Start of Summer

 I kicked off summer break with a trip to the beach with my Mom and the Lyons crew. 

The very day that school got out, Mom came to my house and picked me up and we made our way to Orange Beach. We did this last year and had the best time so, here we were again. For the first three days, it was just Mom and I as MC works on the weekends and they weren't able to come until Monday. 

We had our annual crab legs and they were worth the wait! This is something we have been doing when at the beach for over a decade now. We used to go to the beach as a family and it always fell on my birthday week and to celebrate, we would get crab legs as a family one of the nights we were there. So, not only is it nostalgic, it is delicious. 

Our morning routine of coffee on the balcony. May beach weather is so nice. It's not too hot and it's my new favorite time to go. We always went end of July and it was scorching--we had no idea it was so nice in May. 

Mom and I made some fresh mocktails to save on calories during the week. I'm going to share our favorite recipes at the end. They were so good! We also got a brumate mug and it was the PERFECT beach cup. Kept our drinks cold all day long. We used the 16oz Toddy mugs-check them out here. Obviously we didn't have them in my picture above. We tried using the plastic cup and realized quickly that wasn't going to work for all day beach days.

I finallllly read "Where The Crawdad Sings"--I was trying to beat the movie--and it was worth the wait. It was such a good book! I enjoyed the details of the "marsh girl" and the story of how she became that way and all that she had to overcome. I really loved the mystery inserted in there as well. A very, very well done book. 

I mean, you can't go to the OBA/Foley area without going to Culver's. You think "it's just another place"...it's not. 

The Lyons crew made it down on Monday and Annie girl was beach ready! She wanted to start her mornings on the balcony playing "ships" with Mimi and Aunt Ellen. She is absolutely a beach girl. 

We also got to play Candyland (well, 3/4 of it) and GuessWho with her. She was very interested. Even when she wanted to make her own rules to it--LOL!

Looking at out the beach for day 1! Bennett was there with us last year but, he was so little and wasn't even mobile let. This was his first year that he was able to walk around and actually explore and experience beach life. We weren't sure what he would think!

This girl wakes up ready to get out there. She loves it!

We found out pretty quickly that Bennett likes the beach as long as he has a snack down there...and honestly, me too. 

With MC being 33 weeks pregnant, it was all hands on deck! Our 2:1 ratio was just what was needed ;)

Mom was cracking me up all week. She and I would read on the beach so she needed her readers, and her sunglass readers, and then her regular sunglasses for when she wasn't reading. At one point, they couldn't be found and well....you see where they were!

We had such a good time and I really love this trip. It's the perfect way to kick off my summer and I am thankful we are able to go and enjoy!

Mocktails that we tried throughout the week. I am simply sharing the links to the original website and I'm only sharing the ones that we liked the best ;)

We used all fresh fruit and low/no calorie sparkling toppers. 

One thing we discovered was the FRE (alcohol removed wines). We tried the Rose and the Champagne and they both tasted just like their alcoholic versions and were fun to try out. We were able to get them from Rouses down there. Other than that, we used sparkling waters, etc. 

Blood Orange Mocktail Spritzer

Lemon Mocktails with Mint

Margarita Mocktail

One thing that we learned in our cocktail research is that you can use pickle juice in these drinks and it makes it taste like tequila is in there. We tried it out and honestly, it was so, so, good. 

Oxford Wedding Weekend 12/18/21

Our family's long time friends had a wedding in Oxford last weekend. 

We made our way there and had such a good time. We ate TOO MUCH good food, got to experience Ann Hatten's enchantment with her first wedding--that she could actually take in what all was happening. It was so. much. fun!

A fun story--so when Mary Claire was turning 21, our family made our way to Oxford for a surprise birthday celebration for her. This was Jason's first big outing with our whole family and we went to Boure', which is where the pickle martinis are from. So this place and that drink hold a little bit of a special meaning for us. This was the first time we've been back to Oxford since then and we KNEW we had to have a pickle martini. They were just as delicious as we remembered and it was fun to sit there and talk about those early days of dating. 

Before we get in to wedding pictures, I have to say that every single thing we ate that weekend was delicious. My family tells me all the time how good the restaurants are in Oxford and I have to say, they lived up to the hype. We went to (and would suggest) Boure', Big Bad Breakfast, and Insomnia Cookie. Y'all know I love a good meal!

