Slippin' and a Slidin'

Slippin' and a slidin'

Who doesn't like to "Slip and Slide" especially on those hot summer days? Yesterday it was pretty hot and after an hour on the mower I was ready to slip and slide, too. Even Daisy Jo (the dog) got in on the fun. As I looked into one eager, energetic 7 year old face as she begged -- "Mom, come on. You can do it!" -- I thought how fast this time with my girls will go. One day I will wish to have them back at home beggin' -- please, mom do it again! So, while I have the time and my little girls and the energy (lacking at times), I will make that run, dive (like I have no fear of hurting some aged body part) and squeal like a girl as I slip 'n slide through that cold water. The buckets of laughter pouring from two sweet onlookers is worth the shock of cold water on my hot, sweaty body. And the "It's like you're young, Mom" tops it off as I stand there dripping wet. Go buy a Slip 'n Slide. Have some fun and try not to break any bones :o)

Hey! An idea....

Let's start our own little "Vacation Reviews". Most of us want a lot of the same things out of a vacation -- family friendly, affordable, clean, fun. I would love to hear where you've been. We just might try it out -- who knows maybe you can get a commission for recommending the place. If anyone has a West Virginia camping spot or cabin they would recommend we're interested in meeting up with some people from North Carolina -- we're missing them!
So, lets get the summer started out with a list of hot, Holiness family/couple vacation spots :o) Give us as much detail as you want and if it is easier redirect us to your blog to give us more. Hey, thanks! Looking forward to hearing from you all.
For starters: Indian Rocks Beach, Florida offers a beautiful, safe, family friendly beach (no thongs or topless women spotted). I, however, did snap a pic of one of the local seniors sporting a lovely brown full coverage one piece. I was taking advantage of a Kodak moment only to be interrupted by this grandmotherly type bending over right in front of me picking up what I suppose was a shell of her interest. I took advantage of the moment and got her pudgy little hiney front and center with the spectacular color of the Gulf as the back drop. Oh, well, couldn't resist, but that is what the roomy beach mostly consist of -- seniors and families. A two bdrm, beachfront condo will set you back a little over a grand, but when you consider the options of cooking your own meals and free entertainment that isn't bad for a week of family vacationing. Island Sands is where we stayed you can find it at Beachdirectory.com. I give it 3 stars!

We're home

We arrived back to the homestead soon after 1:00 a.m. We drove straight through. We didn't have any intention of doing this especially with the wild child in tow, but after leaving the condo at 8 a.m. and making great time through Atlanta realized we could be home around midnight. So, we just kept going and going and seventeen hours later we were home! I miss the beach already, but it is nice to be home in my own bed. All of our furry friends were happy to see us even at 1 a.m. We went to church this morning in spite of our late homecoming. We were all wide awake and ready to go -- guess that is what a week of hangin' out at the beach does for you. Well, it is back to the rush of my life and when I'm feeling stretched to the limit, my wild one has out ran me, my calm one has asked me one too many questions -- I can look at my pictures, listen to the sounds and relive our wonderful oasis from our busy lives. I am so blessed to have enjoyed this fun, safe vacation with my family and friends.

Evening at John's Pass and more

More vacation

Wonderful weather, fabulous friends -- we are having a great time. Tonight we went to The Friendly Fisherman at John's Pass for dinner. Don't ask me how the fresh seafood was because I got steak -- which was really good surprisingly at a seafood restaurant. I just have to be in the mood for seafood and I was not. Randy said his crab legs were good and Wayne enjoyed the Grouper. I think we're headed for a game of Rook so I've gotta run for now. Have a great day!

Almost Heaven

The beach is perfect -- white sand, plunging into clear, blue water. The breeze, the sun, the water is so relaxing. Michele and I both fell victim to the lullaby of the ocean this afternoon as we sat out on the beach. It was a wonderful day. I realize that this week is such an oasis that helps get me through the hectic, rest deprived life I sometimes lead. The last pic is of two very anxious kids -- we had just arrived at the condo and they ran out to the beach.

Ocean breeze,white sand and warm sunshine -- we're on vacation!

We arrived at Indian Rocks at 2:00 p.m. Saturday. We did our grocery shopping and checked in soon after 4 p.m. Yes, we were in the ocean before I unpacked. It is beautiful! We are waiting for church to start as we enjoy the view from our patio doors -- the magnificent Gulf of Mexico. The waters are very blue today and pretty calm. We are looking for that rare siting of the friendly dolphins -- which we usually see every year. Just wanted to let you know we're here and all is well. Talk to you later. Better go log in to church. Cya there. Hey, Brooklyn wants to sing "Running Over" if someone could request it. Maybe we'll text Merl and see if he will. Have a blessed Sunday.

We can smell the smoke!

