Down by The Bay

So I'm a lot little behind on my blogging, I plan on trying to catch up this week/weekend since Drew and I actually have no where to go...which is always subject to change at the drop of a hat.

A few weekends ago we may a trip to the Bay.  Drew and I really love it there, there's fishing, there's fresh seafood, there's the beach, it's just so relaxing.  Hopefully we'll be making more trips there this fall.  Poppy and Willie invited the family to the camp for the weekend so on Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed to Bay St. Louis.

Drew fried trout and oysters for us for dinner, this was a pre-diet weekend obviously....sigh. Saturday morning we all started prepping for a fun filled day with the Days!  

I love Poppy & Willie's camp, it's our style. 

Charbroiled oysters, my fav! 

Andrew and Triston caught a crab :) 

 Cheezers

These next 3 photos may be the greatest ever...

 Told ya!

 Carrie and I played in the water

And of course Andrew wanted to join

Time for a boat ride around the bay!

Oooh, he's so handsome and cool as a cucumber! 

 Cousins!

I love checking out all of the "camps" as we float by.

 So serene and so much fun all at the same time.

In The Funk

Well this is day 1 without Andrew and it already stinks.  I woke up earlier than usual this morning and as I lay awake the fact that summer is over and Andrew is gone started to sink in.  I love that Andrew is home for his summer breaks but having him for that amount of consecutive time makes it really hard, not only say goodbye, but also to get back into a "non-Andrew schedule."  Drew worked late yesterday since he took off Friday and Monday to spend Andrew's last days with him.  I found myself not wanting to go home after work since I knew the house would be empty.  And if it's this hard on me I can only imagine what Drew is going through.  95% of Andrew's summer is spent with his Dad.  They go to work together, they eat three meals a day together, they brush their teeth together, his day-to-day schedule revolves around Andrew...so even though he doesn't really say it out loud I know trying to get back in the swing of things is hard.  But Drew wouldn't have it any other way.  He makes the most of the time he has with Andrew and I love him so much for that and Andrew does too.  I did a little interview of Andrew on Monday, I'll post later in the week, and some of his answers where all about how his Dad does this for him or his Dad does that for him or how his Dad can do this and that.  I'm so grateful that Andrew notices how different his Dad is compared to other Dads.  And what's more is that Drew realizes how precious their time is together and doesn't take it for granted.  I love my boys so much as individuals, but when they are together, if it's possible I love them even more. 

Spend, Save, Give!

This summer we started Dave Ramsey's Financial  Peace Junior with Andrew.  He loves his banks and the books.  He seems to have a "light bulb" idea as we read each one. We sat down as a family and explained to him how important it is to manage money in a responsible way and with a giving heart.  We tied these principles in with his chore chart we started last summer so he could use his allowance to spend, save, and give.  Every Friday if he had completed all of his chores for the week he would get $15 dollars, of that he would put 10% into his Give bank, and then he would have to decide how much he wanted to put into Save, if anything was left over he would put that into his Spend bank.  After the first week we decided he needed a "goal amount" to save up for, so he decided on $54.99 which just so happened to be the same amount as the Lego Ninjago Samurai set.  That same weekend we went to Poppy and Willie's to swim.  Andrew was so motivated to reach his goal he even asked Poppy if he had any chores he could do around his house.  Poppy let him skim the leaves out of the pool and then rewarded him with a 50 dollar bill...I told Poppy I'd come skim his pool any time!  So of course we had to set a new goal, which included more Ninjago Legos but we are so proud of Andrew.  Every pay day he would remember to put aside money to give at church and he would be so excited to reach his new goal.  We are so proud of him and all his hard work!

  

Andrew and Amazon are new best friends!

 

We are some proud parents!

It's Friday!!

Do you ever have those Fridays as an adult where you feel like it's the Friday before Spring Break?  Today is one of those Fridays for me.  I'm not sure why really, maybe because it's Friday the 13th or maybe it's because this will be our first weekend on the river but either way I'm full of anxious excitement!  And I have a song of the day today which makes this Friday even better!  Have a fantastic weekend!

