First Day of Preschool

Even though preschool started the 24th of August, it was cool that morning, so Jonathan had to wear a jacket, therefore greatly diminishing the effect of his super cute Janie and Jack outfit. Not surprisingly, I am the only one in my household who cares about such things. While I know that there are WAY MORE important things to worry about, I wanted the boy to look nice for school. I'm taking full advantage of the fact that he will still pretty much let me dress him the way I want (so long as the Spongebob shirt is nowhere in site. Ugh.)

This is the face I got when I asked him to smile for me. He just wanted to go inside and told me (and anyone who passed us) that I was embarrassing him. Not exactly the look for which I was hoping:



And this is the look I received when I allowed him to go more "free-style." I just love the little booger and can't wait to share all of his fun preschool experiences with him this year:

Vacation in Destin aka Where I Wish I Were Right Now!

Loved, loved, LOVED Destin! I thought I was an Outer Banks girl and I still adore the Outer Banks, but the beach in Destin is so amazing that it's now become my new favorite. In addition, the fact that there is a ton of shopping and tourist-y things to do make the area ideal for a family with a restless four year old to find activities to keep everyone amused.

Case in point--we took an excursion on this pirate ship. There was an actual pirate on board, a treasure chest, booty bags, a cannon, the whole nine yards. It was AWESOME. Oh, and Jonathan liked it too :)



Jonathan overcame his fear of the ocean in about 2.4 seconds but the pool was his real love. The $1 we spent on an inflatable Spongebob ring at Target before we left the 'ville was the best $1 I spent on this entire vacation.



Friends of ours were in Destin the same week as we were so we got to have date night at this incredible Italian restaurant. A bit of wine, a lot of fabulous Italian food and great company made this one of the better date nights we've had in some time. This is reason 147 why it is the best idea ever to take a grandmother with you on a family trip!



See, doesn't this look so much more fun than sitting in an office doing work!? I think I would like to live in Europe and get a whole month off for vacation.





Obligatory family self portrait--the expression on Jonathan's face makes me happy:



Jonathan had his first go at miniature golf. Sadly, I do not think we have an aspiring Tiger Woods on our hands. He thought he rocked it, though.



We had a bit of whining from Jonathan over the course of the trip, which was tiring, but, overall, it was so nice to be able to spend tons of time together as a family. Now if only we could win the lottery so we can actually relocate to a beach climate--this is definitely a lifestyle to which I could become accustomed!

Vacay--First Stop, Rock City!

Seriously, this summer flew by like no one's business. How come you can NEVER say that about the winter months? Except for the holidays, February and March seem to last for an eternity but July and August pass with barely a blink of an eye! Maybe I need to add more winter activities to our schedule. Any ideas?

The second week of August, we took a family vacation to Destin, Florida. Since it's a bit of a drive and we have a four year old, we decided to split it up over two days. The first night we stayed in Chattanooga and visited Rock City the next morning. I have wanted to go every time I have seen the billboards off the interstate in western Kentucky and Tennessee. It's a bit cheesy, but in a good, campy way.

I wanted to buy this hat and dress Jonathan as a gnome for Halloween, but Bryan said that would be mean. But would it? Picture this face but with a white beard:



It's so handy to have a fourth person with us so that our little family can be in a photograph all at once! Bryan's mom came with us on this trip; having a grandmother with you on a family vacation is the best. thing. ever.



Signs like these were everywhere--how is this even physically possible?



This is what I meant by campy--LOVE IT!





Fairyland Caverns was one of the best parts. There were little gnomes tucked into the rocks in all sorts of places:





There was also a Mother Goose village where they depicted scenes from nursery rhymes along the way. culminating in a huge room with a display in the middle with pretty much every Mother Goose scene you can imagine. It was dark and lit up by black light. I adjusted the color on the pictures so you can, hopefully, get the idea:





Jonathan tried very hard to stay "in" the trail, but he became, understandably, quite frustrated:



In sum, Rock City totally rocked!

End of Summer Clean Up

We have decided to get on the ball with cleaning up around the house--we sure are some clutter gathering people! Our goal is to use one of those plans where you, hopefully, get to a point where you just have to do a bit of maintenance each day to keep everything looking good. I would prefer a cleaning service but getting braces pretty much nixed that option (not that Bryan was going to go for it anyway), at least for now. It's not that we are super messy people, it's just that the dust than cleaning!

So, in the spirit of organizing and bringing everything up to date, below are some pics that will bring us through the end of July, such that I can proceed with August over the next couple of days and then onto a clean slate, much like with our house. Hope it works! :)

One of the gigantic sunflowers that Bryan grew from seeds and planted in the backyard:



Jonathan's fourth birthday cake. Not what I would have picked but it's what he wanted. Thank goodness the Spongebob phase is waning. Oddly, he has been replaced by a love for iCarly. I don't get that one either.



Jonathan with his Nana and one of his favorite birthday gifts--a marble run.



Jonathan with another of his favorites--a Spiderman bike from my sister Laura and her husband Todd:



I took a cookie decorating class in July. It is at least as fun as cake decorating; I can't wait to make cookies for everyone this year. This one was my personal favorite:



Ah, now I need to go have a snack; looking at the baked goods made me hungry! Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and as good of a Monday as possible!