louisiana: texas and sunsets

Our last full day was a sightseeing extravaganza. We took Micah on his first canoe ride and paddled around a curve to see the trailer Justin was living in when they first met. We also drove 20 minutes so that Zach and I could say we have been to Texas :) Next stop was Fort Polk where Justin was working/stationed/whatever military word you use. We came back to devour a DELICIOUS fried fish dinner and then went to the dock to enjoy an amazingly beautiful sunset. The evening ended with a sing a long by the fire and roasted marshmallows.

(Micah took this picture!)

louisiana: the 4th

It was nice being away from Conyers for the 4th this year. The last two years Zach and I haven't been together for this holiday. Two years ago we were technically at the same location but our church band (which he leads) were doing cover songs for our barbecue picnic the whole time so I saw him only. Last year he did that again while I went home to Enterprise to see my family and aunt and cousins who were visiting from Chicago.

After church that morning we spent the rest of the afternoon eating yummy barbecue and sitting/swimming/playing in the lake. All the kids were asleep for about an hour and a half so I actually got to relax in the water. It was nice :) Micah loved the lake. I think it had a lot to do with the lack of waves like the ocean ;) He swam with his floaties on and sat FOREVER on a big float with Zach. It was one with a mesh middle so it felt like his only private pool. Connor loved the water the first five minutes we were in it on Friday and then decided he didn't like the mushy bottom sucking him down. He finally sat with me in the water for awhile and was content but he mostly just liked standing on the ladder part of the baby slide feeling like the king of the world. Silas was a dang fish. He crawled everywhere since it was very shallow and cared nothing at all whenever he fell under. Amazing how different kids can be!

That night after Connor and Silas were asleep we went to the Louisiana Lions Camp to watch the fireworks. Steph's grandfather was the director there for many years and still lives on the property. In fact her whole family are the ones who put the fireworks display on. We already knew going in that Micah would be TERRIFIED of the noise but we've been working on plugging our ears during scary noises instead of leaving or freaking out. He was visibly nervous the entire time and whenever he's fingers slipped he'd start to cry but you could tell he liked the colors and bursts so Zach helped him with the ear plugging thing and he made it through the whole thing. I was a proud mama!

embrace the camera: 4th

Love is plugging your son's ears during the fireworks when his hands are too tired.

louisiana: zoo

Last Friday we woke up BRIGHT AND EARLY to follow the Moons down to Louisiana to visit Steph's hometown. 12 hours later we arrived in Leesville, LA at her parents house on Lake Vernon. The girls and babies headed straight to the water while the boys headed straight to the boat for some fishing.

Saturday we headed to Alexandria (a.k.a Alex pronounced 'elek' FYI Nothing in Lousiana is spelled how it looks!) to go to the zoo. It was Connor and Silas's first zoo experience. There were lots of native animals and some out of towners as well. Micah loved the alligators and seriously stared through the glass at them for a good 15 minutes. The only sad part of the day was that Micah didn't want to ride the train. This was technically only sad for me because I love riding them but would look stupid doing it childless!!

Next Up the 4th!

embrace the camera

Better late than never :) We got in from the beach midnight last Friday and since then have had two birthday parties (both for Zach, one friend, one just us) and ten tons of errands to run for out next travel marathon to Louisiana. Before we left however we wanted to squeeze in a little extra family time so we took advantage of our Kids Bowl Free coupons and had a family bowling night. We got through one and a half games before Connor decided he was D.O.N.E! I love Micah's posture in the first picture. He looks like he's willing the ball down the lane. So cute!

i was running

Couldn't help throwing a little Forrest Gump quote in the title :)

On Saturday evening I ran my first 5K. The first of many I'm hoping. Leslie got the brilliant idea at the beginning of the school year that running was a good thing. I of course thought it was ridiculous because I do not run and the few times I broke the "I do not run" rule I passed out...literally. Once was during a conversation with a friend after I had run at our city park in Enterprise. However, after a bit of convincing and coaching I decided that maybe I could do this after all.

