Weekend Update

Girl's Night!
Friday night I got to go to Hindman, Ky to be with my best college girls! It was so great to spend time with them. We see each other about three times a year, but when we get together it is always the same. We laugh as we talk about old days, the kids, and the husbands. Maggie went too, and loved the time with the girls!

Boy's Night!

Saturday night Jason had his annual pledge class reunion at our house. I am so proud of him! I was in London with the kids, so he had to host himself. He straightened up the house and served the food! He made Paula Deen's stuffed burgers all by himself! He said they turned out well.

Gone Fishing

On Sunday Jason came to London to be with us at his mom's. In the afternoon we went to his Granny's farm and went fishing. We had great luck again (although I didn't do as well). Uncle Jesse cleaned them up and we had fried catfish for dinner! They were delicious!

After fishing Jesse fed the catfish (did I mention it is a stocked pond?). It was quite a show! The boys loved watching the fish come up to eat. There were TONS! This is a picture of the catfish eating at one of the ponds.

Day at the Pool

Today we went to the Nicholasville pool. I can't believe it is July 27 and it is the first day I've made it to the public pool! The kids had a blast. We went around 11:00 and left about 3:00. MJ was asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot, and the boys were before we got home. Mom went with me thank goodness. It would have been pretty hard without her.

Fun in the sun, and sand between our toes!

We spent the last two days enjoying the ocean, sand, and pool as best as we could! We appreciated these days so much because it was time we would have been driving had we not flown. Jason and I are so thankful we were able to fly. We flew in early in the morning, and flew out in the afternoon, so we ended up having eight days to spend at the beach. We also really enjoyed not dreading the drive back the last few days of the trip.

Greene and Jackie kept the kids our last night so we could have a nice meal without them. We went to a restaurant called Sculley's. Jason and I had crab legs (my favorite), lobster, shrimp, and scallops! Yum! The best part..... we sat outside and watched five dolphins swim around the bay the entire time we ate! It was wonderful!

I never got a picture of the drawbridge, but it was the hit of the week for Austin! We had a corner unit with lots of windows. Out the back window was the ocean, but the side window had a great view of the drawbridge. Our condo was the last building before the bridge, so we were right next to it. Every time a boat would blow their horn or the road block arm would ding Austin yelled, "The bridge is going up" and he'd run to the balcony or get out of the pool to watch it.

As you can tell from the pictures, it was cloudy our last day. It kind of was nice because it kept it cooler and I didn't have to worry as much about sunscreen. The kids never burned all week. Hooray! Needless to say, they didn't want to leave. It was a perfect family vacation.

Thank you Granny and Grandad!

The kids loved the playing in the pool. Their favorite thing was playing shark. Daddy was always the shark (or alligator).

Maggie just couldn't handle all the fun! She fell asleep earlier than usual almost everyday.

This is something I would NEVER want to do, but for some reason these crazy kids wanted to be buried in the sand! They sure had fun playing in the sand.


Maggie was brave walking in and out of the ocean.


Trying to dig a hole like the big kids. They didn't want poor Maggie messing up their castle.

Brrrrrrr...... It's COLD!

We are home.... and it's cold! I prefer the temperature at the beach! We truly had a fantastic vacation from start to finish. We are so thankful for the trip we just took. The relaxation, family time, food, sand, water, and airplane trips were just a blessing.

I'm going to watch a movie with Jason before bed and a work week (for him). I'll post more pictures of the last two days of vacation tomorrow.

Our Pirate Adventure

Today we went on a two hour pirate ship adventure. I really wanted to do something on a boat while on vacation, so when we saw this we knew the kids would love it. We enjoyed it too! We boarded from John's Pass dock, which is right across the street from the condo, at 11:30. It was packed with fun for the kids, and a nice ride for us adults. There was a water gun fight, pirate stories, a treasure hunt, a canon shot off, pirate face painting, congo dance line, and limbo.

Our Pirate Ship

Getting aunt Aprile with the water gun

Enjoying the kid activities on the other side of the boat!

Three little pirates on board

They were first given a moustache and a small goatee. Later they went back for an eye patch. You can see the eye patch in the above picture.
Caleb did the limbo better than the other three! They just bent over and walked underneath.

To see or not to see?????

So..... I have found the downside to the gulf coast... You can see what you're swimming with! Today.... a shark. Yes, some would say a small, harmless shark (Jason, his mom, sister, etc), however, I would say.... A SHARK! It doesn't matter how small! Needless to say, I screamed like a little girl and ran out of the ocean. My heart was pounding and my knees were shaking. I may never swim in the ocean the same. I did get back in, but every little thing that touched my leg freaked me out! At least on the Atlantic side of Florida you can't see what you're swimming with!

We had a great morning in the ocean (other than the shark). The kids played for at least two hours in the ocean and sand. The water is almost hotter than bath water! It feels so good... almost too hot, if that's possible. I loved just floating in the ocean while the kids played. We are having a very relaxing, family vacation. Tonight Jackie is making lasagna. Yum! We are staying in and going back out to the pool for an evening swim. Maybe even a romantic walk on the beach!

Here are a few photos of the before near death experience.

Cousin Caleb

Amy and Anna

Fish, sharks, and stingray!

We spent the day at the Tampa Aquarium. It is rated one of the top five aquariums in the country for kids. Maggie loved all the fish. She yelled, "Fish!" at every exhibit. It was a great day. after going through the aquarium, we spent some time at the outdoor water adventure park. It was so fun! All the kids loved it! We came back around 4:30 and had a late nap. Then, we headed out to the pool for an afternoon swim. We didn't go to dinner until 8:30. We had a late lunch before leaving the aquarium. There is a yummy outdoor cantina in the water park. At dinner the boys ate alligator chunks and shrimp!

