The one where dreams do come true...

It's good to be back in action and dreams don't just come true in fairy tails. Since Josh and I started dating years and years ago, he was such a big Florida Gator fan, for obvious reasons. Anyway, he would always talk about becoming a Gator booster and getting season tickets. It has always seemed SO FAR out of reach... up until this year. Josh has worked his butt off year after year, for the kids and I and finally we were able to pull the trigger on UF season tickets. That's right, Gator Boosters Baby. And not just tickets for me and Josh, but he got us 4 tickets. So the kids will be attending their first UF Games this year. As long as we keep the Sprite and Cotton Candy flowing, they will survive (Aretha Franklin style).

Florida kicked off their season in my old stomping grounds of Orlando. They played Miami and honestly one of the best games we have ever been to. Not because Florida played amazing but because it was so close the whole time, no one sat down. The energy was incredible, the hype was all there even though they played like crap we walked away with a W. Our next home game is September 7th. It will be the first kids college football game EVER and it's a night game to boot.

The one with the comeback...

Hello to ALL my blog readers (if I still have any after a two year hiatus). My promise to Josh and the family is to get back to writing. Hold me to it. I used to love doing this, I don't know what happened. Anyway, here we are, August 21,2019.

Josh and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary this week. Holy COW where does the time go, right? It's been total rainbows and butterflies... wait, who am I kidding- we are humans, marriage is work but it's also amazing. We are in a grove of a great and happy life. We both work hard, but play hard! We still have our Sportsman fishing boat- which Cooper just won FIRST PLACE in the Jr. Angler Kingfish tournament this summer. Whoop whoop, go Coop! He absolutely loves fishing. That's his jam. He gets to spend the entire day, I mean the ENTIRE day (4am-8pm) with Daddy and all his "uncles". He's just good at it. He's interested, he's patient and he's a quick learner. I am pretty sure he can name every fish in the ocean and which lure to catch it on. He's totally dialed in. .

Coopers winning KingFish

In other big news, Josh and I purchased our first official investment property earlier this year. Our friends and old neighbors in San Marco were selling there house and called us first to see if we wanted it. They knew how much we loved the area, and eventually want to move back.... We thought long and hard about what to do, we wanted it, but knew we couldn't move the family back. It's just too small, no place for a boat and no pool. SO we thought, what about an Airbnb, a short term rental home that would give an affordable option for families to stay together while traveling. So we did it! And 7 months in, we are so far so good. The home is staying booked over 75% of the time each month. We are covering mortgage PLUS utilities, YAY! This place is truly our retirement. We've got big plans for this home and we have many many years to get it just the way we want it, demolition to be determined...

I could go on and on forever writing since I'm so behind on writing... but a quick update on the kiddos. They are doing AMAZING. Cooper is in THIRD grade, WHAT?! It's crazy to believe he is 8 years old, reading, writing, excelling in Math (like his Dad), swimming like Michael Phelps and doing anything and everything outdoors. You'll be hard pressed to find either kid on the couch playing video games. And Princess Addison, my baby, is in FIRST grade. I look at her, I see a beautiful, smart and sassy young girl. She doesn't have the toddler cheeks or look anymore, she's long and lean,  she's so athletic, will even beat me in a sprint race, she's in her first full year of gymnastics, tumbling and flipping over the bars, she LOVES reading (way more the Cooper) and runs on sugar, smiles and dancing- just crank of the tunes and she's moving to the beat.

Until next time....


 LOVE

The one with the first week of school...

I can't quite figure out where the summer went. Some days seem to drag, but looking back I seemed to have blinked and it was over. Thankfully, our kids love school and the transition from late night pallet sleeping back to their own rooms and beds was smooth. Cooper entered 1st grade this year with no first day jitters, no tears and no looking back. He's enjoying his new teacher and new friends. He actually doesn't have any classmates from last year in his class, but he's pretty social and is having no problem meeting new friends. Of course, we are still riding the cheese wagon and we have some more friends riding along now! The bus stop is one happening place and Addison just can't wait to walk on the cheese.

Addison is following right along in the footsteps of Cooper. She started VPK (pre-K) this year and has the same teacher Cooper had, Mrs. Rockwell. She was through the moon excited to start school and be in Mrs. Rockwell's class, she didn't skip a beat. And if you know much about Addison, you know she's a sleeper like her Daddy, but didn't even have to get woke up on the first day of school- she was dressed in her new clothes and shoes before she even walked out of her room.  She comes home everyday, excited to tell me what she did and says, "look mommy, I colored you a picture". I tell you what, we are certainly blessed to have both kids starting out loving school, let's keep it that way- right!

LOVE

The one with the Sportsman...

With Josh and Coopers new hobby, fishing, we HAD to get a new boat. We loved the Regal, it got us use to the water and it got the kids comfortable out there, but we totally needed an upgrade. I just didn't think the upgrade was going to happen in 3 days. We sold the Regal on a Friday and by Monday we had a new Sportmans Bay Boat secured.... I've got a sucker for a husband. He soooooooooooo drank the Koolaid and the Greater Jax Boat Show. But you know what, I can't complain. It is slick. It's so versatile, we can spend the day at Ft. George cooking out, cruising to Silver Glen or spend the day off shore fishing. Jaxon even loves it!

