Keys Vacation - Part 1

Our trip to the Keys started out last Friday and lasted till this past Saturday. Our entire family came down for it... Kelli/Jeff/Georgia, Tony/Brandi/Walker/Waylon, Tony's friends Nick & Cassie, Mom/Dad & Ralph all stayed in some condos nearby. Uncle Gary/Steph, Melissa/Kent, Megan & Colby all stayed at Caps house.  

The girls, myself, and my mom headed down for our long 7 hour drive. The girls did really well and our journey included a stop at chick-fil-a and a stop in Miami for lunch with my Aunt Terri & cousin Walter. It was nice having things to do to break up the trip. Saturday, we just hung out at the house because it was rainy and just hung out with family. We snuck in a little fishing, swimming, and a trip to the grocery store. My uncle had caught some fresh tuna 2 days before so we had that for dinner one night and I loved it! (moving up in the world). 

 Sunday we took the kids for a little boat ride (it was short lived since it was so hot) and then had a birthday party for my nephews at Caps house (we call Uncle Gary, Cap  short for captain). Poor Blakely spent half the week naked she was sweating so bad LOL.

 The boys weren't too interested in their cupcakes. I think they didn't want to get dirty LOL

 These gems are in love with each other. So precious together

Monday, I went out on the boat and Grammy stayed back with the girls. We were scouting looking for lobstering spots for Wednesday. It was a gorgeous day. That evening, we had some old friends come over and meet Blakely and hang out. Delainey was obsessed with Nathan and would not get off his lap. It is so cute to see her infatuated with a boy, but it's too soon to like boys! Ahh! This is a pic of Ralph wearing my jean shorts. It's a long story, but so funny so I had to document it! LOL

Homeboys looking tough on the boat. 

 Tuesday, my mom went out the boat and I stayed home with the girls to do a little sightseeing field trip. We stopped at lots of cool touristy places...Worldwide sportsman where we got a new light up fishing pole, Robbie's-where we fed the tarpon, Lazy Days- lunch with pina coloadas, and shell world where she got a few treats and a mermaid toy.

Tuesday night, David flew in and we hit the hay early since we had a 3:30 am wake up time to go lobstering the next morning. 

Parties, Births, & Everything in between

We have had a pretty eventful past 5 days this week. It started out on Saturday with a birthday party. Lauren, a girl in my supper club, had a 4th bday party for her son Miles that included a train and water slide bounce house. Delainey had a blast! On the slide especially. After the party we went and looked at some model homes and found one we loved. Too bad the lots that were left were junk. Just a sign from God we shouldn't move. We are so torn on whether we want to move into a bigger house or not. I guess if the perfect one falls in my lap we will pull the trigger, but until then we are happy where we are. 

 Sunday included church (Delainey let me do french braids for the 1st time and I loved how they looked), snuggled at the house, and then went to Gammoe's for family dinner. They finally came back from Cashiers after almost a month gone. She wanted to get as much time in with Delainey as possible before we are gone on our keys trip for a week so D had 2 sleepovers and was with her 2 of the other nights.

Tuesday morning, one of my best friends (we've been friends since we were in 6th grade) had her second daughter. Her older daughter Collins is one of Delainey's best friends and now Blakely will have a best friend that is just 4 months younger. It works out perfectly! Sadie was 7 lb 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches. She is so precious! She looks just like her Daddy.

 Wednesday, we got to see baby Ivy on the 4D ultrasound and Georgia was very excited about seeing her baby sister. Less than 10 weeks till another princess joins the family! My heart is exploding with love for all these baby girls! I think I am obsessed with babies and being pregnant. Hope Dave strikes it rich one day to support all 12 of our kids. LOL Just kidding...well kind of!

 These gems love each other so much!! 

 How cute is this new costume Gammoe bought D! They enjoyed the library, went shopping for some new toys, played in the pool outside, and played dress up. She would not take the costume off for 2 days straight!

 Today, the girls had their last ballet class of the summer and I offered to take Collins for the afternoon to let Alicia adjust to being home with the baby. They came home from the hospital this morning. Mrs. Heather gave the girls little ballet treats for their last class, then we went to Grammy's and swam and ate pizza, then bathed and headed home to go to sleep. The girls have so much fun together!

