Milestones

As I've mentioned before, I think this is a milestone year for my boys. Dylan and Riley are both in their last year at their respective schools. Dylan in 8th and Riley in 5th.

HOW CAN THIS BE? Yikes!

Here are a couple of their annual 1st day of school posed by mom pictures:

Oh and notice the tickers on the left? We are about 1 week from Dylan's 14th birthday and 1 month from Riley's 11th birthday. Again...I ask...HOW CAN THIS BE? Yikes!

The older you get - the faster time goes. Yep...that's it.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my husband of 19 years!

Wow! 19 years!

We dated for about 3 years before we got married so…that’s quite a while!

I can still remember being sooooo happy the day we got married.

I wanted to be an “on time” bride. (guess that’s because my ceremony was an hour long! YIKES! What was I thinking!!!) I was constantly asking what time it was. I was READY to walk down the aisle right at 6 p.m..

I had to walk behind the rows of chairs and then up the aisle to Ron. I was SMILING the entire time. I turned the corner to walk up the aisle and believe it or not my smile got even bigger when I saw him standing there waiting for me!

I remember during a song after we lit the unity candle we were looking into each other’s eyes. I leaned forward to tell him that I could see myself in his eyes and he said he had been thinking the exact same thing. Such a sweet moment.

I remember so many great things before and after we got married. I remember also so many trials and low moments too. But mostly I remember our love and that Jesus is in the middle of our love, our lives, our family, everything!

Ron, I love you more than words could ever describe. I thank God for our marriage and our family. Thank you for 19 plus amazing years! Here’s to many, many, many more!

Back into the groove

Well, we've been home a week and jumped right back in. I'm back at work. Ron is still looking for work. Dylan had a yearbook workshop and band stuff going on for school. Riley...just chillin' out before school starts in only another week. Yep - we're right back into the groove.

Vacation this year in Destin was truly AMAZING! The water was very clear all week. I never saw seaweed...not once. It was beautiful...sunny...every day. It was about 85 to 92 degrees. And with a beach breeze - that's tolerable for me. It only rained on Wednesday evening for about 2 hours. But we had already gotten a whole day of sun in so...all was ok.

There were many yummy seafood restaurants we ate at. There was many late evenings but many sleepy late mornings too. We slept well and we rested/relaxed well too. It truly is like our 2nd home there. We are missing it already.

Here's some pictures. Hope you enjoy.

Destin Vacation 2009

AMAZING WEEK!

Sunny, sunny days. Clear, clear water. Great seafood to eat for dinner.

We are relaxing! Having some good family time. (still getting our workouts in) Lots of sleep (including naps on the beach for mom and dad - can't beat that ocean breeze!)

This is one of our best years here yet!

So excited we still have 3 whole days left! YEA!!!

Happy Birthday Ron!

Leaving tomorrow

Going to

for our

to have some

1 week away

See those countdown tickers on my sidebar? Yeah...kind of over half way down...yeah...over there...

VACATION = 7 days away!!!

Ron's birthday = 7 days away!!!

Yippeee!!!

I've had a crazy busy time at work and Ron has been crazy busy searching for a job while keeping up with the boys this summer.

WE ARE READY !!!

And yep...just after we get back Ron and I will celebrate 19 years of marriage. Wow! I CANNOT believe that we have been married that long. He is the BEST husband I could have ever asked, hoped, dreamed, prayed for! love, Love, LOVE my man!!!

(by the way - he has lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks on a crazy diet...and is keeping it off! Sooooooo Proud!!!) (lost 2 more pounds after he got off too!!!)

Oh yeah, the other tickers? Dylan's 14 birthday is sneaking up on us in September and then Riley's birthday is not long after that in October. He will be 11. I'm trying to stay calm as I realize that these are kind of milestone years for them. Dylan will be in 8th grade and Riley will be in 5th. They will be finishing out their last year at their respective schools. (mom's seriously trying to not cry over every event this year as she watches her boys mature)

Well...back to the vacation...we are going back to Destin (been there about 10 or 12 summers in a row). We will be stopping over in New Orleans to spend the night so it's not such a long time in the car. Also, there is a Louie Armstrong Jazz Festival and for my saxophone player (Ron) and trumpet player (Dylan) it's kind of a cool deal. Also, just a fun way to celebrate Ron's birthday. This may be the last time we go to Destin, for a while anyway, as we are wanting to see some other American sights now that the boys are older. We are going back to the same condo complex that we've been the last 2 years but will be in a different condo. I'll leave ya'll with a sneak peek at the place.

If you feel so led please pray for safe travels and a week of relaxation and no worries of work. Heck - no worries - PERIOD.

Growing up & getting ready

Look at our boys! Wow! They are growing up so fast.

Dylan is almost 14 and will be in the 8th grade.
Riley is almost 11 and will be in the 5th grade.

And we are about 2 weeks from our annual beach vacation!
We leave on Ron's birthday and will be spending that night in New Orleans. Fun times.

Right after we return we will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversay. How did that come around so fast? 19 years...what??? Wow!

August is a busy month. Dylan has band practices and a yearbook staff workshop then school starts.

Summer is slipping by waaaaaaaay tooooooo fast. :(