Randomness

Sorry for how long it's been since my last post! Jason was gone up to Indiana all of last week checking on the stores we still have operating there , and the kids and I just did our thing. Nothing too exciting to report. School is still going very well and the weather here is still hot as ever! On the way to the airport last Friday, the car thermometer read 101 without the heat index. Wowza.

I do have a few random pictures from the last few weeks.

This first one, you might want to skip if you don't like bugs/insects. We were eating at Pizza by the Sea on Sunday evening and the kids were playing outside, when Alex came tearing in. "Mom, you will NOT believe what I found out there. Give me your camera." ooookkkaayyyy.....

And here is what he found. Keep in mind that this guy was about the size of my entire hand.




Lovely. Why are all of the insects down here about 10 times as large as they are in Indiana?


This next picture shows that some of the best toys are made from things you might find lying around your pizza place....

Good thing Bear was in there keeping her company while she watched Alex and Dad play Wii.

Jason and I went on our first night out since we moved here last Saturday evening. We attended a local benefit auction for Children's Volunteer Health Network-- we donated a little something from PBTS for the silent auction. It was fun! We got to dress up, eat some good food, meet some locals, and just spend time together without the kids. Our kids enjoyed the babysitter Kaylyn- she was highly recommended to us by several people. We will definitely do another date night!

These last few are at the beach this last weekend. I call this "Digging to China and falling in....'

Alex was determined to catch something out in the ocean.... clam, crab, fish....

No luck, but he did find this little guy. He rescued him from being eaten by a seagull. I love this picture because it appears that the crab is looking right at Alex with his little beady crab eyes.

And Alex spend about an hour playing with him.... setting up a gladiator type arena in the sand where the crab had to try to escape. All was good in the end.... he was sent back to sea.

My little Jacque Cousteau...

Photo Shoot Fun

All summer we have been looking forward to having some new pictures taken for Pizza by the Sea. Our photography team, Jackie Ward and Sheila Goode from 30A Studio, did all of the pictures for the former owners, and those pictures are amazing, so we couldn't wait to do a photo shoot with them. We had planned on doing the shoot on Monday, but a thunderstorm came through at the last minute, so we had to reschedule for Wednesday.

It was an absolutely perfect evening for it. All of the seaweed is gone, the water was emerald green and blue, and the sunset was amazing. We did the shoot in Grayton Beach, which is beautiful. It is unique because you have the gulf on one side, and a coastal dune lake on the other.

Thirteen children were involved in the production of this shoot, so it was kind of like herding cats to get them all together for the group shots. But overall, they did great! Jackie was wonderful and so patient with them. The moms of the other children were there as well helping to get kids positioned and keeping them out of the water. There were big crabs crawling all around the lake, so keeping the kiddos out was not easy!

I snapped a few pics of the kids playing around in between shots:



Jackie's daughter, who is in Alex's grade, Alex, Alex's friend from his class, Trip, and Caroline

Trip and Alex being typical 10 year old boys.....

This last shot is a preview of the final pictures from Jackie and Sheila. They are still in the process of proofing and editing, but she was so sweet to send this one to me last night. Her work is amazing.

I think that would make a pretty good menu cover, don't you? :)

To the Sea

We took a family bike ride to the beach one evening last week when the humidity dipped down into the 75th percentile, instead of its usual 100%. With the breeze, it was glorious.

As soon as we hit the sand, the shirt comes off..... (Alex, not Caroline:)



For Caroline, the pants get wet right off the bat...

Oh well... not too much to complain about this time.

Digging for crabs...

Supervising from a distance....

Beach gymnastics......

Not to be outdone by a simple cartwheel, the master of the tripod impresses the crowd....

Got to love a sandy head.





The man of the house looking out to sea......

A little blurry, but on the way back up to the bikes....

It is a good workout for the legs.....burn, baby, burn!

But this is your reward at the top!

Pet Update

The Beer pets have all adjusted now to our new home, some more easily than others. I thought I would give you a quick update on each of them--this was more for my enjoyment of trying to get pictures of my pets. It became a quest for me after it took me about 10 bad shots to get this one of Pepper. (notice my hand holding her face up.)



{Please Mom, why are you pointing that thing at me? I really am not a fan of photo sessions.}

{What? A Jelly Donut? Okay, now you can take my picture!}

For the first month we lived here, Pepper paced and hid in our bathroom. She hates rain, storms, and any little rumble of thunder. Well, it just so happens that the entire month of July and the first part of August it thundered almost every day. Poor nervous wreck. Our bathroom is one big ball of black fur.

And good old Ticker... He has done great since this is his 6th move (from one house to another.) He rarely leaves our bed except to eat and an occasional trip down the hall to the litter box. His 15 years are really starting to show on him, poor buddy. He does periodically find the energy to come out and beg at the dinner table.

{Excuse me, what do you want now? It is my sixth nap of the day and you are interrupting...}

{I am not amused by you being in my face, crazy lady. }

{Maybe if I cover my eyes, you will go away.....}

No pictures of the bunny. She is happily living in her cage in Alex's room, the star of many home movies Alex has been making with his new little video camera he got for his birthday. He and Caroline find them quite amusing-- Ella the bunny and Caroline's stuffed animals are the lead actors with the kids' voices as voice over. Jason and I can't quite figure out the plot....

