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!

Flashback Friday

Alex 's many years at the beach!!



Age 9 months- Galveston, Texas

Age 1 1/2 Ft. Myers

Age 2: Sanibel Island

Age 3: Ft. Myers

Age 4: Destin

Age 5: Destin

Age 6: Destin

Age 7: Santa Rosa Beach with cousin Jackson

Age 8: Santa Rosa Beach

Art Camp, Nature Hikes, and Swim Lessons

This week has been busy! Caroline started a little art camp on Monday that goes 4 days from 9-12. Each day she gets to do a Bible devotion, study an artist, and draw/paint in their style. She has been loving it-- I will take some pics of her favorite creations and post them later this week.

The first day of art camp, Alex and I decided to go on a nature hike through Point Washington State Forest. It has been fun spending one-on-one time with him while Caroline is busy painting. He helped me put this blog post together with these pictures, and these are his descriptions of the pictures he took on our hike.



This lizard was shedding his skin and we saw him climbing a tree. He was a grayish green with black spots. He was really cool.

This is the pretty path we walked on during our nature walk. (It would be good for riding your dirt bike.)

I took a picture of these pretty flowers I found on the side of the path. I took a picture of yellow and purple ones.

At the beginning of the path I found this weird moss next to some trees. They were different colors: green, blue, and white. I wanted to take some home but Mom said NO.

Last, I found this red ant hole in the path. Red ants were swarming in and out of the hole carrying dead bugs and plants into it and looking for more food.



Okay, back to me {Kristi}.

The kids also started two weeks of swim lessons. We have to drive to Panama City Beach to a Rec Center there, but it's really nice -- it has an Olympic size outdoor pool plus a fun kids play area with slides and fountains. They have really enjoyed swimming every day.. and Alex has even mentioned being interested in joining the swim team. ( I am not sure how his father feels about this though...:)

A Quiet Weekend

Hope you all had a good weekend! It was a quiet one here. On Friday, the kids finished up Vacation Bible School. Here is a picture of Caroline and her very sweet teacher, Ms. Jamie, and her granddaughter who was in Caroline's group, whose name is Sidney.



The kids had a great time and we are so thankful for the church and all of the volunteers who spent time teaching the kids about Jesus, making crafts, singing, and cooking!

Alex and Caroline met some new friends this week who live down the street. Cyrus and Grace came over to play on Friday, and they had so much fun together. After playing with only each other for almost a month, the kids were excited for some new playmates!

Saturday, we had to run some errands in Destin, so we stopped by my parent's house for a swim and some relaxation time.

And today after church, we went to the beach for a few hours and Jason took the kids out on the kayak. Nothing too interesting was spotted, but they had fun looking!

Only two more weeks until school starts, so we are trying to enjoy every last minute of our summer vacation!