Miramar Beach, FL

I'm kind of all over the place with these posts, so please forgive me for the confusion.

During my sister's visit I was not only surprised with her but then Chris had one more surprise up his sleeve.  He told me that he had booked us at a beach resort in Florida for a couple days and it was strictly girls only.  Once again I was in shock and left speechless.  I mean really.  Beach.  Resort.  The words themselves just scream awesome times to come.  

Since this was just a girls weekend we called up Ashley and said, "Hey, do you, Mya, and your Mom (she was in town also) wanna go?" and then they said, "Heck yeah!" or something along those lines.  So the next day we packed up the car and made the 2 hour drive to the beautiful Emerald Coast.  

The resort was huge and beautiful and everyone there was so kind.  They kindly upgraded our room to a huge suite for free and we were left flabbergasted.  The room was huge and so very nice. 

View from our balcony.

Some quick and not so good snapshots of the room.  Everyone had their own bed with the exception of me and my sister.  We shared the king bed.

We didn't waste any time at all getting into our suits and jumping into the water.  Over the next 2 days that is where we could all be found.  Amanda and I spent the majority of our time in the ocean fighting strong currents and getting pummeled by huge waves.  As for Ashley, Mya, and Mega they found themselves loving the calmness of the big outdoor pool.  Whatever our preference, we all had an amazing time.  Amanda and I got way too much sun and had the burns to prove it, Mya never tired of jumping off the side into the pool, Ashley for once didn't get burnt which still has me scratching my head (she always burns), and I believe Mega enjoyed having such a unique time to spend with her daughter and granddaughter. 

That little red flag is indicating that the hazard level in the water is high.  I know we sure took a beating.  It was exhausting fighting the waves, but at the same time it was so much fun.  I was laughing so hard at my sister being washed up on shore like a dead fish.  

Sun was a little too bright on the eyes.

Soaking up the sun's rays.  I would later come to regret this decision greatly.

All that swimming made Mya ravenous.

Amanda, Me, and Ashley

Mya and Me

That resort was more than I could have imagined.  Thanks Chris for always spoiling me rotten with so many great opportunities. Loves!  XOXOX

Miramar Beach on Dwellable

Reeling Them In

When you add the big blue wide open ocean with fishing you get one of Chris' all time favorite activities, deep sea fishing. So when he was invited to go deep sea fishing with some people from our ward he jumped on the opportunity.  He had been once before when we vacationed in Mexico a few years back and has wanted to do it again ever since.

The men were mainly going out for one thing and that is the Red Snapper.   Many of fish were caught that day, but my man caught the biggest and in my humble opinion, probably the most delicious. 

Chris with the catch of the day.

That Red Snapper made some of the most delicious fish tacos I have eaten.  We can't wait for when he gets to do it again because really there are very few things that are better than that of fresh fish.

Surprise Visitor

In early June my sister managed to pull off quite the surprise when she showed up in Alabama.  I had absolutely no idea and was literally speechless when I saw her.  Speechless... but ecstatic.  She would be with us for about a week and oh the week we would have.

We took a trip to a beach resort (more on that to come), shopped, went to an arcade, shopped, ate delicious food, shopped, and simply just relaxed and enjoyed the time we had.  But mostly her trip here consisted of us shopping.  It was all very fabulous.

Thanks for the most unexpected but also the most awesome surprise!  Love you Sis!

Visiting Family in Muncie

At the end of April we embraced the opportunity and took a little trip to Muncie, IN for our niece's baptism.  We hadn't seen Chris' older sister and her family in about a year and a half so really a visit was quite over due.  

Kaylyn, Stuart, and the kids were all fantastic hosts and we had a fabulous time.  They taught us a new game, Ticket to Ride, and I loved it.  It was so much fun.  We got some quality time in with the kids.  They are growing way too fast and we couldn't believe it.  And to top it all off they fed us like kings.  Honestly as I think back on the time we spent there I can't recall a moment when I wasn't eating. 

