saturday picnics

The only word that comes to mind when I see this picture is:

PRICELESS!

One of my favorite things to do is pack a lunch and go on a picnic.

This particular Saturday a month or so ago the weather was to nice to be inside.

Chief had this spot in mind on base that's by the river.

It was quiet and we sat and watched the fish jump up out of the water

while the girls ran around and played.

I hope when the girls are older and they look back on their childhood,

THESE are the memories that stand out.

Yes the vacations to Disney World and Sea World are fun.

But these simply moments are what memories are made of,

I know when I think back over our lives and when are kids were younger,

it will be these moments that stand out to me.

when time stood still for a brief moment.....

Family Fun!

On the Ferris wheel, with daddy.

I hate the Ferris Wheel but didn't want to be left out.

So I rode and took pictures in the process.

Sugar rode with our friend, Ms K and her son T.

 Sugar insisted on riding this bull.

She was sure she could stay on, well the bull won.

She has a nice mark on her forhead and nose from it.

Me and Spice on the Fun Slide.

This is my favorite ride!

Spice said, "That was the best ride, EVER!"

Sugar after her ride on the slide.

I think she liked it.

Spice eating some cotton candy.

Umm, we learned our lesson about cotton candy.

They won't be eating anymore.

{first time we've ever let them eat it.}

They were HYPER afterwards, like ridiculously hyper. 

Sugar on the kiddie Ferris Wheel.

Every year they have a Family Apprication Carnival on the base.

We've been going the last few years.

The kids really enjoy going and since the local fair is way to expensive

this is a great alternative for us.

All the rides are free and they give out goodies.

This year they added a few more rides

Afterwards we took a picnic lunch to the park, it was the perfect day for being outside

and spending a much needed day of time together as a family.

Boat

Dh's parents gave us their old fishing boat.

It's not anything fancy but it's a lot of fun.

The girls are very into fishing, Sugar especially.

It just doesn't get much better than that.

The look on her face is priceless to me.

my perfect day............

I was looking through some old pictures a few weeks before Josh came home.

I found pictures from an afternoon we had gone to St. Augustine.

Aynslee was about 16 months old.

We sat out near the fort on the nice green grass and let her run around.

I remember thinking it was the most perfect day.

That's one of my best memories as a family of 3.

Now it's just simply, my perfect day, with my family.

The girls love having a picnic.

We brought our special "picnic blanket"

and packed a simple lunch.

We brought kites but there wasn't enough wind that day.

It was so nice just sitting still and watching our surroundings.

The cannons shot in the fort while we were there.

We listened to the horses hoaves clop, clop as they pulled buggies

for touriest through the city.

We all laid on the blanket and looked at the clouds to see what shapes

we could see.

In a world that is always moving and people taking less

time to enjoy the simple things in life,

it's nice to just stop and watch the world go by.

I hope this is a memory that stands out for my girls.

And I hope that when they think back on their childhood,

it's their perfect day, too.

lounging on the picnic blanket
mommy and Aynslee

This describes my girls so perfectly,
Avery doing something silly,
and Aynslee with a big smile on her face.



Aynslee took this picture.
She just may have a bright future as a photographer.




everytime we come down to St.Augstine we always stop at
Kilwins to get a yummy treat.

They have the best waffle cones and icecream!






Avery enjoying some St. Augustine mud with daddy.

and as always a picture by the fountain.

Sesame Street LIVE

Beach

shark

Sunday afternoon we grilled at the beach. 

They have nice pavilions with grills. 

We walked out to a spot with very little people so the girls could play in the water. 

It was so nice. 

We stayed for a few hours soaking up the sun and playing in the sand. 

It was my perfect afternoon. 

on a little vaca

The girls and I are in VA with Josh for a few weeks. He flew home this weekend to take us back with him. After a nightmare of a flight, his flight out of VA was late which caused him to miss his connection, it left early, so he rented a car with another guy that was also going to the same place and got home at 5:00am on Sat morning. He was able to get enough sleep so he could start driving us north. We left in the afternoon and drove to NC to see my friend Gerry that I haven't seen in a while. It was great catching up with him. My girls LOVED him. It was so cute. We spent the night on the road and got here in the early afternoon. It was raining and COLD.  I didn't pack any warm clothes so we had to go get the girls some jackets. I feel so bad I usually pack prepared but I never thought in May it would be 57 degrees. 

The base here is really nice a lot nicer than our base which I never thought I'd say. The room is big enough. The girls are camping out in a closet it's big enough for a pack n play and a sleeping bag.  

We have lots go plans to go to the beach while we are here, do some site seeing, and spend some much needed family time together before daddy leaves for his next deployment. 

I'll be updating this with pictures and posts while we are here since I do have Josh's laptop. So keep checking back. 

fun day out!

Yesterday, Josh had an appointment on base the base he used to work on which is an hour away. So he suggested we go to the beach and eat at my favorite place, Joe's Crab Shack. Just so happens that I had a coupon for that restaurant. The food was great the company was even better, it was a great little outing.

Then we headed over to the base for his appointment the girls and I went into the Nex while we waiting on daddy. We stopped by the children's consignment store where I got some great deals on some summer stuff for Aynslee and a pair of jeans for Avery.

I think we are staying home today. I have some things I need to get done.

We are just enjoying Josh's time off before he leaves. If you haven't yet check out his blogs, Josh goes to the Land of Sand and Flat Stanley Goes Navy.

hOw to eAt a sUndaE!