June 2012

I'm kind of in denial that June is just 1 day from being over! We got back from our family vacation on June 1st and had the whole summer ahead of us and now, there's just a month and a half left. It always goes so fast, but this summer, we are trying to pack in as much fun as possible!

The first full week of June started off with VBS at our church. That's always a wild week, but the girls loved it and I worked with a great group of kids. I had Maddie's group - the kids going into 1st grade and they were so good.

The girls and I decided to make a list of things we want to try to do this summer and so far, we've knocked off quite a few things from that list. Some things we've done the month of June from our Summer Fun list are: Swim with friends at Alma Waterpark, meet friends for lunch and play at Chick Fil A, go to Cici's Pizza for "make your own pizza" day with our MOPS group, have friends over to spend the night, play board games, make Rice Krispie treats, make crafts, have a lemonade stand, and go swimming with friends.

We still have quite a few things we'd like to do and plan to pack the month of July full of fun activities. I really want to make fun memories with them - some of the things we are going to do cost money, but lots of them are just fun things we can do for free at home or with friends.

Here are some pictures of our summer fun so far!

Vacation 2012

We spent all last week in Destin, FL with my parents and my sister and her family. It was as close to the perfect vacation as one could get. I found the rental house online several months ago. I always end up being the "house hunter" for our trips. It's kind of nerve racking because if we get there and it's a dump, I feel a lot of responsibility. HA! But, we arrived and couldn't have loved the rental home any more. It was a great set up, plenty of bedrooms and space for all of us, and the best pool area we've ever had. I imagine we will stay in that neighborhood again - we all loved it.

My parents made this trip so wonderful for all of us. They went above and beyond to make it memorable for us and our kids. We can't thank them enough for all they did and do for us. They don't have to, yet they do, and we love and appreciate them so much! These are memories that we will all have for a lifetime. Nothing can replace that. Thank you, mom and dad - we had an amazing time and already look forward to our next trip!

We did a ton of fun stuff while we were there. Of course we spent a lot of time at the beach and pool, but we also got pedicures, went shopping, played golf, went deep sea fishing, went out to eat, cooked in, had our own family version of Cupcake Wars, went for ice cream, took Mabrie to Build A Bear, played games and just enjoyed being together. The weather was sunny and hot every day. It did rain twice, but both times were in the middle of the night, so it didn't interrupt our plans during the day at all - perfect!!

Here are some pictures of the week and all the fun we had! Very blessed and thankful for the time to get away. We know full well that not everyone has the time or money to take a vacation each summer, and we don't take it for granted that we are able to do this as a family. Blessed, indeed!