Tybee Island, Part Three (Last One, I promise)

Well, this is it....the final post about our vacation....I had a difficult time narrowing down all the pictures...I tried just to post a few...but it was hard to pick them...since I took over 600...Yes..I will admit that I have a problem...
One evening, we went to Fort Pulaski National Monument.....Ian is a large history buff...so this was mainly for the boys...I could have went or not...there was a storm brewing off the coast, when we went here....and there was lightening in the area....Besides Christy's immense fear of heights....This was a fun little excursion.....This is the South wall of the fort that was hit with numerous cannons during the Civil War...If you look closely...you can see them....This picture turned out really well...considering what we went through...Kevin set the timer on his camera 2 or 3 times...and ran to "get in the shot"...and then the camera didn't shoot...So he would go back, do it again...same thing....We finally captured the picture....But this one was taken by a tourist...James just asked this guy if he would take our pic...A lot easier...Hee hee...Christy has a big fear of heights...and if you could look over that brick wall that we are sitting on....It is VERY High....so she was a nervous wreck.....Macey really enjoyed spending time with Emmy...They played together so good...even though there is quite an age difference between them...Macey loves to spend time with her....I love Emily....just like another daughter =)Christy with lots of kegs of "explosable powder"....I couldn't stand this room...very small....Claustrophobic I am.....I took this pic from the doorway....The moat that surrounded the fort....There were alligators in it....Hmmmm...I definitely wouldn't be trying to cross that if I was the enemy....I thought that my dad would like this photo of the American flag...It was half-mast because a National Park Ranger had died while fighting a fire.....Oh my goodness....Cade was injured by this cannon....Walker must have "got him"...The boys were hilarious playing war...Cade got shot...over and over...too funny....

The next day...our historical journey landed us at the Tybee Island Lighthouse....It is beautiful...James and I LOVE lighthouses...and have now been to 8....Here are few pics from the lighthouse....

Beautiful pic...with the sun shining behind it....Me and Cade climbing the many, many stairs to get to the top.....This was as far as Christy could make it...due to her fear of heights....I felt so sorry for her....But I had to get a pic of her and Kevin....So here she is in front of the door....She couldn't go any farther....Love you friend....The view from the top of the lighthouse........James and I at the top of the lighthouse.....Kevin, James and the kids at the top of the lighthouse.....posing for me....while the wind was blowing...a lot...Ian and Hunter...after climbing the lighthouse...Christy and I got up at 630 just about every morning....and went on a long walk...one morning we went by ourselves....the next morning we took Ian and Hunter, and the last one, we took Emily and Macey.....The kids enjoyed their one on one walks with us....or at least I think they did....We got to spend quality time talking with them, and hunting for sea shells, starfish, and lots of other treasures.....We saw lots of beautiful sunrises too.....and walked by the lighthouse every morning....Loved the shot of it from the beach.....I love Tybee Island....Still thinking about moving....Emily took this picture of Christy and me on one of our morning walks......
Beautiful sunrise.....Some beach pics...Walker and Cade playing in the water....They never got out of it...They had a blast......together...I don't think they ever argued the entire week.....
Macey and Emmy playing in the sand....they were making a mermaid...She was snazzy....
Cade playing in the waves....love this picture....Ian and Hunter loved to skinboard...they actually got pretty good by the end of the week.....Loved watching them....We went to Savannah one evening...took a few pictures...but not many...Loved this sunset, behind the river boat...This was River Road....and lots of boats ported here....lots of night life, drinking, ect....Not much of a place for kids...so we didn't hang out here very long....plus the mosquito's were deadly!!!!and last but not least....The morning of our departure...we did our "professional photo shoot"....Here are a few of my favs....The Hite family.....The Allen Family.......Me and My honey....Love you James...Hope you enjoyed my play by play or our vacation....Now it is back to life as we know it....We hit it hard as soon as we got home...Came home on Sat....worked Sunday night....School is in full swing, and our schedules are picking up again.... and I am back to blogging...I have received lots of emails, comments ect...of friends telling me they are glad I am "back"...Thanks to you guys!!!! Missed you all too.....I am officially done blogging about Tybee Island...until next time...or until we take the UHaul truck to our new condo on the island....Depends on which comes first....; ) Our next trip will be to the Big Apple....We are currently making plans to head north in the next couple of months with Miss Mace...to meet with a few agents that we spoke to at AMTC....So say a prayer for us....Good night...Let's go watch a movie with the family...

It's Football Time for the Allen's

I just had to make 2 posts today....Last night Cade had to go and pick up his Football gear...Yes...Cade...Hee hee...He is playing flag football at a local school in our area.....and he is so excited....On our way to the high school....He can't wait to start practicing and playing games....They play their games at the High School James and I went to, so that is kind of neat....Well, I had to post a few shots of him in his new helmet....and mouthpiece....This kid is SO tough....He scares me!

Ian ready to teach Cade everything he knows.....Proud brother....Proud daddy....James can't wait to watch our little guy play some football....Too cute... And of course...a few pics of some excited grandparents.....Papaw Horneand Mamaw Horne....Mamaw Allen....Papaw Allen.....

