Saturday is the day of the actual airshow (although Friday is exactly the same, it is technically the "dress rehearsal"). Crowds are heavier on Saturdays, you have to stake your spot on the beach at daybreak and you don't drive anywhere. If you plan on eating dinner on the island somewhere other than your condo, you should be prepared to walk there. Unfortunately, it was only after we paid $45 each for three sets of beach chairs that we realized it would rain. ALL. DAY. LONG. We packed it up about 30 minutes into the day and ended up doing lots of reading, cartoon watching and balcony sitting. The majority of the airshow was cancelled, although we heard on the radio the Blue Angels might do their low show a few hours late. Bummer. I had bought the girls super cute new patriotic bathing ...
vacation
Pensacola, Round 1
Last weekend we found ourselves at the beach again, only this time we were with Josh's parents - Nana & Grandpa Cookie. We left late Thursday afternoon and headed to Pensacola for the weekend to enjoy some sun and the Blue Angels airshow. Friday on the beach was GORGEOUS. Josh had to work inside most of the day, but he did get to venture out for lunch and came out again later in the afternoon to watch the planes fly. I didn't get any pictures of the stunt planes, since we were enjoying lunch on our balcony while watching them, but I did get some great ones once the Angels started flying. the view from my very cushy beach chair rental, courtesy of SD three pretty beach bums / ella, isabella & sophie some sand play while we were waiting for the planes sophie hung out in the ...
Vacation, Part 2
On Thursday of our vacation we spent most of the day at the pool. I wish we had a water park or splash pad closer to home, because these two girls loved it! There is a fence to keep them in and it is pretty impossible to drown. I laid my towel on the very edge and watched them run and play all morning. All of a sudden, Ella wants to pose everywhere. It is all I can do to keep a straight face while I'm snapping away. I swear she looks like a junior Victoria's Secret model?! Of course, we had to stop for snack more than once throughout the day! Friday was our last full day to spend in the sand. Everyone in my family came to the beach that day and it made for quite the sight. I wish I had taken a picture at sunset -- there were no less than five weddings taking place behind us ...
Vacation, Part 1
I took in the neighborhood of 250 photographs while we were on vacation and I uploaded about 75 of those. Since it would be a bit gratuitous to try and include all of those in a single post, I'll share them over the next several days. Each day pretty much looks exactly the same, but they are all too cute not to share! We left for the beach on Saturday evening after Ella's dance recital. We drove to Prattville, ate a quick bite at Chick-fil-A for dinner and put on our pajamas in the bathroom. Ella finally went to sleep between Montgomery and Greenville and slept the rest of the way down. We stopped in Bay Minette for gas and a potty break and were in Gulf Shores before midnight. Since we couldn't pick up our RV until Monday morning, we crashed with my parents in their pop-up on Saturday ...
Monday
Wanna know how to gain 4.5 lbs in 8 days? Eat at the Shrimp Basket at least three times. Have a MASSIVE meal at the Original Oyster House that breaks the bank. Have a single and a double mint chocolate-chip ice cream on a waffle cone. Plow through a case of cold, canned DP. Choose Krispy Kreme chocolate glazed donuts instead of a sensible breakfast. Don't consume a single bottle of water or even open the boxes of protein bars you brought. Only run once and only then because it's breezy and raining. Read five Sookie Stackhouse books on a lawn chair in front of the box fan. Lay on a blanket in the sand and watch your girls serve make-believe meals made of sand. Enjoy seven, sun-filled days with 20 of your favorite people. It was fun, but the laundry is ridiculous and my girls ...
the real story.
Lest you think NYC was all fun and games, I thought I'd share a few behind the scenes details, including my favorite picture of the hubs all week. THIS is Josh - silly and goofy with a huge smile on his face. We make fun of each other constantly and laugh a lot - this moment was no different. We are sitting on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan outside of Duane Reade. This was about thirty minutes after we visited the 9|11 Memorial and it was 36* outside. Josh has no shoe on because he HAD to have an ace bandage stat. Among other notable details to mention (some via SD's many colorful Facebook statuses)... Thursday, 4:30 p.m. The plan was that he would meet me at Grand Central Station after taking the TRAIN from Tuckahoe. After some unforeseen work-related issues, he found himself DRIVING ...
Farewell
On Sunday, we knew we were flying home, but we tried to squeeze as many things in our short day as we possibly could. That included packing our bags for the airport, checking out of our hotel, taking the train to the city, getting some Christmas shopping done and visiting the 9|11 Memorial in lower Manhattan. This was probably the coldest day we spent in NYC -- the high was 38 degrees. We bundled up as best we could, but it was windy and the city is still in the shadows at 9 o'clock, so we were freezing! Part of the reason the memorial requires tickets is because the Trade Center is still under construction. In addition to the museum, several office buildings are still in progress, as well as other parts of the business center. The pools themselves are gorgeous. Even knowing what ...
The Best Day | Part 2
After seeing the islands Saturday morning, we boarded the subway and headed for Madison Square Park. Josh really wanted to see the Flatiron Building (sorry for the weird lighting)... and I really wanted to each a late lunch at the Shake Shake. Y'all! I am NOT kidding when I tell you this is the best cheeseburger and fries I have ever had. They had the first fountain DP we had seen all week, the hamburgers were cooked to order and the cheese on those fries was melty, cheddar-jack goodness. I'm serious. I'm still dreaming about it and Josh has already told me he's definitely taking the hour commute to eat there next time he's in town for work! It's hard to tell from this picture, but next to the tree is a man we lovingly referred to as Coach. He had his hair in a top knot and was ...