Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mom's birthday!! She is a great mom and I am sad that I didn't get to see her today. I did see her Saturday at Sam's pool party and I will see her Thursday for our family reunion.

She is a great person to talk to. She also listens to my (somewhat boring) stories about school, life etc. She is always excited to see me and she cooks all of my favorite meals! I am very thankful that she is my mom.

I love you momma!!

Happy Birthday Sam!!

Christmas with Pop

Today is my cousin Sam's 13th birthday. Wow. That's fun.

I was 12 when he was born. It was pretty much the most exciting day ever. Ha. He was a sweet baby and a fun toddler. ("Beth.. Can I have this... this... look....")

Today he is a teenager. He is such a fun and witty teenager too.

Telling jokes on the way back from Florida.

Jill- " I've got one.....Wait a minute"
Sam- "What - are you looking it up on your phone?"

;)

Destin 2010

With Beth and Julie

Dane's I love seafood face...

Beth at AJ's

Mom and Dad with Beth

Tyler, Lauren, and Sam

The first time that I went to Destin, Fl I was only 4 years old. Needless to say, it's a very special place to my family. It was really complicated for us to get to go this year. I had to miss 2 days of school (which nearly took a letter of necessity) and we still only there for 4 nights. We had the best time. My parents, sister, Gran, aunt Julie, and cousins Sam and Tyler went.

Gran, Julie, and Mom

Beth working on her giant turtle. This was before the legs, head, and tail.

Sam and our cousin Lauren who lives near Sarasota, FL

Dad and Dane relaxing in the shade.

I will try to do a quick recap of the various things that we did. My dad drove mom's Honda Pilot and Dane drove Julie's truck (he had driven in a previous year and loved it so much that he bought one of his own). We left our house 4 am and arrived in Destin at 4 pm. Mom and I had packed sandwiches that we ate in the car. We also a bunch of junk food and sodas. When we made it to Destin we checked out our two rooms. One of the rooms was very modern with a bright coastal style and the other had very traditional decor. That first night we went to the beach and walked around and then ate Pizza Hut Pizza (tradition #2). Mom, Julie, Gran, and I then made the trip to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries for the week. We were so pooped after the drive that we all went to sleep fairly early. The second day it rained. Which actually turned out to be amazingly fun. Dane, Sam, Tyler, and I played in the ocean (and oil...) all day in the pouring rain. As cheesy as it sounds, it was so liberating!! Needless to say, we had a blast. We also went to Silver Sands (tradition #3) to do a little outlet mall shopping. Sam got a henna tattoo that said "Sam" on his back. Finally we went to eat at AJ's Seafood and Oyster bar. The third day it was beautiful outside! Dane sat up the tent that his family bought on their Florida vacation to provide a little extra sun relief. It was just a great day. Gran, Tyler, and I started the day with a long long long walk on the beach. Beth had gone on the walk the previous day and Tyler suggested that we try and beat her. We had a great time just the 3 of us. By this time Gran's sister and her husband and granddaughter had arrived. That night Dane and I cooked stir-fry for everyone. We also went on a crab hunt (tradition #4). The last day we basically just realized and enjoyed the sunshine. Beth made a giant sea turtle in the sand.Everyone stopped by to take pictures of it. She always has been the artsy one. For lunch we went to eat at the Crab Trap (tradition #5). The food was great. Did I mention I love seafood? The last day I was so sad when I left. I have so many great memories there. It always makes me sad to leave. I am thankful for the time I've spent with my entire family there and the way that my parents and grandparents always dedicated the time and money needed to take us. I think this trip was particularly memorable. I felt like I had my own live SNL skit thanks to my awesome cousins Sam and Tyler. :)

Gran and I at Destin Commons after the fireworks on July 3rd