Sugar Sand and Crystal Clear:)

Oh boy did we ever have a TOTAL BLAST last week in Destin. Oh, how we've missed the sugar white sand, the beautiful crystal clear water and the condo:) Can you believe it's been 3 1/2 years since we had been to the condo?? It was so easy getting there when we lived in the wonderful state of Mississippi, but my have times changed. After driving from "our beach" to another beach and spending 10 very long hours in the car together.....when our feet hit the sand the next day Patrick and I both looked at each other with huge smiles on our faces and said, "The drive was well worth it baby!!" Oh, and I might add that Walkman was a complete ANGEL in the car!! We could not have asked for a better trip with him.

The second best thing from visiting the sugar white sand and the crystal clear water was seeing POPS and JULES!! Yes, that's right we were able to spend the week with Pops and Jules. We were so excited to see them. I guess you could say the "crazy" Ransdell's crashed Pops and Jules' week of relaxation and added a 100% nonstop fun to their week:) Pops and Jules helped us out so much and we were actually able to spend some time on the beach relaxing and reading our books without chasing Walkman from the pool to the beach. I actually told another mommy friend the other day that I picked up my first summer book a few weeks ago and thought to myself, "Do I even know how to read a book anymore"..LOL!

Walker absolutely LOVES the pool. He was a total pro with his swimmies on. He also enjoyed watching the other children in the pool. One day he refused to wear his swimmies, so Pops swears it's because of the big girls in the pool:)

We built holes in the sand, turtles, crabs and sandcastles. Walker was more interested in sitting in his hole or chasing the sea gulls. That was a big hit for him. He didn't understand why they always flew away, but he never gave up. If you ask him what a sea gull says he will say, "Cau Cau" and flap his arms...so stinkin' cute!

If there is water Walker will find it. I thought he would be soaked before dinner if I didn't get him away quickly from the fountain. It was like a stand off with him. Jules and I couldn't make any sudden moves or he probably would have sat in the water. After we ate dinner it started to rain and Walker had so much fun running around in the rain and holding the umbrella.

We can't thank Pops and Jules enough for such a wonderful well rested relaxing vacation. Jules stayed with Walker every afternoon while he napped and even woke up with him most mornings bright and early at 5:30am. I think she really enjoyed their early morning walks on the beach with breakfast:)

This kid absolutely loves milkshakes or as he calls them, "Shake Shake". If we would let him he would have a "shake shake" ten times a day:) and he can finish the entire thing!

We are so lucky to have a beautiful place on the beach to call home and most importantly a place where family can all come together to make long lasting FOREVER memories!!

Happy 4th!

We had a wonderful 4th of July LONG weekend. The festivities started early on Friday morning when we attended Walker's school parade. It was so fun watching all the kids. Walker is not quite big enough yet to ride his tricycle/bicycle, but next year his bicycle will be decorated and ready to go:)

This is Walker's new class lined up ready to go. Walker is in the very back holding Christiana's dads hand. He has two teachers, Miss Tina is in the front of the line and Miss Tommie is in the back in the white shirt.

Friday night we enjoyed our neighborhood friends at happy hour. Since the beginning of summer all of our friends in the neighborhood meet for drinks and appetizers around 5:30pm in our neighbors yard. It's great because the adults enjoy yummy food and cocktails while the kids run wild. Happy hour last a few hours and before you know it it's time to go home and straight to bed we all go:) I have yet to remember to bring my camera, but I promise I'll post some pictures of the gang soon. We are truly so lucky to have such great neighbor friends!

Saturday we headed to the beach bright and early. Sorry, forgot my camera again. I promise a lot of fun was had by Walker splashing in the waves. H also got a thrill out of Daddy building him a big hole in the sand to sit in. After the beach we all headed back for nap time before heading over to The Hatchell's for a cookout.

Walker is actually laughing in the picture. They had a blast with the spray beach ball.

The kids had so much fun splashing in the pool. Annika was trying to teach the little kids how to play Mother May I.

Sunday we headed to church. Don't you love how we match and we didn't even know it until I looked at Patrick in the car and said, "Oh my, we match:)" Just a side note, Walker refuses to wear anything but his Crocs, Sperry's and his tennis shoes. He will absolutely not wear his scandals. I've tried to trick him and put his scandals on while watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse. Nope, he says, "No Mommy, tennis shoes". To hear him say tennis shoes is pretty funny. One more side note, you know how much he loves tractors. Well, he is really good at differentiating between garbage trucks, cranes, dump trucks, cement trucks, bulldozers and backhoes. Well, when he says the word "backhoe" it sounds like "butthole". We have the BEST time with all of our friends listening to him say "backhoe". We laugh every time and he looks at us like whats so funny:):)

After our naps we went to our 2nd families house to play in the pool and cookout. We had so much fun. Each time we go the pool gets more and more fun for Walker. It's also so nice to have sweet McKenzie to help us. We had so much fun and can't wait until next time. You all are so good to us and we can't thank you enough for always including us in the family:) We love all of you!!

On Sunday night we headed back home to host our neighborhood friends for dessert and fireworks. Everyone brought their favorite desserts and favorite fireworks. The party started about 8pm and sparklers began about 8:45pm. Walker loved playing with the sparklers. A little after 9pm we headed to the culdesac behind our house for the BIG fireworks. The dads put on a great show for everyone. It was a lot of fun to see all the kiddos having a blast. Walker wasn't a big fan of the loud fireworks. He didn't cry, but held on to me for dear life. He definitely broke a night time record..heading to bed about 10pm and as always woke us up at 6:30am:)

Monday morning Walker and I headed to the beach to meet Kristy, JD, Baby Allison, Abby and Peyton for a play date. Each time we go we have so much fun. These boys are a hoot together. It is so funny to watch them. The moms always have such a great time and yes, we do get to relax a little and have "big girl" conversations:) It's amazing how many people stop by to say something about the three of them. We are three lucky moms to have such three beautiful little boys!!

As you can tell we had a very busy long weekend, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!! I hope all of you had just as much fun. I can't wait to celebrate America's birthday next year!

So Proud....

When I picked Walkman up this afternoon at school I found this hanging above his cubbie. Yea, I was so excited for him. This has been a tough 2wks for him with his birthday, being sick, Moppy visiting, moving up to the BIG 2 year old room and Moppy coming back to visit and Mommy and Daddy going out of town. He definitely had a harder time adjusting to his new room and it broke my heart every time I dropped him off, because he would cry and cry. He has really never cried before. The reason for getting the Teddy Bear Award this week is because he went all week without shedding one tear when I left the room...YEA! I am so proud of him. This morning his teacher and I were shocked because he said, "Down Mommy, bye bye Mommy." Holy cow...Mrs. Tommie and I both looked at each other in shock:) He loves his new class so much, it just took a while to finally adjust! Good job buddy...we are SOOOO proud of you!!