Happy Independence Day

We had an absolute fabulous fourth of July

The festivities started off with a visit by some of our closest friends, the Goeres family!

After a short stint in Clovis, NM, they have moved to Montgomery, AL.  With Karlee's parents still living in Fort Walton Beach, we hope to have them visit on a fairly regular basis!

I won this at training trivia at work.  Alexander loved it both in and out of the water!

I have known sweet Brighton since she was a prayer on her parents' hearts.

It was infectious hearing her laughter at swimming in the pool

Dinosaur Shooters!

We set up the volleyball net for a fun game of volleyball. 

Shallow team with babies won!

I tried to capture a picture once we got to Paula and Bill's

It was too dark and the flash was overwhalming for these boys, who are just a month apart

Here they are a year ago.

Once again, Paula and Bill's fireworks show was breathtaking.  Easily surpassing Destin and all the other shows around town.  With coordinating music and a great crowd, it was a true show of American pride.

Happy Independence Day!

Old Friends and New Friends

We were so thrilled last Monday when our friends Chris and Kristen asked about finding a place near us for a night.

Umm, yes!  That place is called our house!

Chris was a groomsman in our wedding, and is Daniel's oldest friend.  He was also Daniel's roommate in the apartment directly above mine in college, where Daniel and I met.  So I have literally known Chris as long as I have known Daniel.

Due to Daniel's crazy work life, we have failed to visit their family since they moved to Texas.  It has been so long since I have seen Chris and Kristen, that we have never met their two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Lauren.  We made fast friends between all the new additions in our families.

After spending a few weeks in Georgia, the Diesels were ready to show their girls the beach and drove down to see us for 24 hours.  The day could not have been more perfect!

They got in the car in the middle of the night and made it to our place by 8 a.m.  After a quick pancake breakfast, we loaded up and headed to the beach.

The kiddos all loved playing in the sand and the water, and Hannah and Potatoes swam nearly the entire time.  Sometimes Potatoes doesn't trust his floaties, and insists on being held in the water, but witnessing the bravery of four year old Hannah steeled his resolve and he refused to be held!

I guess it's not just Potatoes who has a silly 'sunglass face.' 

Love it!

After exhausting everyone with water, sun, and sand, we headed up to Rockin' Tacos for a beach view with lunch.  As we left to load up the car, thunder and rain rolled in.

Perfect timing!

The kiddos and the ladies grabbed a quick nap while the guys caught World Cup action.

After naps, it was still raining, thwarting our plans for pool time, so they headed off to the trampoline park.  Hannah again exerted her bravery and strength, besting Potatoes at his favorite game- jousting.

The Martin crew could not best the McDaniel's on the jousting beam....

After an early breakfast at Joe & Eddie's, we had to say goodbye as they headed back to Texas.

Part of me wanted to lament the quickness of the trip, but I quickly turned it around into true gratitude for the amazing time we had with the McDaniel family.

They are those friends that, even after five years and three kids between us, we picked up as if we were all together yesterday.  Hopefully we can make this an annual tradition!

We are very much looking forward to seeing them, and many of our other college friends, in Atlanta in October for Josh and Mandie's wedding!

Another Milestone we reached recently with Potatoes was paddle boarding.  We made it down to the yacht club without his floaties, so we all stayed on our knees with him on the board, but he loved it!!  The only thing that made him nervous, much like his canine sister, was leaving people back at the beach.  If we got too far, he would start saying, "We need to go back for my family.  Let's go back by my family."  Even when Daniel and Zoey were out on the board with him and me, he said the same thing, pointing at Uncle Agho.  We are so blessed by this little boy and his big heart!

Here's to more memories and mayhem!

Dancing with Our Stars & Stripes

On Thursday, we had a blast watching Daniel perform with his dancing partner, Natalie!

After just three weeks of practice, we all got dressed up and headed out for a night of fun.  Daniel has been heading to Fred Astaire dance studio nearly every day to practice for this showcase.  He had a blast, helping to pick the upbeat music for his number, and dancing all over our house as he worked on being more fluid and perfecting his "Latin Hands."