After the first of the year we both set a goal to run a 5K. Our church bulletin had an advertisement for one that RER (rockdale emergency relief) was doing as a fund raiser. I didn't see it in there but that Monday when Leslie came to get the kids she asked me about and then said "we're doing it." We finally had our deadline so the training kicked up a notch! We ran at night after the kids were in bed and by this time Steph had decided to join in the 'fun' too. We 'trained' for about 3 weeks, so not super long, before the run and the first time I ever got close to the actual distance was the day of!!

I know for a lot of people 3.1 miles is not a big deal but let me just say that I was RIDICULOUSLY PROUD of myself when it was all said and done. This race had nothing to do with how fast I could run, what time I got or if I won anything. It had everything to do with me setting a goal that I never considered trying for and accomplishing it. I wanted to try something new and do it with friends that I love and support who love and support me back. I wanted to make myself proud and my husband proud by setting a goal and reaching it and I did it!! I ended up finishing in 36 minutes and 54 seconds and since I was trying for under 40 I thought that was pretty dang good. Stephanie was a little ahead of us for most of the race (she's the speedy one and has some long 'ol good for running legs!) but Leslie and I were pretty much side by side the whole time and God bless her for it she shared her neck cooling thing with me around mile 2.5 and sang Dixie Chicks from her IPOD to keep me going. We all had agreed to sprint as soon as we saw the finish line but her sprint was way sprintier than mine!

It was fun, exhausting and exhilirating all rolled up together and I am so proud of all three of us and can't wait to try it again!!

Steph, Me, Kayla and Leslie before the race

and we're off!

'sprinting' to the finish

praising the Lord that I made it in one piece!

post race picture

Me and my supportive men.

jupiter, fl: beaches and pool

Each day we had lots of pool time with a little beach time thrown in. The bridge to the beach was out which turned our five minute drive to the beach into a twenty minute drive. Not that I'm complaining at all, it just meant it took us a little longer to get there so it cut out beach time since we were working around connor's naps and zach's brother's wake up time (seriously forgot how long people can sleep in when they don't have kids!).

On Monday afternoon we had our first beach experience there and Connor's very first beach experience ever. It wasn't technically Micah's first but the first he'll remember. Atlantic sand is not so sandy and soft but it wasn't as bad as people seem to think. It was full of different colors because of all the different shells that make it up. The boys didn't seem to mind a bit. They both dug right in to the sand and were basically covered with it the entire time we were there which meant I was too. It took me a total of ten seconds to realize that I might as well get used to it because if I actually wanted to be a good mama and have fun with my boys I was going to get dirty!

Micah was super excited about getting in the ocean which was another shocker. FYI he was super adventurous on this trip. I was one proud mama. He went in the ocean with Zach to jump over the waves, he swam around the pool all by himself with his floaties on, let Zach throw him probably about 6 feet in the air and come splashing down in the water, and on another beach where they had tons of rocks he climbed in and out and through them for almost an hour with not one bit of hesitation, and learned how to go completely under the water!!! For my cautious little boy all of this was a huge deal. His other activities during the week included hunting for seashells, building and then smashing sand castles and fishing with his daddy and uncles.

Connor loved digging in the sand though it did take a few tries before he realized that eating the dirt was not the best idea. He had mixed feelings about going in the water. Some days he liked it and some days he just wanted to run around and pretend he was going to get in. Silly boy! He pretty much spent his time eating, sleeping and running around like a big ol' goof ball :)

My favorites from our trip were:

* biking/running with Zach.

*visiting the beach at blowing rock cove. The formations of the rock because of the water was interestingly beautiful.

*watching Micah and Connor experience new things and collect new life experiences. One of my favorite things in all the world will always be watching my children learn and experience new things. Seeing Connor laugh at the bubbles in the waves and watch Micah let go of some of his inhibitions and get excited about new things like fishing and swimming and climbing rocks was awesome. LOVE it!