The Keys, Part 1

Ahhh, Islamorada is my happy place.  And if you wonder why, look no further than this:

That was the view standing on the pool deck looking out over our pool and beach and the Atlantic beyond.  It is paradise.

We had never been to the Keys with kids before.  My family has been going to the Keys for years and years.  When I was younger, my grandparents would rent a house for the entire month of February, and the rest of the family would take turns going down to visit.  However, when we were little, my parents would never take Hunter, Graham, and me.  They said that kids weren't allowed south of Orlando, so we would just have to wait until we grew up to go to Islamorada.  It was always a grown-up vacation for them.  I think I was 14 or 15 the first time I got to go, and I immediately fell in love.

I thought that Brad and I would continue the tradition of no-kids-allowed Keys vacations, but we don't really have time to take the time off for a grown-ups-only and a family vacation, so we decided we would introduce the kids to one of our favorite places.

We rented a house for a week with my sister, Hunter, and her family (we invited my brother and his family, but they went on a beach vacation with Elizabeth's family earlier in the summer and couldn't make it).  We brought a boat -- which is a must in the Keys.  We also brought along our babysitter -- which is a huge bonus for some grown-up time on a family vacation, and, hey, an extra set of eyes is always nice when you have so many children around water.

Our house had a pool, and I think that was pretty key to our vacation fun.  We could wake up in the mornings and head straight out to the pool before breakfast if we wanted!  The kids swam like fish all week, Harper learned to swim while we were there, and they practiced their snorkeling skills in the pool before we headed out in the boat.

The kids LOVED getting to spend time with their cousins, Taylor and Harper.  We see the twins pretty often, but we have never spent an entire week under the same roof.  They all slept in the same loft, and I think they felt like they were at camp!  They really didn't have much to do with us the entire time -- unless they needed something, of course!

We took Mary Beth, our summer sitter, and she was fabulous to have around.  She really blended in as part of the family.

Brad got a coconut down from one of the trees on our beach one day, and the kids decided that they wanted to try it.  I think it took Brad a good twenty minutes to hack into that thing.  I worried that we were going to end up making a trip to the ER, and wondering if I should try to go ahead and figure out where, exactly, the closest one was.  And then the girls didn't exactly love the coconut milk...but they did like the meat.

More fun pool/cousin pictures...

Hunter and the twinkies...

That's part 1...more to come later!

May & June

So, it's been a while.  Farming life and the lack of internet at home have both gotten in the way of blogging, so there is a lot to catch up on...

May:

Brad spent the month of May harvesting blueberries.  We all love that time of year because our refrigerator is always full of fresh blueberries, and we eat them by the handfuls.  I am so happy to not have to pay for that habit because we would be broke!  

I took a couple of pictures while walking through the blueberry field one day:

Sanders and Gibson both have summer birthdays, so they got to celebrate their birthdays at the end of the school year.   I took the easy way out and had Publix make un-iced cupcakes, so all I had to do was put on some icing.  Our counter looked like a cupcake factory for a while!

I got a big surprise for Mother's Day this year -- my own iPad!  I think I said this before, but I got one for Brad for Christmas the year before last, and I really thought that I would probably be the one to use it more than he would (you know, one of those gifts you give someone that's really for yourself?!?!), but Brad loves the iPad and uses it constantly.  And if he isn't using it, then the kids are.  So I have been left out in the dust as far as the iPad is concerned...until now.

The girls had their dance recital Mother's Day weekend.  I didn't get any good pictures during the actual recital, but I got a couple before we left the house.  They had the cutest costumes ever this time.  The only problem with them is they dropped pink sequins all over the house every time the girls put them on.

What I don't love about May is that I always end up feeling like my head is spinning.  The kids are still in school and have a million end-of-the-year activities going on, Brad is never home, my work/commute schedule kicks into high gear, and life just seems to get out of control.  I am definitely a mommy who prays for the end of the school year,  if just to let some of the craziness die down.  

Once school does get out, I am thankful to get down to the coast and just take a deep breath.

