A Big Week

A week ago yesterday, one of my besties had her first born, and I faked my way into the welcoming party as family. As the only non-related member of the waiting room crew, I did try to settle into the background, but I couldn't help myself when it came time to go meet Miss Rooney. I jumped in with the aunts because really I am Auntie Kate, right?! Anyways, I'm just so blown away by the beauty that is Rooney Bell, and I'm so thankful for the friendship her momma has brought me. 

Two days later, Wes and I hopped aboard a plane to Scottsdale, Arizona for a few days alone. If we weren't eating, we were in the pool. It was that kind of three days, and it was fabulous. We ate royally, and we relaxed pretty much the same way. Now, I wouldn't recommend a week of outdoor activities in Scottsdale for the end of June. Try January or something. It was HOT, and we knew that going into it. Like 110 hot, but my hair was gorgeous. No frizz, no humidity, and really close to the feeling of walking in an oven. That's why if we weren't eating, we were IN the pool. I did end up laying out for a bit, but I was in the shade drinking ice cold water. I got a maternity massage and shopped for hours without interruption. These are all things I can't do at home. It was a wonderful weekend, but we were kept sane by the stream of pictures we were getting from back home of our sweet girl with Mopsy and Popsy. 

We are still wading through our options on where to live after we move from here in a month, and I will easily say it's making me crazy, but I love knowing we are taking everything into consideration and praying for discernment and wisdom. 

Today is my birthday, and I started the day just like I start every other birthday if I have my choice. Reese and I went to the gym and then spent the morning out with friends. First up was Tales and Tunes for Toddlers at the library, then a short play time at the park followed by lunch at Pressroom and a take-home dessert crepe. Reese is just waking up from a 2 1/2 hour nap, and I'm just waking up from a 45 minute one. It's a glorious day. 

Happy June 27th, and enjoy our pictures from this big week we just finished!

Meeting Rooney.

The most natural momma out there.

Breakfast view our first morning.

YUM. EVERYTHING we ate was delicious. This was my crunchy french toast and bacon.

The entry to the resort.

IN the pool.

The outdoor sitting area of the resort...probably really busy in March...not so much in June.

The spa...ahhh.

Dinner at Chelsea's Kitchen. Oh. My. 

Reese was doing just fine back home on the ranch.

Yep. Just fine.

Dinner at BLT Steak. This was one of those meals that makes you tired you eat so well, and luckily we only had to walk about 2 minutes back to our room and into bed.

Laying out. In the shade.

This crazy guy wasn't bothered by the heat at all. 

Just taking in the resort.

Mommy-Daughter date to the Splash Park yesterday. It ain't so cool here in Arkansas either. Record high temperatures I believe.

Library story time. That's Reese in the white dress...and she wanted that stuffed red puppy dog.

A bit tired from our morning of play.

Reese and her buddies, Stella and Campbell.

Lunch time!

Hey, Y'all!

My Birthday date. (Please remember I started the day at the gym. I like to look cute on my birthday, but I even gave up drying and straightening my hair for our cookout tonight just now in order to nap. Other things take priority nowadays such as energy renewing gym time and rest.)

Pretty great dates for the morning, Campbell and Leah. Sad we didn't get a picture of Brooke, Stella, and Charlie together. yeah, Brooke got out looking so beautiful with both kids this morning, and I felt so honored. They met us everywhere but decided to head out at lunch time...Leah and I are crazy for taking our girls to Pressroom at lunch, but we can't resist that roast chicken salad. It's worth two screaming kids. Sorry to the other customers, and smart move, Brooke!

Newness

Here are the new things going on in our world...

1. Reese is now 21 months old, LOVES baby dolls, plays so well on her own, is going to sleep a little later at night, talks all the time which I know can be so frustrating for both of us seeing that I can't understand some of the things she tries to tell me, still uses mostly single words with a few two word phrases thrown in that I think she believes are only one word, has some crazy curly hair, is in that screaming phase, loves to read her Bible and all of her books for that matter, loves greeting her Daddy when he comes home and watering the plants with him, snuggles with Mommy when she's tired, adores wrestling on the big bed with Mommy and Daddy, and melts our hearts every day. She LOVES to jump, dance, and I think she's turning into quite the ham. She is strong-willed, opinionated, and quite vocal about it. She loves well, and she is well loved.

2. I'm 28 weeks pregnant with B-Dub. That's 7 months and into the 3rd trimester. I feel pretty great, and I've been comparing pictures to when I was prego with Reese, and I look pretty much the same, too. Gaining weight like a champ, but feeling good and active. One difference? This little guy moves like CRAZY compared to his big sister.

