At the Doctor's Office

So I bet you are all wondering if I have been abducted by aliens or fallen off the face of the Earth, but truth is ... my computer has sub come to a virus. A mean, bad virus. It is currently being cured by our "computer doctor", my Uncle Keith. So this post will require reading, and unfortunately no photos to help tell the story. Just to catch up on what's been going on at our house...
1. Ellie began school mid-August. We are conquering Kindergarten. So far she loves it. When I ask her what her 3 favorites things were about school each day, her reply is usually "Recess, Lunch, Recess". That does sound like an awesome day to me. So far we have done well getting up and going in the mornings. I purchased a canvas closet hanging organizer to put together 5 outfits in each slot along with a bedtime book to read each night. This little system works fabulous for us. She gets the independence of picking out which slot of clothes she wants to wear, and I know that are ironed, matched and ready to go. Though I think she picks it out by the book in each slot. Plus, her school provides free breakfast to all of the students (Thanks Kenton Elementary). This also saves us time.
2. Jamie has taken up the game of golf - or at least giving it a good attempt. He has signed up to play in a tournament with some of his co-workers in their company's tournament. That should be interesting. I tried my hand at it the other day in the yard. Needless to say, I will not be participating in any tournaments.
3. I will be going to my 1st Vols game! I am super excited! We are preparing for the full blown college game experience for the UT vs. Georgia game! Our friend, Patrick, who lives in Knox, has outfitted an enclosed trailer with large flat screen TVs, stereo, and all the other tailgating essentials. Then we are going inside the stadium for the game. Thanks to my cousin's season tickets, we will be enjoying the game from great seats right where the team enters through the "T". So excited! I can't wait!
4. It's BAND Season! I can't wait to begin going to the competitions & rooting for the GCHS Marching Pioneers! Our cousin, Mary Beth, will be conducting the band for their tribute to the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.
5. Dove season opened this past weekend. Yippee! This is just the beginning of a very, very long season.

Well, that is about as boring as it gets around our house. Hopefully, my computer will be cured by my next post.

Beach Favorites {Just

The Beach {Day 5}

On our final day at the beach we took a boat ride to Shell Island, to find the perfect shells to take home & look for sand dollars. The boat ride was ok on the way there. The kids were entertained by the seagulls literally snatching Cheetos from their outreached hands. Once there we hit the island. I believe the next time we go we will figure out how to lounge on the island for most of the day. It was so secluded and peaceful. Jeffery did find a small, but whole sand dollar, but it fell to pieces with the least bit movement. We did see lots of these little guys ... not much hunting required.

The ride back however was not as enjoyable. The captain decided to take us out from the bay and into the Gulf to search for dolphins. I know he meant well and wanted his passengers to get the most bang for the hard earned dollars, but it was exhausting. I have never felt sea sick before, but I did this time, as well as others. He kept idling doing figure 8's in the water. I just kept my eye on the shoreline. Luckily, no one got sick that I knew of, but that ride is over for us. We did however find the dolphins - a mother & her baby. Jaxon & Ellie really liked to see them as well as a sunken ship from a recent hurricane. We did more laying out at the beach and ended up ordering pizza that evening.

Some other notable vacation adventures:

• Tripp tossing a cola over the rail from the 17th floor. Fortunately, no one was in the pool below or injured.


• Ellie accidentally dropped her flip-flop from the 17th floor right into the swimming pool. "Watch out below! Splash" We had to go retrieve it.


• Jeffery bailing out the auto to put some punk kids in place for tail gating on his bumper on their rented mopeds. Priceless.


• Going into a store "Everything's $1" to hear the recorded announcer, who sounded worse than Ben Stein, repeat "Everything's $1; No need to pay $5 for those spoons; We need a price check on aisle 5, never mind because everything's $1"

It was a wonderful trip and we are already planning next year's beach adventure.

The Beach {Day 4}

Day 4 was a lazy day, alternating from the beach & swimming pool for the kids. The water was finally clear, pretty and seaweed-free. There were, however, red flags posted for the huge waves. It was a nice relaxing day. We did come in a little early to get ready to go to some places we had put off. We walked down the pier that stretches way out into the ocean. Unfortunately, no one was catching any fish, but we did see about 12 surfers catching waves, which was fascinating to watch. Afterward, we cooled down at Kilwin's. I was excited about my Cookies-N-Cream in a waffle cone. We did a little shopping at Pier Park and I brought home a Christmas ornament from our trip. A little souvenir trick I learned from my sister. Each time she goes on a trip, she searches for a Christmas ornament that is unique to the area. We visited the boatyard to look at interesting boats and picked up a few t-shirts from the restaurants (because that is part of going to the beach, right?) That evening we ate at Raggie J's a Caribbean inspired restaurant at Pier Park, then off for (you guess it) more putt-putt.

