Happy 4th of July...a little late

So our 4th of July plans derailed due to Chad's work requiring him to be in Panama City last minute on Friday the beginning of the 4th weekend. We were planning to head north to Birmingham to visit family and do a little shopping but instead Chad headed to Panama City and James and I stayed home. We got a call from Chad Saturday morning saying he got us a room for the night in Destin for James and I to pack our things. I was thrilled to head back to the beach but also thrilled we were not going to spend the entire weekend at home. Within a few hours we sitting in the sand watching the waves crash without the company of oil or tarballs...Peaceful

We were up early the next morning so we headed to Baytowne for breakfast.

The weather was more than perfect as we sat outside for breakfast. There was a constant cool breeze with hardly any humidity. It definitely did not feel like July 4th. We had a few guests join us for breakfast...

Ever since Chad took James to see Toy Story 3 while I was away with the girls we have had a slight obsession with Buzz and Woody to put it mildly. They go everywhere with us and provide entertainment for us during our dining outings.

After breakfast we packed up our stuff and headed home. We considered staying another night because the weather was SO nice but I had left Baxter outside with plenty of water and food and knew he would be fine for one night but 2 might be stretching it. I was afraid the neighbors might call the humane society on us. On our way home Chad made a quick stop by a fireworks stand and picked up a few things. He didn't get too much because we feared James may not like fireworks and they would end up in the trash. HA! We were wrong. He loved them! And I am pretty sure Chad had just as much fun as James did. I am afraid next year we will have bigger and better fireworks!

Yes people before you go calling DHR we let our 2 year old hold his own sparkler. Not to worry one of us was very close by the entire time. He began drawing circles in the air with his sparkler and the end of the circle came a little too close to the bottom of his shirt for me and it was all over. I believe my panic mode kicked in while the camcorder was rolling...need to be sure and delete that scene as it might be a little embarrassing for me to watch :) It turned out to be a great weekend despite the change in plans!

Fruits and Flowers, or Appliances

Today, July 8th 4 years ago I married my best friend. And yes it was July 8th not July 6th for some of family members, whom I will not name here, who got a little confused this year. It was one of the happiest days of my life. The emotions you feel that day are indescribable and I wish it was possible to go back and relive that day. The past 4 years have been great to us and each year has been pretty significant thus far. We have had our good times and our bad times but we have definitely grown together and stood by each other on numerous occasions. Marriage is so very hard but is also so very rewarding and I wouldn't have it any other way. The traditional anniversary gift for 4 years is fruits and flowers and the alternate is appliances?? Who comes up with this stuff? Either way I did get flowers today which is a RARE occasion...I guess he has been reading up on his traditions or he got really lucky...I am thinking it is the latter :) I guess I will be purchasing Chad some fruit (?) on my way home from work. Here is to 4 wonderful years and I can't wait to see what is in store for many more!

BEACH!

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend at the beach with these great girls.

We enjoyed the white sands with a few added tarballs from the BP oil spill, I am not sure if most of you have heard about it...ha!

This is how we spent most of the day, lounging, taking long walks and a couple of us actually joined a beach volleyball game. Just in case you were wondering it wasn't me. As I learned from the trip apparently I need to join the exercise train and start eating things like granola, yogurt, kashi cereal, and oatmeal (not the kind kind with the dried fruit and sugar).

I also learned several anti-aging tips on this trip such as coating the tops of your hands with a good sunscreen because your hands usually show age first and not crossing your legs because it causes varicose veins. I have been catching myself uncrossing several times at work :) Wow how times have changed. Before beach trips consisted of maximizing your tan and talking about the next party and now we are lathered up with protective sunscreen and talking extensively about where we are going to eat dinner. All in all we had a blast! We laughed alot, drank wine, ate really well (except for one night :) and thoroughly enjoyed each others company!

By Sunday I was so excited to come home and see this little guy.

Thanks to Chad for letting me getaway for a couple of days and keeping the house in order while I was gone. I came home to a polished coffee table,clean sheets and empty laundry baskets!