Back to the Island

Which island you ask? Dauphin Island of course. I grew up on this island every summer. I love everything about this place and the older I get the more meaning it all has to me. My sister, Tiffany, couldn't have said it any better. See her blog about the Island here. Are you crying yet? OK, well I will go ahead and recap the weekend. My moms 60th birthday and Mothers day coincided this year, so my sisters and I decided to give her a week at the beach.

Every day was pretty much the same and went like this... After breakfast, my mom would have Vacation Bible School with the kids

where a bible passage was read

followed by a craft and a snack.

All the kids loved this. Next we would pack up and head to the beach for swimming and playing all day long.

At some point we would come in to eat...

And every day would end with kids crashing. (It was a 5 bedroom house for 4 couples plus my Paw-Paw and 8 children and a baby.) Kids slept everywhere!

Landon was in the water every second of every day so I really don't have a lot of pictures of him. And his little face was scalded the first day from the sun...shame on me for not reapplying sunscreen. When I say scalded it was first scarlett and then a purplish, and when it started to peel he looked like a burn victim...it was awful. He saw his face in the mirror and said "they should be ashamed of themselves" referring to Ash and I. And we were/are ashamed!

Lucy was a hit with all her cousins...

and this sweet face could pretty much sum up everyones feelings for the week...

Everything about the week was perfect and just as I remembered growing up maybe even a little better as I watch my own children creating their own memories on this beloved island!

YAY

We got the house!! We went back and forth a few times but finally got it at the price we wanted. I highly recommend making your offer and then heading to the beach for the negotiating. I wasn't sitting by my phone waiting for it to ring or worrying that we would loose it to another offer, it was completely stress free. Anyhow, inspection is scheduled for Monday and Ashley's dad is planning on coming up early next week for his approval. The house is occupied but heres a sneak peak at the inside...

...more to come when inspection passes and we get my father-in-laws blessing.

On Our Way Home

We have done it again! We just made an offer on another house...THE house!

I love this house way more than any other I have seen, and I have seen plenty. I was looking through all of the print outs and I have now seen 54 houses. But this is THE house! I love everything about it...the kitchen, great room, basement, all the windows and all the light, our patio and did I mention that the yard is huge !

And, oh how I love the courtyard!

Everything about it makes me so happy! We just met with the realtor and put in our initial offer. They have 24 hours to give us a response, so may the anxiety begin. We are on our way to the beach tomorrow so we will be doing all our negotiating from the surf and sand...can't beat that! Anyway, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer... I will keep y'all posted!

Its a Family Tradition

For the past few years now, we have gotten together with my husbands family for a camping trip to the Smokey Mountains. This year was the third year so now its tradition. And this is a real camping trip: sleeping in tents, cooking on a campfire, no showers, etc. Anyone who knows me must be shocked that I go and will be even more shocked to know that I LOVE it! There is something really fun about having to get all prepared and hunkered down for a few days. There is no cell phone reception whatsoever and the nearest anything is 45 minutes away. So it is a true getaway. We arrived Friday afternoon to this...








The Elkmont Campground is located inside the Smokey Mountain park and is situated alongside a mountain stream. The water is freezing but very refreshing when you need it. And at night, there is nothing better than the sound of that stream as you drift asleep. I can say that I sleep very peacefully camping regardless of the black bear warnings posted everywhere! Of course, we had 2 protectors, Jetta and Dora that kept watch for us.



We awoke Saturday to a breakfast of fried eggs and bacon cooked on the campfire. Some friends of my sister in law came up for the day with their two girls and 10 week old baby, Kadyn...isn't he precious!?






After breakfast, we all decided to go on a hike. So 7 adults, 5 children and a baby made our way through one of the trails in the park. The trail was paved and it ran alongside the stream. So we got a decent workout with an incredible view and many many rests along the way.







On the last part of the hike, we saw a huge shadow that flew over and landed on this tree. I have NEVER seen an owl in the wild. I was just as thrilled if not more so than the kids were at the sight of it.

After the hike, the kids played hard, making mud pies, exploring, tubing, etc






And the adults relaxed...

Saturday ended with extreme hunger followed by exhaustion...

As much as I love the camping for the weekend, I am ALWAYS ready to go home on Sunday. I have reached my limit on no bathing, campfire smoke, etc. We pack up and head out but always stop somewhere for a big meal before making the long trip home. This year we stopped by the Back Porch Restaurant in Townsend and actually remembered to get a group photo minus a few of us.

Until next year...

Schools Out for the Summer

Landon's first year of school ended last week with a bang. There was spirit day, kindergarten picnic with awards, and a year end party. Since, I have been so uninvolved as a classroom parent this year, I volunteered to help with the year end gifts. This past Christmas, I saw the cutest gift that was made for neighbors, teachers, friends, etc, so I decided to copy for the year end school gift.

First gather the following:

Then, buy gift certificates for ice cream and make up a poem. ( I am embarrassed to say this took me a long time to come up with)

Make balls out of the shredded paper like so...

Then place on top of the ice cream cone like this...

Place in a cellophane bag, tie with a ribbon and attach the gift certificate and poem

Landon thought it was "cool" (no pun intended) and said his friends "liked them a lot. " Thanks to Mountain Brook Creamery for giving me such a great deal on the gift certificates! I believe we will make a stop for ice cream tomorrow. Happy Summer everyone!