Father's Day 2017

This past weekend we got to celebrate Kevin and our dads on Father's Day.

Saturday evening, we went to church with us Matt and Ashton (a friend of Kevin's from work and his wife).  I requested that Kevin take some pictures with the kids at the little photo set up they had after service.  Kevin's parents met us in the church parking lot, and they took the kids back to our house and Kevin and I went with Matt and Ashton over to Henderson for the Blues Festival.  I don't think that's what they call it - but they have live blues music and several food booths to eat at.  It was really nice, the weather was perfect, and we had a lot of fun.  Kevin said he had the best mutton sandwich he's ever had.  It was a great way to kick off Father's Day weekend. 

Sunday morning, the kids woke Kevin up bright and early and were excited to give him his Father's Day gifts.  We picked him out new flip flops, a new cup for coffee, a blue fishing pole/lure/line, and a homemade #1 Dad tshirt (that the kids loved making!). We had a light breakfast because we had planned to eat brunch with my family. 

Allie made Kevin a card

Their favorite daddy!

We went to my parents house for lunch.  Everyone brought a couple dishes - I made a sausage/hashbrown/pepper casserole and banana muffins - and we had a delicious feast!  I said we should do this more often :)  We came home about lunch time and rested.  For dinner, we met Kevin's parents at China Village in Newburgh.  Kevin's dad loves Chinese and Kevin has always wanted to try China Village, so it was the perfect place to go.  I guess my afternoon nap left me brain dead because I forgot to take pictures during dinner. 

My brother, dad, and Kevin

My plate at brunch

I'm glad Kevin had a great day and we both got to see our dads!  I can't forget to mention that last Friday, Kevin got a hold of me while he was at work.  He thought he may have to leave to go to the hospital.  He got his hand smashed in a machine (not his fault - actually another employees fault).  He had no feeling in his hand for about 15 minutes, but while he was at the nurses station, he got feeling back.  The nurse had him do a series of stretches on his hand and determined nothing was broken.  When he got home, it was still very sore and swollen, and I wanted him to go get an x-ray just to make sure it was fine.  So we did.  The doctor told him nothing was broken but to take it easy, and he has, but the fishing and bike riding on Father's Day had to be postponed till his hand is fully healed and not sore!

Florida 2017

Last month we took a trip to Florida.  We went with my parents and Kevin's parents and rented a 4 bedroom town home on Scenic 98 in Miramar Beach.  It was a great vacation, and probably one of the first that we've taken and actually stayed on budget!  I thank our great location/views for the money we saved!  We were all so content sitting on the beach or sitting on the decks.  

We usually made breakfast and lunch at the condo, and we would eat out for dinner.  Several nights we went out for ice cream after dinner.  One afternoon the boys went to the pier to do some fishing, and the girls + Austin went to a nearby outlet mall to shop. 

One thing we did different this trip was we had the kids earn their spending money.  I think they each earned between $50-80.  They did odd jobs for grandparents, saved money from Easter egg hunts, and sold some things at our yard sale.  I LOVED doing this!  It made them really think about what they wanted to spend their money on, and it took out the "Mom, I want  ____" every store we went to!  Poor Allie may have thought about things too hard - she went days without buying anything and half way through the week, Kevin and I, along with Hayden, took her to another outlet mall to spend some of that hard earned money.  I think all the kids came home with some money, but having them earn it saved us from having to budget in spending money for them!  Win/Win!

I did take my digital camera, but 90% of the pictures I took, I used my iPhone... so here's our trip in iPhone pictures :)

We always get so excited to see the "Welcome to Florida" sign

Austin wearing his cool sunglasses - upside down

I'm sorry, but who taught my daughter to blow kisses at the camera?!

One of our daily breakfasts at the town house!

Our 1st morning at the beach - the kids and Kevin couldn't wait to get out there

I spy my cute family!

We had the best view

Unposed - I love it!  May need to frame this sister pic!

Krissy wore her swim cover up a lot the first day at the beach.  It was overcast and breezy and 80* didn't feel very warm!

She's a little fish

On lifeguard duty :)

The best sand castle I made.

Austin loved the sand and slowly as the week went on warmed up to the water.  He was also the sand monster that smashed every sand castle in sight!

The Bass Pro shop moved their giant shark to the other side of the store.  The kids always love seeing it!

These two look so grown up to me!

We have a similar picture that was taken 5 years ago when we just had the two of them!  (Krissy and Austin were back at the town home napping with grandparents!)

After our family pictures, we had dinner on the beach at Pompano Joes.  And Krissy had to wear her new wings!

After dinner views

One of the outtakes..

This was one of my favorites of the 4 of them!

Kevin really got into crab hunting.  The kids liked it too!

Blurry, but we tried!

This was the day that we had double red flags, which meant the water was closed and no one was allowed in.  They patrolled up and down the beach all day to make sure no one was in the water.  That was a first for us!