The trip was very short but the night before we were to head home, I was told that sweet Akazia was very upset about us leaving and had cried.  That seriously melted my heart.  I was pretty set on leaving the day we planned on but upon hearing that, even I couldn't deny Akazia one more day.  It was all well worth it.  They took us to there favorite restaraunt and then we went bowling.  The trip felt much more complete after that.  

The day of her baptism.

After church on Sunday, we took a walk with the kids along the river next to their house. 

Chris and Gordon playing some one on one.

The gang at the bowling ally.  Please excuse the zombie eyes.  Iphone pictures aren't the best sometimes.

Ms. Maycie and Akazia, thank you guys for letting us sleep on your bunk beds.  And Maycie, I loved the Hello Kitty sheets.  They were so cozy.  Akazia, thanks for loving us so much that you didn't want us to go.  Gordon, you are awesome.  Thanks for going easy on me at dodgeball.

Thank you all for your wonderful hospitality.

Easter 2012

Easter weekend I found myself sick with the flu.  Ugh.  I seem to be sick a lot more here, in Alabama, than I ever was in Idaho. I was hoping that once Sunday rolled around I would be my perfect hostess self again since we were supposed to put on Easter dinner, but unfortunately it was the opposite. I woke up absolutely miserable and knew that I would be lucky to peel myself out of bed let alone create a dinner that would be edible. Our friends came to the rescue, prepared the dinner and held it at their house. I sent Chris over to their house to enjoy the holiday feast (no reason we should both be miserable) with promises of a plate being brought home to me. So that gave me something to look forward too.

But what Easter would be complete without an Easter Egg Hunt? Chris saw to it that I had one of my own. As I awoke Sunday morning, still in my sick daze, I stumbled into the living room to retrieve my Kleenex box and as I pulled out a tissue an egg fell out spilling its candy filling all over the table. I was so confused. It took me a minute to register what it was (I blame the sickness and the cold medicine I was on). And then as my eyes focused and my head cleared I looked around the house and saw that at some point the night before, Chris had set up my own little egg hunt. And from there I proceeded to collect all my little eggs.

This is what I gave Chris.  It was just plopped on the counter.  I am so lame.

After the hunt we had quite the plethora of Easter candy.  Each of those little eggs was filled with my Easter favorite.  Starburst Jellybeans!  Love em'.

It was so thoughtful and cute of him to do for me. I loved it. So with my sickness and all Easter was fabulous.

A Moment of Awwww

It's little things like this that make me fall in love with my husband a little deeper each day. It's him knowing those little details about me that show me just how right we are for each other.

Upon our return from Disney World I found this box waiting for me filled with the most glorious bounty.

Thirteen of these little gems of chap stick . In a region where my one and only favorite brand of chap stick is no where to be found, and he knew that I was scrapping the bottom of my final tube. He took it upon himself to find it for me and order it.

 I know what you're all thinking... "It's just chap stick?!"

But to me it's so much more. Like I said, it's the little things.

Visitors from the North

We had quite the fun and relaxing next few days with our special visitors. In all of the travels and many amazing places that Chris and I have lived, this is the first time that Chris' parents have seen us in our home away from home. We showed them a vacation away from kids and chaotic schedules and I like to think that they got some rest and rejuvenation from it. We told them to sleep in as late as they wanted and as soon as we were all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for our day we would show them the little things our town had to offer.

 We explored Alligator Alley and saw us some gators.  We took them to some of our favorite eats around town and even tried a brand new one that we saw on the Travel Channel.  We played frisbee golf. Twinkee insisted on showing them her favorite park on the bay. We played card game after card game. And no trip to Southern Alabama would be complete without a taking a trip to the Gulf.

Down by the bay.

Travel Channel sang praises of goodness about this place but I would give it a solid C.  The BBQ sauce was just a little too sweet for me.  Linda and Charlie seemed to enjoy it, so really that is all that matters.

They were both naturals at frisbee golf.

The wind made being in the water a little chilly, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

Their visit was over much too fast but we hope that they enjoyed being here as much as we enjoyed having them here.