Very Vera!

Check out my Ali Grace who's growing up way too quickly. She wants you to check out her new Vera Bradley bag for school. Ali Grace seldom asks for ANYTHING name brand, so when she asked for a Vera purse, we felt compelled to get her one! Isn't she a doll?

And just check out her little circa 1985 side pony tail. I just love her to pieces.

My daddy came home from the hospital today and in our excitement I forgot to take a single picture.  Addie woke up wailing in the middle of the night last night saying she had a bad dream. I asked her what her dream was about and she said "Mama I don't want to speak of it". I didn't ask her anymore and I don't know if it had a thing to do with her missing her Poppy but I do know she's been all out of sorts this weekend while he was in the hospital. We had a great dinner tonight and it was awesome to have the old man back home on the Ponderosa!

The Story of Us

Today marks 12 years Pete and I have put up with each other. I say that because I really think God puts you with someone for a reason. Since none of us are perfect, I think if you let Him, he'll find you someone who makes you a little closer to perfect.  

Pete and I met at the University of Georgia in the Spring of 1997. I had graduated early and started graduate school. Pete was... well... having a good time and enjoying everything the great University had to offer. When I tease him about not graduating nearly on time, he reminds me that had he graduated one quarter earlier, we never would have met. 'Tis true. We ended up student teaching together at the same high school. Long story short. We were working late in the livestock barn. It was cold. He loaned me his gloves. The rest is history. 

Don't think for a second I don't want to beat him to a pulp sometimes! But most of the time, he really floats my boat, plays my piano, peels my banana... you get the picture. 

Here's a few reasons why I love him... in pictures.

He loves golf, even when golf doesn't love him...

He can hook up the lights on a christmas tree like no other!

He is a GREAT daddy!

He keeps up our family traditions... here he is juicing oranges around Christmas time a few years ago.

He can build anything. Here's the shelves he built in Addie's closet in our house in Effingham.

He loves his Mama. That was VERY important to me. I would never have married a man who was not nice to his Mama! When I first met her, I listened to every single word they said to each other. No lie. He loved his grandma too. She spoiled him because he was the oldest grandchild.

Did I mention he's a great daddy?

He plays in the ocean... but not just in Florida!

In North Carolina....

and in South Carolina.... (The more I look, the more I think this may have been in NC as well, but you get the picture)...

It's been a great 12 years. 

A lady of forty-seven who had been married twenty-seven years and has six children knows what love really is and once described it for me like this: 'Love is what you've been through with somebody.'James Thurber

Reality Check!

I don't know if there's a single soul who had a better summer than Ali Grace and Addie Belle Bennett! They are blessed with two exceptional sets of grandparents who really did it up with them this summer. As if they weren't lucky enough, they ended up with a "Nanny 2" with my mom's twin sister, Aunt Bonnie. After a fabulous 4th of July weekend with a huge chunk of our family here, we took off to Palm Bay and spent the week with Nanny 2 and Uncle Carlos. They live minutes from the beach. The girls had a grand time swimming in every pool in the neighborhood and splashing away up and down the strip from Satellite Beach all the way to Cocoa. While there, we took advantage of Nanny 2's awesome sewing machine and the girls got new EBA appliqued shirts. Nothing short of fabulous. 

The next week, the girls went to Pete's cousin's wedding and then on to Palm Coast with their OTHER grandparents! We had a fabulous time and the girls loved playing with their cousins Carson, Emma, Sarah, and Annabelle. 

The girls seem to have no lasting effects of the blue/orange exposure. 

Check out Aunt Janet and the pirates ready for Treasure Night in Palm Coast!

Lyles Great-Grands.. (Wouldn't Great Mama be soooooo proud??)  

Anyone who knows us well, knows our calendar in the pantry. It's what keeps us sane since we have to contend with 3 different school schedules- Jenkins County, Jefferson County and Edmund Burke Academy. It gets a little wild around here sometimes! I go back to work on Friday. Pete goes back a week later and the girls go back a week later than that! I think I got that straight. Can you already see a need for our huge calendar? Tonight Addie Belle got out the clorox wipes and wiped down the calendar. It was kind of sad to see the summer dates go: Cheer camp, Vacation Bible School, Giles visit, Palm Bay, Palm Coast, etc... But it's always exciting to add new things to the calendar. The girls aren't very excited about starting back to school, but once back to school shopping gets into full swing I'm sure they'll come around. Retail therapy does a lot for your attitude. I believe that. :)

Sweet Surfer Girls

When Nanny bought the girls boogie boards on a whim, we never thought they'd get so much use out of them. Both girls LOVED the ones Nanny bought and literally after a week at the beach, wore them completely out. Pete went out and bought them another more heavy duty model and hopefully they'll last  the 2nd week at the beach!  My 2 surfer girls have had ONE HECK of a summer!

A Gator Wedding

 

The girls were SO excited to get to be in Bert and Erin's wedding today! Despite the fact that they had to wear orange and blue, they all looked just beautiful. I could not get over how grown up Ali Grace looked.

 The Bennett girls tried their very best to teach the Gator fans a few lessons before the wedding. They even resorted to drawing pictures rather than using words, but it really was a lost cause.  :)

After the ceremony, everyone danced and had a great time. The BEST part of the evening  was when the Georgia girls busted out their red sashes to replace the orange and blue ones. Special thanks to Aunt Jess for secretly sewing them for us! Pete told everyone that the orange and blue sashes were causing a rash on the children and that they had to change into red!

 

 Addie chose to wear her red sash in her hair! She is so lucky! Last week her Nanny taught her to surf! THIS week her Granny is teaching her to do the cha cha slide!

Congratulations Erin and Bert! We had a wonderful time! 

Now, we're looking forward to spending a few more days at the beach and then it's back to reality!

CooCoo in Cocoa!

We have had a WONDERFUL time so far in Palm Bay....too good a time to stop and blog! The kids have had a wonderful time in the pool and at the beach. Since the girls got a little burned yesterday we decided to avoid the beach until dusk today. After dinner at the Lobster Shanty and a quick trip to Ron Jon in Cocoa Beach, we let the kids play on the beach for awhile. Daddy and Pete are coming down tomorrow and we're looking forward to dinner with friends. 

Mama, Bonnie and Beth did some sewing today while I took a nap on the sofa! I am useless when it comes to sewing. They doctored on Ali's flower girl dress and started on her peace sign dress. She's thrilled about it. 

Hoping to take the kids to the beach in the morning and then run back into Melbourne historic district to pick up a bead necklace Ali Grace just HAD TO HAVE custom made today.  She is really something lately. One minute she wants to play with the younger kids and the next minute she's too cool for them. Watching her grow up so quickly is getting harder and harder!

 

The best part of this week so far has been watching the kids play with Nanny and Aunt Bonnie. They have had a ball. Colten told Nanny today "I'm glad I'm here."  So sweet.