Good Visits, Good Friends

Key Lime Pie at Flounder's Chowder House on the Beach. We saw another table order this and all got whiplash craning our necks to see the three decker pie. We HAD to get some. Why have we been coming here for over 10 years and no one EVER told us about this pie before.

Yes we did get 4 spoons to split it among the adults

Our good friends from Jacksonville were out for a week long visit to the beach. Josh and Heather used to live in our old neighborhood, and we've remained close with them for the last 5 years.

Ryker, Grayson, Emma and Reece

Then we got a brief visit with another friend from our old neighborhood, who also is stationed in Jacksonville. This is her daughter Megan with Emma. They have known each other since they were 2. The girls were playing again in no time.

Slow Days at the Ticklish Squirrel

Alright I'm testing out Ticklish Squirrel as a tentative name for our current casa. As some of you may know I like to name things, .... cars, animals, and the houses we live in. Our home in Havelock was Squirrel Hollow, I guess we never really had one for Milton. But the days have been slow ones here at Oxford Pl. We sit in tires laying around in the living room

Go to the Destin Commons to cool down and play with the soft playground equipment

Look as if the paparazzi have spotted you and make a dash for the nearest Starbucks to hide in

before your bathing suit bottoms fall off

Get our nails done in neon pink with glitter at Glamour Girls, just because mom thought it would be a fun thing to do

Put clip on earrings on the cats, poor Cinder

Ride scooters through the house with too many kids on board. And this is all in July. What will August bring?

I don't like swim lessons

I signed the kids up for 1 month of swim lessons. They both can swim well, just not strokes or proper technique. Emma was in the pre-competitive and Reece in the intermediate. After about 2 classes, Emma realized real quick that all this class involved was going back and forth across 2/3 of the pool, doing all the different strokes. She started the complaining and whining from that point on. Back and forth....

back and forth again..... The only fun part for her was at the very end, when they were able to jump and practice diving off the diving platform.

Reece on the other hand enjoyed himself and the fact that his swim teacher had a great white shark tatoo with bloody teeth on his entire back. SWEET. Here he is jumping of the side to dive for a few diving rings.

One time Reece jumped in to swim freestyle to his teacher, his swim trunks fell off.

I had to include this happy picture of Bandit. Boy, do we miss him still one week later. You don't realize how used to them being there when you walk in the door and next to you when you sleep, until there is that void. Bandit you may have been noisy and annoying at times, but you were our puggy boy and we loved you. " Run silent, run deep Bandit" 12/28/96-7/3/09

Blues Weekend

The weekend following the 4th of July is always reserved here in Pensacola for the Blue Angels. They call it Red White and Blues weekend and we have made it a family tradition to brave the hundreds of thousands on the beach or in the water each year. Even though the kids are scared of the loud noise and the sheer volume of red necks and tramp stamps is staggering, we still wake up super early and head out to get a prime spot.

There is a little nostalgia every time we see Fat Albert pass over, making me think of North Carolina and Rick's time spent flying those low hum emitting planes.

We brought the sunfish and the kids spend the hours waiting for the Blue Angels filling the hull with water and then bailing it out

Rick's friend Kelly and his little boy Billy. He also flies for Southwest and on a random note, actually grew up in Great Falls near McLean and went to my high school, Langley.

There were so many boats tied up, that it was tricky navigating the maze of ropes.

As far as you could see, there were boats

During the high speed fly by Blue Angel #5

Adeline was plugging her ears and hiding under this towel the entire 30 minute air show.

This weekend has to be the biggest weekend all year for Pensacola. They said the parking lot at the beach was filled by 7am and the bridge to get across to the beach was bumper to bumper by 9am. We got out to our spot around 9 and tied up to Kelly's boat. We grilled hot dogs, drank Bushwhackers, swam, tubed, and watch Rick and Kelly have a diving contest off the front of the boat, practically killing themselves contorting their bodies to twist in revolutions before hitting the water. We had a great time and hope the kids aren't too scarred by the experience of the sneak attacks by those solo planes.

Lucky Day

Rick's new hobby is fishing for large things in the Gulf. We go out in the pontoon boat, bore the children to tears, floating for hours while Rick uses cigar minnows( don't ask) and giant scary looking hooks, to try and reel in JAWS. On this day we anchored in between the Inner Coastal and the Gulf and within about 5 minutes Rick had caught something big. It fought him for over 15 minutes, before the line snapped. He managed to catch 2 more of whatever that was within about an hour and every time after 15-20 minutes the line would break. Other fishermen were docking up near us, hoping to catch what Rick did. We never did find out what was on the other end of the line. Rick kept quoting JAWS, " He can't stay under with 3 barrels, NOT 3 barrels!" And the kids just kept laughing.

Later the following week, Rick tried again to catch something with huge teeth and a bad temper, but no takers. So he settled for his new spear gun, and took it out to a rock jetty and caught us 2 black snapper and a crab, all of which stunk up my freezer.

As for Reece, he had a lucky day as well last week. He loves the Transformers toys and the show Transformers Animated. So, while driving in the car last week, he declares that Burger King now sells Transformers toys and that Burger King has the best food, so we should go there. A few days later, after hearing continuously about the "great" burgers, I took the kids there for lunch. As we drove through the drive-thru to order, Reece was staring at the display board out the rear window at the toy choices, and I could hear him quietly say " I hit the jackpot." I love that kid.

The 4th of July in Pensacola

We went to Seville Square to a children's 4th of July festival even though it was about 95 degrees and incredibly steamy. We waited literally about 1 1/2 hours to have this cat face painted on Emma. There was 1 woman doing these elaborate painting jobs and it took about 10 minutes per child. There were at least 8 kids ahead of her. We left shortly after she had this done and the minute she walked in the house, she took a shower to take it all off. I Give Up!!!

We went to the festival with some good friends the McDavid's and their 4 kiddos. Here are Thomas and Will with their faces painted as well. One reason the painting took sooooo long, is because MOST kids ahead of us were having the spiderman faces done. And you can tell how extravagant the job looks and how long it took per kid.

Our new neighborhood Inverness, holds an annual 4th of July parade that includes anyone who wants to join in the parade that starts in one cul-de-sac and parades through the neighborhood. People are encouraged to decorate their bikes, scooters, dogs, etc..... At the end of the parade route they have sno-cones, popcorn, lemonade and a movie on a big sheet for the kids. It's a nice way to get to know your neighbors.

One crazy fool was even dressed like Santa, I don't know how he survived in that humidity. I just had to take his picture

Uncle Sam impersonation, only younger and without the beard

Earlier in the day, we went to the mall and tried the new bungee jumping trampoline. Reece was very nervous before it started, but then got really into it. Emma, was the one who couldn't wait to do this, but once it started and the employee would yank her legs and shoot her up to the roof, you could see the fear in her eyes and she just wanted it to end. Fun way to spend a few minutes cooling down in the mall.