This year our family’s over thirty years of vacationing at the grandparents’ condo in Miramar Beach comes to an end. When I got engaged to my husband Alan in 2002, I took my very first trip to Miramar Beach. Alan’s mom, who we call Nonna now, took me to her parents’ condo. We walked on the beach, ate out, went shopping, and had a great time. Nonna’s dad was a contractor. He built these condos in the 1970s. How cool […]
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This retreat was 100% necessary. It is hard for me to even sit here and describe how desperate I was to get away two weeks ago because I returned fully restored, better than before. I am on the other side of that mental wall of misery now. Life is good and happy again, and I fully mean that. When I packed my bags and left Alan with the boys, I did not even fully grasp why I need this so […]
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The beach is my favorite place to go in the summer, but it can be expensive and dangerous for a family full of pale skinned people. This year we actually managed to take a thrifty trip to Miramar Beach without getting sun-burned! Alan and I are always dreaming up fun things to do together as a family, and our efforts are often met with …….resistence. One of our fellas actually lamented, “I don’t want to go to the beach. I […]
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Tomorrow is Daniel’s very first day of kindergarten. To me he still looks like this: But, believe it or not, the Dan Man is 5, and he is extremely excited about going to school with his brothers. They will all be at the same school together. I had planned it differently, but at the last minute Daniel was awarded a scholarship, so that worked out beautifully. It’s hard to even focus on how much is happening. Our heads are still […]
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We’ve been back from vacation for a few days now. Daniel keeps asking when we’re “ever going back to America.” By America, he is referring to our home in California. It was amusing to listen to Caleb trying to explain to Daniel that we are still in America. In the short time that we’ve been back from Disney World, 7 of us caught a cold. 6 of us developed a hacking cough. (I have escaped it so far.) 2 of […]
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This was the best surprise I’ve ever pulled off. We are not typically adept at keeping exciting news to ourselves. We are the kind of people who announced we were pregnant the second we found out. But this time we played it cool. We DID tell the boys we were headed to Disney World. However, we did NOT tell them that I copied my friend Amy’s Disney itinerary as closely as I could, so our Disney vacation would be shared […]
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I have talked to many of you, over the years, of the many reasons for my love for Destin, Florida. And I got to go there this year for the first time since 2012. Wahoo!!! In fact, I went twice! So without further ado, allow me to explain: 10 Reasons why I love Destin, Florida so much: #1. There is SO MUCH to do! Even if you just go from pool to beach, pool to beach, with outings for food, […]
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