Homecoming Week

Shane on Decade Day (we're thinking late 60's/early 70's) We couldn't decide exactly which decade he was. Dalton was dressed up for Camo Day.

This week at Covenant is Homecoming week, therefore it has been Spirit Week as well. The upper school and the lower grades had differing days so when Shane dressed up for Decade Day, Dalton dressed up for Camo/Military Day. All 3 of my guys have had a lot of fun dressing of this week for the different designated days, and I had a good time finding outfits for everyone.

Shane as Ace Ventura on Character Day

Dalton and Colby for CA day

The big Homecoming game is tonight. Shane's guys have had a tough year so far going 1-3 but are so close to being 4-0. Each game they have lost has been so close and have had some really tough losses. Hopefully they will win tonight and turn things around and get back on the winning track.

Celebrating Colby

This weekend Colby turned 5 years old. He's such a joy to our family. I can't believe five years have gone by so fast. We celebrated his birthday this weekend with a little cookout at our house with some family. Here's a little slideshow from our five years with our little man.

First Day of School

Last week, August 11th, was the first day of school for Dalton and Colby. It was special this year because both Dalton and Colby are now going to the same school. They get to ride with Shane to school every day. I think Colby feels like a big boy going to school with his older brother at Covenant this year. The year has gotten off to a great start, and both Dalton and Colby really love being at school and love their classes!

One Last Fling of the Summer

The last couple of weeks have been busy! Shane had football camp at Jekyll Island a couple of weeks ago for 5 days, and then we had to get ready for school starting back. Since Shane was going to be down at Jekyll for a while I thought I'd go down with the boys for a couple of days as well. I asked my mom if she wanted to come down with us as well. A couple of days before we were going to leave, my mom had a mini-stroke and was in the hospital having lots of tests run to try to determine what was going on. She stayed overnight and was cleared to leave and was thankfully able to still go with us on our trip. We were so glad she was able to come and we had a lot more fun with her along. While Shane was staying with his guys at the 4-H camp down at Jekyll Island, the 4 of us stayed at a motel nearby. We didn't see Shane a whole lot but he was able to meet up with us to go to the waterpark that is on Jekyll. We had a lot of fun going out to eat, playing a little miniature golf, sight-seeing a little at St. Simons, and playing in the water. It was fun to enjoy one last little trip before school started!!

In St. Simons at the lighthouse

We also had a fun time going to Driftwood Beach which is located on the north end of the island. My friend, Rebekah, got married at this area in front of this same tree. The boys had a blast climbing on it while my mom and I nervously watched.

More 10th Anniversary Stuff

I made up this little slideshow of our trip to Anguilla as well as some snapshots from the past 10 years. Yes, it has been almost a month since our anniversary, but hey, we're still celebrating. Many pictures include the boys as well, because we just can't imagine the last few years without Dalton and Colby.

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10th Anniversary

Shane and I went to the island of Anguilla to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We wanted to go someplace very special. We had researched and planned for months before deciding to go to the resort of Cap Juluca in Anguilla. We were wanting to go somewhere that had a great beach and a place where we could afford to get a beachfront room. Throughout our research we found that this resort had all beachfront rooms no matter what category, and we also found that the island of Anguilla is known for its great beaches and beautiful turquoise water. I previously knew very little about Anguilla and had never even known anyone who had been there, but everything we read about it sounded awesome so we thought we'd try it out and go ahead and book our stay.
Everything we read about Anguilla and Cap Juluca turned out to be true. When we arrived at the resort we were just in awe. And when the lady at check-in told us we had been given a great upgrade we were just giddy. We just couldn't believe we had been upgraded to a pool villa!! We had our own private pool!! We just didn't know what to do with ourselves. When we were taken to our villa I just couldn't stop looking at the view and the huge villa that we were upgraded to. Shane and I just kept thinking there must be some mistake and someone was going to come and tell us that they've made a mistake and tell us we were in the wrong villa.

We've been to a few different islands in the Caribbean, but this was truly the most beautiful place I've ever been. The water was the prettiest I've ever seen and the beach was amazing as well. The resort catered to our every whim and was always there for us no matter what was needed. While laying out on the beach, a beach attendant would bring a chilled towel around 12:00 and complimentary sorbet around 3:00. And whenever you would go pick out your lounge chairs, the attendant would bring a cooler filled with iced bottled waters. Ahhhh!! So nice!! The island has an amazing selection of different fine dining restaurants for being such a small island of just 16 miles long. We rented a jeep for a couple of days to tour around the island to try out a few different restaurants. We went to 4 different restaurants and they were all just fabulous! I loved trying out such new places! Such fun!

I could just go on and on about how beautiful this place was! My theory about the Caribbean is that there are so many different islands with their own unique personality that why would I want to go to the same one again when there are so many other islands to explore. But Anguilla has kind of changed my mind about that. It was such a slice of heaven that it will be hard to ever go anywhere else!

Our villa and lounge chairs.

