No oil...but lots of activity

Okay, so there were signs of the natural disaster. We did see lots of helicopters and crews monitoring and preparing for the event of oil/tar reaching the beach. It was kind of weird to be sun bathing and then see tractors transporting dozens of men to and from their areas on the beach. It made me thankful for what we do have, and that others were ready to jump in so that I (and you, too) can continue to have the beach that we so love.

Look at all those men in yellow vests....

Rumor had it that these men were "practicing" for clean-up. Interesting that they were paid great amounts to practice.

Beach Trip...Splish Splash

Our second beach trip to Destin was fantastic!!! No oil here--but lots of excitement and enjoyment! A great vacation/work trip :)

View from our room

Scott body surfing

Got him!

We LOVE the ocean and are so thankful that we can enjoy it. It is our hope and prayer that the oil disaster is quickly and carefully resolved so that we can continue to vacation here. We also have the people that live and work on the Coast in our thoughts and prayers, because they are the ones who make our vacations so enjoyable.

4th of July

It seems that we were in need of a low-key celebration for the 4th of July this year....so we headed to Birmingham to visit Brad and Bentley, and were treated to a day of relaxation at the Brimingham Country Club. Nice. We loved it! Golfing, sunning, eating, reading, swimming, drinking, and napping were all marked off our list. Perfect. Thank you B and B for hosting us!!

CANNNNNNNONN-BALLLLLL turned CAN-OPENER!

We got a quick visit in with the Sheheane family. I had to share a picture of my best friend's precious baby, Claire. She is such a doll and I love her much! Wells, her 2-year-old,was way too busy to pose for a picture :)

And since we were feeling patriotic, we made a quick stop on our way out of town to visit a statue (the closest we could get to Lady Liberty). This is not just any statue--it's the world's largest cast iron statue and considered one of the most memorable works of civic art in the United States. It is the Vulcan, and it's worth a visit. Scott and I first visited the Vulcan on Valentines Day in 2005 on one of our weekends while long-distance dating, so it's doubly special for us.

A new kind of treat....

As you know by now, Mo is spoiled. Just to show you how sweet we are to him....

He got a new "treat" from Mom and Dad:

Let me check this out....

The ole sniffer test...and then a little taste.

Oh, yes! This is MINE!

Don't even think about taking it back (and yes, it stuck to his paw).

Camp Sloan is in session...

A few weeks ago, Catherine brought the boys down for a week at Camp Sloan. We had a blast--non-stop entertainment! It's such fun to see Luke and Joseph and I always enjoy spending time with them because I am quickly reminded how active, imaginative, and simply priceless little ones can be. It was great to spend a long week with them, too, because we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like. We packed a lot in--playing, reading, Toy Story 3, fireworks, spend the night parties, pool time, fishing, playing, yogurt, story time, water fights, shopping, girl talk, playing, eating, concerts, playing...the list goes on and on. We were excited to see Jeremy at the end of the week, as he was able to make a last minute getaway from work to join us for a few days. I only got a few pictures because we were always on the go!

This was on a lunch outing to the "cheese pizza store" with Reese and Luke. They came to pick me up from school (work) and we went to eat a quick lunch. Luke found my magic Mickey ears, and asked if he could wear them. Sure! Why not?

A new store that we frequent is Ya-ya's Yogurt Shoppe. Luke and Joseph quickly discovered why we love it so--you get to serve yourself! Thank goodness Cate and I were there to chaperone.

Building blocks with Uncle Scott is SO fun (can't you just tell!)

Sweet Joseph snuggled and reading with Reese

Pure joy--just look at this baby, squealing with delight as he attempts to "jump" in the pool.

Gotta love "fishing" in the pool. The best part is that you are guaranteed a fish every time!

I love this picture!

We had a BLAST and cannot wait to see you again in a few weeks. Love y'all!

Happy Father's Day

One of my favorite things to do in Oxford is to enjoy the Summer Sunset Series, a month-long concert in the Grove. A good crowd gathers for music, picnics, and dancing. We've not taken up the dancing yet (which is actually little children running freely and wildly in front of the stage--a child-friendly mash-pit, if you will). Scott and I love to pack a picnic and take Mo for a fun (and free!) evening. The Sunday of Father's Day, we had quite a crowd. Mom and Dad and Sarah, Jeffrey and Hayes joined us, as well as my friend, Duncan. Shortly after we settled in, our good friend Wendy, and her twins, Jane Reeves and Evelyn, made their way to our blanket. It was such fun to visit and hang out with family and friends.

Our group grew...notice none of the men in the group are paying attention!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! You are the BEST and I love you so, so much. You make me proud and I am honored to be your little girl. Thank you for all of the important lessons you've taught me and the endless fun we've had. XOXOX

Special Visitors

Over the past few weeks, we've had several special visitors to our house. I haven't been able to take pictures of all of our friends, but wanted to give a special shout-out to them anyway.

Can you believe that we had the ICE CREAM MAN come by our house?!? I was so excited...and so was Scott! He had been doing yard work, and when I came outside to check on him, we both heard it at the exact same time....the beautiful melody that immediately took us back to our childhood. What a treat! This ice cream man sells lots of goodies--including pizza and tacos. I kept it simple and ordered 2 fudge popcicles. After paying, I realized that ice cream is not immune to inflation either. Oh well, it was worth the trip down memory lane.

Of course, I took a picture. Doesn't his ride look like an old short church bus? Kinda weird.

As for our over-night visitors, we recently had our good friend Gracyn stay with us while her parents were celebrating their anniversary (yeah!). Our special treat for Gracyn was a trip to Ya-Ya's for yogurt. (They charge by the ounce, so it rivaled the ice cream man.) Ya-ya's is on the Square, so we got to take Mo along. We had a blast with Gracyn!

We also had Mo's good friend and cousin, Sipsey, stay with us for several nights.

Doesn't Mo look thrilled? He does like it when Sipsey comes over, but he has to act cool about it.

Other visitors that I did not get a picture of include our friends, the Davis family. Their house got struck by lightening, so while they were dealing with insurance folks, they were nomads. We gladly had them stay with us for a night (and would have longer, but they got much fancier accommdations in a condo on the Square!). I wish I had snapped a pic because I just love their daughters, Raegan (7), Farryn (4), and Brooklyn (14 mo). Precious. Love them.

We also had my good friend, Duncan, stay one night with us as he was in town to sign his new contract with Oxford Middle School. I am estatic that the Duncan and Amber--with their wonderful daughters, Harper (3) and Sadie (1)--are moving to Oxford! Yahooooooooooooo! Duncan and I grew up together and became very close while at Alabama. It makes me happy to know that before long we'll be raising our children in our hometown. He and I had a great time catching up...and probably stayed up way too late for "old" people.

We had 1 more special visitor, but I'll save that for another post.