Happy 10th, Caleb!

"real" cake to come at his party this weekend

Words do not express how much we love this guy! 10 years have flown. We wish we could just stop time because this is the perfect age! Independent in many ways but still loving Mom and Dad! Caleb's obedient heart, humble attitude, and love for others melt us every day! He is honoring God with his life and we could not be more excited and proud of him. I cannot wait to see what God has planned for him for the next ten years ...

New Dance Shoes

The boys had gone for the first day of school and Kate and I were a bit lonely in the quiet-for-the-first-time-in-three-months house ... so ... we went shopping! Kate needed her first pair of tap and ballet shoes. She starts a ballet/tap/tumbling class in a few weeks and is soooo excited. She even told the checker at the grocery store about it! I remember when the boys were 3 and started their first season of soccer ... they were just as excited about the shin guards, socks, cleats, and uniforms. When we got to the dance studio, I realized that I could outfit a soccer player, a baseball player, a basketball player and a football player from head to toe but had no idea where to start with dance attire!!! I was lost! Thanks to the precious Rameys and an excited little girl who was more than happy to try on shoes and outfits and to twirl and sing, we came home with new tap shoes, new ballet shoes, a new little leotard with a tutu (purple) and a new leotard with a little flower at the top (pink). She tried on her new attire for Daddy when he got home and stayed in it the rest of the night. The shiny black tap shoes already have scuffs around the toe ... you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!!

to a new adventure in dancing, tutus, tap shoes, and more ...

Kate was thrilled to try on her new ballet shoes!

She could not even close her mouth she got o excited ... here she was literally oohing and ahhing!

First Day of School

I always feel a little weepy on the first day of school ... it just forces me to realize that time is flying by and my kids are getting older. The boys both have wonderful teachers and I know they will grow by leaps and bounds this year! I still get weepy, though! Why can't summer last forever? swimming, sleeping late, family bike rides, vacation, reading books ... I love summer and spending quality time together as a family. I know this happens during the school year, too ... but teachers, coaches, and homework seem to get a massive chunk of that quality time!

Kate tried to sneak off with the boys lunch ...

Josh sporting the Spiderman lunchbox this year for 2nd grade.

Caleb went with the Transformer lunchbox for 4th grade.

Here's to a new year ...

Beach 09

I took over 500 pictures ... really! I had to randomly choose a few ...

in Seaside after dinner

Caleb

me and the kiddos

Josh

crab hunting at night

loaded down at 4 a.m. ready to go

ice cream before watching the play "The Stone that Sings" in the Seaside amphitheater

our little slice of beach heaven

always gotta have a muscle pic

the most beautiful water with fish nipping at your toes

our "Home Away from Home"

our favorite treat in Seaside ... mmm, wish I had a Frostbite right now

the Taco Bar in Seaside - food was so-so but atmosphere and drinks were a perfect 10

the mamas about to show their boys how to ride a wave

my fam

on our morning bike ride

at the amphitheater in Watercolor watching "Go Dog Go" by Dr. Suess

at the Back Porch in Destin ... the view overlooked the ocean and the food was YUMMY

our bike ride for breakfast at FlipFlops -beignets that make my mouth water just thinking of them (think funnel cakes for breakfast)

a gorgeous sunset on the beach

the Adams - great travel buddies (lots of laughing, staying up late, kids playing, and more)

could not have dreamed of all of these kids getting along so perfectly for a week

Trent and Josh on the last day -worn out

Beach Buddies

more Beach Buddies

and more Beach Buddies

We had the best family vacation ever in Seagrove, Florida with the Adams family. We went to the beach, to plays in the amphitheater at night, to the wooden go-carts in Destin, to some fantastic restaurants, did some shopping, enjoyed some cooking in our place, swimming, played tennis, relaxed on the front porch swing, ate homemade (thanks Chris) ice cream, went crab hunting, went bike riding, did a little jogging (not enough to equalize the food intake), stayed up late talking and laughing, built sand castles (and oohed and awed over the really good ones down the beach), caught many waves on the boogie boards, snorkled and saw fish (very happy that was all we saw), watched firworks, kept our kids up until midnight at an amusement park, woke up with the bright beach sun every morning (yup, 6 a.m.) .... I feel like it cannot be put into words. It was beautiful. It was relaxing. It was fun. I am very thankful and very blessed.

to the beach...