Saturday, May 28, 2016

Happy anniversary (and birthday!)

Mike & I celebrated our 14th anniversary (and my 37th birthday) on Tuesday, May 24th so we decided to hit the road to St. Augustine to celebrate!  My mom was sweet enough to come up & watch the kids for a few nights, so we were able to get away by ourselves.  As hard as it can be to leave the kids, it's super important to get some one on one time to remember why we fell in love in the first  place!  Life, work & kids can be pretty distracting sometimes, so it was great to be relaxed, with no particular agenda!


Since we live on the Gulf coast of Florida, we get to see the sunsets whenever we hit the beach.  Since St Augustine is on the Atlantic coast, we took advantage of the sunrise & hit the beach at the butt crack of dawn.  The morning was positively gorgeous, a tad chilly & we had the moon behind us as the sun rose in front of us.



May is a great month for a getaway since school is still in session & not many people are on vacation yet.  We had the beach to ourselves & it was just perfect.


After breakfast on the beach we decided to hit the St Augustine lighthouse since we've never been.


The views were spectacular & the weather was just as nice.  Mike was pretty freaked out since he has a fear of heights, but eventually he relaxed & began to enjoy it.  He must have gotten into my head because on the descent, my legs were extremely wobbly as I looped my way round & round the spiral staircase.



After the lighthouse, we moved from our spot on the beach to the downtown area where we spent the next two days.  If you've never been to St Augustine, it's a really awesome place to visit.  We're lucky to be a three hour car ride away!


After we checked into the apartment we rented, we grabbed the bikes that were available to us & just hit the streets, stopping where ever caught our eye.



It was so nice to be away from the non-stop to-do list & put on a care-free, fun attitude!  


We continued to start our mornings super early & head back to the apartment at 8pm, like a geriatric couple!




For my actual birthday, I wanted to keep the evening low-key & avoid & drawn-out, stuffy meal.  I opted to choose martinis on the water & then hit a local pizza place for dinner. It was awesome!


As we drove home, Mike noticed I was transitioning back into business as usual mode as I listed off what needed to be done for the week.  We both said, "Uh, oh, our fun bubble is going to pop!"  As the kids were screaming & fighting over Lord knows what that evening, we looked at each other & agreed the fun bubble had officially burst!
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Baseball & mermaids

What do baseball & mermaids have in common?  Not much other than a couple of weekends ago, we got to watch two baseball games & see some mermaids all in one day!!


My parents & my nieces came up to spend the entire weekend with us which was so fun.  The kids have a blast & stay up way too late each night & we all enjoy just relaxing & catching up.  Not to mention that my mom is a HUGE help when she's over!   


The baseball season is coming to an end & there's only a few more games left.  Reese has had a bit of a like/hate relationship with baseball... some days she likes it, some days she hates it!


One particular game she only wanted to squat in the field & not even glance as a ball as it wizzed by her.  She'd approach the plate to bat at a snail's pace & not quicken her speed as we yelled, "Reese, hustle up!!"


But I'm proud to say that her last couple of games, she's shown a lot more effort!


She even got her second game ball at her last game!  Way to go, Reese!


As you can see in the photo above, she even threw the ball & stepped with the correct foot!!


Here Reese is on first base with her fellow baller, Brooks.  So stinking cute!


As they often do, Cam had a game at the same time as Reese this day.  Luckily their fields are back to back so we're able to park ourselves in the middle.  I'm surprised we don't get whiplash from looking back & forth so much.




Sports are SO much more competitive than I remember them as a kid.  I'm hoping Cam keeps his main focus on baseball since he enjoys it so much.  He dabbles in other sports like football & we're considering a summer basketball league.  With the competition being so high it seems like if you don't eat, sleep & drink the sport, you're completely blown away by other kids the same age.


I'm always taken aback by some of the parents in the stands who get so serious about seven year olds playing little league!!  Lighten up & let them have fun!


In the league Cam's in, he still switches positions so he can continue to learn




Playing catcher is a dirty job!!


But he can still smile about it!


After the baseball games, we headed up to WeekiWachee Springs to see a mermaid show.


You might remember me mentioning WeekiWachee in the past since it's the same place where I was brutally attacked by a horsefly & subsequently flipped the family canoe & subsequently trashed my brand new cell phone & lost my nice sunglasses all the while scarring my children.  If you've forgotten this tale, feel free to click here to refresh your memory!!


They also have a little water park/swimming hole attached, so the kids had a great time.


Maddy & Reese getting ready to watch The Little Mermaid show.


I've never been very comfortable in natural waters, so watching this kind of creeped me out.  The "mermaids" hit tubes of oxygen as they need it so they're able to stay underwater & perform.


Reese was excited to meet a mermaid!


Here's Cam & Mikayla coming down the water slide!


The water park is in the springs so it's amazingly pretty & clear!



We had such a great weekend!
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