Beach Trip

We had such a great time at the beach last week! We left on Friday, May 29 as soon as I got home from work (I had to work a half day to make up for the days we missed due to the Swine Flu). We met up with our good friends, the Mayers, in Montgomery, and then we were off to Gulf Shores early Saturday morning. Of course we stopped at Durbin Farms Farmers' Market to get some fresh produce first. After checking in and making sure that our house was more than perfect, we quickly changed into our suits and headed for the sand. Our days were spent like this: breakfast, beach, lunch, rest time, beach, and then supper. We were lucky enough to have two expert fishermen with us who also cleaned and cooked every single fish they caught in the ocean! Yum-yum!!! We were treated to lots of pompano, tuna, and mackerel. Of course we couldn't go to Gulf Shores and not eat at our two favorite restaurants--The Shrimp Basket and Gulf Shores Steamer. We also did our fair share of ice cream eating and souvenir shopping. All in all it was a fabulous trip, and I wish I was still there...although my bed does feel sooooo comfy!!!

I'm Back.....

We got back tonight from our long-awaited trip to the beach!!! We had such a good time, but really...who doesn't have a good time at the beach?! I will definitely post pictures of our trip tomorrow, but I am just too tired and have too much unpacking to do right now to even think of it.

An Explanation

Okay...I've already gotten one email asking why my blog background is for a birthday, so let me explain for those of you who don't know me or my family very well. God blessed me and my husband with a beautiful baby girl, Caitlin, on June 15, 2000. We were ecstatic to say the least when she was born! Well...after trying to conceive for 3 years, we got pregnant with our son, Harrison, and he was born on June 16, 2005. See--God likes a good joke because I would never, ever have planned for their birthdays to be back-to-back! Since June is a busy birthday month at our house, I decided my blog needed to reflect that fact.

Happy Memorial Day!

On this very special day, we honor those who have risked their lives for us in combat. I wanted to introduce you to two very special men who just happen to be Harrison's namesakes. The first is my grandfather or Papa, Ira Harrison Thornton. He was born to William Jefferson and Ida Harrison Thornton on May 13, 1915. He served in the US Navy on the USS LaPorte out of San Francisco. He saw many ports of call, not the least of these being Pearl Harbor during WWII.

This is a picture that ran in their local newspaper after my Granny visited him in San Francisco. My mom was only three years old when this picture was taken.

The second very special man is Randy's dad, James Alvin Hollingsworth. He was born on April 19, 1928, to James Edgar and Wilma Lewter Hollingsworth. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

I love that Harrison is named for two very brave and honorable, Christian men that he can look up to when he gets older.

Congratulations Joe and Lawren!!

On Saturday, we got to celebrate a happy occasion with our good friends, Joe and Lawren--their marriage! Randy has known Joe since they started Huntsville High together in 9th grade. I became good friends with him during my days at Auburn--we had weekly 90210 get-togethers. We then had the pleasure of meeting his dream girl last year after he fell madly in love with her. Randy was honored to serve as an usher in their beautiful Spring wedding at Church of the Nativity. (I was busy serving as Stage Mom to our Dancing Queen!) Then, as a family, we attended the reception at Monte Sano Lodge.

The happy couple

Lawren wore her mother's wedding gown. Isn't she beautiful in it?

Dancing the night away with my little man!! Caitlin is in the background with her "Uncle Mike." He has always been her favorite out of all of Randy's friends because he treats her extra special. Tonight was no exception!

My children were the first ones in line for wedding cake! My friend, Jolie, joked that we must not feed our children because Caitlin was first in line for the buffet line as well.

This is what happened on the way back to our table--our friend, Bryan, stole her piece of cake!! Luckily for him, she knows how to share! Bryan was Randy's first college roommate at Jacksonville State University as well as a high school buddy.

It was a lot of fun seeing friends who we don't get to spend time with on a regular basis, and it's always fun to celebrate such a happy occasion as a new marriage!

Caitlin's Dance Recital

On Saturday, Caitlin had her long-awaited Dance Recital. I just can't put into words how proud I am of her and all of the hard work she put into her dancing! She amazes me each and everyday with all the things she does, but to watch your only daughter get up there on that huge stage in front of ALL those people in the audience truly wows me!! Plus she had to learn 4 dances! That means 4 costume changes in Michael Phelps' time. I think we were both worn out from just that part of the recital! The theme this year was LIFE magazine and all its many covers through the years.

Here she is with her good friends, Anna and Ansley, striking a pose before the show begins.

This is her tap routine called "Barnyard Boogie." Caitlin is a black horse on the front left side. This dance represented the cover of an Oklahoma Farmer from July 14, 1958.

This is her ballet routine--"Tomorrow" from Annie. Caitlin is on the right side. This dance represented President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the cover on January 4, 1937.

This is her jazz routine--"Glamorous." It was definitely her favorite! This dance represented the Glamorous Life represented on the cover on September 11, 1950. After this dance, we only had 3 songs to get her changed for the Finale! That means about 10 minutes. Do you know how hard it is to change a sweaty eight-year-old in under 10 minutes out of a dance costume into another one?! I really think they need to make this an Olympic event!!
I didn't get good pictures of the Finale because: 1. the girls were moving WAY too fast, and 2. there were so many girls on stage at once. You only get to be in the Finale if you have had Perfect Attendance since January. It is a big honor, and one that Caitlin really strove for this year! I was extremely proud of her for making it into the Finale.

Our Family Portrait after presenting Caitlin with her roses for her star performance. This was Harrison's first Dance Recital to attend, and he did fabulous--thanks to 2 Grandpas who played with him and bought him lots and lots of snacks!

Randy actually snuck in at the last minute. We weren't expecting him to get to see any of the Recital. He was in a wedding (more of that later), and he surprised all of us!

GREAT JOB, CAITLIN!!!!

Happy Birthday Amber!

We were invited to a friend's birthday birthday party at where else? Jump Zone!! That has got to be my kids' favorite place to go right now! We had so much fun jumping, eating pizza, cake, and ice cream, and then watching Amber open her presents. She got lots of cute "girly" things that Harrison didn't like...except for the Tinkerbell rings on the cake. Daddy just had to shake his head and laugh and say, "At least he's only three."

Caitlin and Brooke having too much fun!

My little man beside the Superman.

Cooling off with Capri-Suns and ice cream

Thanks for inviting us, Amber! We had a great time!!