Lake Week with our Iowa Family

The last week of July slash first weekend in August we spent at Lake of the Ozarks with our Iowa Family. We spent lots of time in the sun - both at the pool and on a boat, ate lots of good food and spent lots of quality time together. The boys did some fishing and the ladies did some shopping and overall it was a successful family week! 

VBS Weird Animals

The next few weeks after the 4th are a bit of a blurr ...

Good thing we got plenty of R&R to get us through.

The following Tuesday I boarded a plane to Atlanta for Market - arrived home on Sunday and CGH and I attended/volunteered for VBS at our church on Monday.

The theme was weird animals and Charlie really enjoyed himself. I loved being a part of such a special week for so many little kiddos. And I also loved being able to check in on him and see him interact with his friends throughout the day. On Thursday night we attended the Block Party and man was it a fun night. CGH sang and performed with his group a couple of the songs they had learned throughout the week. We ate hot dogs and ice cream and bounced in bounce houses! Such a fun evening!

River Weekend

We carried on the tradition of the 4th at the River again this year. 

After the parade we packed up with the Rockenfield family and headed south to be with the rest of our family for a weekend of no cell service, no cable, lots of good food and some floating down the Current River. My idea of heaven. We had such a beautiful weekend weather wise, not too hot - which lead to lots of outside play time and lots (if not all) our meals on the screened in porch. My mom outdid herself again this year as such a gracious hostess and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. 

HAPPY 4th!

The 4th of July is one of my all time favorites. Summer is in full swing, we are staying up late and sleeping in ... Spending lots of time at the pool and playing outside. On the 3rd we joined the Sutherlands and the Rosses for a cookout and ice cream party hosted by the Rosses. The kiddos played and played and we had a great time.

The morning of the 4th everyone gathered at our house for the parade. Such a fun tradition in our little neighborhood. This year seemed like our best turn out yet! Everyone was so festively dressed and had their vehicles all decked in their red, white and blue.

Such a fun morning to be together with our friends, celebrating how lucky we all are to be Americans!

Back to the Beach!

In the spring we started talking about taking a trip with some friends to their home in Watersound, Florida - just a hop and a skip West of RoseMary Beach. Kind of a "guys" trip, where the men could fish and play golf and the women could shop and lay on the beach. The boys thought we were so boring but we relished every second of our free mom time! We ate at some amazing "adult" restaurants that we usually avoid with Charlie and my family and really enjoyed our weekend away.

Dinner at Caliza in Alys Beach

The Beach

My mother started to plan for our annual Armstrong Family Beach week around the the 12 week mark of our pregnancy ... I was so happy that everyone jumped on board at the idea of taking the trip in May instead of August this year! Made my vacation so much more enjoyable. And gave us something to look forward to in the near future after that terrible winter we had just wrapped up.

May is a lovely time to be at the beach. We went the last week of the "off season" where there are just little children around and it's still not too crowded. Josh and I spent a weekend there for our BabyMoon with Charlie - right around the same time in our pregnancies as well - 20 weeks. The mornings are cooler - perfect for enjoying the use of the porches available at our house that we had never utilized in August!

Not much changes in Rosemary Beach, another reason we love it so much - it seems to get better and better actually. We visited all our favorite spots and got to spend the WHOLE week with both our aunts this year which was a huge bonus!

I can't think of a better way to "kick off" your summer than being picked up from your last day of school to be whisked away to the beach - and that's just what happened for Charlie Boy! We stayed the night in Birmingham and arrived at the beach Saturday afternoon. We always hit the ground running and have the best week.

This year was ALL about Charlie (which, let's be honest, isn't much of a change) but I really wanted to take it all in, our last summer at the beach with just our first born. Taking our time to take it all in and reverse the lifestyle that we have become to accustom to at home - one thing to the next, schedule schedule schedule ... Relaxation was the name of the game and we did a pretty good job of capitalizing on that laid back beach lifestyle! We truly enjoyed every minute of our trip this year, and can't wait to introduce Miss Edith to our happy place next year! Hopefully in May again, so we don't have to wait!

Charlie's favorite spot ... Duckies, in Seaside. 

This year with came home with "Feather -Egg" the owl.

Three of my favorites on the beach at sunset in Seaside