This summer we moved into the same cottage that we stayed in last packing season.  It belongs to my great-aunt and -uncle, and it is in between my parents' house and another aunt and uncle.  We miss Brad while he is home busy with his harvest season, but it is so nice not to have to drive an hour-and-a-half to work every day, especially when those work days get really long.

Our family place on the coast is a little slice of heaven on earth...  

There is an old tabby wall in between the cottage and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Mac's house:  

Our home for the summer:
   

The kids love playing in the marsh in front of the house.  There are plenty of fiddler crabs for them to catch, or they can just get muddy!   Sanders, my little scientist, especially loves it.      

The view is not too shabby from any direction:

June:

And, of course, the reason that we are there in the first place, the tomato packing season... We started early this year, on my birthday, May 31.  It was my first ever packing house birthday, and I have to say I would rather not have a packing house birthday.  But, everyone at the packing house made me feel extra special -- there was a pile of gifts waiting for me when I got to work, and our cook made my favorite caramel cake.  So, I guess if I had to spend my entire birthday and most of the night at work, then my family definitely made it the best day possible.

This year held a lot of firsts for us as far as packing season.  It was our first year with our new sales team, our first year in our new office, our first year using two new types of software, and our first year changing the way we do a couple of things around the packing house.  For the most part, all of the changes were good.  There have definitely been some bumps and hiccups along the road, but I think (hope) that most of us would agree that (most of) the changes have been for the better.

However, at this point everyone is just pretty darn tired.  After working such long hours (until midnight or later a lot of nights), it is hard to think positively sometimes.  Right now we mostly live off of our caffeine of choice -- iced coffee and Coke Zero for me (and don't forget the cake!) -- and just try to make it from day to day without killing a family member.  Tempers can kind of run short.

But the last tomato rolled across the belt today, so we will be catching up on sleep soon enough.  I always think that is a bittersweet moment...

My children have been living the life as Brad and I have been slaving away.  Our babysitter, Mary Beth, keeps them very well entertained.  She helped them set up a lemonade stand one day, where they made $45!!  (If you don't count the $20 I spent on the lemonade...)

They have gone swimming at the pool and at the beach.  They go to the library once a week and check out plenty of books and Andy Griffith movies.  They have gone to the theater to see Brave.  They come to see me at the packing house every day for lunch and dinner, and it is a nice little break for me to spend some family time with my babies -- and it is a way for me to actually get to see the kids when they are awake.

This past week Mary Beth took the kids to art camp.  They made some really cute things, like Tyler's Coosaw (or "Cossaw") Farms banner, and they also did some artwork that really impressed me.  The girls really enjoyed art camp, but I am pretty sure that Gibson just got dragged along.

So that, in a nutshell, is our May & June.  I make no promises about my blogging future, but I hope to be around more.  At least more than once every two months...Happy Summer!

Happy Easter!

Of course I'm a day late, but I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating our Risen Lord.  We had a great celebration with family -- our first time hosting a holiday at our house -- after my favorite church service of the year (although Christmas Eve is up there...).  

I have a lot to share about our day, but it is going to have to wait for another post.  However, suffice it to say there will be more funny pictures like this...what in the world is Gibson doing?!?!

Mmmmm...Muffins!

My sister, Hunter, and her twins came to stay with us Friday night while her husband was away turkey hunting, so Saturday morning I made a couple of batches of muffins using this recipe from Skinnytaste -- one batch with blueberries and one without because my weirdo sister doesn't like blueberries*.  They were absolutely delish and low fat until I added the topping from this recipe!  By the way my kids gobbled up three or so muffins in one sitting, I would say they loved them.  I have made another couple of batches without the topping since then, and we are steadily working our way through those.

Mornings are more fun with company!  We loved having some cousin time while Taylor and Harper were here.  It is definitely a treat to have a house big enough to hold guests, so now we just have to do it more often!

___________________________________________________________________________

* My changes to the recipe/notes:

-- With blueberries: I used sweetened almond milk because that's what I had on hand, so I added a little less honey.  I also added in some lemon zest.

-- Without blueberries: Same as above except I added extra lemon zest and a little bit of lemon juice to give the muffins some sort of flavor besides just oatmeal.  

