Life in Florida - Dia Numero Dos

Another great day in Anna Maria and it's still not over!  The guys went golfing today and they had a great time together.  I think they all played relatively well and they said it was a beautiful course!  I asked Jay to take some pictures for me and he did great:

Dad driving the golf cart

Looks like a beautiful morning!

They even encountered an alligator (don't look for water balls!)

Good form, Dad!

Getting hot out there

What a great looking group!

The girls started our day by sleeping in and staying pool-side - helping the girls swim and having a great time!  It is nice to have a pool right in our backyard so we don't have to go to the beach every time we want to swim!

After lunch we headed down to the beach while the kids napped and caught some more rays!  The sea gulls here are quite friendly and Jay was able to capture a great picture of one!

We came in early from the beach because tonight was one of our dinner night's out!  Here are Leslie, Lisa and me attempting to look "sexy" on the Mustang.  Ha ha!  I think Les and Lis got the right idea and I just look mad or constipated, maybe both.

We ate dinner at Pelican Pete's and it was delicious!  After dinner we did some souvenir shopping!

This guy helped us save 15% or more on our auto insurance.  Ha ha!  We've encountered lots of wildlife today - here's a pic of a neat bird the guys saw on the golf course:

Oh, I forgot last night to say that Jay and I made dinner for everyone - Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta!  Here we are in the kitchen together - we make a great team:

We rented a movie and now are eating dessert and drinking coffee - having a great time together!  See ya tomorrow, everybody! :)

The Adventure Begins - Day 1

We've had a fun day today!  Since we got in so late last night we weren't able to do our grocery shopping, so after breakfast we split up the big list and went out to the store.  Here's a pic of our house and our awesome rental car! :)

First time for me to ride in a convertible - it has been so fun!

After grocery shopping, we came back to make some tasty desserts, do some preliminary cooking for the week and eat lunch.  Then we headed out to the beach for the first time!  I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of the same cute pictures but here's a few to get you started:

Chris went searching for shells for Lucy's collection.

Lucy being a goof.

Precious Stewart - not so keen on the sun/beach, poor thing.

That's all for today, folks.  Hope you enjoy and we'll keep you updated!

Long Day of Travel

Well friends, we are here!  It has been a very long day so I will blog briefly tonight but wanted to let everyone know that we made it and that I will be able to blog from here!  All considering, we really had a relatively smooth day of traveling.  The Bradleys joined us in KC Friday night so that we could all fly out together today.  We stopped for lunch at Chick-Fil-A on the way up to the airport and got there in plenty of time to check our many bags and board the plane.  Mom, Dad and Lisa were already on the plane and had saved us seats - how nice!  Lucy was so excited to fly on the plane and when we took off she said very loudly "YES!  I CAN SEE EVERYTHING FROM UP HERE!"  It was truly hilarious and we laughed so hard.  We landed safely in Tampa but storms were right behind us and the ramp for the baggage closed.  We had to wait nearly an hour and half for the carousel to begin but all the kids were very well-behaved!  Here we are waiting patiently:

We had SO MUCH luggage - about 20 bags total!

Lu is such a big girl now!

We made it! :) Looking forward to our week!

Short Weekend in the LR

This past weekend Jay and I decided to make a last-minute trip to Little Rock to visit his family.  We were so glad we went.  Jay had not been home since Christmas and I had only been once for Deborah's wedding.  We definitely needed some quality time in Little Rock with his family!  We drove late into the night on Friday and arrived at the Thorpes about 12:30.  We were both exhausted from a long week and we crashed immediately!  Saturday we got to sleep in and chatted with Rob and Billie over coffee and breakfast.  Then we headed over to the Hillsborough pool to meet Matt, Akina and the girls!  We had a great time hanging out and getting some sun!  Jilly and Lainey are such good swimmers now and we are so proud of them!  We hung out at the pool until lunch time and then headed back for hamburgers and hot dogs!  Yummy!  Rob is such a great griller and we always enjoy whatever he brings off the grill.  I braided the girls' hair while we waited for lunch and then we sat down to enjoy it all together!  Jilly and Lainey ended getting really tired so Matt and Akina took them home to nap.  Jay and I went back to the pool to rest and lay out more!  We had such a relaxing day - much needed!  :)  

Saturday night was dinner with Maw Maw and Deda who are always a joy to be around.  Rob and Billie were so gracious to make us a delicious dinner (shrimp pasta primavera, asparagus and garlic cheddar biscuits - it was INCREDIBLE) and we very much enjoyed visiting together at the dinner table.  We got to catch up with Maw Maw and even watched a little TV afterwards.  It is such a blessing to have a family like the Thorpes.  

Sunday we went to church at The Summit and had brunch at IHOP afterwards.  Great food all weekend long!  We got on the road about noon and stopped in our beloved Fayetteville to get our dinner to go at La Huerta!  I love that place so much.  We got home with enough time to enjoy dinner together and get to bed early.  Unfortunately I've gone through this whole post without a single picture because I didn't even get my camera out of the case!  I'm hoping to get a couple shots from Billie's camera so I will post those when I can!  

