Just us!

For the first time since Chad and I have had our two babies, we took a vacation, just the 4 of us!
It was so. relaxing!
We did just what WE wanted to do. No hurries. No worries.
We went down to Gulf Shores just before the oil arrived there. The beach was beautiful! I enjoyed every minute of it! The kids did too. They played and swam and had a great time!

We visited LuLu's as we do every time we go to Gulf Shores! Chad and I love that place! What's better than eating with live music, no walls (the walls roll up and it is open), on the bay, and good food?

And of course, we visited The Track! This is something else we do every time we go to Gulf Shores. Chad and Duke and Molly and I always pair up and race several times around the doubles go cart track. It's ALWAYS a blast!

And I have taken the kids pic in this car every year since Duke was just a baby! ha!

Crab hunting has also become a tradition at the beach. The kids love it!

We can't wait to do this again! It was special.

The NEW house!

After 14 months of having our house up for sale... it sold! We recently moved out and closed and now we are watching the building of our new home!
This is super exciting!

There was a tad bit of saddness in leaving our FIRST home because to this point, that is where we have raised our babies. But, we were running out of room and wanted to be in a neighborhood full of children where we could feel safe letting the children get out and ride bikes and play.
We are building our house in McIntosh Trails. The builder actually started the house a couple of weeks early, so we are hoping to close somewhere around mid September. The first time we went out to see the beginning of the foundation... I thought "Oh no!" The foundation looked really small and I started to worry that we had made a mistake! The builder and the architect assured us that this happens all the time. Just to wait and as the house takes shape it will begin to feel much bigger! I sure hope so.... moving is for the birds!
This has been a loooonnnnggg time coming, but I know it will be so worth the wait! It will take 3 months to build, so in the mean time, we are going to live with Nana and Pops.

Of course, the kids are super excited about that.

AlLsTaR!

A week before the closing ceremony of the tee ball season, we recieved a call that Duke had made the Allstar team! We were really surprised because this was only Duke's second year of tee ball! He did really well though and got to join the allstar team.
Although Chad and I knew a week before, we didn't tell Duke that he had made the team so that he would be surprised on the night of the closing ceremony. We did however tell him that the Allstar team would be announced and that we hoped he had worked hard enough to make the team.:) Chad and I talked with Duke about what it meant to make the team and how the coaches actually choose the children for the team. We were so proud to be able to tell Duke that he made the Allstar team because of the improvements he had made this year and for his hard work and dedication on the field.
We went to the ceremony and Duke still had no clue whether or not he had in fact made the team. We waited forever (it seemed) through all of the legistics of the ceremony and then it was time.... the Allstars were about to be announced. Duke was so nervous... I could tell just by watching him as he listened to those names that were being called. We had forgotten to tell him that there would be two Allstar teams, so the first team was called and his name wasn't.... He actually bursted into tears.:( I felt so bad for him. I told him to stop crying and listen because there was another team being called out. Luckily.. they went in alphabetical order and his name was FIRST! He recieved his very first metal!

He smiled from ear to ear! He was so proud and so excited about making the team!
Chad and I were really proud parents too! I soooo love watching him play! I personally hope that baseball is his sport! ha! Of course I will support him in whatever he chooses though.

Duke,
Mom and Dad are very proud of the hard work and dedication you have put into your tee ball season this year! You have become such a team player and are really taking in all of the things your daddy has been teaching you! We believe you are not only learning the fundamentals of baseball, but also learning to be a team player, to learn from your mistakes, to finish what you have started, and to put forth all of your effort to make the best of something.
We are proud to be your parents! Keep up the great work man.
Love Mom!