What's Up Wednesday

I'm joining the "What's Up Wednesday" fun with Mel, Sheaffer and Shay this week. 

What We’re Eating This Week

It’s all about grilling this time of the year. Far less time to clean up and more time to swim. Fresh corn is on my menu a lot in the summer. 

What I’m Reminiscing About

My middle monkey turned 12 this month so it won’t be long before I have 2 teenage sons on my hands. He’s still such a sweetie and still loves to cuddle with this mama, but I know that this will change soon. Sad face.

I miss his chubby little face so much. 

What I’m Loving

Lazy summer days. I’m loving that we don’t have to rush around in the morning to get everybody out of the house or hurry from one activity to the next. I love that we can just hang around the house in our jammies all day if we want to. I don’t sign my kids up for camp over summer breaks – so we pick up and go to the park or have playdates with friends when the mood strikes us.

What I’ve Been Up To

We just got back from our Florida trip. Such a fun trip. We’ve been swimming a lot and just enjoying our break.

We've been painting

catching lizards in our backyard

going to the pool with our friends 

and of course, lots of swimming in our pool

What I’m Dreading

Nothing!

What I’m Working On

I’m working on getting paperwork done for the upcoming school year. Boring. I’m also working on decluttering. First up? My closet! I’ve realized that there’s lots of stuff in there that doesn’t need to be in there – boxes, clothes that I don’t wear, wire hangers (yuck), etc.

This book is my inspiration.

And as I was searching on Amazon for it, I came across this book. This might be fun to read. Haha.

What I’m Excited About

Some alone time with my main squeeze. This summer we have not one, but 2 trips planned without the kids. We are spending 10 day in Hawaii (one of my fave places to be) and another week in Puerta Vallerta (new place to see).

What I’m Watching/Reading

Since it’s summer and not much is on (that I know of), M and I have been watching Dateline, 48 Hours, and 20/20 together. We are so exciting. Haha.

I’ve started “The Last Anniversary” by Liane Moriarty. I’ve also got a bunch more of her books on Kindle to take with me on our trips.

What I’m Listening to:
Whatever is on the radio…

What I’m Wearing

Shorts, tank tops, summer dresses and flip-flops. Oh-and swimsuits!

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Hawaiian Falls with friends, celebrating the Fourth of July fireworks and packing for California!

What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month
Our family trip to California and quality time with the hubby in Hawaii!

Florida Part 2

On Thursday, we were suppose to take a pontoon out to Shell Island, but a storm came in so we decided to reschedule for Friday. It basically rained all day Thursday. But we celebrated Matthew's birthday with some cake! I can't believe this little guy turned 12. Last year, we celebrate his birthday in Cabo San Lucas.

Friday turned out to be the perfect day to be out in the waters! We drove out to Panama City Beach after lunch and got into our rented double decker pontoon with double waterslides. We had an amazing time and the weather couldn't be better.

M has never driven a boat before so it was great that Tucker had some experience. We drove out into the bay between the mainland and Shell Island.

We stopped halfway to Shell Island and let the boys use the slides and jump off the second deck of the boat. I'm not gonna lie - I was not a fan of the idea, but I was overruled when the "adult" boys started doing it.

We stayed and played for a little bit and then it was off to Shell Island! Tucker let Michael take the wheel. He was a natural.

Putting our anchor down on Shell Island.

We explored, found little critters, swam, went down the slides some more and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Michael and Jayce tried to catch some fish - no luck. But Michael went snorkeling and found sea urchins and scallops. We also found some hermit crabs.

Matthew, Sydney and Mark decided to build an a arena for them to challenge each other.

Michael brought us a sea urchin.

We each took turns holding it.

These boys got along so well on this trip.

Michael did such a great job taking care of the little ones and sharing what he found.

He also brought me a scallop. Be still my heart....

We were so sad to leave, but it was the perfect ending to a fun vacation with friends. On our way back, Mark fell asleep like this. Such a sweet face!

The next day, we got up early, packed up the car and drove to Baton Rouge for our pit stop. Since I missed the Mississippi sign on the way to Florida, I made sure to snap one going back to Texas.

When we got to Baton Rouge, we checked into our hotel-which was very unique. It used to be a bank vault and they kept some of the original architectural details. We rested a bit and then went to dinner.

Mark was not happy about something. I forgot what it was about.

He was probably hangry and cheered up a bit later.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a cool coffee shop next to LSU and we were on our way back home. What a great trip, but it's always nice to get back home!