Beach Day

Guess who we saw yesterday!!???


You guessed it folks.






Our.................................



Best..................................



Buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the silliness was in high gear let me assure you.

But who wouldn't be just a little bit silly after waiting two months to see your best friend I ask you?

The McMakin's are in Orange Beach this week and it was the perfect opportunity to drive down to see them.  It took us only 45 minutes to make the drive so we decided to go play for an entire day.  And play we did.

Of course, we even packed these little ones in a wagon and hauled them to the sand and surf

It was the perfect beach day to spend with friends.  The weather wasn't too hot, but the sun was out.  We haven't seen the sun much these days because it has rained so much.  I'm sick of rain.


These best buds had plenty to catch up on...including important boating conversations.

And these big buddies got to catch up as well.

We think Mr. Andy has been going to the tanning bed, though he denies it.  He's awfully tan compared to the rest of us...;)

There was also plenty of paparazzi...I mean, mama's with a camera...around.

You can thank me later, Ash.

And we attempted a few family pics.  After all, we did have our cameras out.

Don't you just love when your toddler decides to chew on a boat when the camera snaps?
I know I do (said while shaking my head no).

The kiddos had fun in the condo as well and continued being their silly little selves.  Well....mostly my crazy son.

And the babies continued to be their cute little selves.

Couldn't you just eat him up?

And apparently he could eat Savannah up too.  He's only nine months...and she's fifteen.

The pool was also a favorite with the kiddos.

And we can't forget to get a picture of the mommies.  You know, just so you know we were around.

We finished the day off with a fun dinner at LuLu's, and this is the only picture I managed to get.  Good ole' iphone.

As you can see, we had a fun filled day.
There's just something about being with old friends that is so refreshing.  Makes you feel like you can just be yourself.  Because after all, they've seen your good and bad and grown with you throughout life.  We've known the McMakin's now for 12 years...even before they were the McMakins and we treasure their friendship.  I definitely miss calling up Ashley during the week to see if she wants to make a quick run to the zoo. 
But it's nice to know that we'll always see them, no matter how far apart we are.

Alrighty, I better run.  I hear Isaac yelling for me from his bedroom.  Apparently he's lost his stuffed dolphin and apparently mommy is the only one that can find it. 

Catch ya later.
 

First Day of School

As you can see, it was little buddy's first day of Mother's Day Out today!  I think he was very ready for school and more ready for friendships.  I'm sure he gets bored at home all day with his Mama.  He'll go 3 days a week this year.

When we pulled up at school he immediately saw a little blonde boy walking in and asked "Mama, is that Ryder?"  (sniff, sniff) 
  Despite the fact that his best bud wasn't there I think he had a great day and I really like his teacher.  I was probably more intimidated than he was this morning dropping him off in a new place and unfamiliar surroundings.  Thankfully he walked straight into his class without even a fuss and looked ready to play.

By the time this picture was taken he was telling me, "it was time to gooooo to koool..."

Here's to another great school year! 

Cali

Yes, we are still alive around here and haven't gone missing in the Mobile Bay.  Although we've had so much rain in this area that it's a wonder we haven't been swept down our flooded streets.
  But alas, we've just been busy and quite frankly too tired and big to care about taking pictures.  Ahem, okay not we just me. Plus, when you're 30 weeks preggo it's a little difficult to squat down to take any type of decent or creative shot. 
  However, I still managed to keep the camera rolling on our trip this past week and have plenty of pics to share.  Steven and I were able to get away for a last minute babymoon/anniversary/vacay last week and it was a blast!  Thanks to wonderful parents we were able to leave the kiddos at home in Fairhope and fly out of New Orleans to Pasadena, California.  If you remember, that's where my oldest sister lives, I'm not sure if I've told you that or not.  We decided to stay with Carla and J.B. for three nights then rent a car and drive to beautiful San Diego for a few nights for a small anniversary trip.  It was stupendous!

Carla picked us up from LAX on Friday close to lunch and we headed straight to Santa Monica to eat and a little afternoon tourism.  We first stopped off at a street downtown that was lined with delicious looking food trucks.  Umm, not the trucks just the food.  I opted for a scrumptious Greek wrap with hummus and pita--I love me some food trucks!  I'm not sure if the town of Fairhope would go for something like that but I sure wish they would.

Carla took us to the famous Santa Monica pier and it was here that I first decided to take out the camera.  Well, to be honest these pictures will be a mix from my canon and the trusty iPhone.

J.B. had to work that afternoon but we sure enjoyed spending time with our precious nephew Owen! He and Savannah are only six weeks apart--we just wish they could see each other more.

Busy beach with water temperatures in the 50's, I'm sure. 

We traveled back to Carla's place in Pasadena after our Santa Monica tour.  I love LA, however Steven wasn't very fond of the traffic.  To his defense, it is horrendous. 
But Pasadena was gorgeous!
We had fun hanging out with Carla and J.B. that night and I had surprisingly good sleep.  It's amazing to me how well I can sleep when I don't have to listen out for babies in the next room.