The Beach {Day 2 & 3}

Our full second day at the PCB turned into a rainy one. When we got up that morning it had been raining on and off throughout the night and looked like it could the rest of the day. Jamie and I chalked it up as a "wash out" day and decided to do our on thing. We ended up in Destin, about 50 miles away, to do some shopping at the outlet mall and Destin Commons. Amazingly, no good deals were found! I couldn't believe it. The Destin Commons is an outdoor type of shopping center, which wasn't very suitable for a rainy day. Ellie did end up getting some new clothes for Olivia Lou (her Build-A-Bear that she so dearly loves). The outlet mall was a mess! All the stores that were were interested in were in a disheveled state of merchandise reminiscent of an After-Thanksgiving/Black Friday sale. I guess all the back to school shopping had everyone looking and tossing items aside.

That evening we went to Schooner's to eat. A neat little joint on the beach with live music. Tripp, the music lover, really liked the action of the band. The food was good as well and there was a nice breeze blowing that didn't make it unbearable to eat outside. We also ended the evening with some more putt-putt. Ellie's new favorite thing to do! And a trip to one of the plentiful surf shops around for some beach toys.

The 3rd day was a little better, only an afternoon shower. And we spent quite possibly the best $6 on the trip - Ellie a body board! She loved riding the waves back in on this board. There is not telling how many times she would come in and go out. She turned into quite the surfer girl. And Tripp ended up fascinated with the seagulls! So fun to see one of the birds catch his eye and he was off. The beach bums got quite a laugh watching the grown up chase after a 1 1/2 year old who is chasing a bird.

The Beach {Day 1}

The long awaited moment arrived this time last week - VACATION!

This year was the first time I can remember Jamie & I waiting this late for vacation. And, let me tell you - it was much needed! We were ready to "get out of Dodge" as they say. We had planned this trip back in April-ish (?) with my sister, Paige, and her family. Then at last minute had to do some swapping of dates and condos ... but it came! And went by way too quick {why to work weeks creep by and vacations just fly?} I was about ready to just tell them to hop in the car & drive - we would worry about the clothes and other necessities when we arrived at the BEACH!

We had planned on going to Destin, but with the swapping of condos ended up in Panama City. We stayed at Sterling Breeze which was right on the beach on the main stretch of highway. It was nice condo, with plenty of room for Tripp to ride his toys and Ellie and Jaxon to have their own space as well. We left early Sunday morning and drove down arriving around 3:00 or so that afternoon. We unpacked and laid around for a little bit, or as much as the kids would let us. The dads ended up taking them to the beach while Paige & I unloaded the houses we brought with us :) That evening, we went to eat at Tacky Jacks, a cool place that the kids loved. They had a live band playing outside as well as a small pool that you could enjoy after your meal. The kids were a little upset they didn't have their swimsuits on to enjoy it.

The next day, it was a full day of beach fun! There seems to be nothing better than the sand between your toes, looking out across seeing nothing but water and hearing the crashing of the waves on the shoreline. The water wasn't that clear because of seaweed, but that didn't hinder Ellie & Jaxon from jumping waves and venturing off in it. Tripp loved it as well, but of course he loves anything having to do with water.

Tripp did a whole lot of drinking and eating. Running back and forth between the edge of the water and the beach uses up a lot of energy for the little guy.

Ellie and Jaxon alternated beach time and pool time. We decided by the end of the trip that all they require is a pool and place to play putt-putt.

That evening we had planned to go to a local eatery called "Boondocks". We were told by the condo staff it was a great place that locals loved and would have limited waiting. Apparently, the staff had not only passed along their recommendation to us, but others as well. A 1.5 hour wait?! No thanks. So we ended up breaking Jeffery's rule of "only eat at places we don't have back home" and went to Carrabba's, which he justified as not being in Jackson. Ha!

After eating the guys along with Ellie (the caddy) went to play a Par-3 golf course, while Paige, Tripp & I went shopping at Pier Park. Then we all meet back up for some go-cart racing, which Ellie totally freaked out on. I was just arriving to find she & Jamie standing outside the gates with her hysterical. They were on the carts ready for the green light when she decided she was really scared. Needless to say, they had to exit because Jamie thought she was about to hyperventilate. We really don't know what caused this reaction in her - the loud noise?

Once back at the condo, crab hunting was in order. All in all it was a great day!

Sunshine & Sunflowers