June

WHEW!

What a month!!
We have been super busy this month!

The first week of the month, we had supper club ~ our true last one with a large portion of the group. We had dinner at Shehans and hung out around the pool at the Lewises' until late that night. The Lewises also hosted the end of the year pool party for the Auxiliary. Their pool has seen a lot of action lately! Also that week, I began training for my new position in the Junior League. All I can say is that I am working my tail off doing it right now and might as well have a nonpaid part-time job, it is so time-consuming. I am in a little over my head, but I know I will catch up soon.

Alli and Maddox at the party. With a boat, noodle, innertube, swimmies, and a vest, do you think they are going to sink??

Peyton, Alli, and Maddox eating pizza after the party.

Baby Lauren and Baby Elizabeth ~ and lots of other kids!

The next week was absolutely insane. I taught and the girls attended Vacation Bible School each morning. We would hurry home for lunch and naptime, then rush off to the Y, where Alli had her first week of swimming lessons. She was immediately bumped up to Level 2 with Jae, her instructor, and was in a class full of boys. Leave it to Alli to hold her own as the only little girl. Of course, Brad has been on-service this month, so he has had his usual busy schedule, as well. That weekend, our friends who finished residency/fellowship moved away. It has only been a couple of weeks, but we already miss them so much! As much as I hate their absence for us, I hate it even more for Alli. She asks about her friends a lot ~ especially Maddox Greer, who moved to Jackson, MS ~ or as Alli says it, Jack-ess Mississippi.

Alli with the boys, waiting her turn to jump in and swim.

"Swimming!"
(she could "swim" to the side by the end of the 2 weeks)

Thumb's up! Good Job, Alli B!!

The next week slowed down, but just a little. Alli had week 2 of swimming lessons at the Y. Brad left for 4 days to attend a conference in Chicago, and I took the girls to Atlanta to visit family. We barely slowed down, with so many people to see: Dede; Gigi & PapaDoc; Nana & Papa; "Big Ben;" Steph & Baby Philip; Grandmommie & Granddaddy; Mimi & DB; Vicki, Georgia, Everett, and Brennan.

Alli, of course, has been her busy little self. She did great in her swimming lessons; we are so proud! I swear, the child has no fear. We received her 50 book summer reading list, so we have begun to work on that. During all of this, Boots has been busy, as well ~ she got her first 2 teeth and has begun to grow some hair. Don't get me wrong ~ she is still a bald baby ~ but there is definitely blonde fuzz beginning to cover her sweet round head. She is also rolling over now in both directions, and we are seeing the beginning of efforts to crawl, although she is currently only succeeding in scooting backwards. She has begun eating some veggies as well ~ such a big girl!

6 Months Old!

See her 2 front teeth on the bottom!

Sweet potatoes for our little sweet potato!
(They are still not her favorite!)

June 23 ~ an "anniversary" of sorts. On that date just 5 years ago, Mom and Keith ran into Brad and Steve in a car dealership parking lot, and Brad called me for the first time that night ~ a "mere" 6 months after his aunt and grandmother had given him my number. Our blind date was a week later on July 1. My, oh my ~ look at all that has happened since then!! :)
We are so blessed!
Below are some more pictures ~ enjoy!

The Girls

Alli running through the spraying water at the water park at the Y.

Ashley & Lauren, Elizabeth & Me

Maddox and Alli during break time

The Greers, The Lewises, and The Bucklers

"The Kiss"
(Alli is kissing Maddox, who doesn't quite know what to think!)

Happy Baby Boots!

The Guys ~ Grant, Brad, and Stephen

The Girls ~ Ashley & Emily, and Boots is the centerpiece!

Alli & Maddox playing chase in the yard one last time before the Greers moved to Jack-ess.

Alli & Peyton singing a duet

Sleeping Baby Boots

Alli and Peyton

Elizabeth and Lauren

Mommy's Little Helper ~ Alli giving Boots a bottle

Lucky Boots, to have the very best big sis in the world!!
And lucky us, to have the most precious little girls in the world!

Beach Trip

After we left Dothan, we drove down to the beach for a very much deserved vacation. What can I say? It was perfect!! Brad hasn't really taken a lot of time off this year, so we had several days to spend down at the beach. We stayed at Grandmommie's condo ~ or as Alli kept calling it, her "cocoon." We went to Boondocks and saw Hilary, had donuts at Thomas', went to Seaside where we shopped at Perspicasity and ate at Pickles, and visited the new Pier Park. We remembered from last summer that Carillon has a concert on the green every Monday night, so we had a blast listening to live music and enjoying our picnic. Alli danced and made lots of friends.

While we were there, we were able to visit with several loved ones, as well. Saturday, we drove down to The Bay, where about 100 friends from Dothan were cooking out. It was such fun seeing people I haven't seen in so long; I saw some a year ago when we visited, but it has been several years since I had seen so many of them. And what fun to see my friends' children!

Sunday, we drove to Meme's beach house, where we were able to visit with all of my Randall family. WOW! It was so special! A few of them had been to Augusta to visit after Elizabeth was born, but I had not seen most of them since Christmas, 2006. My cousin, Kyle, was there (he lives in Colorado) and got to see our girls for the first time. Another first was getting to meet Mimi Grace, my cousin Amanda's little girl; she and Jeremy have another little girl on the way in just a couple of months. It was such fun to see all of them, and to enjoy them seeing the girls. Alli put on quite a show for everyone, singing and dancing ~ especially to her new favorite song "Low" (Flo-Rida). (Gee, I am not so sure I should admit that.) :)

The whole week was spectacular. Thank you, Brad, for taking us, and thanks to Grandmommie for letting us use her cocoon. Having grown up only an hour and a half from there and with a house there, it is "home" to me, and I get very homesick for it. There is nothing like the sugar white sand, the emerald water, and the hot pink and orange sunsets ~ my favorite time of day. I feel rested and restored after just minutes there. I feel close to God, and my soul is at peace there. If a place can be your soulmate, that beach is mine. I cannot express how much I appreciate being able to spend a week there....

Here are some pictures from our week. It is hard to narrow down which ones to post ~ there are so many!! By the way, please forgive all of the 'detail' and the slew of pictures; this blog serves as our family journal, so I try to keep it as detailed as I can. Anyway, the girls had a blast! Alli played in the water and the sand, and Boots pretty much slept while we were on the beach.

Alli in her boat, with her Daddy.

I told you it was gorgeous!!

Thomas' Donuts ~ a longstanding tradition....

Concert on the Green at Carillon

Alli danced and danced....

Dinner with Wayne, Kyle, and Brenda at Boondocks

Our "set-up" on the beach with the tent, cart, and all of the necessities. Alli is getting ready to go in the water with her Daddy, and Boots is asleep on a towel.

Randall Family Picture at Meme's Beachhouse

Alli absolutely loved Kyle! She went and got my camera and requested this picture!

Alli dancing to "Low"

It is always so hard to leave! You almost hope for a rainy day for the day you are leaving, to make it easier to go; however, it was beautiful the day we left, and we had to drag ourselves away.