Day two was just as fun as the first.  We met up with my brother Cameron and his new wife Rachel around lunch as they were flying in for a quick vacation too.

After lunch we traveled to Hollywood to join in as real tourist that day.  I'll tell ya, that place was NUTS, cah-razy, bizarre, and PACKED!  I've actually been to downtown Hollywood once before and I don't remember it being so packed and passing so many strange people dressed in really creepy attire (the joker, chucky, scary homeless men in trash cans).  Needless to say we didn't stay long.

Carla and J.B. so graciously cooked us hamburgers that night and we stayed up late playing board games.

On our last day in Pasadena Steven and I drove to the Rose Bowl and exercised for an hour or so. 

It was so beautiful there and I'm sure Steven secretly wished it was the night of the 2009 Alabama Championship game. :)  I just LOVE the weather out west--I definitely didn't miss the constant southern humidity.

After lunch we all traveled to Griffith Park for a beautiful afternoon hike.  Highly recommend this if you are ever in the area.

As you can see, the view of LA was amazing.

And then the guys decided to race up a super steep hill as to impress the ladies.

Oh and we were thoroughly impressed (I mean amused)...

We finished off the day with a fun dinner at a great Korean barbecue place.  Have you ever had Korean barbecue??  Well if not, you should.

We had a GREAT time in Pasadena and a huge thank you to Carla, J.B., and Owen for a fabulous weekend!


Now onto another city and place...
So like I previously said, on Monday Steven and I rented a car and drove down the coast to San Diego.
Our first stop was the Gaslamp Quarter, but more importantly, fish tacos.

We loved San Diego.  It's such a unique town and found everything to be so close together.  If you've been you know what I'm talking about.  The traffic wasn't that bad and everything we wanted to see was in a close twenty to thirty minute drive away. 
I really really wanted to go to the famous San Diego Zoo but it just didn't seem logical.  For one, my snobby husband (who just returned from Kenya a couple of months ago) didn't think a zoo atmosphere was exciting enough for him.  Well, excuse me Mr. Safari-snob.  And two, I'm preggo and they supposedly have a lot of fun rides at the zoo.  I would have been too sad to sit those out as I do love a good roller coaster.

We settled on Balboa Park that afternoon.  Well, I really shouldn't use the word settled because that place in itself is amazing.  We found that San Diego is a great place to take kids--so many educational options--so we will definitely be back with them.
And of course, here are a few pics from Balboa Park...

We can't forget this 30 week belly shot--

This place is definitely a San Diego MUST SEE.

Our last day in California happened to be on our anniversary.  How many years you ask? The big EIGHT.   We started the day off with a trip to Point Loma lighthouse.  This is supposed to be one of the best views of the city but unfortunately we got there too early in the morning when the fog was still heavy.  Although the fog was great, we enjoyed seeing a bit of history.

From Point Loma one can get a beautiful picture of Coronado across the water--this particular stretch of land you can see across the bay is the home of the United States Navy.  Coronado is supposedly the perfect place for Navy Seal watching.  Steven was determined to see them practicing but unfortunately it didn't happen.  We do think we saw the Seals on a stretch of beach about an hour outside of San Diego driving in the day before so that made up for it.

After Point Loma we headed to Mission Beach up near La Jolla for an important date with a surf board.  Steven was determined to surf in San Diego as the city is known for their great surfing. 
He happily rented a surf board that day and I watched as the hubs attempted his first surfing experience.

They say to first practice on the sand.

I think that practice session lasted a total of thirty seconds as he was quick to remind me that he had "everything under control."

The water was freezing and he opted out of renting a wet suit.  He said it was only bad at first then you forgot about it. 
Yeah right.

But despite the cold I am proud to say he stood up multiple times. 

And fell a few.

 All in all, Steven did a great job and I'm pretty confident would be a avid surfer if we lived closer to bigger waves.

Oh, and what was his preggo wife doing all this time you ask?
Ya know, just chillin' on the beach with my big belly self.

Steven told me multiple times this trip that he'll be glad when we take trips when I'm not pregnant.  I feel ya Steven, I feel ya.

That night we celebrated our anniversary with yummy Mexican in Old Town.  Happy 8 years to us!

We had the best time together and it's definitely safe to say I wouldn't want to do this life with anyone else.  We've been through so much these past eight years...happiness, trials, dogs, babies, houses, moves, med school, residency, etc. etc.... and we continue to see God's faithfulness in our marriage and our lives.  I'm so thankful for Steven, my wonderful best friend.  Here's to another great eight years and I look forward to what they bring.

And thanks to CC, Papa Spray, CoCo, and PopPop for watching our kiddos for six days!  We love and appreciate all you do for us!