Labor Day

For Labor Day, we decided to head on over to the beach! It had been a rather gloomy weekend, but the sun came out bright and early on Monday morning, which is coincidentally when we set out. We decided to go to Panama City, because we like the clear blue water and the bright white sand. It's in Central Time zone, so we gained an hour on the way there.

We brought watermelon and popcorn to snack on. I'd thought about bringing sandwiches too, but neither of us are fans of sandwich bread enough to keep it on hand all the time, so I just grabbed what we had. Carson is reading the Iliad here - the perfect beachy read!

It was a lovely day, and we ended it by picking up hot dogs on the way home to grill on our tiny new $9 gas grill we picked up at Walmart recently. It's small but the perfect size, and a lot faster than the charcoal grill we had been using! All in all, we spent Labor Day the way you're "supposed" to spend it - on the beach and with the grill. We were still in bed pretty early that night ready to enter the real world again the next day :)

Mon-Fri in Beaufort

In August, we unexpectedly went back to Beaufort. I'd assumed I'd start my job back a week earlier than I actually did, so we had another whole week to kill, and my mom needed us to help out with things around the house while Nana was recovering from surgery, so we drove over. Honestly, we didn't do much - made a few meals, ran errands, vacuumed the house, made sure the dogs were fed and exercised. The rest of the time it was basically pretty relaxing.

We got there on Monday afternoon and Carson had a rapt audience as he enjoyed his food. 

Tuesday was a nice day and we hung out at the pool. Nana's surgery happened this day, so Mom was gone the entire day but we didn't have too much to do. It was very hot, so Oscar climbed into the pool a few times so as not to overheat, and we also put him in there a few times for the same reason. The other dogs wisely stayed inside in the shade.

We locked these two in the sunroom while we went to the grocery store. Pepper can open the handle, hence the chair. Oscar gets to stay out of the room or else he will revenge-poop on the floor.

I made one pot zucchini mushroom pasta for dinner. I realize that it looks like I've cooked pickles with pasta in this picture but I can assure you that I did not. My brother Scott had a very busy week at work and was super hungry, so this was his portion - he got home so late that he ate after we did every night.

Wednesday was Dad's day off, and he and Carson went for a bike ride. The dogs wished they could have gone too, but then quickly settled in for naps.

Carson's rafting helmet came in the mail that day.

We visited Nana at the hospital, ate at Alvin Ords for lunch, and then picked up the beach pass from Grandmama and Granddaddy and headed to Hunting Island. This is the beach I grew up going to, and it's changed so much since I was a kid. Storms haven't been kind to it, and most recently, Hurricane Matthew really took its toll on the Island in the fall. We went to the North Beach by the lighthouse and walked all the way to the lagoon at the South Beach. It does look way different!

We watched Jeopardy and ate burgers that night. And Pepper climbed up on the couch which she doesn't really do. Every night, we would also go outside and sit in the pool with our heads craned all the way back to look at stars. I saw one shooting star the whole time, and we saw tons of satellites making their way across the night sky.

On Thursday, we went to Bluffton and picked up mom's vacuum from its cleaning at the Oreck store, then decided to drive by our old house on Cat Island. They've raised the house a few feet and are currently adding a porch. The neighborhood is so different too! We were the second house in our area, so it's crazy to see how it's grown!

We returned and gave the dogs a little exercise before bathing them, which was a "fun" time.

Pepper was the best, which was a surprise since she hates water. She went first, and then Carson took Oscar and I took Mini. Oscar wanted me, and Mini kept kicking and trying to swim when she heard the running water, so I got a huge scratch from her tiny feet. They didn't seem to hold it against us, but they did have tons of energy afterward and zipped around the house.

On Friday, we went to Granddaddy and Grandmama's for lunch. We meant to be there just an hour or so, but we got caught up talking and before we knew it, a long time had passed. We didn't mind!

After we left there, we stopped by the hospital one more time to see Nana, who made remarkable progress and looked great (but no pictures of her because who wants people to take pictures of them in the hospital after surgery???). Here are her very well coordinated flowers.

Jacksonville

After church on our first weekend back, we headed east to Jacksonville! 

It's not that far, but we did make a couple of stops on the way over, and Carson did a little mini workout every time we did. 

We traveled over for Grayson's second birthday. We missed his first birthday party last year because of our move to Germany, but this time around we were ready to party. The party was entirely family, and it was pretty low-key.

After gifts were open, all the toys and gifts were put together by the partygoers - this is actually a terrific thing to do instead of party games, because it gives everyone a job, and because all the things are put together and the parents don't have to struggle through it alone after everyone has gone home.

This mini trampoline took 45 minutes and a rotating team to put together.

Morgan made a dirt cake as a birthday cake, and it was delicious and very cute.

After everyone had left but Carson and I, Grayson and I played around in the yard until it started to sprinkle. 

Next, we settled down in front of the movie Trolls. I was stuck in a conversation and didn't really pay attention to the movie at all. All I know is that there was a lot of nonsensical singing.

Once the birthday boy was in bed (and unhappy because he could hear the four of us having a good time without him - it's rough being little), we gathered around the dining room table for a rousing game of Mexican Train. The problem was that nobody knew how to play. We sort of figured it out as we went along, but I'm 99% sure that we weren't doing it correctly. Carson won by a LOT though.

Early the next morning (7:45), Morgan, Grayson, Carson and I got in the car for Orlando. We dropped Carson off at the airport and then headed to IKEA. Morgan napped a bit on the way over, and Grayson watched a movie.

After we'd left the airport, we went to IKEA! I wanted to check out some things for the new apartment, and it's always a fun place to walk around and get ideas. I walked out with some inexpensive lamps, lots of pictures of things to show Carson for future purchases, a pot holder, and toilet brushes. Exciting, I know. 

We went to the mall near IKEA afterward for some lunch, but Grayson fell asleep in the car on the way there and slept through our mall walk and woke up after we were back in the car for the second time. 

That evening, back in Jacksonville, we went to Moe's for dinner. The only reason busy little Grayson is smiling here is because I had his cookie. I asked Morgan to seize the moment and take a picture! He's looking at the cookie (Caleb has it) in the picture here. 

The next day, Morgan and I took Grayson to the beach! Rain was forecast for later (that's the thing about Florida in the summer!), and so we tried to get there while it was still sunny. It was a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed sunshine and the water. It was so lovely to be back at the beach!!

Yikes, see those clouds rolling in?

We felt water droplets the exact second that we closed the truck of the minivan, so we timed it right. We swung by a drive-thru for lunch and Grayson once again fell asleep in the car. He was up and ready to go when we got back, but Caleb had returned by then, so we washed the grubby beach off ourselves and Morgan and I headed out for some shopping/browsing. It poured while we were out. 

We also grabbed ingredients for our favorite pesto pasta which came together quite nicely (it's the Pioneer Woman recipe, minus tomatoes). We watched Jeopardy, and I saw my first episode of the Real Housewives. I'm not a huge reality show person, and I don't think I'm hooked, but I've heard a lot about it so I guess I've experienced it now!

The next morning, Morgan and I talked for awhile and took it slow while Grayson enjoyed his breakfast and played around in the house. 

I got on the road at about noon, and was back in Tallahassee before 3, even though I stopped for lunch and for gas on my drive over. The rain held off on the drive down I-10 (a real and true blessing - driving in the rain scares me!), and I had a quiet evening at home! 

It's so good to be back within driving distance of my cousin again! She lived in Ocala for years and had moved to Knoxville not too long before we moved to Germany, but Caleb's new job took them back to Florida, and now they're even closer to us! I love having family close by!