In the midst of all these activities, I have been packing away for our week long Keys trip that starts tomorrow! It is quite the treat packing for 4 people for 8 days that includes food, places to sleep, dive and fishing equipment...lots of lists have been happening! :)
Anyways we are off tomorrow to enjoy a week away with my entire family! It is going to be so much fun having all the grandkids together. I love this annual tradition and did I mention the last Wednesday of July is my favorite day of the year! It is a lobster feast thats to die for! Follow on instagram over the next week to see whats happening and I will be back to blog after next weekend! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Amelia Island Staycation

Last Wednesday, we headed up to Amelia Island for a little one night girls vacay at the Ritz Carlton. It's only an hour north so Kelli and Georgia decided to come play for the day and head home later that night. We arrived around noon and headed to the pool to swim. They had a nice little splash park area for the kids and then your normal pool. The weather went from nice to bad pretty quickly so instead of calling it a day, we just headed inside to the indoor pool and continued swimming. It had a glass roof over it so you could see the rain as you swam...probably my favorite part of the hotel! :) The weather cleared up and we went back out to the main pool and to walk on the beach. 

 D & I enjoyed some pina coladas while strolling the beach looking for shells. Why not we were on vacation!

 We headed in around 4 to take showers and get ready for dinner. We headed into the Fernandina Beach area to a restaurant called Sliders grill. The food was phenomenal. Probably the best calamari I have ever tasted and Kelli got a pretzel bun cheeseburger with queso on top that was insane! The best part about the restaurant was the playground for the kids to play on. We sat at our table enjoying drinks after we ate while watching D and Georgia run around on the playground! Genius! There was also a great reggae band playing that Georgia danced to for probably a good 30 minutes. After dinner we headed home to hit the hay.

 If you look closely the bar at swings for seats! Very cool place and did I mention it's on the ocean!

 The next morning, Blakely had a feeding that fell at 6:30 and I figured while I was up I might as well make the most of it so I laid her back down and headed to the beach to do a 7 am sunrise yoga class in the sand. It was a really nice view, but definitely harder to balance in the sand! I was back in the room at 8 and by then both girls were up. We had breakfast then headed to the beach & pool again to play.

We checked out at 1pm and headed home to Jacksonville after a nice little night away! We had a great  time with just the girls. Thanks Pops for our night away!

Life through the camera roll

Over the past week, we have just been hanging out doing the usual...my gym, tutoring, ballet, lots of swimming at Grams, and playing at the house. Delainey watched the show Say yes to the dress & insisted she have her own veil to wear around. Luckily mine was just upstairs in storage. One of these days when I have lots of time, I want to do a photoshoot with her in my wedding dress. She is so cute, when I opened my dress bag she said "wow mom it is just beautiful!" I love how well she expresses herself. Baby B is growing up so fast! She is a lively lady who loves to smile and grab at anything she can. 

 Friday, Dave didn't have any surgeries to do so his coworker Joe came over with his family to hang out and go to the pool. D loves playing with the older girls. I was surprised she let them put her in the back seat of her own jeep. LOL good sharing! Big girl also got her first frappucino from starbucks this week. (with no coffee of course)

Friday night we celebrated my friend Amanda's engagement at one of the Jax Beach bars. It was nice to have a night out with all the girls...kid free. We had a good old time busting a move on the dance floor! The food was dynamite too!

 Saturday we had a relaxing morning at the house, then went to the mall to buy Dave some new bathing suits. On the way home, we picked up sushi and had family movie night. I suggested sleeping bags on the floor for the movie and when I came out Dave had a huge air mattress blown up. Delainey loved it!
I just love how Blakely sleeps with her hands in the air if she isn't swaddled.

 Sunday, we were bad and decided to skip church to get to the beach early before it got to crowded and hot. We found an awesome spot with a runoff pool like area for the kids to play in and it was fantastic. This was really the first time Blakely actually got in the water. I love the beach, but boy do I hate cleaning off 2 sandy kids. D was hilarious on the way home. She put a blanket over her head and took a nap on the way home...whatever works!

Blakely is now able to sit in the bumbo!! The tray is nice too so I can put things up there for her to grab. Can you tell Delainey picked out her outfit that day?

 And here is how we take on Costco and grocery shopping. I wear Blakely on my chest and put Delainey in the basket. The carseat just doesn't sit well in the cart and Blakely loves it as long as she is facing out and can see what's going on.

So that is pretty much it as of lately. Tomorrow I'm getting a massage and doing a little one night vacation with Grammy and the girls at Amelia Island. Pops won a free night at the Ritz Carlton in an auction so we are taking advantage. Just planning on hanging by the pool & beach and Delainey is so excited because she loves hotels! I'll be back with pictures of our "staycation."

And here is just a fun little comparison of the 2 girls at exactly the same age. Not too similar in my opinion!