Adendum to Yesterdays post

All of those super wonderful things I said about my super sexy husband are all true...

but you should know that he aint perfect...

I got yelled at last night when I unbuckled my seatbelt while he was STILL pulling into the garage.

 He seems to think that I should stay buckled till we are in the garage and the car is at a COMPLETE stop and turned off.

what ever

p.s. that is NOT my body in the picture.

p.p.s I should lie and say it is though.

Happy Birthday Ted

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my 

super sexy husband a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

You work your butt off for us.

You adore your family

Your parents raised an incredible MAN

You have amazing style

You know JUST how to blow off steam

You guide this family

You are there to catch us when we fall

You can drive the ship alone when I'm "down"

I will follow you anywhere

You have a special "thing" with each of our little punks

you have passion

And I know that you love me.

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you with all of my heart and soul.

Rules to Live By. By Corey Anne Loupee

My beautiful niece Corey wrote this and posted it on her Facebook page. I believe it is worth sharing...

People that come into our lives <3

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbour, co-worker, longest friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.   Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts, and We are never, ever the same.   And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realised your potential, strength, willpower, or heart. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you become.   Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.   If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.   Make every day count!! Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself; it will be hard for others to believe in you.   You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

By: Corey Coco Loupee

Have a great day.

Back from the Beach

We are home now from our very special week at the beach. 

Took a few walks on the beach.

it was cloudy on a couple of mornings, but that didn't stop us.

Even the teenager had fun

we picked up a few along the way and watched as many ( teenagers) made complete ASSES of themselves.

made some Easter treats

Got our nails done

spent some time on this beautiful little island playing in the sun and sand

one of the many pools outside our condo

all the time we spent at the pool, my little punk Alex spent equal amounts of time fishing on the dock right next to the pool.

he spent about eight hours a day fishing and scooping things up with his net. He was the happiest I've ever seen him. Each night he'd come in smelling like a boat fisherman and I didn't even care.

My friend Erin got a condo down the street from us so we went down to spen a nice evening with them. She cooked up some killer crab cakes and we ate on the balcony just above the sand.

and then watched the sunset.

My beautiful boy just before heading back down to the dock to catch shrimp after dinner.

Couldn't be more grateful for a wonderful Spring Break.

Our Little secret

First things first.

Congratulations to Ari and her amazing teammates for the HUGE win of

 USA VOLLEYBALL GULF COAST REGION 

2011 CHAMPS!!!

YAY YAY applause applause

I couldn't be more proud of her and all the girls. They had an amazing season and ended it with a regional win and an official spot in the Junior National tournament in June.

VERY BIG DEAL.

I think my sister Stacy was right. Alabama is our little secret down here in the DEEP South. The beaches are spectacular, the people are super funny, and the cost of living is very low. Or at least much lower than Ca.

We live up in the beautiful wooded area but the white sandy beaches are so close.

SHHH... don't tell anyone. I like the small town living and I like that people think we are wierd for loving it down here so much . Stay away people... this is our little secret corner of the world.

The place we're staying at has many pools, including a lazy river.

The kids loved it but the water is still really cold. 

Our friend that we are with also has a boat so after we did a bit of swimming she came and picked us up.

Ari managed to persuade Claire to come over for the day and hang with us.

The little punks are in rare form this week.

That's Alicia. She owns the boat and is who we are with this week. Yea she hot but we can't hate her cause she's so sweet.

And me? I'm just happy if my kids are happy. I had to paint my toes my favorite color in honor of Spring break. I love em.

P.S. My son ( the little punk) is literally eating us out of house and home this week. He's better grow about six inches this Summer in order for me NOT to lose my mind. He is driving me crazy with his CONSTANT starvation!!

Sunsets and Burnt Food

We are here at the beach in South Alabama.

The condo is beautiful and the view is spectacular.

We got unpacked and I had done a bunch of cooking and meal prep before we left the house so all I had to do was warm up dinner. I made a HUGE pot of thick gumbo for us to eat tonight. I warmed it up on the stove and was very busy with ten other things and before I knew it I could smell it...

That's right...I scorched my damn gumbo

I'm a good cook!!

I don't burn things!!

Before I sign off for the night..

I will leave you with this precious face.

Cooper, my sweet sweet baby. I love him.

Ari and I are off to a VB tournament tomorrow while the rest of the bunch frolics by the pool and ocean.

Night night.

Spring Break Baby!!

We are probably one of last counties to go on Spring Break. The kids are so excited. We are going down to the Gulf of Mexico for a week to stay in a condo with friends.

We are supposed to have perfect weather and hopefully warm ocean water. I will try to post pictures throughout the week.

I have spent the past few days cooking and freezing meals so that while we're there I can sit on my ass
NOT spend every night in the kitchen cooking.

Not that I don't LOVE to cook but I'd rather sit and enjoy the turquoise blue water instead. Just sayin'

61st Baby!!!

The Big South tournament was great. 

Our team played really well on most games and not so great on the rest.

But they had each other's backs the whole time and took the good with the bad.

A little love fest before each game

Our girl played really well even with a back injury.

She did a few head over heel roll overs while diving for a ball and must have pulled something. She played
the rest of the weekend in total pain.

A little fun before their last match of the weekend. Our girl is in the back on the right.

This is Ari's  "other" boyfriend. She loves him so much. She always asks him the same question...

" Calvin can you come over to my house and take your braids out so I can play with your hair"

He also happens to be the coaches son. 

We took a respectable 61st place in the overall tournament in our age division. Now 61st doesn't sound very good but our team played "up" in a higher division and there were over 100 teams in her division so they were happy. 

We probably would have done better if we hadn't done so poorly on the first day but it was their first "Big South" and it can very overwhelming for our babies.