Boats are the BEST!

Okay, so we've lived in Pensacola for over 2 years now. We have water around us everywhere and while we've lived here we've never been out on a boat! Sad, I know. Well that all changed yesterday, thanks to our new dear friend Brandyn. Brandyn is one of my clients and I liked him so much, I decided to make him family. Okay well maybe not family, but I did set him up with Becky (who is pretty much family) and it's going great.

Anyway, Brandyn got a new boat last week and he was kind enough to invite my family for an evening ride. Actually I think Becky invited us, but he was more than happy to take us! He even got the kids new life jackets. They were so cute in them, especially Anna Cate. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it. For basically the first 30 minutes she wouldn't move. She just smiled... a lot! She eventually got used to the big, bulky thing.

We had so much fun, especially the kids. We fished, but didn't really catch anything. Turner did get to use his new fishing pole and he loved it. We had a picnic and just realaxed. Anna Cate didn't fuss or cry at all. She LOVED being out on the water and watching all the birds. She loves birds! She also said fish for the first time. Turner really liked watching Brandyn drive. It was a wonderful afternoon.

The only bad thing about it...Chad REALLY wants a boat now.

Becky and our captain :)

Holy Moly Chad's 25!!

That's right...you heard it...Chad's 25!!!

I met my sweet husband at our sorority/fraternity toga swap when we were only 18. One year later, we were married with a baby on the way. When Turner came into our world we both had to grow up and grow up fast! We did, and we did it together. For the past five years I've watched my husband turn into such a wonderful man. He's such a wonderful leader and he loves God and he loves the three of us SO much. God couldn't have paired me with a better match and Turner and Anna Cate couldn't have a more wonderful daddy! Chad is my very best friend, he'll never know how thankful I am for him. Happy Birthday Chaddy!

We didn't really do anything too exciting for Chad's birthday today. We did come home from church to a freshly mowed yard, thanks to our sweet neighbors Josh and Alisha. They're wonderful and we are so thankful God put them right next door! They also made Chad a birthday dinner. We had fresh fish, cheese grits, baked beans, and french fries. It was delicious...we all ate way too much (including Anna Cate). I also made Chad his very favorite dessert...lemon ice box pie. Yeah, I'm really good at it... it was SO good...you should be jealous! I also suprised Chad with tickets to go see Willie Nelson and B.B. King at The Wharf. That should be super fun, especially since we're going with Becky, Brandon, Molly, and Brett. I'm sure I'll write something about that later!

Here are some pics from today....

Josh, our wonderful neighbor.

Here Goes...

I really enjoy reading my family and friend's blogs so I thought maybe I should give it a try. I don't have much confidence in myself. I've never really even enjoyed writing, so don't expect anything spectacular. This should be interesting...here goes! I thought maybe I'd start off with our Fourth of July weekend. Since we've lived in Pensacola, we've spent every Fourth of July the same way and this Fourth was no different. It's become one of our very favorite times of year! Every year Carrie's (my sis-in-law) family, The Fair's, come to Pensacola Beach for their family vacation. We love the Fair's...they're wonderful! We love Anthony, Carrie, and Ansleigh even more, and with them living in CUBA, we hardly ever get to see them. So, of course, we LOVE when we can FINALLY spend time with them! We had such a fun, long weekend.

Thursday the 3rd:
Chad, Nana, Papa, and I took Turner and Anna Cate to swimming lessons. Which they love by the way! Then we headed to the Fair's condo to spend the day on the beach. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. Anna Cate is perfectly content playing with her bucket in the sand and Turner has gotten so brave when it comes to the water...he loves swimming through the waves. After the kid's naps we showered and headed to Flounder's to eat...YUM, YUM!







Friday July 4th:
Another long day at the beach! Even Ansleigh spent the entire day out there with us! She was so cute sleeping in her swing. Turner enjoyed throwing the frisbee (or DISC if you're Anthony) with Anthony and again, Anna Cate was perfectly content playing in the sand with her bucket. By the end of the afternoon, Anna Cate was actually loving the water. After naps, swimming in the pool (Turner's favorite) and showers, we ate dinner and waited for the fireworks. While waiting Chad and I took some pictures of the kids on the beach. At first Anna Cate was very cooperative, then....well...not so much. We had the perfect view of the fireworks from the condo balcony...it was great! It was such a great day, spent with family, eating yummy food, and getting a tan :)!







Saturday July 5th:
After checking out of the condo, our favorite Friday's (Anthony, Carrie, and Ansleigh-Bug) came to spend the night with us! Basically we spent the day resting and , of course, playing the Wii. Nana cooked us a delicious dinner. After dinner Nana and Papa made the trip back to Troy, AND, our power went off. ( For 4 hours!) We had so much fun though. We always have fun with Anthony Carrie!!

Sunday July 6th:
Sad day...Anthony and Carrie had to head home. I wish their home wasn't so far away!!!!

We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Hope that you can say the same.