Ribs and Rhythm Festival... Oh, and we got a dog

I have been thinking about getting Thelma a furry sibling for a long time but wanted to wait until her knee was fully healed and I had permission from her vet. Well... I got the green light in February but wasn't too ready to jump into the commitment of a new dog just yet.

This little puggle was on a leash outside the Ribs and Rhythm Festival. He looked at me with those big brown eyes and that cute piggly little tail and I was a goner... lucky for me so was Anthony. So we paid SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia) our $75 and got ourselves a new member of the family and a rather alive souvenir from St. Augustine.

On our drive home together our new pup didn't stop whining until we rolled down the window and then Anthony started singing "Thunder Road." It was as if he picked his new name Bruce. I later gave him the middle name Draper after watching some Mad Men that weekend. With his very BIG personality, he definitely seems like The Boss of our house.

Ride Along - A Night with the JSO

Last night Anthony went out on the town with Jacksonville's finest, a Jacksonville Sheriffs Officer in our zone of town to see what was really going on in this area of town. Anthony is very community minded and wants to give back in any way that he can. He looked into joining the military, trying to find a place to volunteer firefight, and is clearly now looking into the JSO Reserves.

Anthony went to the sub station for his ride along at 6:00 p.m. and was introduced to the officer he would be riding with and then the adventure unfolded. They caught speeders, pulled over people not obeying the traffic laws, and then busted up some high school parties in well-to-do neighborhoods. They ended up taking in a 17 year old intoxicated/passed out party host downtown for processing. So the punk didn't go to jail but did end up staying the night in a mental health location so he could sober up.

After working all day, Anthony went on his ride along but I don't think he was ready for the 12 hour shift. Let's just say it was a long and tiring night but gave him much entertainment and insight about police work and our area. If you want to hear a good story, just ask him about his night with JSO protecting our city.

Mini Golf Obsession

To those of you who know Anthony at all may be aware of his insane passion for mini golf. Yes, the man is crazy for mini golf. He gets all giddy like a small child and his competitive side comes out. Anthony can't stand losing and I see him do the most math ever during a game of mini golf so for our 'staycation' weekend, I bought us discounted tickets to Fiesta Falls Course down in St. Augustine Beach.

Anthony was so excited to golf a new course.

Fiesta Falls Miniature Golf location was pretty fabulous and Anthony even posted about how great the course was on Facebook he enjoyed it so much. The whole course was really cool looking with a mini lake, a waterfall, a hole on the ship, and you could even see the ocean from the top of one of the holes.

We will definitely be going back at some point because Anthony was so ecstatic about it.

There is a hole in the boat... which sounds like the boat should be sinking but the hole is the mini golf hole...
wow, that was a little confusing. 

Spoiler Alert: Anthony won by 3 strokes.

Action shot - I am a pro.

I love my husband. I REALLY love him but I have played so much stinking mini golf in the past five years. I always lose because I don't take it serious and I can't focus when I take my purse with me because I am always trying to figure out where to put it or how to hold it and sink the shot. Every birthday has become a we eat somewhere Danielle prefers and we play mini golf where Anthony wants. 

This is my image of the Fiesta Falls. It was a really cool part. 

The best part of this place was that they had ICE CREAM! So at the end of our round of mini golf, we were able to indulge in some soft serve which I got in a cone and ended up having sticky ice cream all over me. It was totally worth it though. We had a blast!

Only Grandchild

Can you tell that Thelma is an only grand-dog???

All 3 of them were trying to get her to pose and sit still for a photo-op.

Good girl - Thelma Bennett

They will make grandparents someday!

Saunders/Blackburn Wedding

We LOVE BB! And obviously we love D so when BB asked her the BIG question and she said, "Yes," we couldn't be happier! The party was so much fun but unfortunately my camera died as we were leaving mom's house and I was having so much living in the moment. 

Uncle Jim worked hard helping with the invitations! :)

In the backyard. 

with Mom

with Uncle Les

In the front yard before we left for the wedding.

The wedding itself was beautiful on the water in Destin, FL at The Inn at Crystal Beach. We dined on classic New Orleans cuisine at 790 on the Gulf and danced the night away. It was fun to see everyone and see how quickly some of the babies have grown. Weddings are an awesome celebration of love and each time we go to one, we quietly renew our own commitment. 

Lesson Learned - Fridgpocalyse

Something in the house finally stopped working right which we knew was bound to happen at some point so what did I do? PANIC. After over a year of living here we've had to fix a few doors, learn to edge, repair garbage disposal, ripped up carpet, and some minor other things but there is no way we knew how to repair a fridge.

The day after the Super Bowl our fridge just stopped working and we came home from work to find water all over the floor. In my panic rush, I called the first people I found after a Google search and then made the mistake of paying them up front. I should have known I was making a huge mistake when the guy that came to work on our fridge looked like Anthony's little brother Drew with skinny jeans and all (no uniform, nametag, or anything). After a two weeks, we finally got it fixed... sort of. It isn't keeping my ice cream cold enough but it will have to do for now. Next time, we are calling Sears. 

Most of that ended up tossed or given away. The food storage prepper in me cringed through the process. 

Trash bags full of ice as an attempt to keep things cool but it didn't work

Doing what we could to keep the water off the floor. 

Birthday Fun

For our birthday, we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner (can you tell we've been dieting?) and went up to Lunar Mini Golf in the Regency Square Mall. It was super sad seeing the mall so empty but we had tons of fun and got to enjoy lots of singing phone calls. 

The outfit I got for my birthday - I treated myself.

My cube decorated for my birthday

Made with love and forethought. Very appreciative.

Compliments of Sarah Walls - Baker Extraordinaire