Toadfrogs and Elephants

My dad and Laura wanted to take all of the kids on a vacation – to Exuma, Bahamas. Wade and I quickly said yes and made plans accordingly. The trip started today with an early flight out of Atlanta. To make things easier on ourselves, we drove down last night and stayed in a hotel near the airport.

We got our car parked, bags checked, through security, and onto the plane without incidence. We arrived in Miami and met up with the rest of the group in time for a quick bite to eat. Then the fun started. We were taking a small plane to Exuma and had to ride a bus to get to the plane. We all boarded the bus, boarded the plane, sat while a hydraulic line was replaced, and then got back on the bus when the entire brake line had to be replaced. We once again boarded the bus and then sat beside a plane for 10 minutes. Then we rode the bus back to the terminal. A third time we boarded the bus, then we boarded the plane, and then we took off! We arrived in Exuma with only a couple hours of delay. Check out the view from the plane:

Wade and I had time for a quick walk on the beach before dinner on the beach with a great lightning show in the background.

Wade and I got home from work today to find a friend waiting for us. I named the cute kitten Jasper and Wade named him JumpStart. He visited while we grilled dinner and loaded up the car. Then he disappeared. I’m trying to convince Wade to let us keep him if he’s still around when we return from our trip. I’m not too hopeful.

Wade and I spent the weekend with an old college friend we keep in touch with, a college friend we don’t keep in touch with, a girl we met once while in college, and a girl we’ve never met before. We had an awesome time! Daniel Chandler (the college friend we do keep in touch with) and his girlfriend, Karen, planned a trip to Destin for the week. Wade and I are short on vacation days so we joined the group for Thursday night through Sunday. Adam Alexander (the college friend I haven’t seen since college) and his new bride, Liz, also joined the group for the end of the week.

We spent the days on the beach and the nights playing Wii. The boys tried to boogie board and played games of Bocce in the sand. The girls read and talked and got to know each other. The drive down was another 8 hour marathon trip, but the vacation was definitely worth it!

Not to mention the sun – I got tan!

When it comes to Wade and me, I am much more likely to give Madison what she wants – especially with food. She just has to sit or do a trick and I’ll give her a bite. I walked in last night to see Wade had given Madison much more than a bite. He’d given her what was left of the whole turkey breast he cooked.

Is it any wonder that Wade told me Madison woke him up sick twice last night?

Wade does 99% of all our house work and remodeling. The downstairs bathroom he decided was too much. Then started the hunt for a contractor. It’s difficult when you are new to the area to find reputable contractors willing to work on small projects for reasonable money and do a good job. When we were looking at the investment property, Wade called a local supply store and asked for a recommendation. The contractor showed up on time, was knowledgeable, and honest. The realtor knew him from previous work and only had great things to say about him. Well Steve, the contractor, came today to look at our bathroom. He says he can do the job by Christmas. Here’s hoping his quote is within the ballpark we are looking to pay.

Goodbye pink and blue bathroom!

It turns out there was not a problem with the server for my website. Someone hacked my website. My genius husband figured this out and then figured out how to fix all the damage. He says all this happened because he didn’t upgrade my software (tsk, tsk tech support husband). The good news (for me) is now he has to upgrade and I’ll get some cool new features. Hopefully the upgrade will take place in the next few weeks. It may require a different look for the website, but the URL will still be the same.

Wade and I planned to help a friend move today. Mandy (a friend from church) had emailed and asked for help moving from Fletcher to Greenville. We happily offered up our assistance for Saturday. On Friday, Mandy called and asked if we would just help unload the truck at the storage facility. We told her we were ready and willing to show up wherever we were needed. The actual unloading of the truck only took a short time. Then we returned to the Floyds’ house for Zaxby’s, cooling off, and chatting. What a nice fun day. The heat sure zapped our energy though. It’s time for a nap.

I actually have quite a few favorite desserts – most of them have large quantities of chocolate. But one of my most favorite desserts is Red’s Peach Pie. I’m sure peach pie is much healthier than the other desserts – it does have fruit. I won’t think about the sugar, cream cheese, cool whip, etc. My mom always makes this particular pie and when I visited home a few weeks ago she had one waiting for me. I think part of what makes this pie so special is that fresh peaches are needed and they are only in season a short time. Now that I have mentioned my pie, I am going to share the recipe. Peaches are still in season – I had one last night.

By the way, Mom who is Red?

*Recipe coming later tonight.*

Happy Birthday Jerry!