A Long Weekend in the Country

Last week we went to visit my parents on their farm in Oklahoma.  We had a wonderful time, doing the things I loved to do as a kid on our farm.  Andrew did not want to leave and is already counting down the days until he sees Maw T and Paw Paw Larry again.  After our first afternoon with Mom and Dad, Andrew told his Daddy, "They are so nice to us, I'm so glad they are my Maw Maw and Paw Paw."  It made my Mom's week that Andrew didn't want to leave.  Grandparents are so important and as someone whose grandparents are all in heaven I'm so thankful that Andrew has so many sets of grandparents who love and adore him and will be there for him no matter what.

 My boys ready to fly!

 Jax with his "Mutt Muffs" on for hearing protection.

 Our pilot!

 10,000 ft up, amazing!

 About an hour into our flight Andrew was out like a light.

Flying turned a 10 hour drive into 3 hour direct trip!  I can't say enough how proud of Drew I am that he put forth the time and effort to become a pilot! Not only is flying with him an amazing experience for me, but as Andrew gets older I know how much he will enjoy flying with his Dad.  Not to mention how much easier it is on us to travel with a 7 year old and a terrior! :)  

Big Sky.  Something I definitely miss.

Mom picked up this cute set of siblings on Thursday.  Misty is the cat on top, Dad named her because she's a "misty gray" color.  Andrew named the bottom cat Loco, "because he's colored all crazy."  I love that kid, Drew nicknamed Loco, Gremlin.  Mom thinks he's so ugly he's cute! 

Digging potatoes for supper.

Peaches, potatoes, tomatos, onions, okra, banana peppers, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini all fresh from some fertile Oklahoma red dirt. 

My folks have a picnic table that we have all carved our names into and Andrew got to add his name to the bunch!

I love the he write "the 4th" instead of IV.  Such a rebel, lol!

 

Yum, ribeye kabobs made with all of our freshly picked veggies.

We went rolling down a dirt road to some long times friends' place to watch some fire works.  Andrew was so excited to ride in the back of a truck on the road.  I loved all of his, "are we really going to do this" faces he made over the weekend.  There's nothing like the face of a kid doing a doing something for the first time.

Sunday morning, ready for church at Countryside Baptist.

So blessed and so loved!

A little Sunday afternoon slippin' and slidin'.

So Andrew isn't the greatest slipper or slider.

A little demo from the Do-Dah.

A little better I guess...

Swimming at my sister's house.  Andrew loved him some Jacob.

The Daddy Laucher

Helping Jacob feed his heifer, TNT.

Meanwhile Emily worked on her beautification techniques.

Monday we headed into OKC and decided to hit up a stop on the Diner's Dives and Drive Ins list.  We try to stop at, at least one hole in the wall place on Guy's list where ever we go and so far we have yet to be disappointed.  We decided on Ingrid's Kitchen which boasted delicious German food, and it was exactly that!

Andrew ordered a balogne sandwhich with mustard.  We weren't sure how he was going to like German mustard so we just decided to let things play out and he loved it!  My corn

Chocolate eclaire.

Our next stop was the Science Museum! Andrew had a blast and we saw a movie in the planetarium all about tornadoes and storm chasers.

On the way back to Mom and Dad's we took historic Route 66 and made a pit stop at Pops.  Pops has every type of soda pop you can imagine! 

Monday afternoon while Dad, Andrew, and I were out feeding the cows.  Dad noticed one cow was way off by herself so we eased up on her and she had just had her first baby cow!  Dad's had her for a couple of years but this was her first time to have a calf.  He was pretty please with ole #23.

Mom and Dad's stray Lab, Sable.

Helping Maw T fill her bird feeders.

My Mom's greenthumb is pretty fabulous, I'm glad she gave some of those growing powers to me!

Drew helping Dad hook up the bush-hog.

The Garden.

Andrew wanted to ride with Paw Paw on the tractor.

Pleased as punch!

And our last night in OK we headed into Stillwater for some ribs.  Andrew's new proclaimed favorite food.

We had a wonderful time.  My Mom is the greatest hostess I know and she goes above and beyond making us feel at home in her home.  And my Dad, well he's my Dad and I'm his Daddy's girl and I always will be. 

As the days pass, as I learn more of life's lessons the more I realize how important my parents and how they raised me have been.  I can't thank them enough for teaching me faith in God, how to love, how to share, how to be responsible, and how to be independent as a woman.  There are so many little things they taught me that I want to pass on to Andrew and to my own children, that sometimes it overwhelms me, but I know that as each new situation arises the things they taught me will come to mind and I will be able to pass a little bit of my parents on. 

Love you Mom and Dad!