They might be considered a creative stream of consciousness.:)

First Day of School

After much anticipation and excitement, the first day of school arrived on Monday! I am so glad that my kids could hardly contain themselves about their first day at their new school. It makes the transition much easier for everyone--- I love that they are independent and willing to jump in with both feet. I was just little bit sad, though, because my baby started 1st grade and is gone all day....
my lunch partner is gone:( But she is doing great and loving her new school. That makes me happy!

The bus called "Daddy's Shuttle" leaves our house promptly at 7:30 each morning, and the bus called " Mommy's pick up service" has to leave to go get them at 1:30. The kids don't get out until 2:15, but if I don't get in line early, we won't get home until 3. I found this out the hard way the first day of school. What a mess of a pick-up line! It is a small school that does not have much room expanding the car pick-up area, plus not many families utilize the bus service.

If Caroline didn't get car sick, they most definitely would be riding the bus. I have to admit I got very spoiled these past few years with the great bus service we had in Indiana. They were the last to get on in the morning and the first to get off in the afternoon. But, I am going to utilize that 45 minutes I have to wait in the car--devotion time, phone calls, to-do lists....... all get done then.

Both kids really like their teachers, and I think they will both be challenged academically. After a year of no homework for Alex, I think it might be a bit of a rude awakening this year! It is good for him, though. :)

I know a lot of you are starting school this coming week. Praying that it goes smoothly and both parents and kids get back into the groove easily. (Bed time routine was a tad rough those first few days....)

Fun with Texas Friends

One advantage to living in a resort area is that we get to see lots of friends who come down here on vacation. The past few days we got to see our friends Todd and Emily, and their kids Sarah Kate, Caroline, and Jack. Jason and I met Todd and Emily back in Dallas when we were in the "newlyweds" Sunday school class at church. We had a blast catching up with them and the kids loved hanging out with their kids. Here are some pics from our times we got to hang out.


Last night we had them over to Pizza by the Sea for dinner. Needless to say, the boys loved
the pizza.


And the girls had fun hanging out by the toys.

On Saturday, they invited us over to their rental house in Seaside to have lunch and some beach time. I brought a cake over for Alex so he could blow out some candles and have someone other than Jason, Caroline and I sing him "Happy Birthday."

They all had fun swimming and playing with the boat. The boys liked pulling the girls around.:)

A little football game....

We had so much fun that we decided to extend our day and go out to dinner at the Red Bar. Jack and Alex passing the time with the IPad. I think Alex is hooked!

The two Caroline's coloring....

We were all pretty tired and hot by the end of the evening.

But it was a great day!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Yes, today my firstborn, my little boy, turned 10! I can hardly believe how fast a decade has gone by-- just like all parents say. It just seems like yesterday that we were holding him in our arms for the first time, chasing him around the house, teaching him how to ride his bike, taking him for his first boat ride, sending him off to school for the first time.

(his first day of kindergarten) How could you not be charmed by this adorable face? Those long eyelashes?

Pretty soon he will be going from driving this.....

to driving the real thing. (not a hummer though!) Ha!

We have all seen this ornery look before.....

and I am sure we will have to deal with some more shenanigans in his teen years.:)

We are so proud of the young man Alex is growing up to be. He has such a gentle, loving heart, a giving spirit, and a quick and curious mind. Jason and I can't wait to see what God has planned for him in the next decade of his life!

We love you, Bubs! You bring joy to our lives, and to the lives of those around you every day!

A Look Back

A pretty quiet week going on here, so I decided to post some pictures of some of the fun we had right before we made the big move.


This first one is of the kids tubing with our very close friends, the Barretts. Our kids have grown up together, and have been tubing since they were 2. We really miss our relaxing days on the lake hanging out with them.


Right before we left, some of our friends threw us a little going away party, and we all played some tennis, had some good food and laughs. Here's our "posed" picture by the lake.

Alex earned his red belt in karate a few weeks before we moved. It was quite a task and he had to work really hard to get it. He had to perform all of the forms that he knew, the kicks and punches, and break 5 boards in different ways. I always hold my breath when he has to break boards, but it was no big deal to him. Here he is with Master G, his instructor.

One last picture in front of our house:(

My two great friends Shannon and Kelsey put together a going away lunch for us attended by our church family. I am really missing these girls!

We have been so blessed to have made such wonderful and lasting friendships these last 8 years. Can't wait for some of these people to visit us in our new home state!

The Budding Artist

As promised, here are Caroline's creations from art camp last week! Here are her descriptions of her pictures:



This is my favorite painting done in acrylic paint. I like the shapes inside the shapes. I also like it because I got to use a paint palette.

This is an abstract painting. I put the sun in the wrong place, and the face parts are in the wrong place. I like it because it is silly.

This is a painting of my cat, Tick. He has too many legs.

This is my splatter painting. I like it because it looks like nothing. It was fun doing it. I am going to hang it in my room.



Okay, she also wanted me to take a picture of her new bedroom with her new bed and new quilt.

She loves it! (Thanks to all the grandparents for helping buy new stuff for her room!)

Finally, we have been enjoying eating the fruit from the trees in our yard. We have gotten several oranges from the one right next to our front door. Yum!