Will post more football pics...after the season starts.....Ian's season doesn't start until the end of August.....Won't be long now......=)

Tybee Island, Part Two

Well, here is my second post about our vacation...For those of you who aren't interested....Sorry...You don't have to continue reading....=) The next couple of days involved nothing but laying out in the sun, playing in the ocean, and laying out in the sun.....As you can tell by this photo of the 2 tannest girls from Kingsort....Hee hee....We ate in the condo 1/2 of the week, and ate out the other 1/2....We didn't pull the camera out for any of our "home cooked" meals....but we should have...because we sure did eat good...Oh well....These photos are from another seafood place that the guys wanted to eat at...and boy did they eat....James, Ian, and Kevin's plates had more things with eyes looking at me...than I could care to see at a table of food....YUCK!!! Considering I went on this trip, with my diet still in process.....I chose not to eat seafood on this little journey....I had baked chicken....which was very good too....I can pass on creatures with faces....Thanks, but no thanks.....Of course we pulled out the ole' camera at the table....This restaurant was really neat....Inside, but felt like outside...Alligators, all sorts of animals, ect....Very "cool" place....The kids simply loved the atmosphere......and posing with the big Gator outside....Bunch of Crocodile Hunter's on our hands..... Notice Ian "tying it up with his jacket".....It has Cade....WATCH out!!!!Macey...I wouldn't put my head in there if I were you.....Walker chose more of a modeling pose with Mr. CrocHunter...I already told Macey not to do that!!!!Miss COBD(Cather of Big Daddy-see previous post) has no fear...She captured this guy by her smile alone.....Love you Emmy....After our adventure at the restauraunt, we headed to the docks, to make our Dolphin Cruise reservation...It had been raining a little during dinner...so there was lots of smiling faces when the sun began to peek through the clouds....The gang on the boat...Ready to see some dolphins....


Here is everyone standing on the boat....getting ready for some fun.... Me, Kevin and Christy....taking it easy....This is one of 2 lighthouses on Tybee Island....I love this photo...Gonna print and frame this one for sure...Needless to say...you can't go up in this one....; )Me and my honey....I love it when James bald head gets tan....hee heeDolphins were swimming everywhere we looked...all around this shrimp boat that was out in the water...I love dolphins...That is something that I want to do...Swim with them...Hint Hint...James...our 15th anniversary is coming up next year.....; )Here is a pic of the shrimp boat......too many pelicans...not a bird fan...especially large ones...Well, I will stop here on this post.....I probably will post 2 or 3 more times to get all of my fun vacation blogged.....This is my journal now....no paper any more...so I have to get all of my memories down...so I can look back and read it, when I am sitting in the nursing home one day....hee hee....So, if I am boring you...me so sorry....go on to the next blog....Have a great weekend.....

Tybee Island, Part One

Our vacation to Tybee Island was a wonderful one....We had a great time with our friends, the Hite's, and a relaxing vacation on the island of Tybee....I am already making plans for our move....I could open a beach photography business, and sell the van, and ride bikes to get where we need to be.....The quaintness of this island would be a wonderful place to live....I have decided....=) A small local grocery store where everyone knows you, a homemade ice cream shop...that had the best ice cream James swears he has ever had....Savannah Mud....swimming with marine life....sun...sand...and good friends...Who needs more?


We arrived to the island on Saturday....to a beautiful condo...called Windfall by the Sea....The lady whom we rented from was so nice...We arrived to fresh baked cookies, and cut flowers on our table....That was a first for all of us....The condo was so clean, and the balcony was perfect....a large table and chairs, and a hot tub, and couch.....Plenty of room for all of us to enjoy our home away from home....Everyone had a bedroom....one for both couples, and a bedroom for the kids...with enough sleeping space for everyone to have a bed....and their own bathroom....at a reasonable price...Can't beat that....The drive wasn't bad at all....We arrived in about 7 hours....and when we got there and got all of our things put away...Christy and I headed to the grocery store, while the guys stayed in the condo with the kids....We made the desicion to cook dinner half the time and eat out half the time....So we went and bought groceries for 10 people....The check out guy laughed and asked if we were thirsty...considering we purchased over 50 bottles of water....=) We settled in, put everything away, and got ready to have an awesome week at the beach.....