3. We have a contract on our house! It happened so quickly and smoothly it's hard to believe. However, we set our closing date at August 1st thinking that the house we wanted wouldn't be available until then, and once we saw the inside of the house, I wasn't in love any more. Now we are weighing the options and possibly leaning towards building a house! We think we can rent in the same neighborhood we would build in which would be so nice. This decision won't be made until at least next week because the builder is on vacation. We are just praying for discernment and a clear direction from the Lord. We want our next home to be a place full of worship, fellowship, and glorifying Him. We want it to be welcoming, cozy, warm, inviting, and unique. And we also want it to have good resale value.

Before I go, here are two pictures of my man and my girl from Father's Day. 

  

Our Week at the Beach

 We just got home this morning from a fabulous week at the beach with the whole Walker family. Due to the high volume of pictures, I'll just narrate as we go...

Preparing for the glaring sun with some cool shades the week before we left.

We couldn't stop in Conway without a visit with Mopsy and Popsy and a trip to ZaZa's for salad and pizza.

Our 12 hour car ride got pretty interesting. We woke Reese up at 4am, and she didn't go back to sleep until 3:02pm. She was exceptional given the circumstances.

Gran and all of her girl grands, and then the two boys jumped in for a quick pic.

First pool time of the season. 

We stayed in an incredible house which was part of a small community in Seagrove, Florida. It was PERFECT for us.

 Just relaxing on the beach.

Momma and Reese. We had so many sweet moments this week, and we made a ton of great memories as a family.

Let's do this! She loved the ocean the first few days but then got a little hesitant of the waves. 

The water was the clearest I've ever seen it. It was beautiful.

A little "me time" on the beach during one of Reese's naps.

Getting ready to go see a play on the Seaside great lawn.

The Walker Brothers.

Our girl LOVES jewelry, so she borrows my necklaces and bracelets quite often.

The Walker Sisters.

Reason #1 I don't dry my hair at the beach: It goes CRAZY after 2 minutes in the humidity. This picture does NOT do my hair justice.

My little girl inherited my hair, but at her age, the curls are adorable and style very cutely on their own.

The beauty of going on a trip with a group: TWO date days with my man. 

Date #1: Great Southern for breakfast...

...and a trip through Seaside Farmers Market.

Swim lessons with Daddy and Gran. 

The big girls watching the play with our babysitter Charley.

The beauty of bringing a babysitter along on the trip: Date nights with adults only.

The Red Bar in Grayton Beach. I tried not to insist on this restaurant, but I'm SO glad it was the chosen place to eat. One of my all-time favorites.

Soaking up time with my sisters-in-law and talking theology and education.

Reese was an EARLY riser all week. How about a 4:30 wake up? That morning we took the two early risers to Publix when it opened at 7 for a "mid-morning" outing.

Reese and Daddy LOVED their pool time together. And I LOVED watching them every day. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Attempts at some family portraits. Reese had just busted her lip, and her bedtime had come and gone, so I would consider these pictures successful. However, she wouldn't let us put her down to get some pictures of just her in her sweet dress. Oh well.

Ice Cream date at Heavenly in Seaside.

Best time of the day for beach play? 5:30-7pm. Perfection in my book.

Walking the trails at Watercolor.

Starting our 6pm beach time. Hint: Feed kids at 5, play for a couple of hours at the beach, and then put babies to bed before adults eat dinner. Big kids play upstairs during adult dinner. So glad I have some smart sisters-in-law to figure this one out for us.

Hanging by the pool. It was a huge bonus to have our pool within 20 seconds of our front door and on the way to the beach. Plus, the pool water was the perfect temp. MAJOR plus.

Date day #2 with my husband: A trip to Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach with a stop at George's in Alys for lunch. Delicious. I had the salmon BLT wrap with red rice and lemon quinoa, and of course I chose the warm chocolate goo with vanilla gelato for dessert.

More from our walk at Watercolor.

7pm.

Last night in Seaside. We all ate from the food carts, shopped, and watched The Muppets on the lawn. 

The trip really was so great and relaxing, and we are so blessed to have a family who loves each other the way mine does. Each couple made dinner one night, and then we had two date nights without babies/big kids. Plus, each couple got two date days. Wes, Reese, and I took two afternoons to go and do a few things as a family, and I loved our little family time. We outlet shopped, shopped Seaside, and got ice cream. Reese loved saying all of her cousins' names, taking everyone his or her blanket, cup, shoes, etc., and dancing to any music that was being played in the house. Now that we are back home, we are trying to catch up on laundry and get the house back in shape to show it tomorrow afternoon after I teach VBS all morning. It's going to be a great and crazy week, and if I have time, I'll do some research and planning for our next beach trip.