Our First Family Vacation - June 2012 (Post 4)

Saturday, June 30, 2012

We had great plans for Saturday.  My mom, stepdad, sisters, and neices and nephews were all coming out to spend the day with us on the beach.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with our plans.

 The wind was blowing like a hurricane was upon us.  Things were flying everywhere.

 That didn't stop us from going out on the covered patio to enjoy the breeze.

 Daddy gave both of the girls tattoos.

 Kinsley playing in the rain.

They love their daddy.

 Once Brenna, Tim, and the kids got there, it was time for lunch. 

Chloe and Kinsley got to sit at the big bar.

 Breanna, Katie, and Brendon enjoying hotdogs and chips.

 Journey was very observant of her surroundings, until she fell asleep.

 Cousins.  We're missing Lindsey, but she was off with her boyfriend.

 Brendon, Journey, Kinsley, Chloe, Lilly, Katie, Breanna, and Sailor (she'll be here in August).

As we were looking down at the kids, I was thinking to myself how crazy it is that all of these kids are ours.

My mom and Journey.

 It started raining right when we were about to leave for the beach. 

It wasn't just raining, it was POURING down.

 They all decided to make the most of it and since they were all in their swim suits...they played in the rain.

 Frogs started coming out of everywhere during the rain.  They were catching them left and right.

 Katie releasing her frog.

 Lilly was enjoying the rain too.

 Amy and Patrick.

 Chloe was scared to death of the water.  She was hanging on Brenna like a little monkey.

 They had so much fun playing in the water.  The waves were a little high so we didn't let them go to far out.

 This is usually what happens when Kinsley and Lilly are together...LOL.

Look at that dark sky.

This was our last full day at the cabin.  We got to watch some pretty incredible firework shows Saturday night.  They were spectacular.

We were dreading Sunday, but all good things must come to an end.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

I didn't take any pictures our last day because I spent the entire time cleaning and packing up.  Check-out time was 2:00.  We were finished and ready to go at 1:00.  I would have liked to have stayed until 2:00, but even though I wasn't ready to leave, I was ready to get home and unpack.

This was a vacation that I will never forget.  We enjoyed it so much.  We plan on going back every year.

Thankful Thursday

Today was a very important day for my hubs.  He is the GM of a local cemetary.  He designed and had made a Veterans Memorial.  He is so proud of it and we are so proud of him.  He joined forces with the American Legion to have a dedication for the memorial, which was sheduled today. 

The weather didn't seem to want to cooperate with us, but God is always in control.  It never rained and no one was struck by lightening.  The funnel cloud that was reported was over 10 miles away from us, so we were doing pretty good.  In fact, it was like the sun was right over us, shining down on us during the ceremony with huge dark blue clouds lingering in the background.  It really made for some pretty pictures.  The fact that the wind was blowing, made it even better because we were all pretty sweaty out there. 

Here are a few pictures that I took during the ceremony.

Kinsley thought this guy was pretty interesting.  She must like Navy men....LOL.

Katie asked what the headstones were for.  She said, "Are they to keep them in the ground? Is God in there?"  She was pretty fascinated by it all.

I love this picture.  Kinsley's allergies have been acting up again. 

She was sneezing and coughing the entire time.

The Color Guard with the big bad storm in front of them.

They actually did the Three-Volley Salute.  Scared me and the girls half to death.  I didn't even think they'd really shoot the guns, but they did.  Kinsley started screaming.  It was a little comical.

This fine man played Taps.  It was awesome.

Eben being presented the United States flag.  He was so proud and we're so proud of him.

Old Glory flying in the breeze.

Eben being interviewed by Fox 4 News. 

After spending some time with Daddy after the dedication, we left before the weather got worse.  One of our Bucket List items includes eating at Rao's Bakery for lunch and a dessert.  That will never happen again.  I almost fell over when I received my bill.  We spent $30 on 3 chicken salad sandwiches that included chips, 1 chocolate milk, 1 bottle of water, and one small fruit bowl.

Katie has got to make a silly face everytime I pick up the camera.

We sat near the water fountain and they made a wish with nickels.  I didn't have any pennies.  Did you know that Canada has stopped the production of their pennies?  They cost more to make than they are worth.

I'm loving this picture.  I may have to frame this one.

After we let our food go down, we each picked out a dessert.  Didn't I mention earlier that my diet had been thrown out the window the day before?  Well, it carried over into today.

Katie likes anything chocolate.

Kinsley likes anything strawberry. 

Neither of them finished anything they ate, so they are having Rao's leftovers for dinner tonight. 

I truly can't eat anything else, especially since I topped off lunch with:

a fruit tart!

This was them picking out what they wanted.  Doesn't this look like a dream????

They have life size statues of the Blues Brothers in the cafe.  They both wanted to go over to see them.  As they got closer, they got scared to get near them.  I was cracking up.  They were both waiting for them to move.  We decided that we would sacrifice Bear (the little pink thing on his leg is Bear). 

Once Bear made it out alive, both girls decided that it was safe to stand near them.  I quickly got a picture and we were out of there.

Now we're home and they are eating apples.  Don't eat the expenisve lunch and dessert momma splurged on you, but eat an apple instead.  I guess the dentist would appreciate that.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I'm a teacher.  The school district I teach at is 35 - 45 minutes away depending on traffic and lights.  We had a huge storm come through yesterday and last night that dropped anywhere from 4 - 15 inches of rain.  The county I live in had up to 8 inches and the county I teach in had up to 15 inches.  On my way home yesterday, I was having mild panic attacks because waves were being made on the road.  At one point, I had to drive in the middle of the street because the water was so high.  I was panicking.

Just got out of the shower to start getting ready for work, and my phone rings.  We have a 2 hour delay.  Looks like I have some time to work on lesson plans.