The event was held to benefit the Fisher House, which provides a home away from home for families of military members during extended hospital stays.  Daniel took ballroom dance in college, and jumped at the chance to have free lessons, a great time, and benefit an amazing cause.  He got paired with Natalie, who is truly a wonderful instructor and such a sweet person!  She was very patient when Potatoes and I stopped by to watch practice, and when Potatoes inevitably wanted to join Daniel on the dance floor.

The night of the show, Xander got all dressed up in his three piece suit from Grandpa and Grandmomma and Daniel took a moment to come out and greet us before the show.

Lauren joined us as Potatoes's date.  She is so good with him, and both Zoey and Potatoes immediately took to her, so I felt very confident adding a new sitter to our home.  She was so great in helping wrangle Alexander so that he sat (fairly) well through the show and I was still able to enjoy it.  At intermission, she snuck out and took him home to bed.

Paula joined in on the fun

MY ERA family really showed up!  Kelly and Rik both came out with dates, and Paula accompanied me.  We had a great time in our VIP seats, which included the after party following.

While he sat well for most of the acts, when Daniel got on stage, Potatoes yelled, "That's my daddy!  I go dance with daddy!" and tried to jump up and go dance.  Between Lauren and myself, we were able to contain him and minimize the interruption.

I tried to take pictures during the show, but the lighting did not allow a good shot, so when Daniel came on, I opted to just enjoy.

The show was wonderful.  It was a mix of professionals, including international Latin champions Manuel & Natalia, the Fred Astaire instructors, students of Fred Astaire, and some "stars" from the community, including the one and only Daniel Martin.

The show stealer had to be the elderly married couple who danced two numbers, both of which included numerous lifts and twists, all of which caused an audience-wide intake of breath.  I don't want to guess at their ages, but if Daniel and I can be ballroom dancing, and possibly manage the lifts and twirls they were doing, at half their age, I will be super impressed.  Even if we could do it now, I would be thrilled!

Daniel got to meet Manuel & Natalia at the after party

It was a wonderful event, and I truly hope we have more dancing in our future!

Birthday, Brunch, and Barbecue

We had a great time with friends this weekend, bouncing from one event to another!

Friday night we were able to secure a last minute babysitter and Daniel and I spent a rare night just the two of us out for dinner and a movie at the downtown cinema.  It was great fun eating pizza, having a beer, and watching a silly movie (Blockers).  Made me appreciate that God gave me a little boy, as the movie is centered around parents of high school girls!

Saturday morning began with a blast of a bowling birthday party for our friend, Jack.

It was a Paw Patrol themed party....Potatoes current obsession!

The cupcakes were a huge hit!

On Sunday morning, Potatoes had an electric blue filled diaper...I was terrified he had eaten paint.  Luckily Daniel remembered the color cupcake he had chosen at Jack's party!

Potatoes and Jack can usually be found jousting at the trampoline park.  They were more subdued for the bowling party, and everyone seemed to really have a blast.

Such cute cookies by one of our fellow spouses, Melissa Hedrick!  Seriously, hers are not only the most beautiful cookies, but they are seriously delicious.

 We snuck in some pool fun before brunch on Sunday.  Daniel always likes to cool off in the pool after a run, and Potatoes always has to join in!  Sometimes a bathing suit just takes too long.

A boy and his daddy

After their quick swim, we walked over to the yacht club and met up with the Johnson family.

I cannot believe how big Baby Ellis has gotten!  He was such a little guy and now he's such a chunk!

Aabett also amazes me with how beautiful and fit she looks!

What a cool crew they have.

Sunday afternoon we headed out again for a barbecue to welcome Davis home and celebrate having the whole Ulm crew in the panhandle and to wish Shelby a happy birthday!

The Ulms have been living in Clovis, so we are always glad when they come back to visit.

All the toddlers (so many toddlers) were in awe of the candles on the cookie cake.

