Early Morning

One morning during our trip to the Florida panhandle, Josh woke up super early, something like 5:30, and sick. After we took care of everything, he seemed to be just fine, and everyone was up, so we headed outside to see the sunrise. It was a nice chance to have a little time with just our family... even though a little more sleep would have been just as nice.

The moon was brilliant looking in the west. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.

At about 6:00 we got this shot of the beautiful sunrise in the east. The only downside to being on the panhandle beaches, instead of the Atlantic coast beaches, is that the sunrise is over houses, not the water. Oh well. It was still beautiful to see.

Daddy and the kids with the gulf in the background.

Mommy with all 3 of the kids and the gulf. :)


Following are just some cute pictures of the kids. Hope you enjoy!

Josh and Emily. Josh looks lost in thought, and Emily is trying her best to smile pretty for the camera.

My beautiful little girl.

Josh. Are you smiling big? Or are you showing us your tonsils???

Fun on the Beach

During our week in the Destin area, we were able to visit the beach every single day. We took pictures on Monday, our first trip to the beach. The rest of the week looked about the same. :)

Josh took the task of playing in the sand very seriously. Here he is working on one of his first sand castles.

Emily has a thing for bottles of water. Who would have known they could be such a wonderful toy.

Here's Josh really letting us know how much he loved being at the beach. I think my kids could live in the sand if I'd let them.

Josh is ever the helper. Boogie boards are apparently made to be used either on land or at sea.

Here is the artisan hard at work. Now I see where Josh gets his serious sand castle building side.

Each of us got a turn to be buried in the sand. It's surprising how heavy the sand can get. Josh had fun, but Emily wasn't so sure about it.

The Beach House

The first week of August we spent with Peter's family just outside of Destin, FL at a house on the beach. (Destin is in the panhandle near Pensacola.) I must say, we were very thankful to have such a short drive for our first Datin family reunion. It only took us 4 1/2 hours to get there. There sure are perks to living in Florida.


Our house was the blue one in the middle. It was a nice big house, 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths. Beautiful on the inside. Perfect for a nice family get together. Josh still talks about the beach house a month later. The other day, he asked if we were going to go to the beach house, so it was apparently a good experience for him too. He loved hanging out with his cousins, running up and down the stairs and playing on the beach every day. Emily had a great time too. I think the were both disappointed when it was time to leave.

Here is the view of the Gulf of Mexico from our balcony. On the left, there's the trail we took to walk down to the beach everyday. The grassy areas are the dunes. Dunes are protected around here, so you're not allowed to walk on them at all. It sure was nice that the trail was there.

Last of July Pictures

Just a few more pictures from July before I move on.


Josh still loves to build with his blocks. I think this is one of the best Christmas presents he ever got, because he has continued to love it as the years fly by. He got these on his first Christmas... now he's about to have his fourth. Can you believe it?

Josh wanted to go ride his bike. He's really getting good at pedalling all by himself. He's also really sweet. He lets Emily have a turn every time, and she absolutely loves it... even though she can't reach the pedals.

First of all, note the look of complete frustration on Peter's face. I thought this was quite amusing... He was stacking all of the dominoes into a really tall tower. We have a really big set, so it was getting really big. I think it was as tall as he is sitting right there. He wanted me to get a picture of it, but just as I got the camera ready, one of the kids bumped the board it was on. Oops! This is all we got. I'm sure it was fun while it lasted. Maybe someday, Peter will be able to look at this picture and smile, or even chuckle. Ah, the memories. :)

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

This year, I decided to go ahead and turn 30... even though last year I claimed I'd had my last birthday. I figured it wouldn't be so bad after all. I was a little disappointed, though. I have heard that with age comes wisdom. Well, I didn't feel one bit smarter on July 18 than I did on the 17th. Oh well. I guess it's really experience, and not age, that brings the wisdom. :)

This year, I decided it would be fun to go camping for my birthday. What was I thinking! I'm pregnant, in the middle of summer, in Florida, and sleeping outside. It was fun, and all worth it. We realized, after we got there, that we could have brought a fan because our site had a power outlet. That would have helped. We'll remember next time. Another funny thing about our campout. There is an Amphitheater practically in the backyard of this state park. That night, there happened to be a concert. Fun, fun! I thought someone was just being really rude and cranked up their stereo while they were setting up their tents. Nope! Live concert. I actually started recognizing some of the songs from the headliner band. I thought for sure that it was some local band just playing some old songs. But then the band closed and said they were glad they stopped by St. Augustine in their concert tour. Come to find out we had just attended an Offspring concert. Who would have guessed? Only a decade past their prime, but it was fun that I knew some of the songs... (After the kids fell asleep that is.)


Josh, Emily and Mommy getting the tent all ready.

Emily and Josh were both sweating up a storm. My poor hot kids. Somehow, they still loved every second.

Josh, Emily, and Daddy as they waited by the campfire for big enough flames to cook hotdogs. Again, why are we setting up a campfire when it's already nearly 90 degrees? Silly us!

The next morning, we headed over to the beach to swim. It was a beautiful morning. I just love the little kiddie pool the ocean leaves behind when the tide goes out. Makes a perfect place for Josh and Emily, since they haven't been too fond of the waves in the ocean.

Blowing out my candles. I don't know why Peter put 7 candles on. I guess it's close enough to 30. ;) This year, I went with a store bought ice cream cake. Yum. I think next year, I might try to make one myself. We shall see how ambitious I feel with 3 kids and having just moved or getting ready to move in the near future. Do note the little hand, Emily's, that is all ready to dig in. I just can't move fast enough.

Cute Pictures

So, I am still blogging pictures from July, and it's the end of August. I guess that's the way summer goes for me. We do a bunch of stuff, and you don't get to hear about it until it's all over. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up soon.


The kids love to drive around the house together. That is, when they can agree to use different "cars." Half the time, they both want whichever "car" the other one wants. Oh well. I guess that's typical.

One day, while we had some friends over to play, someone's car was being towed from the parking lot. One of the residents cars was broken down, so this was not an illegal parking towing or anything. Anyhow, the kids heard this funny noise and ran to the window to watch. This kept their attention for an amazing amount of time as they got to watch the car get lifted up on the flatbed and taken away. Josh talked about how they took away Bruce's car for several days after that. In the picture, left to right, is Josh, his friend Brandon, and Emily. They are all standin on the window sill to get a better look above the shrubs.

This picture was just cute. I guess hairbrushes are good for more than brushing your hair.

This picture is simply for a partial look at the completed bunkbed. We finished before we went to Puerto Rico, but I haven't ever taken any pictures just of the bed. Sorry about that. It looks great. Peter did a wonderful job building it.

Josh Update

I know that many of you are aware that Josh had surgery today. Everything went well. I was concerned mostly that he'd have a hard time not eating this morning, because he didn't have to be at the clinic until 10:00... but he was a champ. Only mentioned he was hungry 1 time.

The doctor said he did have a "sizable" hernia, which he fixed. He checked out the other side, and found nothing that needed fixing right now, though there is a possibility of a hernia there in the future.

Josh had a rough night last night. He was really concerned about today. I think he was having nightmares about it, because he kept waking up and crying a lot. After the surgery, they let him sleep off the anesthesia. Since he was so tired, he slept for nearly 2 hours then.

I have some pictures I will post at some point, but I just wanted to make sure that anyone who knew this was coming knew that it was just fine now. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.