Fishing in the Gulf

A couple of weeks ago Shane, one of Shane's friends, and I went out fishing in the Gulf out on the flats of Steinhatchee, Florida. We went with a guide. We had been talking about going out with a guide for a while to try to learn a little more and catch a lot of fish. We got an early start and headed out on the water. It was fun to go with a guide because he provided all the bait and took care of everything we needed pretty much and he knew all the best places to fish. We were mainly fishing for trout, but we also went fishing for some redfish. I caught one redfish that was the biggest fish I'd ever caught in my life. It was 28 1/2" long and weighed over 6 pounds. Pretty cool. Here's some pics of some of our catch:

(Sorry, can't figure out why this is underlined)

Here's Shane trying to reel in a pretty good sized shark

Orange Beach 2010

A couple of weeks ago we went on our family vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama. It was such a relaxing time! The boys had fun playing in the pool and in the ocean as well as playing shuffleboard, going to play miniature golf, and riding go-carts. My parents came along with us, and Shane and I were able to get out on the links to play a little golf one day as well. This is the earliest in the year we've ever been on vacation to the beach and it was such a good time to go. The weather wasn't too hot yet and the crowds weren't all that bad yet either.

"Cannonballllll!!!!!"

Colby chillin' in the sand

We went out to eat at Lulu's Restaurant one night which is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister. There was a long wait to eat, but there was a lot of things to keep the kids busy and active while they waited. Dalton and Colby joined in on a little volleyball game that was going on with other kids then moved on to building sand castles while we waited. Then, we enjoyed a nice dinner by the water.

We were treated to a spectacular lightning show the first night we arrived.

One of the big things on most everyone's mind down at the beach was the oil spill. We never saw any oil while there and the beach was still very beautiful. There were reports that the oil came ashore the day before we left, but it was reported as being a mile or two up the beach and was just cleaned up and the beach was fine again. Here was a picture of a couple of boats laying some boom in front of our condo where we were. Kind of weird though... they didn't leave the boom there so I was wondering if maybe there was some oil out there and they skimmed it up and then left.

End of School

The last two days of school included a fun water day at another student's house where they rented an inflatable water slide and then an awards day at school for the last day of school. It was a beautiful day for having fun in the water, eating pizza, and just enjoying each other before school let out for the summer. The awards day included character awards in which Dalton was given the award for being Respectful. They don't keep actual number grades in first grade so they give out these character awards along with a few other awards. Dalton has had an awesome year in first grade. He has grown and matured so much over the school year as well as learned so many new things. I'm always amazed at the chunks of Bible verses he has learned in first grade. Also, I have been impressed with how he has learned the parts of speech in first grade. I just don't remember learning parts of speech until maybe 2nd or 3rd grade.

Here's Dalton with his teacher, Mrs. Bankson. We'll miss her next year!

Dalton excited about receiving another certificate. I think he's so excited because his teacher is also handing him a Hershey bar along with the certificate.

More May Happenings

The month of May continued with many end of the year activities for Dalton and Colby. There was the end of the year Awana blowout where the kids could enjoy many bouncey inflatables, pony rides, and crazy climbing things. Where were all these cool play things when I was growing up?!?

7

Dalton turned 7 years old a couple of weeks ago. We celebrated by letting him have his birthday party at a nearby skating rink. This was only the 2nd time he had ever been to a skating rink. He went a couple of months earlier to a friend's party and LOVED it and has been wanting to have a skating party ever since. He's still got a lot to learn about skating, but he has made great improvements each time he has been . Dalton had a great time celebrating with friends from school and church. I even busted out my old roller blades for the big day to skate around a few times with Dalton. Colby wasn't having much of the skating. He wasn't feeling very well on this day and I was only able to talk him into going around the rink about 1/4 of the way when he decided he was done. He ended up having a fever for a couple of days so hopefully the little guy will try it again sometime.

Dalton even tried the Limbo

Colby's Graduation Program

Colby finished up with Pre-K and had his graduation program last week. It was kind of bittersweet because for the past 4 years my vehicle has made it's way up to Central Baptist's Sonshine Preschool where both Dalton and Colby first began their academic career. Colby will be going to Covenant next year with Dalton and Shane. I think when school starts back my little Explorer may just drive up to Central just out of habit. We have cherished the time that our boys have spent there making friends, learning academics, and learning more about Jesus. We will seriously miss Central's preschool and all the children, our friends, and teachers.

Colby and Dalton with their sweet teacher, Mrs. Lora. Dalton had Mrs. Lora 2 years ago when he was in Pre-K and then Colby had her this year.

End Of The Year Fun

Last week was Colby's last week of school at his preschool. He enjoyed lots of fun activities last week which included an end of the year bowling party, a water day, and his graduation program. Here is the big man in action:

Colby with his buddy, Josh

Water day was a lot of fun! We were so afraid the water day was going to be a no-go because it had stormed the night before and in the early morning hours, but the skies cleared and ended up being a perfect day for all the fun. There were little pools to play in, sprinklers, bubbles, and other games, but Colby got such a kick out of jumping into the pools. I nervously watched while he flung his body into about 2 inches of water in some of the pools.

Colby pretending to be a seal