Destin Day 3

It was a beautiful beach day today! The girls spent all morning out...and just as they were getting the hang of "riding the waves" with their intertubes, it was time to come in for lunch/nap. But, this afternoon was spent with a lot more wave riding. Each girl got braver with each wave! I predict tomorrow they will do it all over again! Each day the waves get a tad smaller and easier for them to navigate. I'm hoping tomorrow will be just perfect!

Morning:

Afternoon:

And Sarah running full throttle screaming at the top of her lungs to jump into the waves:

Tonight at Dewey Destins:

Destin - day 2

This morning was icky! Rainy and icky! The girls spent at least an hour pillow jumping in their bedroom, but both took great naps! While they napped,Bob and I went shopping for HIM for a change and got a new suit and 3 new outfits. Yeah! After naps, the sun came out and we did the beach for about an hour or so. Then it was off to Baytown Wharf Village for dinner at Poppy's and playtime on their pier and playgrond!

Destin Day 1 - not QUITE a wash out...

A "Tropical Low" hit the Destin area this morning. Might as well been a Tropical storm with as bad as the wind and rain got. It washed away LOTS of our sand - about 10 feet out - 5 feet tall. This boardwalk was UNDER sand yesterday...

We did BassPro Shop this a.m. during the storms. The girls enjoy going to see the big fish in the big tank!

But by about 3:00, the sun came out for about 2 hours and the girls were able to play for a while, which was great. We grabbed some things from Fresh Market and just stayed in for dinner tonight. Smart decision- TONS of people arrived today and traffic is bad! The girls had a ball running up and down the boardwalk and just being "free!"

Last Day of Kindergarten (and how much she's grown!)

Today is Beth's last day of Kindergarten and in keeping with tradition, we did our "last day of school" pictures this morning! I LOVE to be able to go back and compare the 1st day vs. the last day of school to see how much she has grown/matured in those 9 months or so. I REALLY see a change in her face this year - maturity maybe - or just the four missing teeth! :-)

TODAY - Last Day of School 5-21-09

First Day of School 9-2-08

Graduation is tonight and then we are leaving directly from there to head to Destin. I'll try to post pictures sometime this weekend if I take my laptop, otherwise it will be late next week! Toodles!!

My Graduate & My Insane week!

Beth is a Kindergarten Graduate....yeah! Not the best picture in the world, but oh well. I hope to get a few good shots on Thursday night.


Today, after a night of fitfull sleep, I took Sarah Katherine to the doctor...again. Double ear infection and sinus infection. Grreeeaatt..... Hopefully she'll feel better soon!

Tonight I have Weight Watchers 5;15-6:00 because I can't go tomorrow. I HATE weighing-in at night. Its week #2 completed of "Maintenance." Then I hope to either hit the gym or go for a mile run.

Tomorrow is Beth's School's Family Picnic 11-12:30. And I really need to pack tomorrow night and work-out... Maybe a family walk around the neighborhood. Its supposed to be GORGEOUS weather tomorrow!

Wednesday is my LAST Lunch "date" with Beth. 3 years of lunch dates and this is the last one. Not sure where we are going yet...I'll let her decide as usual. Wednesday at 4:00- haircut for the girls (hallelujah!), 5:00 Cherub Choir Recognition and 5:30 Church Dinner. Whew....

Thursday...finish packing....Beth's Kindergarten Graduation at 6:30, "Its a Jungle Out There" Program 7-7:30 and leave for Destin at 8:00 p.m.! Hoping to drive as far as Athens or Cullman, Alabama....

And HOPEFULLY....sometime this week...the Toyota Dealership will find a van for me. I finally called him today and told him I'd "expand" my color options and would be okay with a blue, green, white or black van. But it still has to have the "must-haves" I NEED! Leather seats and a built-in DVD player! :-) Beth calls it a "Movie-Van" (not a mini-van!)

Whew....

Just some stuff...

Not too much exciting going on right now...

I'm still patiently waiting for my "new-to-me" minivan. We THOUGHT we had the perfect one coming last weekend, but before our dealership could contact that dealership in Alabama, the Alabama dealership sold it. I was kinda bummed.... So, the search continues. I've been patient for 2 years...what's another few weeks or a month or however long it takes to find it. I'm picky, yes, but I deserve to be.

Beth "graduates" from Kindergarten in 9 days. YEAH! I'm so ready for summer break. I'm so tired of fighting both of them each and every morning to be out the door by 7:50. This summer, I'll only be fighting two mornings a week and we won't have to be out the door till 8:20 which makes all the difference in the world! The other 3 days, they will be at home with a babysitter...just trying something different this summer...shaking things up!

We "might" be going to Destin next Friday. Not sure yet who the "we" is, either! It might be me, the girls and my parents...or it might be me, Bob and the girls. Bob is taking THIS week off for his annual fishing tournament at KY Lake, so he isn't sure if he can get away for a any more time this month. We'll see. Either way, its going to be a "quick" trip. Going down on Friday, May 22, and coming back probably Thursday the 28th. I'm not a fan of tips to Destin that are less than 7 full days, but we (I) NEED this vacation! I'm SO hoping we can find a minivan by then.... If not, oh well...we're going back in July and HOPEFULLY we will for sure have one by then!

As mentioned above, I'm going to be a "single" mom from Wednesday-Sunday this week. Bob is doing one of his boys' fishing trips. I told the girls we'd do a movie night one night. And if the weather holds (and it doesn't look promising), I might take them on a picnic one night for dinner. Other than that - I have no plans. Its going to be a long week...

Runnin' to my Goal

EDITED ON TUESDAY AFTER WW WEIGH-IN TO ADD: I HIT MY GOAL!!!!! Now I'm officially on Maintenance for 6 weeks!!

I've been going to the gym (YMCA) since early March - about 3 times a week for an hour each time. I concentrate on stretching and some toning, then cardio for 30 minutes, then more weight-training and toning. Is it helping? Yes! I have lots more energy. I have all but reached my WW goal, and I RAN A MILE around our neighborhood the other night with NO PROBLEMS!

I had 15 minutes to kill on Thursday night and I knew I was in for a weekend out of town, which USUALLY means no exercising and not-great eating. I told Bob I was going to take a quick walk around the block. At the end of our road, I decided to pick up the pace to a jog and I ended up jogging all the way around our "big" loop and back to our house in about 15-20 minutes. I drove it yesterday - 1.1 miles! I had NO IDEA!! I thought it was MAYBE 1/2 mile as I was running it! I felt great and very proud of myself! Knowing I can do that gives me yet another option of exercise that I can at home in our own neighborhood when the weather is awesome.

I weigh-in tomorrow at Weight Watchers. Not sure if I've hit my goal, but if I haven't, its VERY CLOSE. I've been "fighting" the same 2 lbs since March 30, so I'm hoping it will be GONE this week...but after a weekend out of town, I'm not sure it will be. I tracked points the entire weekend, and I DID NOT use all my "extra" points, so I'm hoping all will be okay. I plan to either hit the gym or my road this evening for one last fat-burn before weigh-in! I REALLY hope I'm CLOSE to my goal of 134.2. That would make it an even 20 lbs I've lost since Jan. 6th. When I do hit goal, I'll go on a 6-week "maintenance" plan to help me learn what I can eat and not lose/gain any weight - to always stay within 2 lbs (either way) of my goal weight. Once I maintain consistently for 6 weeks, I become LIFETIME (and don't have to pay anymore!). I'd REALLY like to be Lifetime by the time we go to Destin the first week of July...which means I need to hit my goal no later than May 12.

I'll update tomorrow after weigh-in!