On to the wedding. The ceremony was so fun because Ann Hatten sat with us and kept talking about seeing the Princess. She was SO excited and even made sure her Grando saw her as he was walking down the aisle to perform the wedding. She was glued to the aisle and loved seeing everyone walk down. She even "shushed" me one time when I tried to tell her something! I'm glad to know she's taking it so seriously-ha! The one thing she was disappointed about was that the cake was no where to be seen in the church. We had to explain to her that we had to go to the reception and that's where the cakes would be. 

We made it to the reception and as you can see, she was the first one on the dance floor and I think she put in the most miles on that floor, too. I will be 100% surprised if she's not in every single picture from the reception! She had the time of her life and I'd be lying if I said we didn't enjoy watching her. 

Bennett got a little dance floor action himself and he was the cutest little fella on the floor. 

I am pretty sure she told Mary Claire she needed to take her shoes off so that she could dance better. I feel you girl, I feel you!

Even though it's blurry, I love this picture of Bennett. He looks so cute and teeny tiny when he's standing up like that next to Jason's long legs. 

Oh and this, this is what a picture taken by your almost four-year-old niece looks like when she's scurrying back to the dance floor. 

Oxford, you now hold a few more good memories for us.  

Summertime Summary

 My goodness gracious. 

Summer came and went and ours was jam-packed. 

On top of being in three classes at William Carey, we had to work towards earning clinical practice hours and that kept us busy most of the time. 

Then, for the month of July, I have been filling in for the office administrator at our church and that has been so much fun! I've learned all kinds of new skills and actually really enjoyed it. 

We start back to school (work) on M O N D A Y -- I felt like we blinked and summer was over. 

I am looking forward to this school year but for now, here's a little " rest of the summertime summary" for you all. 

In June, we went to the "Live After Five"in downtown Brandon and had the best time. Ann Hatten loved it because she got to meet Elsa, have a yummy sno cone, and jump in a bouncy house--what more could a little girl ask for?

Clearly Bennet and Uncle Jason had a good time as well :) 

I can't tell you how many beautiful sunsets I've seen this summer. Our yard gives the perfect view. 

I went to Vacation Bible School for a day to see the kiddos with the petting zoo. They were too cute and the kids loved them. My favorite was the little pig, Cha Cha

Somehow I ended up helping the owner of all the animals get the goats back to her trailer and let me just tell you...it was an experience. Thank goodness they like food so much HA!

I've been getting to see this little cutie pie more at church and it looks like he's definitely enjoying himself

I was able to hand a few pool days and got most of my reading done there. 

The first week of July, I spent at the beach with all of our Senior High youth at RYM. This is one of my favorite things to do each summer and this one was no exception. The weather was awesome, we had the best group, and I attended so many great lessons. I wanted to do a whole post just on that week and share some of the best takeaways but, time got away from me so you can just enjoy the pictures from the week. 

I spent a Sunday afternoon showering this mom-to-be and Baby Briar. Can't wait to meet her!

Like I said earlier, I've spent all of July filling in for Becca and it has been pretty fun. I love driving up to the church each day and getting such a pretty view of the chapel and the crepe myrtles in the summertime. 

Someone had a lot of "work" to do when they came to visit Aunt Ellen one day :)

Just last weekend we headed to the Brandon Splash Pad to celebrate Russell's 4th Birthday! It was such a fun evening and that splash pad is pretty dang cool. Can't believe my little (not so little anymore) buddy is four years old already! 

I told y'all--we get the prettiest ones. 

To end the summer, I had my 32nd birthday and spent just about all weekend and the first half of the week celebrating. I felt so incredibly loved on by all my people and I am thankful for another year!

Ann Hatten picked out all of my gifts from her family and it was the most precious and special thing I have ever received. Just her sweet little self picking things out with me in mind was enough to make my heart sing! 

She also made my birthday cupcakes by herself! Other than cracking the egg because she didn't want to do that part. LOL! They were so, so cute and tasted great!

and lastly, the whole family got together last night to celebrate both mine and Blair's birthdays.

We had the best time eating delicious food, a divine birthday cheesecake,  and spending time with one another. The Lord has truly blessed me and I am incredibly thankful for all the goodness He has given me. 

I hope your summertime was sweet!