Petting the critters

I think MJ wanted to join the stingray

Austin's fish face

More Pictures from Madeira

I love Bubba Gump's!

We arrived at our new condo for the week yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a Bubba Gump's directly across the street! Of course, that is where we ate last night! Maggie and I split a Shrimpers Heaven. It was so yummy!

Our new place is fantastic! It is a nice size three bedroom condo, and it is decorated beautifully! It is sooooo very nice. The owner completely renovated it recently with all new furnishings, decor, and appliances. It has a very nice pool, and a huge sandy beach. Our balcony over looks the pool and beach. Caleb, Anna, Amy, and Aprile arrived yesterday. Maggie was so excited to see her Caleb. He has a new wallet with one picture in it, Maggie's! He is so great with her.

While we waited yesterday at Bubba Gump's, there was a man outside making balloon hats. They were adorable!

He made Maggie a flower bracelet.

Austin's shark hat

Caleb's spiderman

Princess Anna wore Princess Ariel

We also had a doggie made. I think it was the cutest!

Our Little Beach Babe

A day of firsts!

Their first flight...

Yesterday was a great, but very long first day. The alarm sounded at 4:00 am (of course we snoozed a little). We arrived in Louisville at 6:15 and boarded the plane around 7:20. We flew Southwest, so the seating was open (they don't assign seat numbers). I liked this because we were able to get two window seats for the boys. Jason and Austin sat across from me and the other two, I was so excited about the boys riding on an airplane that I actually cried during take off. Why am I so emotional? Jason said that Austin asked really thoughtful questions the entire flight! I'm glad he was sitting with him! On my side, we looked out the window a lot and colored most of the trip. The kids could not have been better! They did so well! They enjoyed the flight and were very well behaved. The best part??? We were getting dressed for the beach in our hotel by 10:30 am!!!!!

The first beach trip for one of the kids...

We are only here in Clearwater for two nights. Then, we will meet Jason's family and go to John's Pass for the week. Yesterday was a perfect day at the beach. The water felt awesome! I have never been to a beach were the boats pull up, throw out their anchor, and spend the day. It was such a neat atmosphere. The ocean right outside of the hotel is a perfect spot for the kids. It is so clear and the boats kind of created a boundary to make a pool. The kids had fun playing in the sand and water. It was relaxing and enjoyable for all of us. A great start to our vacation!

Last night we walked to a restaurant called Crabby Bills. Jason and I had fish. We all enjoyed the view of the ocean and the live music. Maggie danced for everyone. This morning we ate at IHOP. Right now the boys have their trunks on and are ready to hit the beach! Me too!

Summer Fun!

Happy Birthday CCU!

We love FREE summer fun! Friday (6/26) CCU celebrated their birthday with a bounce house, carnival games, great prizes, police, fireman/trucks, hot dogs, chips, and drinks! The kids had a great time.

The boys love to see firetrucks, ambulance, and police cars, so the opportunity to sit in one was too cool! I think they went back to the truck three times to climb in! Of course the visit was complete with a fire hat.
This was Maggie's first experience in a bounce house without me holding her... and she LOVED it! I had to climb in and drag her out crying. We were the first to arrive at the party, so the kids were the only three in there. I think that helped make her first experience so great. We jumped again later with other kids in there and she did just as well.

A Romantic Weekend for TWO at the Beaumont Inn

For Father's Day I gave Jason a night without kids at the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg. We had a fantastic, QUIET, relaxing, romantic time! It was so great just to be with him. I picked a place close by so we wouldn't spend much time in the car, as well as somewhere we'd never been. We enjoyed each other so much! We swam in the pool, played shuffleboard, ate lunch in the tavern, walked to Main St for ice cream, had a romantic dinner in the Inn restaurant, sat on the front porch, relaxed on the swing, and had a wonderful breakfast the next morning.

Happy Birthday Granny!

Jason's mom's birthday was Monday (6/29). We celebrated it in London Wednesday/ Thursday with Aprile, Amy, Caleb, and Anna. It was great to be with family, and the kids had a fantastic time playing together. Unfortunately, it was too cold to swim. We did once, but it was just too cold to swim on Thursday. The kids were disappointed, but were side tracked by getting to make and decorate cupcakes. Aprile made a chocolate cheesecake for Jackie. She had a candle on her cheesecake and all the kids had one on their cupcakes. We sang Happy Birthday together, and then everyone blew out their candle.

Maggie loved the icing!

Great decorating!

The cheesecake was delicious!!!

Maggie and Caleb love each other so much! It cracks me up! He is so good with her. She sat right by him for probably 15 minutes while he played video games. She kept putting her hand on him.

July 3rd Patriotic Concert

My favorite part of celebrating Independence Day is going to the July 3rd Patriotic concert at Transy. My parents go with all of their friends and have a big pot luck. Several of their friends go really early and get the same, great spot every year. I brought homemade banana ice cream and it was eaten fast. Everyone said it was really good. We proudly wore our red, white, and blue. I decorated Maggie's wagon with balloons, stars, and other decorations. I love the Fourth of July!
Sorry about the crop job at the bottom. See the blog update note at the top if you don't know why... :(

Maggie loves her Pap.

An Icky Fourth

Without going in to detail, we spent the 4th of July at home with a stomach bug! So far it has reached Anna, Caleb, our kids, me, Jackie, Aprile, Mom, and Dad! I feel the worse about my dad. Today (July 5th) is his birthday and he just got hit this morning! We had a family reunion yesterday and plans with friends last night that we didn't get to do. Today we were all getting together for Dad's birthday, plans cancelled. So sad... I love the 4th and 5th of July. Please pray for the bug to stop and not go any further. For now, we are doing much better in the Keith house. Pray, pray that Jason doesn't get it. With Florida next week, he doesn't have ANY sick days to spare.