Summer Buddies

 These two have a history that could fuel a tabloid. But this summer they have been inseparable. And in a crazy twist of events, actually live close to each other! The bikes have been out and they are making the most of the neighborhood pools. 

Paddling with pups

I used to deliver Meals on Wheels before the stupid pandemic tried to ruin everything. There was one woman that I needed to call before I got to her house so she could put her dog upstairs. Her name was Rhonda and I saved her name in my phone as Meals on Wheels Rhonda. The other Rhonda I know is a super cool lady from the gym. 

 Crossfit Rhonda has a backyard pool. Crossfit Rhonda also has a big heart and fosters dogs and probably adopts too many of them. She's also seriously funny and a great workout partner. She share's my desire not to work too hard and add another injury to my growing list of broken body parts. 

Today we went over to swim, get some sunshine and play with the pups. 

She just got a teeny tiny little pup in yesterday and he still has puppy breath. 

Never fear...my heart is like stone. He's cute, but he still poops and because of that he shall never be ours. We can't all be a Crossfit Rhonda.

Utah/Colorado Trip - Day 1, Travel

 We embark!

Prayer is said, Redbox cued up and we are on our way..

Mark takes the first stretch and I sleep and read my book (I highly recommend the Scythe series!)

I take the second stretch into Aurora, CO.  Despite my valiant efforts and excellent preselection of downloaded podcasts...I find myself with droopy eyelids and no amount of poking, pinching or arctic blasts from the air conditioner are enough to keep me awake. 

We just got to sing!

Jammin to Easha does the trick and we arrive at our hotel safe and sound. Naturally, we claim spots on the beds and watch a little Food Network. We google places to eat and although I feel like grabbing something fresh at a little Mediterranean spot, the rest of them vote for IHOP. I resign myself to my pancake fate and we go look for a parking spot near IHOP. 

It takes a little shortcut through an odd parking garage, but we manage to find it without too much trouble. 

And what do you know???

My little Mediterranean spot is next door neighbors with their IHOP shop. 

That's just plain destiny. 

Tzatziki will be mine. 

After dinner, we made our way back through the parking garage and gratefully watched Mark run for the van so all us delicate ladies didn't have to get too wet. He's pretty sweet like that. 

I returned the favor and sat in the steamy pool room for an hour while the 3 youngest swam and Megan stressed over her AP English summer assignment. Isn't growing up just the best??

Day 1 was a success! 

Tomorrow on to Moon Lake!

Mermaids

 Many extra chores were completed to earn the money to become summer mermaids!

Like a fish

Last summer we ended 4 weeks of swim lessons with the teacher advising that we "take a little break" because Everly was getting so worked up over getting in the water. She was in tears before she even got her toes wet.

This year, we thought we'd be super tricky and hire Everly's most beloved Kylie to be her swim teacher.

More tears. And terrified clutching.

So we let Kylie off the hook and I took over. We started out with just trying to get our noses under the water and blow a few bubbles.

Then it was convincing her that she had already learning the hard part...what harm is there in looking around in the water with goggles on.

Then we brought quarters in from the car and let her find them on the stairs in the shallow end.

And then she just took over and taught herself the rest. She'd ask everyday to go to the pool so she could practice. Once she figured out that she could actually reach the bottom in that side of the pool, she was unstoppable.

Before you know it, all she had left was to get her little legs to kick out behind her and start propelling herself forward. Mark promised her he'd get her most coveted unicorn dress if she could figure it out.

She didn't need to hear that twice.

She's a swimmer, folks! And she has decided she won't be running away before her baptism, after all.

Pensacola: Crab Island and The World's Finest Sand Castle

Our last day in Pensacola. And our very best day too. We filled it with fun adventures and my favorite...working together to create the very best castle this world has ever seen. But more on that later. 

First! 

We rented pontoon boats to ride out to the Emerald Coast. 

I'm so glad Mark was there to drive the boat. I would have had a panic attack after hearing their barebones driving instructions. Also...he's so cute.

The kids loved it!

The Flynns were racing us in their pontoon. Boys love speed!

We pulled up to a spot in the bay that had gorgeous clear water. We put down the anchors and the kids just started jumping out of the boat!!

Turns out it's only about 3 feet deep. Perfect for snorkeling and tossing a football.

We spent a couple hours there, then we went over to Crab Island to do some more snorkeling. There are thousands of gorgeous shells there...each with a crab inside. It's fun to snorkel and check out the shells. Every once in a while you can find one without a tenant. Or maybe you think you found one until you give it to your wife to hold and the crab pops out and pinches her fingers. Ouch!

There were tons of fish swirling about our feet. I thought they were so cute. But then they started to bite and I didn't feel such loving feelings towards them.

The boys took a phone break while letting their cuts and scrapes dry out. Salt water doesn't mix well with open wounds.

I just couldn't get enough of this gorgeous water. Isn't it beautiful?

Everly was perfectly happy paddling around in her floaty. She probably spent more time in the water than any of us.

It was so fun to watch everyone laugh and play.

Mark and Todd snorkeling in the grassy areas....looking for empty shells and big blue crabs.

I was happy hanging out and watching everyone. Poor Laney's face was feeling pretty raw from her initial sunburn and the saltwater stung too much to be able to snorkel. Next time we'll do a better job of sunscreen so that we don't put a damper on the rest of our plans.

I sure love these kids!

We all went back to our places to grab a shower and take a quick nap. I knew it would be my only opportunity to prepare for tomorrow's drive home, so I dropped everyone off and ran to Walmart for some sandwich supplies and treats. We are doing everything we can to limit our exposure to everyone. So this should keep us from need to go through drive-thrus. It also saves a bunch of time and money!

We went back to the Flynn's for dinner and one last trip to the beach. The guys helped us cook dogs and burgers...

And Todd may have lit the grill on fire....

The kids snuggled up and watched a movie or two...Laynie was clearly enjoying the seating arrangements.

The kids also said their last goodbyes to the turtles and ducks in the pond behind the condo....

We walked down to the beach to soak it all in one last time. The sand is so soft...it was like a cross between sugar and baby powder.

We played spike ball

And frisbee....Mathew ran right into this hole...he dissolved into laughter, "What the heck is this hole doing here?!?" I love his cute face!

The Flynn girls and Layne had done their hair and make up so that they could do a photo shoot in the gorgeous light. It was fun to watch them laugh and pose. I would never have felt confident enough to do that at that age. 

They thought it would be fun to take our photo too! I'm glad they did!

Ethan had started working on a sandcastle.

I could't help but want to contribute to his city wall with a shell border...I love a good project.

Soon, the wall was done and we had decided to install seashell cobblestone in the castle courtyard. We recruited the kids to start gathering shells. Kylie ran back to the condo to retrieve the bucket of shells the family before them had left behind. Genius!

I'm not gonna lie. This is the kind of thing that makes me happiest. Everyone hunting for shells and helping each other. It makes me so happy!

The prettiest shells were saved for the finishing touches.

Isn't that the coolest castle you ever did see??

We found the biggest crab we could (or did she find us?) and handed over the keys to kingdom.

She didn't appreciate our relocation package. Not one bit.Turns out she was a mama...she was protecting her eggs. We apologized and showed her the way out.

It was the best day.  And somehow we still drove back to the Bnb, did laundry, packed, showered, ran a load of dishes and vacuumed out the van. Tomorrow we drive!