This week is pretty normal for us; however, it's a short week for me because we are beach bound on Saturday!  I have Friday off to prepare and pack for our trip and we couldn't be more excited!  More to come soon... Until then!

Church Friends Weekend!

Our weekend has been fantastic, beginning on Thursday with the Royals game vs. Detroit!  Each year the YAMs (Young Adult Ministry group) all go together to a Royals game.  We had a big group this year, about 15 or so, and had a great time!  Unfortunately, they lost again but we had fun nonetheless.  It was a beautiful night with great friends.

I wore my cute shirt Elizabeth made me.  I'm so glad I got a blue one!

Kauffman Stadium

We were sad we lost!  :(

We were up so late on Thursday and Friday came really early!  It was OK, though, because we both had fun things to look forward to.  Jay had another softball game and I was helping host my first baby shower!  The baby shower was for Tabby Nelson and it was at Shea's apartment.  I went straight over after work to help Shea prepare.  We were making a diaper cake for Tabby and lots of food!  We had a great turn-out and it was really really fun!

The finished product!

The food table!

Mackenzie had this great idea for a fruit salad baby carriage and the girls pulled it off wonderfully!

Me and the ladies of honor - Tabby and her baby girl!

Kristin made a rainbow cake for Tabby - well done, my friend!

Playing games!

Tabby- due this month, Val- due November, Katherine- due January!

Great-looking group of great girls!

The hostesses (minus Les) and Tabby

We were all so exhausted when it was all over but it was so worth it!  Saturday morning Jay and I slept in (way late) and had our fall semester budget meeting over coffee and cereal!  It was much needed and we got all organized and disciplined with our money.  I'm so thankful for a husband who can help me balance our money and talk through the process with me.  After our "Free Sprits and Nerds Unite" meeting, we ran some errands and came back to do some yard work and get some sun!  We have done a lot of work on our house (inside and out) and are just getting started we feel like!  This summer it was my goal to get the back two garden boxes cleared of the weeds and planted with some vegetables and roses!  They look great now!  Here are some pics:

Tomatoes!

English roses!

If you had seen the boxes before, you would hardly believe your eyes!

Dash was cooling down in the shade.

Beautiful hibiscus blooms - God's gorgeous glory displayed in His creation.

We are geared up for a full week of work and research papering (also hoping to get a board exam score) and also some more relaxation and hanging with some friends!  We hope your week starts off great!

Cedar Mills Keyser Reunion

The Fourth of July is always our Keyser family reunion - something we look forward to every year!  Since our wedding, we've gone to a place called Cedar Mills Resort and Marina on Lake Texoma.  It has been a great meeting place since we have nearly forty family members coming every year!  We always have a great time just hanging out, eating lots of good food, playing some games and catching some rays!  I'll post lots of pics to tell the story!

I took off Thursday and Friday and we were able to leave Wednesday after work and head down to Norman to spend the day with Mom and Dad there.  Mom and I did some grocery shopping for the weekend and finished the last minute packing.  Thursday afternoon after Dad finished work, we headed down to Marietta to Grandmother Flo's and Papa's to spend the night there.  Grandmother made us beef tips and noodles, Aunt Marcia brought over fresh cucumber and Papa fried garden okra, squash and zucchini!  It was so delicious and I couldn't believe how much we ate.  We woke up the next morning to fresh coffee, belgian banana waffles, bacon and a nice warm southern Oklahoma breeze!  We hung out and watched The Price is Right all together before we packed up and headed further south about 40 minutes.  Friday was Mom's and Aunt Laura's birthday so once we arrived and unpacked our luggage we went to the Catfish Haven for dinner.  Yummy yummy fried food!

Happy Birthday, Mom!  

Saturday was our anniversary celebration at Pelican's Landing... the "world famous" waterfront restaurant on the marina.  We ate there last year to celebrate, too and had a nice time together.  The breakfast buffet brings people from all over Texas and Oklahoma in on their jets.  The private air strip is right across from our cabins!  I wish I had taken a picture of all the jets flown in for breakfast.

Grandmother Gene told her famous Lucy Lou and the Pop-Eyed Parrot stories after lunch time for all the kiddos!

There was even a ladder golf ball tournament!  

Lucy and me by the water

Fun in the sun!

Papa and Grandmother joined us again for fajita dinner!

Thanks for the cute shirts, Elizabeth!

Alena and I matched so we took a twinsie picture!  Rachel made all the girls cute dresses, too!

Breck and Lucy building a sand fortress!

Lucy and Amelia with Uncle Jay.

Chris took Lucy on a jet ski ride!  Such a big girl.

We even had a seed-spitting contest!

Sunday was burger night.  Way to grill some beef, boys!

Sunday night Aunt Laura did my hair!  Genessa and Jessie helped me process it with some heat!

Monday morning was picture day!  

Family pic

Cousins from oldest to youngest!  Only missing Ryan, Haley, Leslie and Lisa.

Monday we spent the day driving home (bummer) but we had already celebrated our anniversary last weekend so it wasn't too bad.  Here are some pics that I promised from my previous blog posting...

Dinner at McCormick and Schmick, well actually that's our pecan pie dessert!

Friend and Family Picnic!