After a loooong day on the road yesterday, we made it in to our clean, comfy room at Hampton Inn in Tifton, Georgia at 7:18 p.m. We were held up in Atlanta for 2 hours related to an accident and then managed to hit rush hour traffic. During this time Randy was graciously thanking Nate for the stomach bug . Nate was sick with it Tuesday night. He recovered just in time to enjoy vacation :o) I hope everyone stays well. Randy was feeling much better after a good nights sleep. We left at 9:00 this morning after having Hampton Inn's finest breakfast. I thought it would take an act of God (or Wayne) to get Brooklyn back in the car seat, but she didn't do too bad. Ten hours in the car is about her cutoff. She and the rest of us were miserable after 14 hours of traveling! So we just crossed into Florida about 30 minutes ago and we can see and smell the smoke of the Florida wild fires. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be fighting that many acres of fire. I have never been around a forest fire of any type. I can't imagine living here and smelling this smell for days. Well, hope you are enjoying your Saturday. Enjoy your green grass -- it is so brown around here. Catch up with you later.

On our way!

We left this morning at 4:45 a.m. bright and chipper! O.K. maybe Lauryn was the only one bright and chipper. But I went to bed at 2:30 -- I really don't know why I bothered but I thought some sleep was better than none. I think every vacation I have ever taken since I've been married and definitely since I've had kids has started out like this -- last minute cramming. I don't know how to do it otherwise. How do you pack stuff you can't live without a day ahead? Michele was packed Thursday morning. Me? I was putting the last bag in the truck at 2 a.m. Followed by my deodorant and tooth brushes right before we left. By the way we just crossed the Georgia line -- 12:58 p.m. Are you feeling the ocean breezes yet? It took us until now to finally reach 70 degrees -- it was so cold this morning. But don't worry I'll keep you warm with my sunny beach pics. Alright, back to my pathetic self. Wayne says I live life to the fullest -- I pack as much into one minute as possible. Is that the problem -- I am delusional. I feel that I should be able to clean my house, finish the laundry, have school, run by the sitters, drop the library books off, pick up last minute groceries, clean up the truck, and pack all in one day. But that's just motherhood. Oh, well, we're on our way. We still love each other. I had filled the gas tank up -- that was in my favor. Wayne didn't get in the truck to find it sitting on empty. That has been known to happen occasionally. We plan to drive to Tifton, Georgia tonight then be at the condo by 2 p.m., the beach by 2:15! I'll save the unpacking for another minute. Have a great day.

Friends, Feet and Food

Friends, Feet and Food

Please someone get that child out of the dryer. She has been in there for over a week! We have been exceptionally busy lately. I have had no time for blogging -- sad. But having clean clothes and dinner for my gang ranks a little higher than updating my blog family. Don't get me wrong you are very important to me and I have missed you. To make it up I'm taking you all on vacation with me. We leave Friday morning for Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hope you all can hang out with us. We plan on getting some much needed R&R. To get ourselves in the mode of vacation, taking it easy, pampering -- me and my dear friend Michele treated ourselves today to a spa pedicure at Special Effects Salon and Day Spa. We had a great time. My feet have never received so much attention -- with the exception of a toenail removal when I was a teenager. That was not near the fun we had today. The Salon is located in a huge historical house in downtown Troy and has the natural wood, high ceilings and beautiful staircase. We then had lunch at a hometown deli. It was delicious. Thanks Chele for an enjoyable day!

Picture of the Week

I found my Brookie helping with the laundry. She looked as if she were posing for Olan Mills. ...my "Wild"....she keeps me on my toes.

Hello.....remember me?

Wow! What a busy week! It has just flown by and I'm left somewhere in the jet stream blinking and thrown into another day. Please someone help me slow it down. I fear I will blink again and my daughters will be grown, my husband shorter than I and me....well, I don't even want to go there.
For starters my computer crashed last wknd. (Please Mr. Mike heal it or at least save all the pics I haven't taken the time to back up.) So, that made it a little difficult to make contact with my blog world. I do have Wayne's so I have not been totally isolated. Secondly, Wayne worked every evening this week with the exception of Friday -- that makes is hard for mom to have free (blog) time.
Ok -- if my editor were standing over me he'd tell me I was definitely rambling. So, to get on with it.... I want to share something that happened last week. I was at work and was able to attend an inservice. The title -- Prayer in Pediatrics. It was just awesome. Oh, for those of you that don't know -- I am a pediatric nurse. The inservice was given from a Christian perspective and basically encouraged praying for and with our patients and coworkers. I was just about to explode sitting there. There was no way I could just sit there and not testify to the fact that there is power in prayer. I've seen it work and how do people even make it without prayer. I don't know if some thought I had lost my mind, but I feel the Lord just blessed my heart with memories of times past when I (or someone else) had prayed and he had shown His presence. I had to share. I found out there is a Christian Fellowship of Nurses that in joining counts as being part of a professional organization. It was just a great experience and encouraging to say the least.
We spent most of the day at the estate auction of Wayne's uncle Cyrl Welbaum. It was interesting and sad. I know it has to be hard on the family watching the fading away of a house with all of its familiarities. Things that identified "Grandpa's house" now sold to the highest bidder -- one who will never know its treasured sentiment. I would just like to say that Uncle Cyrl will forever be remember in the hearts of his family as one who loved the Lord, his family and the work he did around his farm. One item I bought was a glass pitcher. As I was standing there holding it a grown grandchild of Cyrl's said to me Grandma would sit this on the table with ice water in it. I know that someday that could be my stuff -- if Wayne doesn't make me take most of it to the Goodwill before then -- and it reminded me to live now -- enjoy life, take time to do what matters, live without regrets.