We talked about important things like waffle irons and sand toys, and then she let me know that there could be a developing hurricane in the gulf.  I was so disappointed!

We left Friday around 10 AM and drove to Troy, Alabama.

We had just passed Montgomery, and we saw this little treasure on the side of the road.  It took a few minutes to talk Nick into turning around, but he did, and we got to meet Sweet Pea! They say she produces strawberry milk, and it makes the best strawberry milkshakes around!

We planned on getting to the beach before check in so that we could get in some beach time, but it was raining before we got there. We met my family at Subway, and then we headed to Pigly Wiggly. We stocked up on food, and headed to the house. The weather wasn't very good, but I had to take Presley down to the beach! It wasn't looking too pretty!

Just for comparison, here is a picture from last year. This is what we had been looking forward to, but we tried to make the best of it!

After dinner, Nick, Will, and Betsy headed to the beach to try to catch some waves.  Presley couldn't stay out of the water, but I wouldn't have expected anything else!

Nick got his exercise in that day. The waves were really rough, and the current took him down the beach fast!

Presley had fun while Betsy pulled her around on the board!

Maybe not so much fun when daddy did!

This is what the beach looked like Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning. Every now and then, there would be a break in the rain, and we would run down to the beach. We found out that the rain was only part of the problem, but the wind blowing the sand was the other.  It felt like being sandblasted!  The storm broke up Tuesday afternoon, and we were so excited to see the sun!

We spent lots of time playing with ponies, watching movies, and working on puzzles. One day we went to Appalachicola to eat and shop only to find that many of the stores had sandbagged their doors and closed!

 We went to Port St. Joe on Tuesday morning to shop. The sun came out before we left! I thought this picture of my dad and Presley window shopping was so sweet!

Nick, Presley, and I had to hunt for some crabs Tuesday night. We weren't very successful, but we laughed and laughed running down the beach in the dark. I don't know what happened to the sand because of the storm, but every now and then you would take a step on what looked like level ground, and you would sink to your knees! Nick went running on the beach one morning and had to take his shoe off to get out of the hole he sank in! Then he had to get his shoe out of the hole. I wish I would have caught that on video!

Wednesday morning, the guys got up and went fishing, and we spent the entire day on the beach. It was much needed, and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Presley posed like this for a picture. It was so sweet that she wanted to take a picture like this. Maybe she will love pictures as much as her momma does!

The boys came back eventually, and joined us on the beach.

 On Thursday, we loaded up and went to the bay to snorkel. We saw lots of marine animals, but the best finds were a spotted eagle ray and a really big nurse shark. 

I made my dad pose with these beauties! Apple murex and a slimy sea hare.

After we left the bay, we headed back to the house, and we went right to the beach.  It wasn't very late in the day, and as I looked down the beach, I noticed no one was in the water. I thought it was strange, but I didn't think much about it until I got in the water and saw all of the jellyfish. They were all over the place. I took this picture of Presley that day. See? No one anywhere.  We still stayed on the beach until the sun set, but we stayed out of the water!

Friday we went out to check the water, and there were still jellyfish! We drove to the state park a couple of miles down the road to see if they were down there too. The wind was blowing away from the park, so we thought there might be a possibility that they weren't there. We didn't see any, so we loaded up a BUNCH of stuff and hung out there for the rest of the day. We had a couple of hours without jellyfish, but they followed us! It was so pretty down there, so we stayed anyway! 

We left Saturday morning, and drove home. We will probably go back next year, but we will have an extra passenger!

Uncle Eric and Anna. My aunt Theresa and Anna's friend, Gracie came too, but somehow I didn't get their picture!