End of Summer

We recently got back from our trip to Gulf Shores with my side of the family. My mom, brothers, sister-in-law, 2 nephews and our family shared a beach front house. We had`a really good time. The first exciting thing happened before we even left the house- the Hubby shaved- clean!





We left early Friday morning and stopped at a gator farm in Louisiana. Fun, but HOT, HOT, HOT.






Then we drove on to Gulfport, Mississippi and stopped for the night. After a very disappointing breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we made it to the Mobile Bay Ferry by lunch. And then we were there! This year we stayed in the same house as last year but on the other side of the duplex. It was nice and had everything we needed.





Bubba loved swimming in the ocean. He and Uncle Scott had a great time looking at all the underwater creatures through goggles. He got to drive his own go-cart and ride along on a big go-cart with Uncle Scott. He did awesome in the pool, too. He was a big help with all the younger kiddos.











Duchess also loved swimming, although her preference was for the pool. She did enjoy the beach and building sand castles with Aunt Sara and was not bothered by the sand like last year. I put sunblock on her every time we went outside, but she still got more tan every time. She definitely has her daddy's skin! We also celebrated her 4th birthday!












Huck did very well. He handled the long car ride pretty well- he was fussier on the way home but overall did well considering. He went to the beach, played in sand (ate some, of course), went in the ocean, went in the pool, played with Cousin Dillon, and got held by uncles, an aunt and Mom Mom. It sure was nice for Mommy to have all those extra hands around to help out - I went through withdrawal for the first few days home!













Last week was the first day of school for Bubba. Nothing but excitement from Bubba! Can't wait to hear about 1st grade!









And Duchess started today! What a quiet house I have!

Belated Birthday Wishes to a Firstgrader!

First Grade! How time flies! It seems like not that long ago that I was waiting for you to be born. The past year has been a great one. You started Kindergarten and did so well. You made friends with many of your classmates and learned so many new things... how to read!, how to use a computer, how to do addition and other math concepts, your handwriting improved dramatically... too many things to name them all! You started Tai KwonDo last Spring and it was great for you. Over the year you earned both your yellow and green belts. It helped your self-confidence improve and you learned to be a little bit more brave! You lost two teeth! This summer you learned to swim so much better and could spend all day in the pool. At the beach you swam in the ocean without fear- riding waves on the boogy board, looking at fish underwater with Uncle Scott, and jumping waves in the surf. You welcomed your new baby brother and are so great with him. You are gentle, sweet, and loving to him. He loves to smile at you and you can make him laugh! You and your sister can play so nicely together... when you want to :-) You love to play with Legos and can spend hours on end building ships, vehicles, and inventions. Your favorite TV show is Phineas and Ferb and you also like Scooby Do, Star Wars and Looney Toons. You still play great imagination games- adventurer, spy, farmer, dog, and inventor are some of the characters that you have played in the past few days. You are so excited for First Grade to start next week! I know it will be a fun year full of new and exciting things. Daddy and I love you, Buddy! Thanks for being a great son!