No water = lots of time to play in the sand :)

Had to do the foot picture!

The boys dug a huge, deep hole in the sand.

The girls built sand castles that Austin kept wrecking.

Double red flag!

We want to spend more time at Baytowne Wharf next time we go!  We ate at a restaurant that had live music.  The atmosphere was so nice!

Our best group picture!

The kids loved the playground at Baytowne Wharf

I had picked out Krissy's clothes for the evening and let her get herself dressed. Shortly after this picture we sat down for dinner and she told me she forgot to put on undies.  Normally it's not a big deal because she always wears shorts under her skirts and dresses, but she had nothing on under her skirt!  She was so embarrassed, and I was so embarrassed!  I had pushed her on the swings earlier at the playground and hoped she didn't flash anyone!  So every time I see this adorable picture of her, all I can think about is her forgetting undies! :-X

Allie loves climbing and loved her time at the playground!

We saw this adorable dog that the kids went nuts over.

Kevin and I went out for lunch together the day before we left.  He took me to the pier, we watched dolphins and birds.  The pier is one of my favorite places to go and watch!

The sunset the night before we left.

 On the way home, I broke out the fudge I bought from Kilwins!  I also bought a long sleeve shirt for the ride home because I'm always cold - and I had to have the floral Destin hat because I thought it was too cute!

As far as souvenirs, I bought a floral table cloth, a new pink cup, a couple dresses, my Destin hat and a couple t-shirts.  Kevin got a couple t-shirts too!

My New (Used) Van

We knew getting another vehicle was in our future, but we hadn't decided when we'd get one. While we were in Florida, we joked several times about trading off the Expedition and buying a van to drive back.  On the drive home, the check engine light came on, and our jokes soon became reality.  Kevin and I both felt like we should go ahead and start looking for another vehicle.  I had said I wanted a Tahoe, but after driving the Expedition the last several months, I knew I didn't want the big gas bills that come with the V8.  I decided I wanted another van.  I loved the blue Honda van I had last year so that's what we started searching for.
Our search lasted a couple weeks.  We started out looking at local car lots and Craigslist, but nothing fit our criteria (Honday Odyssey // 2011-? // Black // DVD player a major plus). About two weeks ago, I was doing laundry and Kevin came in the bedroom to tell me he found "the one".  It was in Clarksville, Tennessee on Craigslist and was everything we had said we wanted.  He showed me, I liked it, and Kevin called the owner.  The owner is in the military and his family was planning a big move to the mountains.  They needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle and he said they hoped to sell it before they moved.  All that sounded like it was in our favor.

The picture we saw on Craigslist

While Kevin was on the phone, we talked about driving down the next day to get it - but we got stuck on the price.  At that point the owner didn't want to come off his asking price at all.  I was doing online searches that told me it was worth less than he was asking, so I didn't want to give them their full asking price.  This conversation went back and forth for a couple days.  Two Saturdays ago, he texted to tell us they had another offer that was about what we offered, and he said if we'd come up a little, they'd come down a little, and they'd sell it to us.  Kevin and I talked and decided a few hundred dollars shouldn't keep us from getting the van if it's what we wanted.  We also went ahead and came up on our price because the van had brand new Goodyear tires that were put on a month ago, and came with the aftermarket rubber floor mats, and had the towing package.  They upgraded several things, and it seemed like a good buy.

Kevin called the owners and told him we were going to get a loan as soon as he got off the phone (this was like 11am) and we'd come get the van that evening.  I was a little skeptical about buying a van we hadn't seen in person, but the owners kept telling us it was so clean and it such great condition.  We took them at their word, got the loan, and drove 2 hours to Clarksville.

When we pulled up, the van looked great.  The owners showed us two tiny dings that were hardly noticeable, and then showed us the inside.  It was in "like new" condition like they had said.  Most of the vans we looked at previously were beat up because obviously families with kids use them.  This family had 2 kids that were older, so they weren't very hard on the interior.  I don't even think the 3rd row was used much at all.  They told us they had several people calling daily about the van (which I really do believe that), but they both really liked us and wanted us to get the van. 

We took it for a test drive knowing we were buying it.  We got back to their house, signed a bill of sale, gave them a check, got the title, and we headed home.  The van is SO NICE!  I laugh at the old Haley that said she'd never drive a minivan.  It's the nicest vehicle I've ever owned and I love it.  I'm planning on driving it for 100,000 miles and then I'll probably look for another one!  I told Kevin at this point in my life, I could see me driving a mini van forever!  And I'd be just fine with that :)

Kevin needed a drink for the road, so we pulled over to get that and a picture with the new van!

The next day, I drank a "Jamaican Me Happy" while I watched Kevin and the kids wash it :)

P.S.  We said no food or drinks allowed in the van, and so far so good!  The kids have been really following that rule because they love the new van too and want to keep it looking as good as it does.