Gulfport 2017

Lila's school building underwent major construction beginning in May of this year. The project continued through August so the entire district's first day of school was pushed back about a week and a half. This meant we had some extra days to fill when we would normally be getting ready to go back to school. 

Scott was going to be in New York running a relay with the Boyle side of the family, so we decided to go somewhere! My Mom, Hamil, Sarah, Thane & Ruel were up for a road trip too. We decided to go to Gulfport, MS, mainly because it is the closest beach to us. Ha! 

We arrived after a long day of traveling, but the beach view was worth it! 

We immediately got our swim suits on and headed out to the beach.

The water was not as pretty as some of the beaches we've been to, but the kids had fun and it was a nice get-away!

Keeping the tradition alive - burying each other in the sand...

Dinner one night...we loved the extra time with Nana!

The Three Amigos:)

  It rained almost every day we were there at some point. But the plus side were the rainbows!

My sweet one heading out to Ship Island for the day!

Ship Island is not inhabited but the National Park Service keeps up Fort Massachusetts. It was a beautiful little island with an amazing beach. The bonus was that we got to get a history lesson of this fort, which you know I love.

Hamil caught this crab (they were everywhere!). He was the kids hero. And then it bit him. Ha!

The waves on this beach were so good - the kids loved every minute of our time there.

We also toured the fort. It was so neat. But I have to say, the bugs and humidity inside there got to me after about 10 minutes. I can't imagine the soldiers and POWs that were there full time back in the day.

A view of paradise from the inside...

The boardwalk connected the fort to the beach. There were no railings and signs that said Beware of the Alligators. Yikes.

Sweet Ruel! He looks so much like Hamil that it's like a blast from the past every time I look at him! I love it.

Coloring cousins...

It was a fun trip with some of my very favorite people! We can't wait for the next one!

Home Improvement: Bathroom Addition

We did a home improvement project over the summer. I say we. We didn't do it, a contractor and sub-contractors did! Can I get an Amen to that?!? 

When the previous owners renovated our house, they ran plumbing up to the third floor. But they didn't go ahead with a bathroom up there. We knew that when we bought the house and it was actually a good selling point for us because we knew we would be utilizing the third floor. We decided no time like the present to get the use of a bathroom up there, so we went for it! 

The plumbing is actually behind the wall of Nate's room, so there were not really any other options of relocating the bathroom to be between the bedrooms up there. Score for Nate, who gets a bathroom in his room! 

Here is what it looked like when we started...framing. 

This is the shower area on one end of the bathroom.

The footprint of the vanity...

The commode area on the other end of the bathroom.

We have drywall! It was so exciting to see each step come to completion.

The shower after it was framed and waterproofed.

The plumbing is there for the sink!

The little nook created inside Nate's door.

The floor tile is done! It is white hexagon, which matches the second floor bathroom.

The shower is subway tile, with a gray penny border, which also matches the tile layout of the second floor bathroom. We tried to make the bathroom match our other bathrooms, so it was pretty easy to pick out finishes.

The finished bathroom! We LOVE the way it turned out!

It's a pocket door, I haven't taken any pictures since that was finished. Scott did the trim and it looks amazing!

Overall, we had a good experience with our contractor and the people that worked on the bathroom. But I'm glad to have my house back:) On to the next project!

Georgia Trip 2017

We all made the trip to Georgia in July! I think the kids look forward to this week all year long! We got lots of good time with Mimi, Paka, Aunt Amanda, Uncle David, Noah, Gavin, Levi & Asher!! 

Here is Lila meeting Asher. She was smitten:)

Nate was pretty smitten too...he liked the idea of the oldest and the youngest being together. Sweet Nate is 11 years older than Asher. It's a scary thought to think when Asher is 11, Nate will be 22. Ahhhhh....

Our annual picture for Mimi...the kids all cooperated so well. No, for real. They did. Anything for Mimi!

Oh my gosh. They are sitting next to each other and are not fighting. This situation does not happen very often. For real.

Well. This is a lot of people to get together. But they did it! There was only a minor catastrophe in between takes. Lila hit her head somehow. I don't even remember how now. But she survived...

Annual tradition of going to Stone Mountain! How are they all this big?!?!

Sweet morning cuddles with Asher.

One day, we decided at breakfast to head to Athens to the UGA campus and to eat at the Grill. On a whim. Totally unplanned. With 6 kids. Who are we???? But it was totally the BEST day! Eating at the grill...feta and fries...YUM YUM. Notice Nate and his button their shirt all the way up posse. Ahem.

I'm so proud of this picture! Amanda & Scott & their kiddos under the Arch! I absolutely love it.

While on campus, we visited the fountain where Scott proposed to me almost 17 years ago...December 18, 1999. I was so happy to be back there. The kids? Eh. They weren't super impressed. But oh well, they can say they've been there.

A bit older now...and wiser!

Lila & Gavin...sweet kiddos.

We also went to the Atlanta Zoo when we were there. The Pandas were so exciting! I love them. We were there when Nate was little, maybe 2008. This is him now.

And back then...whaaaaaa....where did my baby go??

I know Mimi feels the same way. Here they are now. He's almost as tall as her!! Very soon, very soon. Tears.  

I love this boy. He is growing into being such a fine young man. And a wonderful cousin/friend for Nate. I wish we lived closer to them. Truly. I wish that all the time. They have such a special friendship. All the cousins do. Warms my heart.

All the hooligans at the Zoo! Love all of them SO much!

Nate & Levi...Levi is such a sweet big brother. And is growing up toooooo fast!!

On our last night there, we met Patrick, Nicole & Ellie at a restaurant that had an outdoor space. Kids? Outdoor place? We're there.

They were playing football. With tables around them. Yes. Yes, I was a very nervous mother.

Yes, that's Nate about to tackle somebody. He doesn't get it from me:)

And to end this wonderful post, Scott meeting his newest nephew...so sweet!