Florida - Day 1

This is what happens when you haven't been on a computer in weeks.  You have 100 pictures to share and a million thoughts to catch up on.

We decided to spend the week of Spring Break in Florida.  Despite the 16 hours of driving each way, it was well worth it.  We had such a fantastic trip.  We arrived in Niceville late on Saturday so our first full day was Sunday.  We were up early and on our way out to Seaside we took a drive through my old neighborhood in Bluewater Bay.  It was so nostalgic.  I really love driving by and allowing the memories to come flooding back.

My parents were the original owners of 1223 Whitewood Way so when we moved in there were very few trees.  These days they have taken over the streets.  It was so wild to see what a difference several years can make.  It's also hard to believe that I haven't lived under that roof for 18 years.  Talk about feeling my age.

From there we drove through Blue Mountain Beach and made our way to brunch at The Red Bar.  Kevin's parents were kind enough to make the trip out to have lunch with us.  We had a really nice time although we were bummed that one of our favorite local bands, Dread Clampitt, had taken the day off to do an out-of-town festival.

After brunch we took in the gorgeous view before saying a temporary goodbye to Grandma & Granddad.

We spent about an hour in Seaside, strolling the shops and once again taking that fun trip down memory lane.  Kevin and I both worked at Bud & Alleys and have so many awesome memories from those days.

If we were ever to win the lottery, this is where you would find us....permanently.  It's my dream to one day live there.  After daydreaming about our future, we got in the car and made our way to Panama City Beach where we would spend the next several days.

Good Gosh Almighty, Mootsie's 90!

On March 17th my gorgeous Gram rang in her 90th year.  It's so hard for me to believe that she's 90.  She is definitely very young at heart and she's still as beautiful as she ever was.  Eat your heart out Betty White! 

We flew to Tennessee to surprise her and to be a part of a big birthday party that she knew nothing about.  My Aunt Jill & Uncle "Nemo" David drove in with her on Friday afternoon.  It was so awesome to see her face when we walked out to greet her. 

And then it was great to see her face when my cousin, Kelly, walked in later that day.  Followed by the shock of seeing her son, Chip, and his wife, Barbara.  And then walked in her niece, Jean, and her husband, Kenny.  Next up was her daughter, Jody, and her husband, Tommy.  She wasn't awake when my brother, Josh, arrived but that left yet another surprise for her the next morning. 

My mom really went all out getting everything prepared for the party.  There were 90 shamrocks in bouquets and each one said something special about Gram (i.e. Mootsie, Ma, Mother, Aline).  All of her friends and family contributed to the messages.  Oh, and that awesome shirt she's wearing?  That was from me. 

In addition to the shamrocks were several old photos.  We all loved looking at them.  Gram was a total babe and could have been on the cover of a magazine. 

Check her out!

And she probably felt pretty famous all day with the amount of cameras she had on her.  It was like the paparazzi were there with us. 

This was the first time in several years that all four of her kids were together.  What a good looking bunch they are!  Good genes!

Uncle Kenny & Aunt Jean

The Losch family (missing Pie)

The Argote Family (missing Aimee)

A whole lot of love!

Three grand kids

The awesome cake!

And a new TV.....trust me, she needed it! 

Doesn't Talan look like Tom Cruise in Risky Business?  This was towards the end of the night.  He was full of cake and whatever other junk food he could get his hands on.  Hot mess!

And before we knew it we were back on the airplane and headed home.

I'm so glad we were able to spend such a special day with my Gram.  She is such an amazing woman and has touched so many lives.  Happy 90th year of life, Mootsie!  We love you so very much. 

Number Two

No, this post isn't about poop.  It's about Talan and his adventures in soccer.  He's been asking to play for a while now (which Kevin is thrilled about!) so we finally signed him up to play.  But first we had to get his mohawk freshened up.

They even put a red-colored hair gel in it for him.  The following day Kevin worked from home and took Talan to his first practice to see how he liked it.  He didn't just like it, he loved it!

Today was his first official practice so they assigned him a jersey.  I couldn't believe it....they gave him #2 which was Kevin's number when he played on the high school team.  It was meant to be! 

The coach said that he is a natural and already has great skill.  He moved him up a class so that he won't get bored.  I'm super excited for him. 

In other Talan news, it's been a rough week for him.  He's had several accidents and has battle wounds to prove it. 

Good thing he is a tough kid.

Gutter Queen

Last weekend we had the whole morning free so we decided to hit the local bowling alley.  We haven't bowled in I don't know how long.  Well, that is if you don't count the Wii bowling that we've done.  I was shocked to see that they made shoes small enough for the kids' teeny tiny feet but they do! 

Talan got to use this super cool contraption to help him launch his ball down the lane. 

We call Kevin "striker" because he is prone to getting plenty of strikes when he bowls.

And meet "spare-dini".  She's a really great bowler.  She is very competitive though so watch out.

This was his reaction pretty much every time he sent a ball down the lane.

And this is the only picture you'll see of me. 



I bowled a 56. Serious as a heart attack. And I was trying! Not sure what got into me but I had some serious bad bowling voodoo that day. I think I'm almost ready for redemption. Almost....I have to wait long enough that the employees forget my face and my score first.

Center Stage

The second grade classes did a cute little musical production on Monday.  Reese was thrilled to have landed one of the lead parts for her class.  They were all adorable and we were so proud of Reese.  This kid really has no fear when it comes to being on stage.  It amazes me because I'm the polar opposite. 

We could tell that they all put a lot of work into it and that they were very proud. 

And here is a video clip:

It is a true joy, watching her do what she loves and with such passion.

Hip Hoppin

Reese absolutely loves her hip hop dance class.  I usually pick her up out front because I've got Talan with me but last week I was able to go in and get a video clip.  She is so stinkin cute (if I do say so myself)!

Happy Birthday Dear Kevin

Once again I have slacked where my blogging is concerned.  I was able to steal Kevin's laptop so here comes the catch-up.  Last week Kevin celebrated his 39th birthday.  It's hard to believe that in one short year he will officially be "over the hill".  Where has the time gone? 

We were happy to have house guests to help us celebrate.  Kevin's parents drove in from Florida and spent a week with us.  They are still trying to catch up on sleep and rest because when they are here there is never a dull moment.  One of the highlights of their visit was watching Reese and her Granddad in a jam session.  Of course Talan wasn't about to be left out so he grabbed a guitar and sat in on it. 

 Grandma got a lot of lovin' during their visit, too.  That is when she wasn't being bossed around in the ump-teenth game of school.  She's such a good sport.

Talan was very excited to help me make daddy's birthday cake.  Kevin has the same request every year...butter cake with chocolate icing. 

After a long day of work we were excited to have him home.  We went out to dinner that night but unfortunately it was some of the worst food we've ever eaten.  So disappointing but at least we ended it with cake!

Happy 39th to the love of my life!  Thanks for sharing nearly half of those years with me.  I love you!