-- Even with the cooking spray, the muffins stuck really badly to the liners.  

My Handsome GranGran

I can't believe that on Sunday it will be 9 months since my Granddaddy died.  It doesn't seem like he could have been gone that long, but it is amazing how quickly time passes.  

My cousin, Ross, put these pictures up on Facebook the other day, and I just had to share them.  These were taken for something for the resort where Ross worked (I know that is a lot of information, right?) -- an ad or something.  I love these pictures because they are so real -- it looks like GranGran could start speaking at any minute... This is just how I remember him -- a big, strong man -- until he just wasn't.

Prayer Request

Brad's cousin's child, Jasper, should be in surgery right now getting cochlear implants due to total hearing loss after complications from meningitis (I believe it's bacterial).  Except for a short stint at home last week, the poor baby has been in the hospital since before Christmas, and he is basically having to learn to do everything again -- swallow, eat, drink, walk, focus, and hear.  His parents have been very strong and have had a lot of support and prayers sent their way, but more prayer would always be welcome, I am sure! 

Please pray for Jasper as he undergoes this surgery, his surgeons, and his parents, Rebecca and Jim (both are Clemson grads, so you Clemson people may know them!).

You can read Jasper's CaringBridge page here.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Christmas Recap

Brad and I both come from big families, so Christmas is always a time with plenty of opportunities for celebrating.  Add to that two birthdays -- my dad on December 17 and my sister on December 26 -- and we are busy all month!

Our first Christmas celebration actually came on Daddy's birthday but didn't involve celebrating for Daddy's birthday.  We always celebrate Christmas with Brad's mom's family the weekend before Christmas.  It used to be on Christmas Eve day, and I am so thankful that they moved it; it is so much easier this way.  I don't have any pictures from this particular celebration, but Brad grilled more meat than you have ever seen, and we ate and ate and ate.  Tyler read Jesus' birth story from Luke aloud, we opened presents, and had a grand old time.

We celebrated my dad's birthday on the 18th with a dinner at my sister's house.  It is really fun to get together with everyone these days because the kids are all old enough to play together, and they are all really cute together.  Of course, taking a picture of all six kids is an impossibility!

                          

A couple of nights before Christmas, we had to finish up our shopping, so Brad and I took the kids out for a night on the town to shop, eat dinner, and pick out gifts for each other.  Brad is usually not one for shopping, but we all had a great time together, and he said that he would love to make that a yearly thing.  I was shocked!

On Christmas Eve we went to our church's evening service which is one of my top two favorite services of the year.  It always puts me in the Christmas spirit if I am not already.  Usually we go to my Aunt Lea's house for dinner after church, but this year we decided to come on home instead.  I hated to say that we weren't going to Aunt Lea's.  I have been going to Aunt Lea's house after the Christmas Eve service for over twenty years, so it is Christmas Eve to me.  However, it is a late night for the kids, and they always fall asleep in the car before we get home, so we decided against it this year.

And, except for missing my cousin's engagement, I ended up being really happy with our decision.  There is so much that we have missed out on over the years by dragging the kids all over the place on Christmas Eve.  We got to put out reindeer food and cookies to Santa.  We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.  The kids couldn't wait to get in bed.  We got to see the kids excitement over Santa's impending arrival -- seriously, all things we haven't experienced before because they have always been asleep when we have gotten home!  Brad and I were more excited than ever for Christmas this year, too!

And by the next morning, Santa had come!

After opening presents at our house, we went to YaYa and O'Daddy's house to have breakfast.  We then headed down to my parents' house to open presents with my family, then went to my aunt's house for our big family meal.  After we had stuffed ourselves and had a short time to rest and play with our cousins, it was time to go celebrate with Brad's dad's side of the family and stuff ourselves again.

We spent the night at the beach house with Brad's family and opened presents with them the next morning.

But, wait!  The celebrations were not over yet!  That next day was also my sister's Big 3-0, so we ate dinner at my mom's house that evening to celebrate.

And NOW I can officially go on a diet.