I Still Want to Win!

Madsen is still conducting a weekly giveaway for their bikes. You can help me out by coming back, daily, weekly, hourly, whatever, and clicking on the banner on the right side of the blog. I know my chances are few, but if I won - well, that would just be it.

Click away!

Today I am thankful for rainy days. I just wish we could have napped this afternoon instead of making a trek to Wal-mart.

Hmm, how to begin?

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 79.

My dad passed away on March 9 of this year. Over and over I have thought about writing about him, but I just never knew where to start.

I could start with how I thought it was so cool when he drove his mail truck home during the day. It was fun to get up in there and take a look around. It smelled like mail. Or I could write about how he was a loud talker, which was sometimes embarrassing, but could also be helpful when searching for him in a store.

I could write about how passersby would stop to talk to him about his yard and how he got his flowers and garden to flourish and look so nice. Unfortunately, I did not inherit this green thumb. I could write about how when I was younger, and we went to the mall as a family, I hung out with dad. It was inevitable that we'd make a trip to Sears and, at my urging, KB Toys.

There are so many things I could write about, but mostly I just wanted to remember him today.

Today I am thankful for my dad. Even though we didn't always see eye to eye (and at times that could be often!), and even though he didn't always know how to express it, I know he loved me very much.

Picnicin'

Today we went on a picnic. As small as Wewa is, there are quite a few little parks in and around the area. This afternoon we lunched and watched the fish at one park and then headed to another to let Addie try out another swing. This time, we were a wee bit more successful. In fact, Addie really enjoyed it. So much so, now I am on the hunt for one, along with (STILL) a play yard/playpen/pack 'n play.

She started out munching on some pureed peaches, assuming the face she wears when eating baby food, which usually means biting her bottom lip, allowing no spoon or food to enter. Eventually, either after great aerobatic feats by myself, or simply waiting patiently (Sabian), she'll open and eat. This is a work in progress - we started with baby food a couple of weeks ago and are still working on it.

After peaches and a couple of sandwiches for us and much swatting at the love bugs, we accidentally scared away a crane, watched the fish off of the little covered bridge, took some photos, and then made our way to the next park to do some swinging by the lake.

I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.








I am thankful that my husband suggested we go on a picnic today. It's been a busy week and we're on the threshold of another busy week, so it was good to have this time.

Buggy, Birdy Beach

Addie spent the afternoon with her dad today, hanging out at church while he worked.

I spent the afternoon at my "other" office:

The above photo is actually a personal "stock" photo - it was a rare occasion that I was without my camera today. While we have two cameras, I left mine, which is a little easier to tote around, in the diaper bag with Sabian and Addie in the event that he needed to capture something while they were together.

If I had taken a picture today, you would have seen sunny skies, calm seas, a few pelicans and a smattering of seagulls. There were quite a few birds milling about today and even though I didn't break out my snacks (I know better when they are near), the seagulls are none too shy. Truth be told, I thought about stashing my camera in my bag but thought twice when I figure I'd just be taking the same old picture of the same old view. But, I realized once I was there, that the view does change. The water might be clear one day and cloudy the next. There might be several birds wandering around, like today, or there may be none. I might see a cloudless sky one week, and an abundance of clouds the next. Not to get all smushy and sentimental, or even too introspective, but I realized that I was doing just what I'd said I didn't want to do by living here - I was taking advantage of the luxury I have of living close to the beach.

I realize that aside from the "normal" getaways moms take for a break - shopping, movies, meals out with friends, etc. - I am blessed to be able to have these couple of hours a week to myself, enjoying the serenity of the sand and water, this particular aspect of God's creation. It's hard to not take it for granted. After all, for those of you from home, do you hit up the Arch on a regular basis? It is a simple thing, choosing to not take my camera with me today, but it brought to light that I was doing what I didn't want to do, and as long as I am here, I want to appreciate being able to take these regular visits to the beach.

