Setting Sail - Cruise 2013

For Christmas 2014, Mom and Jim gave Anthony and I a week long cruise in the Southern Caribbean so our trip was scheduled for the whole family to go together for Thanksgiving week. It was hectic driving down Friday night after work but we made it.

Here are some pictures of us leaving Miami, FL and the first day on the boat!

Wake up call - Dane's ready to sail!

This STUD on our balcony in Miami

Getting ready to board the boat!

Ready to set sail!

On the Lido Deck

Debbie, Richard, and Hill joined us on the trip

Jim and Mom on the lido deck

Jim and I

On the first night of the cruise was dress up (Captain's dinner I think) so below are some of the pictures we took from that evening.

Mom and Jim

Yes, that's my baby brother and he cleans up nice.

My good looking husband

Grandpa Allen and Bulldog Football Game

On our way to see my Grandpa Allen who was staying at my mom's in Fort Walton, we stopped off for a good ole' Marianna High School Football game to cheer on our favorite player, Bill GoHam Braxton! Anthony loves high school almost more than college

My view... over Anthony's shoulder... Note: He is wearing his alma mater's color

Bill is in this picture

Grandpa's visit was fun and it was nice to just get together and relax. We hadn't seen him in over a year so catching up and just chatting was fun. Below are some pictures of the beach and a volleyball tournament that was being held here. 

Date Night on a Tuesday!

Last fall, we went to a new entertainment place called Rebounderz! It is a trampoline gym or as Anthony affectionately refers to it a tramp house. Tuesday nights are half price so it was $20 for both of us for about an hour and half. Rebounderz is only about 5 or 6 miles from our house too which makes it super convenient to get to.

We had such a blast bouncing but it is crazy how as your get older and less daring than when you were a kid. By the end, I had finally worked up the courage to do a front flip. I was terrible at the basketball dunking but Anthony was really patient with me which was nice.

Overall, it was a great night. I just wish I had the energy to keep going and going and going. Anthony didn't get tired at all. Did I mention what a work out it was!?! We'll definitely go back!

The Other Knee

Thelma tore her other knee in October 2013 and so we went through the doggie 'Tommy John' surgery all over again. She was really irritable going through this a second time and our vet had moved from Beach Blvd to Orange Park. Luckily, Anthony was really able to go the extra mile and make sure she got taken care of and to all her appointments. Not sure how we would have gotten through it without him.

Recovery this go around was much faster too because Thelma had a physical therapist or someone to chase around the house...

Playing Catch Up

I took a LONG hiatus after a very wild summer, from being diagnosed with celiac disease to a major career change, it was probably necessary so the next few posts will be playing catch up. I want to be active again on the blog so I can share the details of our child's life here and the great stories that go along with the photo. As I type my belly bounces with kicks and punches from what I can only assume is my ninja warrior child. More details on him or her in a minute...

Autumn Palace

Anthony has affectionately named the patio: Autumn Palace

So we decided we had to finally update the flooring in the patio. When removed the carpeting, we found the most disgusting glue so the idea of scraping and staining the concrete was out. We went to Lowe's and found some wood looking vinyl at $32 for 12 x 12 so we bought two of those and headed for home.

After trying in the parking lot unsuccessfully to stuff the 12 x 12s into Anthony's car for a good 15 minutes, a good Samaritan pulled up and offered to help. We stuffed them in his car and got them to the house. And then the math work started... how to get a 12 x 12 pattern into 15 x 16 foot patio.

What do you think? Did my years of math pay off?

Ta da!

Totally transforms the space

With the Table and Chairs Setup

Sorry the windows are blacked out. It was late when we finished this project but we wanted to do it from start to finish. Not bad for neither of us having ANY experience in flooring or DIY home stuff. :) What do you think?

Flashback! Andi and Mandy Visit

My summer was made complete when Andi and Mandy came to town. The two of them take me back to freshmen year every time I see them and I always have so much fun. These girls know me almost better than I know myself. They make me laugh. Comfort me when I cry. They are always down for an adventure. They stay as timeless as if the world stopped.

Reminds me of life in Botts 3C

We are all so different yet very much the same

The ONLY person that could stand living with me... other than Anthony that is!

True friends are not people that you talk to every day but people that when you get together it is like a day has not passed. We went to the beach, went shopping, ate sushi, went dancing, revisited memory lane, ate ice cream, toured downtown, watched movies, saw the sites, and never stopped moving. The whirlwind of fun went too quickly and I was left thinking why can't this just last forever? Why do they have to leave?

They have only been gone a week and I already miss them terribly. Let's get together again soon. The three amigas!