Beach Vacation 2017

Get ready for picture overload.    We just got back from a long weekend with our friends in Pensacola.  We're so thankful that they welcome us with open arms and take such great care of us when we visit.  My only request was a family picture of us on the beach not in swimsuits and Patrick's only request was dinner at Cobalt.  Luckily we managed to kill two birds with one stone the night we arrived and got some sweet pictures of our little family while we waited for our table at Cobalt.

Love these people!

Sister wasn't so happy about the situation.

She was not happy about the sand.  At this point I was thinking the weekend was going to be long if she couldn't stand the sand on her feet.

Barrett is growing so very fast.  He's still very much a little boy and he still kisses me and wants me to hold him, but he's also independent and can entertain himself.  It's a little bittersweet.

Our fearless leaders for the weekend.  They are saints to drag a giant tent to the beach so our babies didn't burn up.  They grilled better shrimp and steak that most restaurants and pretended they didn't hear our kid when they woke up at 6:30 every morning.  We always have such a great time with them and this weekend was no different.

Daddy's girl.  If she said "Daddy" once she said it 10,000 times.  It was both sweet and infuriating at the same time. 

Love these sweet babies.

She may say "daddy" a million times a day but she didn't want out of Mama's arms.

 

Until we got to the patio behind the restaurant.  Then she wanted to run as fast as she could making everyone nervous she was going to end up in the water.

Checking out the sunset!

The Air Show was this weekend.  They had a practice show on Friday and the real show was Saturday.  We opted to catch the practice show in hopes it wouldn't be as crowded.  Finding a place to park was a little tricky but we found a spot and made our way to the beach.  AveryAnn was just there for the snacks.

He hates loud noises so we got some noise cancelling headphones for him to wear. He was ready for the show.

Barrett wouldn't swim in the ocean without one of us. 

Miss Priss was dancing and having the best time.

We saw a few planes fly when we started to hear a little thunder rumbling.  We made our plans for when it got bad.  I was in charge of getting the kids to the car and my giant beach bag and the other three grabbed everything else.  (I got out easy on this one.)  Well I saw a lightening bolt and that was our que.  The kids and I headed to the car to see what would happen.  It wasn't much longer before everyone headed up.  It was raining and just gross.  We decided to call it a day and head back to the house.  We were sad we didn't get to see the Blue Angels fly but it wasn't worth waiting out the storm.  We decided to grill shrimp for dinner and it did not disappoint.

AveryAnn loved the corn on the cob.  I ate so much shrimp.  It was so good.

Day two we headed back out to the beach.  Another day, another snack.

Patrick was holding Barrett and she was so jealous.

Barrett enjoyed the sand but he wasn't too sure about the water unless we were with him.

I'm not proud of this but every time I sat down an empty can, she'd grab it and turn it up.

Matching swimsuits for life!  Barrett and I got out of the ocean and when we got back to the tent there were about 10 dolphins swimming around.  They stayed for the longest time and Barrett was so excited about it. 

All the boat traffic coming back from the Air Show.  It was crazy. 

We decided to grill a "Surf & Turf" for dinner and once again it was amazing. 

I got up and went to Mass Sunday morning and then we went to brunch at Fisher's.  It was so good.  I really wanted the shrimp and grits but I had the steak and eggs instead and it was delicious. 

I had to have Carla snap some pictures in our matching brunch outfits. 

She was so proud to be sitting on the swing.

Our last day AveryAnn finally decided the sand wasn't so bad after all.  She carried that bucket all around us.

Carla and Tony went to the restroom and on their way back to the sand they found 3 painted rocks.  One of them had two dolphins on it and Barrett quickly claimed that one.  He said it reminded him of the dolphins we saw the last time we were at the beach (the day before).  Carla kept one and we decided to hide the other one.  We hid it at the restaurant where we had dinner.  (Someone posted today they found it, Barrett was so excited!)  People recently started doing this in our area and now we're so excited to paint some rocks to hide.

Sand babies. 

We went to Sunset Grill for dinner.  It was yummy and the perfect ending to the weekend.  I let AveryAnn down at the end of our meal and she was walking around visiting with all the tables. 

We got up this morning and started getting ready to head home.  I think AveryAnn's got this relaxation thing down.  We were sad to leave but it's good to be home.  My uncle recently got moved to a VA assisted living home not far from Pensacola so we made a quick stop there to visit him.  It was good to see him and he just laughed and laughed at the kids.  There were several men sitting out in the halls and they all just had a fit over the kids.  It was a really nice visit with all the people we met.

We're back home, back to the routine.  I love the beach, but it's good to be home!

July 4th

We came home from the lake Sunday night and started getting ready for the week.  Patrick was off Monday, but I had to work.  That night Barrett and I read our 100th book of the summer!  We were so proud.

Tuesday, we headed to the Davis' house to swim with friends.  The weather was a little spotty but we had a really fun day!

My girl and me! 

The boys swam in the rain.  They thought it was so great!

Brittany gave AveryAnn piggy tails.  They were so cute!

I love this picture of Patrick and AveryAnn.