I digress. As great as the beach is, today it was more than just birds that were my fellow beachcombers - the bugs were also taking advantage of the beautiful day. For the past few years we would save our trips from Illinois to the beach for the fall season, usually October. The beaches are less crowded and the weather is usually pretty unbelievable. It is also at this time of year that one will often become well acquainted with flies - biting flies. More pesky than your common house fly, these flies peck away at your skin, testing your will to outlast them for a tan. They weren't the worst I've seen (or felt) them today, but they did make their presence known. Different people have different theories and methods for keeping them at bay, but to date, I don't know of a surefire recommendation.

To be fair, this is not an accurate depiction of the flies on the beach, but I couldn't help but post this photo because it looks like this guy is wearing sunglasses.

Right after Sabian and I were engaged, way back in 2005, we took a trip to the Destin area and stayed with some of my relatives. It was Sabian's first time to the area and his first introduction to these biting beach wreckers. One day it got so bad that he took his book and stood in the water to read in an effort to escape them. I opted to lay on my towel covered, head to toe, with another towel. Not good for my hopes of a tan. I tried to find the photo I took of him in the water (one of my best to date) and was unable to find it. I did, however, find this one:

That's me on that trip, shielding my skin from their wrath. On a side note I also found these photos from that trip:



Crazy kids. We buried ourselves just for fun, but thinking back on it, I suppose that would be another method for keeping the biting flies away.

Other friends on the beach today were love bugs. Do you know of these? If you've never had the pleasure of coming in contact with them, count yourself lucky. I first experienced them this time last year and have been annoyed ever since.

I suppose it is that time of year again and I am none too happy about it. These bugs are weird. Just check out what Wikipedia says:

"The male and female attach themselves at the rear of the abdomen and remain that way at all times, even in flight. In fact, after mating, the male dies and is dragged around by the female until she lays her eggs."

So here you are, minding your own business, and these bugs are drifting around you, in swarms, mating. Not only that, and I'm just learning this part, there may be some females dragging around their deceased partners. I'm not kidding, these things travel in packs and can surround you before you know it. Then, it's just too late.

In spite of the bugs and flies, it was a good afternoon. I am thankful that Addie and Sabian enjoyed their afternoon together. I am also thankful that due to commitments we've had every night this week, I haven't had to make dinner...even once.

Speaking of love bugs, how cute is this little bug?!

When Grandma Comes to Town

Last Thursday night Sabian's mom flew in to spend the long weekend with us...and boy were her arms tired! Ha.

As mother-in-laws go, she is one of the easiest house guests you will ever have - up for anything and simply happy to hang out. We spent her first full day here with a few hours at the beach; it was a perfect day to be out there. Surprisingly, the beach was not yet crowded for the holiday weekend and it was sunny, but not too hot. We were treated to a show by several dolphins that came very close to shore, as well as about a dozen pelicans that were fishing almost the entire time we were out there.

As indicated by the many photos we have taken, Addie has had several trips to the beach but we usually get out there around sunset and spend about an hour or so walking, finding shells, and watching the colors in the sky change. This was her first "day" on the beach and her first real dip in the Gulf. Just as with her first time in the pool, she was mesmerized by the water and, as it turns out, seems to like the taste of salt water. Blech. She did really well while we were out there and thanks to me, had a patch of sun around her eye. Seems my attempt to protect her with sunscreen and a hat was successful save for one eye.

Later that night we went to Pier Park and did a little shopping. Saturday we got up and went to Apalachicola and did a little exploring on St. George Island. We do have photos of this excursion but they are in our other camera. If I can remember, I will post those when we have them loaded.

Sunday was a regular church day, although our evening service was canceled for the holiday weekend. That was when we took Cheryl on the 5 cent tour of Wewa. We also had Addie dedicated at our church here that morning. We'd had her dedicated at my home church back in May and we've been wanting to do it here, so it worked out well to have Sabian's mom here during that special time.
I am thankful for a good weekend and a good visit. I think we're all still recovering from being on the go, but we can always take an extra nap or two - you'll hear no complaints from me about that!