Jaxy meets baby Hammerhead

 LOVE

The one during Summer...

It was brought to my attention (like I didn't know) by a very handsome 30 something year old man living on Hawkcrest that I have failed at my blog this year. Josh went to brag on me at someone at work who is about to get married and realized its been since JANUARY that I posted. It's literally on my mind weekly, I just haven't made the time. So here I am, the year is half way over and I'm on my 2nd post! Whoop Whoop!

 
Cooper is officially a big kid and a junior angler. No more passing for a toddler, no more passing for a little boy, he is straight up big kid status with his high top converse sneaks. And let me tell you, I don't like it. I noticed a few weeks ago, when he lost both of his two front teeth!!! My baby is getting his adult teeth. He did amazingly well in kindergarten, I never had a doubt. He's surpassed his class, school and district standards on math and reading. He's basically a genius. We've done several VBS's camps and sport camps to stay busy over summer and of course, we are still swimming at the Bolles school. Cooper says he wants to go to the Olympics, so we are giving him every opportunity we can, hoping he can take the gold in a few years. Cooper has taken up offshore fishing with his Dad and Chris and Spencer. He's such a trooper because they have to leave around 4:00 when they are in the tournaments and he never complains. He's caught several different types of fish, but he will tell you his favorite catch was a sand shark!

Addison is still a big time Daddy's girl. I mean like big time. She's got him wrapped around her fingers. I mean how could you say no to her anyway, she's so stinking cute. She too, has been busy with VBS and camps this summer. She crushed the 3 year old class at Mandarin Presbyterian. She's so smart, loving and outgoing, she'll definitely go far in life.  She loves to follow in her big brothers footsteps and is also swimming at Bolles. Soon they may be on the same team, which will definitely bring a little competition to the family. Her best buddy (and all ours) next to Cooper is Jaxon, who by the way is already 10 months old and overweight! I'm working on that, so he is getting spoiled eating rice and carrots mixed in with his dog food. Jaxy seriously is the best dog. The kids really helped get him trained and totally help out with him. We picked Jaxon at such a good age for the kids being that they love to and are able to help out with him.

Josh and I are great and are both doing well in our careers. Real Estate is starting to take off for me. I'm getting the knowledge/experience and the clients to keep the cash flow coming in for all the projects Josh has on his list :) He is crushing it also and I am so blessed he is able to provide for the kids and I. Dad, Dad, he's the man, working all day to support the fam!

LOVE

The one with the new addtion...

So y'all know I am not really a dog person. I mean I like dogs- they are cute, but like grandkids, I can send them back home. On the other hand, Josh doesn't think a family is complete without a dog.... so he gave me until December to find a pup for the family. I was totally opposed to anything big, like over 40 pounds, was way too big. So he said if I found a good smaller breed he would consider. So after much anxiety and deliberation with the internet, I found a French Bulldog, they are small (up to 28 lbs). They are super easy going (like me), they are totally sociable (like all of us) and they get along fabulously with children. So................ we pulled the trigger and got a Frenchie. It was basically for the kids for Christmas, but he came early (Dec 3). I feel like I have a new baby without the pregnancy. He has proven to be fantastic, he loves to snuggle, he loves the kids and is crate trained. He is already about 4 months old (born 1 day after Mamaw's birthday) and his name is Jaxon. He is already apart of the clan!

HELLO everyone!

Love

The one with the approaching anniversary....

My heart is heavy this time of year. I think of last year and where we were. I was writing around Thanksgiving on how thankful I was to have my Papa still here, even though things were totally different, HE was still with us. Then a month later, we lost him. That wasn't how he wanted to live and as hard as it was (and at times now) we know that he is still with us. My kids still remember him and often times will ask Mamaw where is Papa? One day Addison asked if after school we were going to pick up Papa and bring him to Mamaw... I'm happy they still have him in their memory.

Over the last year, we have helped Mamaw clean out a ton of stuff.... mainly starting in the work shop. It brings me back to my childhood being out there. It smells the same, it looks the same, and some of our projects and paper are still there. The only thing missing is the big 6 foot something man piddling around trying to find something to build or fix. Man, he loved it out there. I've been able to reflect so much on all the details I had forgotten.  And as we clean out the junk (no offense Papa), we all get a good laugh on what a great, detailed and goofy man he was to be around. We laugh because when he saw something on sale, he bough it and he saved everything: paint brushes and nails from the 70's still in the original packing, dusts masks by the 10's stacked up, operational and maintenance manuals from a shop vac he had in the 80's, retirement papers and cards, sketched out plans of clocks and canes, empty cans and mayo jars he planned on using for something- So much stuff out there and we didn't even put a dent in it yet, but so many memories. Of course it wasn't junk to him, he thought he could re-use everything. That the kind of person he was, turn just a plain ole can into happiness.

He lived a long and happy life. He had so many years of retirement and many many hours spent out in the shop. I'm so very thankful I was able to spend so many years with him and remember it so vividly. I'm so thankful God brought Josh and I home so I could spend his last years around the corner from him. I haven't had someone so close to me pass before and the loss is a great one. I have his picture by my bathroom sink. It brings me back a lot, happy and sad. It doesn't really get easier, sometimes I smile and sometimes I cry... this was the last picture where the kiddos got to see him. Love you always Papa.

Love