Destin, Florida

Every time we get to be with family and the girls with their cousins, I'm reminded how cherished these moments are.  Although usually chaotic, we have a such a good time and are so happy to be with eachother.  The Tanuvasa's 'lived' in Destin for a whole month this past summer and Kara was out of school so we drove from San Antonio to hang out.

This huge school of dolphins (is that what they're called?) swam by our boat for about an hour.  We 'drove' beside them and couldn't get enough!  They were some of manaw's favorite creatures, and come to think of it, Steve's too!  Go Miami Dolphins!

To say that we were all inexperienced boat drivers is an understatment.  Heck, the first boat Steve and I bought didn't even float.  Just after renting the boat, we thought we'd be pretty cool and decided to anchor in this area with LOTS of other fellow and not so friendly boaters when our boat started drifting because for some reason the anchor wouldn't keep us steady (hmm, I think I can make a YW/church lesson out of this...).  We got within 6 inches of crashing into nicest boat on the river and needless to say, spent the remainder 3 hours not trolling the river cause we were to afraid to anchor.   Because we all possesed about the same level of boat driving skill, we let each of the kids take turns driving the boat. They had a blast!

Rylee, our 2nd A Honor Roll student

 Go Ryry, Go Ryry!  You is smart, you is kind, you is important. :)

Madison, our A Honor Roll student!

 We are so proud of our MD!!  Next goal for her: the President of the United States. NBD

That's right, kiss it cause you earned that baby!

I'm not sure what she wanted, but I like it

Wowza!

This is how we 'roll'

I was so excited The girls were so excited when I offered to take them toilet papering 

Board and Batten - done!

I feel like I should be in a tutu, twirling around and saying 'ta-da!'  This was one of those projects that was fun to do the whole way through.  Immediate gratification.  Except for the caulking, which was absolutely the WORST part.  Hopefully later down the road when we sell the house, the new homeowner won't come in and say "Obvious DIY job" and rip the whole thing out. But I do love it, I love that I spent less than $125 bucks and got a whole new look, and that I was able to use my own hands to do it (and Steve's for caring the paneling in).  I posted more pics and info on my other blog: http://inspiretheinside.blogspot.com/.

BEFORE

AFTER

Madison's new profile pic

Self portrait of Madison while trying on clothes at Forever 21 in the dressing room.  Could she get any more beautiful?

Laundry Room Makeover

Yea! It's finally done!

Before:

After:
I'm not normally a fan of yellow, but I figured in a laundry room, anything goes. If you want to see more (and you know you do) go to my inspire blog.

When I get my phone back...

these are the sorts of pictures I find on it.

I have no idea.

Even the scriptures uses texting winky faces.

Gotta love Rylee's background pose.

This is how Madison looks about 50% of the mornings, and not because it's cold. She only wishes to protect her hair from the inevitable humidity frizz! Her friends at the bus stop must think she's cray-cray.

Rylee's 12!

My baby is 12.  Hugh sigh.  Rylee is such a cool kid.  She's so fun to be around, she can laugh at herself, is spunky and outgoing, makes other people feel good about themselves, is uber responsible and loves life.  We love having her in our family!  Now don't change!

She finally got the Barbie cake she wanted for years - it never quite fit into her theme/decorations.

Steve and I took Ry and her friends to a super pretty shopping area and had pre-arranged a scavenger hunt.  We split them into teams of 7 and they had to follow the hunt according to the paper I pasted below.

Maddie and her friends came with to supervise.

Rylee’s birthday party scavenger hunt

Aspen Leaf:

Your group will buy a cup of 20 gummy bears and using an I-Phone, record a skit using all 20 gummy bears.  Find a table in or outside of the store and record the skit there.  The group with the most creative, funny skit will win. 

Bath and Body Works:

Using the money provided ($2.00 per girl), buy something in the store that begins with the first letter of your first name.  The team with the yummiest scents (judged by Madison and Alyssa) wins.

Party City:

Using the money provided ($1.00 per girl), buy bubble gum balls and try to fit as many in your mouth as possible while still being able to say “Chubby Bunny”.  Record the number of gumballs and the girl with the most wins it for her group.  Make sure to take a picture!

Target:

Take a picture of 1 girl from your group with the ugliest outfit you could collectively find.  Remember to hang all the clothes back up and give them to the attendant.  The team with the ugliest outfit wins!

Claires:

Buy as many items as you possibly can with the $10.00 given to your group.  The team with the most items wins.  No pictures in Claires!

Game Stop:

Take a picture with a boy who is closest to Rylee’s age.  This means you will have to ask him his birth date and write it down so you don’t forget.    The team who took a picture with a boy closest to Rylee’s age wins!  Remember to be nice!

When you are finished, come to Starbucks.  My cell phone (Rylee’s mom Ms. Cammie) is 503,312,8749