Day 3 ::: DESTIN, FL

WeLp, after an eventful Sunday Funday..... we had a pretty laid back day on Monday. We hit the beach for most of the day.... there was more of a breeze and I did not reapply sunscreen as often as I did Sunday ANNNND I got a little toasty! We grilled hamburgers for dinner and went to Cold Stone & Starbucks for dessert.

Day 2 ::: DESTIN, FL

SO, SO, SO MUCH FUN!

We had AN AMAZING time on Sunday! Meg and I woke up super early.....so, we sat over coffee....she read her book, EAT PRAY LOVE and I blogged our first day. My sister, Karah, drove over from Pensacola for the day. It was SO, SO good to see her.

Meet kArAh: She is 24. We are a year an a half apart. Karah moved to Pensacola to be with the one who swept her off her feet about 2 years ago. His name is Ryan :) She is the secretary for the state attorney there. Karah also works part time at a prestigious salon, STYLE, as a receptionist. She is planning to attend cosmetology school in January. Karah & Ryan have one little boy, Brody (their dog)! Brody is a Yorkie. She recently vacationed in the Bahamas and brought me back the cutest purse!

When Karah arrived, we all hit the beach for the day! Other than a little bit of seaweed in the water, it was GORGEOUS! No oil here! We swam, we talked, we walked, and we threw bean bags! After beachin' it for 4 or so hours, we headed in to get cleaned up....the girls hit the outlets and the guys hit the couches! We didn't spend all their money... Meg & Karah found something at Old Navy and I got these cute sunglasses at the Gap!

We stayed in for dinner tonight and made spaghetti (well, actually, Mike Lewis, made the entire dinner)! It was yummy...always good talks around the dinner table! After dinner, we said our "see you laters" to Karah and she headed back to Pensacola....we tried to get her to stay the night, but she didn't want to sleep with Mike and I. :) hehe.

Meg, Mike, Mike, and I thought that it would be fun to go back to Baytowne to Rum Runners, a piano bar. When we first got there, it was the karaoke bar that was bumpin', so we bounced around in there for a bit. Meg and I sang to THE TOPS of our lungs....EVERY song! The one thing about a karaoke bar that's better than a piano bar is you have the lyrics to every song....however, it is QUITE amusing to tunefully make up your own words.... :) Megan & I decided that we sang to well to just be part of the crowd, so we put our ticket in to sing Deanna Carter's "Did I Shave My Legs For This". After our debut, we walked over to the piano bar....we were a small crowd, but a ROWDY one, none the less. I'm pretty sure we were the pianists faves! The only song we requested that didn't get played was "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night"....and Meg & I totally gave them hints ALL night by taking on and off our sunglasses!

How about this photo shoot?!?

Day 1 ::: DESTIN, FL

Mike and I haven't been on a "real" vacation since our honeymoon cruise in 2008. Last year we bought a house and we were so excited (and broke) that we didn't want to leave! :D We were due for a week away and Destin would be the place! Growing up so close to Destin, we went there often and we always had a blast! We asked our friends, Mike & Megan, if they would like to join in on the fun in the sun....(and of course, they did!) We made reservations for a 7 night stay at TOPS'L Beach Resort in a ...... wait for it ..... PENTHOUSE! Hahaha! It was BEAUTIFUL!

We got up EARLY saturday morning to hit the road....there were a couple of "pit stops" planned along the way......and a couple not....the first one being HOW IN THE WORLD we were going to get all of our stuff in the vehicle. I just laughed at the puzzled look on Mike's face. After much loading and unloading.....and loading and unloading.....and loading....we got everything in except the case of water. Megan and I were like puzzle pieces in the back seat! But, regardless of how we looked, it wasn't all that bad of a ride. There was no way we had forgotten anything because we packed EVERYTHING!

....oh and the second bump in the road, we got pulled over. It seemed like we sat FOREVER waiting on this (not so nice word) to run our tag and do what he had to do. We didn't get a ticket, PRAISE JESUS! So, we were off again, but not so fast. :D

When we reached Tallahasee, we swung by Doak Campbell Stadium. Mike (Blicher) wanted to see the "infamous" Bobby Bowden statue. Like the tourists we are, we bailed out of the car with our cameras to capture the moment! LUNCH TIME! I haven't seen my Momma in quite some time, so we met her for lunch at Kacey's Home Cooking Buffet. It was pretty yummy and it was really good to see my Momma!

Next stop....Chautauqua Vineyard and Winery. It is located just north of DeFuniak Springs (really close to Destin). It was planted in 1979 and is owned by a couple in Alabama. Megan and I decided on a bottle of Wild Honeyflower....it is white grape wine flavored with honey.

We finally arrived at our destination, checked in, and unloaded our (houses)....only for the fire alarm to go off, hahaha! They were evacuating all 11 floors of the resort. ALL WE COULD DO WAS ROLL OUR EYES AND LAUGH! It didn't take TOO long to clear. We unpacked and then headed to publix to get groceries for the week....then back to the penthouse to get changed and ready for dinner. There is a little "area" called Baytowne Village right across the street....7 feet away according to mapquest. :D FUN, FUN place! Everything from restaurants, candy stores, boutiques, live music, piano and karaoke bars.....we ate at Poppy's Seafood Factory. It was delish!

