Daytona Beach 2011

As we do every July, our family headed off to our condo in Daytona Beach for 2 weeks!  We were in for some HOT HOT HOT weather!

As is normal, I toted the 2 boys, a babysitter, myself, and enough food to feed the Five Thousand.

We had great weather, good friends, and good eatin’.  Does it get any better than that?

There was boogie boarding……

And swimming…..

And hangin’ out with Kelli the babysitter!

While there, we always make time to go to Down the Hatch for some delicious seafood….YUM.

It was nice to get a family picture off the beach this year.  Normally, we’ll get one in front of the ocean and it’s so sunny and sandy, but this year, we did one on the docks at the restaurant.

 

We happened to have some dear friends of ours staying just down the road at their condo and they met us for dinner one night!  This is Jennifer and Bill…SHE is the COUPON QUEEN and puts the Extreme Couponers to shame!

One night, we went down to the Boardwalk to let the kids have a little fun, ride the ferris wheel, and let Kelli and Cecil go up in the big slingshot ride.  (yes, they are nuts).  This is Kelli and I at the top of the ferris wheel!  I feel VERY old because I used to babysit her when she was around 3 years old and now she’s babysitting my children!  oh my!

Kelli and Cecil getting strapped in for the slingshot ride!

 

They went 300 feet in the air at 110 miles per hour!!  CRAZY!

If you know me, you KNOW I am NOT a risk taker, so it will come as a shock to you to learn that I PARASAILED at the beach this year!  YES! ME!  I DID IT!  800 feet in the air!

A cousin of mine and her family rented my Dad’s condo this year and we all went together to parasail.

Here is my cousin, Karen, and myself BEFORE the big event!

 

Kelli and the boys…..

I was hoping this wasn’t my last family picture!  HA!

You all KNOW my aversion to the ocean (yes, I hate the ocean) and sharks…so I was SO thankful we didn’t have JAWS as our boat.  Yes!  The name of that boat is Jaws!

 

Our crew was awesome!  The best crew and captain ever!  This is the first mate getting me all strapped in and ready to go!

 

Even Cecil went parasailing!  This is him and Kristen (Karen’s daughter) way up in the air!!

I guess from the way I was holding the rope, the next day my arms looked like I had been in a brawl!  Bruises were awful!  Don’t worry—these pictures make it look GOOD.  It turned ugly purple and green before the next day!  And you know what?  IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Overall, it was a great beach trip and we had a GREAT time!  Can’t wait for next year’s trip!

Happy Summer!

~CB~

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like…

BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!!!!

This time of year, my dining room table becomes “home” to new backpacks, clothes, teacher supplies, lunchboxes, fruit snacks, and anything else the boys will need for “back to school”. 

I “hate” the super hero type stuff, but I do have boys and they LOVE it, so I did relent and let them get super hero backpacks.  Oddly enough, they both picked out the same lunchbox for this year.

Don’t tell anyone, but I LOVE IT!  I LOVE buying school supplies and putting together little teacher goody bags!   So far for their teachers, I have a notepad, some stickers, and some bookplates.

Aren’t these shirts cute?  They were on clearance at Old Navy for 4.99.  I got to the register and they were only 3.99 each.  THEN, I “spun the wheel” and got 20% off and used my Old Navy card and received an additional 10% off.  Now THAT is what I call a BARGAIN! 

More to come on our vacation and some back to school shopping!

~CB~

4th of July

This year, instead of staying home for the 4th, I decided to load up my boys and my nieces and head to the beach for a few days of fun in the sun!

It’s so nice that all 4 of the kids get along so well and we hardly ever hear squabbling between them…actually, we NEVER hear squabbling. 

See how much stuff we needed for only 3 days?  Mercy Me.  Next to that big red bag, in the seat, is one of my nieces.  The other niece was up front.

There was LOTS of swimming….

And helping each other out with pool toys.

There was boogie boarding……

 

With the help from an older cousin of course!

The only unwelcome guests at our 4th party were HUNDREDS of jellyfish!  YUCK.  The lifeguard said something about the tide bringing them in.  The kids had a blast playing with them though!  They were instructed NEVER to touch the ones with brown on them.  Those are the ones that sting.  Out of 3 days in the ocean, only 2 of the kids got stung….the lifeguard sprayed alcohol on the sting and we were back on our way!

Carter and my youngest niece played in the ocean, as they’re not ones to do much boogie boarding.

All the cousins.  Love it.

We rounded out the weekend with some sparklers that you can’t even see in this picture.  But they were there.  I promise.

Watchin’ the tide roll in.  (or maybe it was rolling out).  Either way—it was rolling.  I love this picture too!

 

And watching some beautiful fireworks over gorgeous Daytona Beach!

Hope you all had a Happy 4th!  I’m heading to the beach again Saturday for a while—you probably won’t hear from me while I’m there, but I’ll have LOTS of pictures for you when I get back!

America, America.....

Usually my brother does a BIG BIG BIG 4th of July celebration at his house however this year, he was unable to do so.  That meant I had to come up with something on my own for the holiday weekend.

I take Tuesdays off during the summer, which meant I have today (Saturday), Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to CELEBRATE!  I decided to take my two boys and my two nieces to ...

THE BEACH.

I went online and found a great room at a great price, booked it and started packing!

We'll have some fun in the sun and enjoy each other's company!  Thankfully, my boys and my nieces all get along wonderfully and I'm so excited!

I've got some adorable red, white, and blue cupcakes, lots of popsicles, food, and tons of beach toys!

Happy 4th!

All Star Baseball

Nolan made the 8U All Star Baseball Team and for the past 2 months, that’s what our life has been!  We were at the baseball field 3 or 4 times a week for practice, plus games and a little travel here and there for tournaments.

I had a GREAT time watching this little 8U team battle through their season and enjoy the game while learning so much!  It’s really amazing to see how far they came through the little time they played together!

There was lots of pop fly practice….

Some ground ball experience.

A little bit of catching.  In 100 degree HEAT.


More than a few “at-bats”.


The whole team after a double-header in 100 degree heat one Saturday afternoon.  WHEW!  It was HOT!  The coaches had a big bucket full of ice water and the kids were just dipping rags in it to keep their heads cold. 
I have to tell you, we had some of the best, most well-behaved kids ever!  They were a real joy to watch!

Nolan crossing home plate!

Sitting the bench waiting for his turn.

Coach Justin breaking it down for Nolan at third base.  Not sure what they’re strategizing, but it looks serious.  HA!

After their last game, their coach, Coach Troy (who I’m sure even when Nolan is 15 will still be called “Coach Troy”) gave out medals, awards, and baseball cards!

Nolan and his friend Trey!

What a fun two months it was.  I was sad to see it end!
Go AllStars!

~CB~

Disney Bucket

   
I talked about my new Disney Fund here, and wanted to show you what the actual bucket looked like AND give you a $$$ update on the fund!
I started with a clear paint bucket from Michaels (which I purchased months ago with a coupon of course).

I had a sheet of Disney stickers and decided to use those around the bucket rather than paper because the paper was going to be too hard to cut and configure.

I picked out the sticker strips I liked the most and stuck them to the bucket starting at the bottom……


Then…the finished product!  We have $1.16 saved in our fund so far.
  THE DISNEY FUND BUCKET!

~CB~