Adventures in the Mommy Hood: Hello out there...

So I know, bad blogger. I've been busy. Its been crazy in my parts. I know, full of excuses :)

Lets see.......

The summer came and went, always too fast for me. In July Madelyn had her 2nd Birthday! It was a grand time. Yo Gabba Gabba themed of course!

This is a picture from the aftermath of her 2nd Birthday party. She fell asleep so no presents were opened until conveniently, all the guests left. Party Pooper! She got this awesome Foofa pillowcase dress from my friend from work. She loves it. So now Madelyn is 2, and oh my gosh does she act it. If you call her Princess, she will correctly snap at you "Im NOT a princess, I'm a baby", dont get it twisted people! We are still working on potty training, wowsers I dont remember it being so trying, maybe thats why God has you spread out your kids, so once you have forgotten all the trials of parenting a toddler or baby, you get a second (or in my case third) heaping ;) Ahhhh

We also went to Cozumel! We took the ENTIRE crew for this adventure. It was a blast. 8 days of beautiful beach, suns, and sands. And my kids enjoyed the fact that all the food was "free" or in Gabrielles mind never ending. It went off without a hitch. It was hardly crowded since the hurricane blew through the DAY before we got there. Everyone else was scared. But not us, we needed a vacation! We snorkeled, built castles, conch shell dived, laid out, jet skiied, iguana watched, ate, drank, and slept. That my friends, is perfect! We already want to go back. And why not, it was so much fun. We had very little fighting, which is worth every penny in my book :) Here is a picture from the snorkel trip we took (if your wondering why I am holding so many bottles of beer, its not because I was going 'Girls Gone Wild', Martin always hands me stuff then forgets I have it)

August came around, and we celebrated Martins 37th Birthday :) We went to see a good friend of ours band play, The Joey Green Band, they are a good time! Check them out on itunes, you will not be disappointed! We also sent Martin & Gabrielle off to school! Gabrielle started the 3rd grade this year! And Little Martin started 8th grade! Wow. Gabrielle is still doing her gymnastics, and doing really well I might add. Martin is doing 8th grade athletics, and started off the school year playing football. I'm really wanting him to try track, but with baseball we are not sure. First Day back pics: In September, a very busy month for us, we had many things happen. First and foremost I turned the dreaded 28. Why is it dreaded, because its almost 30! I remember being a little girl, thinking "God, 30 is OLD, I dont want to live to 30", now its here, and I'm thinking "Oh crap". I cant tell you how much grey hair has sprung loose this past year. Enough to keep my hair lady busy ;)

Also, my baby sister got married! Such a fun trip. My older sister came in, I havent seen her since MY wedding! We road tripped with mom & dad to Louisiana. Martin stayed home with the kiddos, since it was in a bed and breakfast, not really child friendly. We met up with my Great Aunt Sis, if you ask me, she is my Grandma and always will be. And we met Rosemary there as well, I dont think I can tell you how long its been since I have seen her, but it was wonderful. I cant tell you now nice it was to see them. I feel like I dont ever see my Aunt Sis, but when I do, its such a wonderful experience. I see so much of my Grandpa in her, and I just cant convey the importance she holds in my family's life. This trip really has made me appreciate the value of family. When we got all unpacked and situated, we met Mikes family. Awesome people. Erica chose an amazing family to join. His mother was simply the most adorable woman I've ever met, so sweet, and charming. His dad, stole my heart upon first meeting. Great people, he should be proud to come from such warm friendly people! His sister, well I honestly think my family scared her a bit LOL. She kept to herself for the most part :) His brother, great guy. He offered to let me come gator hunting with him, I'm gonna cash in that offer one day Kyle!

I was super sad to see my sister get married, I dont know why, I dont suppose you can put it into words. I just feel like she grew up all too fast. She will always be the "little sister", and now she is the little sister who is married! I think that I was an emotional wreck. I knew she would grow up and get married, but then it happened and I felt like the ground came out from under me. The wedding was beautiful, interesting. The JP was a crazy Brett Micheals girlfriend type. I mean she looked like Gem, you ladies know who I speak of ;) Erica's huge brouch, was glimmering specks of light all over Mikes face, he resembled Edward Cullen :) I KNEW Erica would some how tie in Twilight :) :) I made some great friends, and we made some incredible memories. I cant put into words the beauty of seeing a garden full of servicemen at the wedding. Men in their dress blues, and a Navy boy in his, well waiter get up ;) It made me proud to know that Erica & Mike are a part of that world. There are several pictures from the wedding posted on my facebook, but here is my most favorite three from the entire weekend: