Horse Camp

Ruthie spent a week at Horse Camp- two hours a day learning to ride, mucking out stalls, grooming and tacking the horse they were assigned.  Ruthie loved it.  It's one of those things you're not sure you want them to love, and you hope they might just get their fix and get over it.  Well, it only fueled Ruthie's love for all things equestrian.  She is now asking to take lessons and also to go back and visit her horse, Squirt, and take Daddy to meet him.  I'm proud that she loved it and didn't mind the hard work involved and that she wasn't deterred by the difficulty of it.  It suits her personality in alot of ways too.  Unfortunately most of the stables near us don't take girls as young as six, so she'll have to wait a while!  It was a great experience and I'm glad she was able to do it. 

The Wedding

My sweet friend Emily, who I have known since she was in high school, asked Ruthie and Mac to be in her wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding with a reception at the gorgeous Bragg-Mitchell Mansion in Mobile, Alabama.  The kids did a great job and were so brave!  We were really honored to be a part of Emily's beautiful wedding day!

This was the only way I could get Mac to smile.  He HATED his suit and was just out of sorts from the whole overwhelmingness of the day and his role in it.  Isn't he handsome, though?  Ruthie was poised and beautiful and really enjoyed the experience. 

I loved the cake with a teacup on top!  How clever and pretty! 

The stunning bride!  She was radiant.

Family and Friends

Petey and James Michael, little baby cousins, got to meet for the first time.  JM is about a month and a half older than Pete.  They were so cute together.

 The Hodges cousins.  Ruthie with Pete, Alli, Harry, Mac, and Jackson with James Michael.

 Reading with Aunt Kelli- one of the kids favorite things!

Look at that sweet face!

He loves his Auntie M.

We also had some good time with friends- here are a bunch of kiddos that we love and miss- the Steedleys and the Baxters, with all the Hodges.

Little Ponies

We visited miniature horses while down in FL at one of my mom's friend's farm.  We also met a baby donkey and her mommy donkey.
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Catch up and Mustard?

Soooo we have had a busy month and a half.  And I do like taking pictures.  Do you like the new huge pictures?  I'm not sure about it.  They are ginormous!  I'm reworking the template a bit too.  Stay tuned for weddings and horses and gardens and babies, oh my! 

Totally Nautical, Dude!

While in Pcola we met up with Jay's Dad at NAS Pensacola.  We checked out the new wing of the Aviation Museum and then headed over to the Lighthouse.

We love big anchors!  36,000 lbs. (if I remember right)

Chain gang

You know lighthouses are run by the Coast Guard.  Interesting history, that.

The Pensacola Lighthouse Pelican. Note the Blue Angels on the wing there.  I love the Blues.  We missed their practice session that day.  Booo.

We want to be in a picture!  And do you know how hard this is with a big camera?  Yowza.

Look at this huge tree!  I really revel in the sight of one of these behemoths.

We went on a nice mulchy nature trail just past the lighthouse.  It didn't really go anywhere, but I do love the piney smell of Northwest Florida's scrubby woods.  It's funny.  I actually smelled similar ones on the coast of Spain (back in my seafaring days).  Ha.

Lunch in Seville Square

You know those huge live oaks with sprawling arms that rest on the ground?  In Seville Square they've built these totem sculpture people that hold up the oak's arms!  Kind of quirky.

All around Pcola they have these pelicans decorated to represent stuff.  Here's the Coastie pelican sporting a PFD (personal flotation device- yet another fun acronym for you, dear reader.)

I love lunch at Dharma Blue with Nonni! (sorry so grainy-still learning my DSLR)

Eating at Dharma's I heard people talking about opening a Trader Joe's in town.  Rejoice Pensacolians!

Nonni and Papa's

Here's a tour of my Mom and Dad's place in Florida.  We love it there.

The latest baby swinging in the blue swing!

Meet Tilly, the sweet doggie that adopted my parents.  She showed up a few weeks before the old doggies Nipper and Daisy both died.

Swinging under the wisteria covered pergola.

That tree will always be Nip's tree.  He wore a hole underneath where he would sit and wait for the frisbee to be thrown.

The side of the house where you can see the pool enclosure.

Gotta love the myrtles.



Ruthie and Annabelle, her same-age cousin

The cousin line-up.

Petey meets Papa!

Surf and Sand