With a houseful of toddlers and a storm thundering on and off outside, it was a great time catching up with friends and eating too much food.

Got a quick shot with this handsome guy before we headed home.

Once home, we snuggled on the couch for a few scenes of Potatoes's favorite movie- Jurassic Park Lost World.  Should be scary, right?  Nope, he asks for it all day every day.  He builds a dinosaur shooter out of his Action Stackers and waits in anticipation for the dinosaurs to appear on screen.  He loves to shoot the T-Rex's and the Raptors, but he won't shoot his favorite, the Triceratops, because, "that's my friend."

In the midst of all of our weekend family time, I squeezed showing waterfront property and a few showings in beautiful Niceville.  I love the balancing act that is my life!

We are struggling a bit with Zoey, who seems to be suffering more severely from her separation anxiety lately.  She chewed the base board by the door during one of our outings this weekend, something she has never done before.  We are exploring options as to how to help ease her stress level.  We love our puppy princess, and want her to be calm, and not to tear up our home!

She's always at ease when her crew is together

Summer Kickoff

We had a blast heading back to Atlanta for a second weekend in a row to see friends from our days at Georgia.

Josh and his fiance, Mandie, hosted a big backyard party and we knew we couldn't miss it.

The evening before the party, we were able to meet up with Josh

after dinner at Taco Mac (a must have when Daniel makes it to Atlanta) with Papa and Grandma Jay

The next day we went down to Decatur for the children's festival.  

We took the whole Martin crew

Potatoes loved playing with power tools

 

His favorite thing was a high school robotics team who had a number of robots displayed, including one which shot off wiffle balls for the kiddos to all catch.

That evening, we brought the whole Martin crew over to Josh and Mandie's house.  They have a beautiful home with an amazing backyard space.

Potatoes loved the swing.  Especially when he got to sit between two ladies that weren't his mama.  Always a flirt!

He fell immediately in love with Chris's sister, Jamison.  My only concern was that no one would question her being his mom if she kidnapped him.  All the curls!

I wish I had taken more pictures, as we only get to see these guys maybe once a year, but we were having so much fun, and the crew was all being laid back and cool, so I simply didn't think about it.

We knew we would have to leave when the bro started getting tired and out of hand, but he rallied and we shut the party down!

Photo drop

He is such a daddy' little dude.  He always wants to sit with daddy, play with daddy, be like daddy.  I had a woman with three daughters say it must be nice for me to have a son, as he must be a huge mama's boy.  I just laughed!  He loves me, but really only wants my attention if daddy is not around.

I wouldn't have it any other way!

His favorite climbing try at Ferry Park

"I'm Jumping"

We've been very lucky to have our friends Ashley and Harper in town for the past few months.  Our littles are just two months apart, and we always have a great time together!

We went to the Gulfarium during the last week of local schools.  I have never seen it so packed!  A combination of field trips and tourists brought the crowds.  Luckily the kiddos weren't that interested in the shows, so we explored the park while the stands got packed in for the animal shows.

They were both very brave in getting near enough to touch the snake!

We were able to catch a few shots in the iconic giant chair before it began to downpour

 Paw Patrol with Gammie

On our last morning in Atlanta, we finally got over to see the park Gammie helped the city plan.  Potatoes loved all the climbing possibilites, and referred to the dome-like shape of all the ropes as Mickey's Clubhouse.

Daniel and Bryan flew out of Atlanta straight to Vegas for an epic first game in the Stanley Cup finals.

Though the Caps lost, the game was unbelievable with Lil' Jon performing the pregame show, a crazy opening nearly rivaling an Olympic opening ceremony, TEN goals scored, and killer seats.  The guys had a blast!

To top it off, they hit the tables and the fun continued.  They came home not only with their winnings being enough to pay for the trip in its entirety, but some extra cash in hand on top of that.  Daniel generously gave me the extra winnings!  We are working hard to eliminate the last bit of my student loans.

Walking with Baby Stella

Hiding daddy's feet from all the dinosaurs

We are having a great time and loving the mayhem that ensues!