You can check out our PENTHOUSE here! http://ambientvp.net/PLATINUM_PENTHOUSE_1110_SUMMIT/index.htm

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Last weekend some of my family drove down from Tallahassee to visit Mike and I. I CANNOT begin to TELL YOU (get my EMPHASIS here?) what an AMAZING time we had!

Meet Liz.....She married my daddy when I was 4 years old and my sister, Karah, was 2 years old. When Liz married my daddy, she not only committed herself to him, she wholly committed herself to us and accepted us as if we were her own. Liz and I are very close......never the "wicked step-mother" you often hear about. She loves to read and she loves her veggies. While she was down she taught me how to make Ratatouille. Liz also loves her job. She is a supervisor over the biology section at the Department of Environmental Protection.

(she doesn't like pictures :D)

Meet Rebekah....17 years old. The 3rd child.....she was born when I was in the second grade and I gave her the nickname "Bekah Roo", but I often called her Roo. She will be a senior in high school this year! I can hardly believe how time has flown. Roo is full of life and LOVES to be on her phone and with friends....in fact, she brought a friend down, Michelle. Oh- AND while they were here, I got them both addicted to GLEE! (Roo on LEFT, Michelle on RIGHT)

Meet Stephen....11 years old. The 4th child.....Stephen was born on my 14th birthday! AND we were both named after our daddy. (how's that for a fun fact?!?!) He LOVES to TALK and to be moving AT ALL TIMES! (he wouldn't tell you that) He would say that he likes to fish and play the Wii. Stephen has to be one of the pickiest eaters I know....meat, bread, and cucumbers. Yep, that's it! I bought 6 cucumbers on Thursday.....I have 1 left. He is at the age where he thinks his big sister is cool....you know I ate that up! :D Stephen is very much a gentleman....he is going to make an excellent boyfriend!

When they arrived on Thursday we just hung out and caught up. We had chicken casserole for dinner (not Stephen....he had leftover chicken and a cucumber). Afterward, we hit Lakeside Village for some Cold Stone ice cream.

Friday morning I made sausage biscuits for breakfast and then we packed up and headed to St. Pete beach. It was GORGEOUS! Roo and Michelle soaked up the rays while Stephen rode the waves in his blow up boat...oh, and he was a chick magnet....I have never seen girls his age throw game like those girls did! When we got home we grilled hamburgers and called it a night!

Saturday morning I got up for my weekly run with the Gallowayans. I knew that I would be back before anyone cracked and eyelid....and I was. Liz got up about 20 mins after I got home. Her and I chatted over coffee for 3 hours....we laughed, we cried, and we even cussed a little. :D Mike and Stephen hit the lake for some bass fishing and the girls hit the mall for some back to school shopping....MAN! I MISS THAT!!! I did get a few things....clearance items, of course! Saturday afternoon we grilled, and talked and laughed some more.

We said our goodbyes Sunday morning. Our time together was well spent. I LOVED every minute. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

...RuBbEr DuCkY yOu'Re tHe OnE!

Bryan & Jennifer Stiverson are our small group leaders. They have been married for 5 years and have a (sweet) (adorable) little girl, Ellie, who is 2 years old. Bryan is our worship pastor at TBA Church and Jennifer is a teacher.

They are expecting their second little blessing any day now!

His will be named Jason Paul Stiverson after

a best friend of Bryan and Jennifer.

I had the honor and privilege of planning and hosting Jenn's shower for Jason. This was the first shower I had ever thrown and I was ecstatic! Jen's friendship has meant so much to me over the past two years and I could hardly wait to give her a little of what she had given so much of to me.

I was very fortunate to have lots of help from a few close friends of mine (Megan, Erin, Renee, & Jenny) and from Jenn's sisters (Jill & Jaclyn). They helped with everything from decor to food to keeping me grounded. :)

I searched high and low, in stores in town and online for invitations and I just didn't find ANYTHING to suit my fancy. So, I made them myself.

These (amazing) magic water gel beads were ordered for the bulk of the decor. They come packaged in a cute 2x4 inch envelope. You empty the packet into the bowl, add the proper amount of water and after a few hours they turn into these cool, gelly, bouncy, kinda slimy, but beautiful beads! I put them in everything clear, threw a rubber ducky in and VOILA!

To be fun and different, I decided not to have a sheet cake.....cupcakes instead! Friday night before the shower, Megan and Renee came over for cupcake baking and decorating! They turned out SO CUTE! The ducky cupcake picks and pearl sprinkle beads both came from a cake shop on ebay. And, of course, I used the famous cupcake tree to display!

For food, Jenn's sisters put together a cheese tray, chicken salad with rolls, and egg and spinach quiches. Megan brought the veggies and Jenny made a delicious spinach dip. Renee and Megan were ballers Friday night....they made a cute bowl of balled watermelon!

The punch was a hit! It was BLUE and it was DUCKY! It consisted of blue kool-aid, pina colada mix, sprite, and (of course) sugar.....I floated frozen pineapple in it to keep it cool.

On Thursday night, Erin (a close friend from work) and Megan

joined me for a fantastic favor party!

We baked cookies, made the icing, and started decorating!

We completes the cookies with a white "J".

We attached a note to each favor that read.....

"Rubber Ducky you're the one! You made Jen's shower so much fun!"

To display the favors, I bought a cute little tub and painted

Jason's initials on it....I also found a BIG tub for the drinks!

All in all, it was a BEAUTIFUL shower! There were 21 in attendance. Jen's friends and family celebrated and showered her with their love, time, and gifts.