I didn't get many pictures of Barrett.  He was too busy doing flips off the diving board.  This was the second swimming trip he's gone off the diving board and he was doing flips.  He saw one of the dads do a back flip and he walked up and turned around and did a back flip.  We were all shocked.  Even the other moms because they remember last summer when he would barely get off the steps.  Well one of the boys got wind that I could do a back flip so I was peer pressured by a bunch of 4 year olds to do one.  I did it a few times and when I came up Barrett said, "I'm so proud of you mommy, you did so good!".  Hopefully I secured my spot as a cool mom.  We had the best time watching him.  He swam for probably 8 hours.  He wanted to do one more back flip and when he did he hit his back on the board.  He of course cried and I know it hurt, but then he was so sweet and asked if he could go just one more time. You know we let him because I didn't want him to be scared and he did a front flip.  We were so proud that he did it again and wasn't scared.

These boys were so sweet.  We missed a few of our friends but we had so much fun!

Wednesday Weigh-In

So this week has been one party after another.  Food, food everywhere.  Luckily it's a grilling holiday so there is plenty of protein available.  But there's also amazing sides like potato salad, baked beans, mac & cheese and desserts. Oh the desserts. I know this sounds ridiculous but I am so proud of myself for sticking to this.  There was a cheesecake that smelled heavenly, but I resisted.  I didn't cheat at all.  I drank a few beers but I counted them in my macros and ate less carbs to make it work.  (I know some hard core Keto people say alcohol is a no  no, but I've decided I can let myself have anything as long as it fits in my macros.  I'm not saying  this is the right or wrong way, It's just my way and I'm still in Ketosis and losing weight so it works for me.) 

When I started this three weeks ago I told myself (and Brittany) I'd do it for three weeks. That would take me right to our beach trip and there was no way I'd be tied down to a "diet" while I was on vacation.  I'd decide when I got back if I'd get back on or not.  Well my how three weeks can change everything.  I've made the decision I'm going to try my best to stay keto while we're on vacation.  The only thing I worry about is alcohol and after this weekend I think I'll be fine.  I love grilled shrimp and veggies so I won't be missing out on seafood.  Our friends that we stay with grill the best seafood on the coast so I'm sure I'll be fine!  I love to snack on the beach but I'm going to get some keto friendly snacks for the beach.  I really think I can stick too it.  If I can't I'm not going to sweat it.  But I really think I can.  I just don't want to gain back everything I've lost.  This is not our last beach trip ever.  I'll be able to drink margaritas next time.  It's just not worth ruining my progress so far.  Speaking of progress...here's this weeks weigh-in.

-2.4lbs for this week. (44lbs to go)

I'll take it, especially when I don't feel like I've been as strict this weekend.  I've still stayed within the macros but I've been choosing foods that aren't as great as I could be choosing.  Still better than what I would have chosen in the past.  

I'm still feeling great too.  My energy has been a little less this week but I think that has more to do with staying up too late.  I've had a few mood swings that were less than ideal but for the most part I feel great.  I've been able to wear some clothes I haven't worn in two years.  That is so encouraging.  I've still got a ways to go but I'm so excited about the progress. 

The inches are slowing down some but I'm still seeing progress so that's encouraging.  I also suspect the beer added a little bloat this week.   But for three weeks I'm very pleased.  I'm not sure what next week will look like.  Hopefully I'll be able to stick to it and see some results but as long as I don't go backwards I'll be happy.  Thank you for following along on this little journey of mine. 

For  your viewing pleasure, I was peer pressured (by a bunch of 4 year olds) into doing a backflip off the diving board.  Happy Fourth of July!

Independence Day Pregame

We've had the best weekend leading up to the July 4th holiday.  It's always a little weird when the day off is in the middle of the week but we've made the most of it.  Friday night we planned to go to the movie in the park but it got rained out.  So instead we went to the Moore's house and grilled out and the boys played.  We stayed up way to late and laughed way to much.  It was much needed and it felt so good.  Saturday, Patrick got up and went to a job and I did all the laundry.  It was as much fun as it sounds.  We decided we'd go to Mass Saturday night and then went to dinner after.  We haven't been out to eat as a family of four too many times.  AveryAnn was fussy and not happy all through Mass and then while we were decided where to eat.  We almost decided to just get take out and go home but Barrett kept saying "I want to eat at the place."  He didn't care what place, he just meant he wanted to go in the restaurant.  So we went in and it was actually fun.  AveryAnn was good and Barrett was too.  It was a fun family night out. 

We woke up Sunday and headed to the lake for the day!  It was so much fun! We had the best time sitting around talking and watching the kids play.

Not sure why Patrick didn't make the picture but here's a picture of me and my babies!

Barrett & Jackson rode in that paddle boat all day.  I remember when my Granddaddy bought that paddle boat.  I wasn't much older than Barrett.  We've made a lot of memories in that little blue boat.  I know my granddaddy would be so proud to see his great grandkids enjoying it too. 

Barrett with those goggles owns me. 

Love this one of some of the "big" cousins with the little cousins.

We had a little rain and I thought I'd just wait it out under the pop-up tent.  Lets just say the rain picked up as did the volume.  We laughed and laughed. 

My uncle took this "selfie" of everyone in the tent.  He's not in any of the pictures.  We tried to explain that to make it a selfie he had to be in the picture. 

It was a fun time for sure.  We're thinking about making tshirts "tent survivors".

These two swam all day long.  They cried when it was time to get out and go home.  I'm hoping we can go back and spend the night this summer at least once. 

We came home got baths and crashed.  We're looking forward to the 4th of July with friends and then vacation this weekend!