Bad Blogger

I am a bad blogger. It's been almost a month since my last post, which seems impossible, but July flew by and before I knew it... it was August! Why is it that the summer goes by so fast?? I guess the old adage is true.. time flies when you're having fun. And we've been having lots of fun!

Here's a re-cap of our fun summer...

1. Brian and I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary in June! Yay us! :) We had a great date night with dinner at the restaurant where our rehearsal dinner was held. So greatful to the Lord for his faithfulness in our marriage and for my sweet husband.



2. Our fabulous beach vacation to the gulf coast of Florida.

3. My mom and I celebrated our birthdays in July. I celebrated what I've been calling "the one before the big one" and my mom celebrated her 60th... she won't like it that I told you. ;)

A few years ago....


and now...


We celebrated my mom with a dinner at Macaroni Grill complete with a yummy cake from Celebrity Bakery and some surprise guests! Our sweet friend Patty, her husband Omar and their daughter Bella came in town from Houston to suprise my mom. She had absolutely no idea and the look on her face was priceless. So fun!!

The next night I had a fabulous girl's night out dinner at La Duni, one of my very favortie places. Such a sweet night with friends... yummy food, delish margarinha and best of all... adult conversation!! It was long overdue and I am so thankful for the beautiful ladies who made my night so great! Love each and every one of you!




And apparently, I have the most ridiculous facial expressions ever when opening birthday presents... sigh.




4. At the end of July Avery and I flew to Ohio to visit with my family there. We had a wonderful time as always at my Aunt Jenny & Uncle Alan's. My sister Becca and her son Kaden (14 months) and my cousin Becca (yes that's right, two Beccas) and her son Matthew (19 months) were also there. It was so much fun to see those kiddos running around together. Avery loved playing with those boys! We played outside, swam in the pool, went to the park to play, fed the geese & ducks and got to experience Kaden & Matthew's first pospsicle!! It was great to spend time with my precious grandparents and watch them delight in all the great grandbabies. I loved the "mom talks" I was able to have with my sister and cousin and the "adult talks" we had after the kiddos were in bed. It's fun that we all have kids so close in age. I also had a blast taking pictures with my new lens (my fun birthday present)!! I seriously took almost 500 pictures... seriously! I love taking pictures of kids and these three together were constant inspiration. Such a fun trip!













5. Tomorrow Brian and I will celebrate his birthday early since I will be leaving town...yet again and will be gone on his actual birthday (bad wife!). This trip is to West Virginia for my cousin Michael's wedding. My mom, Avery and I are flying out next week and will be staying for a week to visit family there and attend the wedding. This will be my last time to travel this summer and when I return it will definitely be back to business mode. Trevor will start school, Avery will start preschool, then Avery's 3rd birthday, then before you know it the holidays will be here... YIKES! Sad that the summer with its carefree days and all its fun is nearly over. Hopefully I'll find some time to blog once the madness of Fall begins.

Beach Baby

The Stubblefields were blessed beyond measure when we were invited, by my childhood friend Patty, her husband Omar and their daughter Isabella to join them on vacation at the beautiful Canary Cottage beach house they rented in the Santa Rosa Beach area of Florida. Santa Rosa Beach is located between Sandestin and Seaside in the panhandle about an hour outside of Pensacola. Brian grew up in Gulf Breeze which is a suburb of Pensacola and we absolutely love that area. There is really nothing more beautiful than the emerald water and white sand and I am so glad Avery was able to have her first beach experience on these amazing beaches! She even got to spend some time on Pensacola beach.. the beach her Daddy grew up on. Avery loved everything about the beach. She loved the sand, she loved playing in the water, she loved the waves and she even loved her sunscreen, which she reminded me to apply. :) It was such a joy to see her experience God's amazing creation for the first time. We made so many precious memories!

Avery Grace... these are some sweet memories I have of you from our vacation:

1. I loved how you were Daddy's girl the week of our vacation. I know he secretly loved that he was your favorite this week. :) You two were so precious playing in the ocean together. (A lady on the beach told me that watching you and Daddy was better than any movie or tv show.) I loved your game of waiting for the wave and then jumping. I love how you charged into the water then looked for Daddy's hand.. and it was always there to catch you.



2. You and Daddy flew a kite together and then you flew it on your own!



3. I loved how you squealed, "Mommy!! The ocean!" when you first saw the water. I loved the awe and delight on your face when you put your feet in the ocean for the first time.



4. So funny that you called Patty & Omar's dog Jaxson, "Sparky" out of the blue and called him that for the entire trip.

5. You drove me crazy (scared me is more like it) going up and down the stairs of the beach house but it just reminded me that you are a fearless little girl with so much confidence. You know you are loved and that your Daddy & I are here to catch you when you fall.



6. Your bikinis and beach hat were the cutest things I've ever seen.



7. You and Bella were so precious with each other...sisters. Running on the beach, singing and dancing to Justin Bieber's "Baby", eating ice cream at Miss Lucille's Gossip Parlor, hiding in the closets for us to find you, sitting on the porch with Grandmommy blowing bubbles, and your little voice calling, "Bella, where are you?" when she got out of your sight.



8. You were so funny when you told Patty to give Mr. Omar a time out. :)

9. I love how you talked about alligators the whole time we were there after we saw them at Fudpuckers on our second day.

10. So fun that we saw a man with a parrot on the beach! You got to pet him and I held him on my shoulder.



11. I loved that you took a nap while I held you on my lap. You wore yourself out running on the beach and playing in the water. It was a treat holding you while you slept. You haven't let me do that in a while.



12. You took up most of the bed you shared with me and your Daddy, but we loved it.

13. Love how you grabbed Omar's boogey board like you knew what you were doing. I'm sure you'll be riding the waves next year.



14. You surprised me and your Daddy in the pool at Margaritaville when you went under the water, held your breath and tried to swim and then said, "Try again!" You never cease to amaze us!



15. Eventhough we applied lots of sunscreen, you still got a beautiful tan and despite your hat, your hair got really blonde from the sun. I love how you smelled at the end of the day.. saltwater, sunscreen and goldfish snacks. I love how you begged to go to the beach when we weren't there. You loved the beach and you loved our vacation! Daddy and I are so happy you were there with us and we can't wait for more Stubblefield family vacations!!