Sunday was James birthday....I always get to spend my bday at the beach...but not this year...It didn't work out that way...But while Christy and I were at the grocery store...we got James a cake and a card....so we could surprise him....After spending the day on the beach, James got to pick the restaurant we ate at and he picked Uncle Bubba's Oyster House...It was so good...(It is Paula Deen's Uncle's restauraunt) Here is a pic of us waiting to be seated.....After dinner we went back to the condo for cake and cards...Here is a shot of James reading his cards... I love this picture of the kids loving on James....They sang Happy Birthday to him...and he smiled the whole time......Here is Christy taking pictures of the kids being crazy too....They were so silly.....After cake...our team of "Crab Hunters" hit the beach...with our head flashlights, and buckets in hand....The kids had a BLAST hunting for crabs at night....We did this quite a few nights while we were at the beach...but none of them topped our first outing....Kevin gave everyone a nickname....There was Ian.....otherwise know as "Wus Man"(he was scared of the crabs), Christy....."The Crabinator"(She caught crabs with her bare hands and put them in the bucket--unbelievable!).....Emily"COBD"(catcher of Big Daddy-The Biggest crab in all the world).....Cassie "Navigating OSHA Girl"(I have safety issues...as many of you already know...and I was always aware of how close we were to the condo during our nightly walks.....) Macey was "Frizzolicious" for obvious reasons....; ) Needless to say...we laughed the entire time we were walking....and we got a bucketfull of creatures.....Good times...Good times....I will post more about our wonderful vacation tomorrow......This may take me 2 or 3 posts.....so just bear with me....

First Day of Kindergarten

Did I really just type that? Today was Cade's first day of school....He was so excited this morning before we left...Here he is cheesing for me.....I love that face!!! I could just eat him up.....Loving on Sissy....She wanted to get her picture with Cade on his first day of school....She loves him so much...(Ian does too, he just wasn't in the picture mood....)At our elementary school, Kindergartners don't carry backpacks...they carry canvas tote bags...so Cade didn't have a bag to carry this morning...but he will on Friday....Today in class, he gets to paint his bag....and "make it his".....When we got to school, He went right in, and walked right to his class.....Mrs. Krantz(Cade's teacher) took a photo of me and him, and then she took his hand and walked him to his seat....where they were going to play with Play-Doh.....Cade started to 'tear up', and cried a little bit.....Mrs. Krantz just led him to the table and told him that Mommy would be back soon...and I took the cue and exited the room.....

I stood outside the door for a minute...and didn't hear another peep out of him....He did it...My little guy has started school....As I was walking down the hall, his life flashed before my eyes....Our special times that we have shared together...that only a mommy would think of on a day like today....Our naps on the couch after I have worked nights, and haven't slept much, talking with each other about anything and everything, playing with chalk outside, coloring in his coloring books, watching the Wonder Pets, and The Backyardigans, and singing along with them, meeting daddy for lunch while Bubby and Sissy were in school....Special times, just the 2 of us....My eyes are tearing up as I type this....Life goes by so fast....My kids are the most precious part of my life, and I love to spend as much time as possible with them...and the pre-school years are over for me....Now it is on to school, sports, and "big boy" stuff....I no longer am the mother of a pre-schooler....A phase of my life is over....It is sad in a way, but exciting too....He is so excited about the new adventure that lies in front of him....Today when he came home, one of the first things he told me about was that he got to play on the "big kids playground"....( In pre-k, the children were only allowed to play on one particular part of the playground, and Kindergartners get to play on the whole thing) So, the new things are starting already....I just want to thank God for allowing me to have a job where I can be here....sleep deprived I may be...but I am here...for them...I don't want to miss a single second....because it goes by too fast....I can tell you that already......

Here are a few pics of his big day.....Posing for the traditional "in front of the school sign" shot.....

Getting ready to go in the front door.....Watch out Kindergarten....Here comes Cade!!!!

Life as I know it....

Life as I know it is now over....Summer time, swimming, sleeping in, staying up late...it is all over...We finished up our summer vacation with a wonderful vacation in Tybee Island, Georgia last week....and today it was back to school....This summer has absolutely flown by....but it was an awesome summer...Probably the best one we have ever had!!!!

I have been slacking on the blogging....Getting back into the groove of things has taken me a few days...tonight is the first time I have actually sat down and even looked at the computer...But I am just about back into a routine....thank goodness...This first part of the week has been crazy...coming home from the beach, getting ready for school, starting to get ready for fall sports....But I know you are glad that I am back...Hee hee...in the blogging world....Believe me...I have lots of things to blog about...But I will try to spare you any boring long posts...=)

I am planning a few Tybee Island posts for this week...but today I am going to post a few photos of my kiddos going back to school...Ian started middle school...I had a hard time with that one...but the smile on his face, walking towards the van, when I picked him up...let me know right away that he had a great day...He loved it...and is looking forward to an awesome year.....Macey is in the fourth grade, and she had a great day too...She loves school...so she makes every day a great day....and Mr. Cade goes for his first day of school tomorrow....Kindergartners in our school, do a staggered schedule for the first week of school (Cade goes 2 half days this week, and then normal schedule next week)...to help them adjust to being in school...so I will post a few "first day" pics of him tomorrow...Here is Ian and Macey's first day of school pics..... I remember Ian starting school like it was yesterday....He cried and screamed (literally) every day until December....and to think he is in middle school....Where does the time go? My sweet little girl....going into the 4th grade...She loves school...and is looking forward to having a great year...She loves her teacher, and can't wait to get started..... We took pictures in front of the school (like always) but only of Macey...The "school photo" tradition will end with middle school.....=) Wouldn't want to embarrass anyone.....