July

A little behind again, but better late than never!
July was probably our most exciting month of the entire summer because it included our LONG awaited big family beach vacation! And when I say long awaited I mean it. We booked this trip more than a year in advance and back then it seemed like July of 2019 would never get here but before we knew it we were off and on our way to the beautiful Fort Morgan, Alabama where we'd be meeting up with my parents, my sister and nephews as well as Matthew's parents for a week of relaxation and fun!

Peace out, Forney Texas!

There are few fast food restaurants that the picky princess will eat at but her newest obsession is Cane's fried chicken. For a kid who doesn't even eat meat, we're happy to let her indulge whenever she requests it--Including road tips.

After 13 hours in the truck we finally made it to our little slice of paradise for the week--Fort Morgan, Alabama.

Dinner at Tacky Jack's

After dinner the women (plus Matthew) made a run to Gulf Shores to do some grocery shopping for the week.

I brought plenty of entertainment for Kyndall and Wyatt so they were happy to color while we were gone. Plus, I might have bribed them with a late night crab hunt if they'd behave for Poppie an G-Daddy!

Yes...yes it is!

I made good on my promise and when I returned from the grocery store we hit the beach in search of all the creepy crawly things.

Kyndall and Wyatt shared a room and Kyndall thought it was pretty cool that she got to sleep on the top bunk for the week.

Rise and shine, it's beach day!

Our set up for the week

Easton had a pretty sweet set up as well!

Determined to try boogie boarding for the first time

Happy as a clam in his shaded pool

Also happy as clams

My little beach babe

Sister, sister

G-Daddy helped Wyatt search the shore for periwinkles

Determined to save every. single. periwinkle.

They did this for hours....

My idea of a perfect day

Quick lunch break back at the beach house

My whole heart in one picture

The best in-laws I could ever ask for!

Ready to hit the pool for the rest of the day

Found this picture from when she was almost two years old. Please just stop growing up!

After a full day of beach and pool time we cleaned up and headed to Gulf Shores to have dinner. Obligatory pre dinner pictures are always a must....

Hangin' out at The Hangout

The kids loved this place--There was a very long wait for dinner but that was ok because there was so much to keep them entertained including a super cool playground.

Easton loved the bubble machine

There was dancing...

They had a blast in the foam pit!

After dinner Grammy and G-Daddy treated Kyndall and Wyatt to the trampolines

Ever the shopper, this girl couldn't pass up a good souvenir store so after dinner we made a stop at Alvin's Island for her to spend all of our money.

Rise and shine, it's vacation day 2!

Vacation is exhausting

Ready to ride some waves

When a 38 year old thinks he's an 8 year old...

Lunch on the beach....

Always catching some kind of critter...

My perfect view

He's basically my personal pack mule

We were quite the entourage...

Heading out to dinner

Dinner at the Sunliner Diner

We celebrated Wyatt's 5th birthday (a little early) that night

Another night, another shopping spree at the souvenir shop....

More celebrating with cupcakes and gifts back at the beach house

Rise and shine, it's beach day 3!

Pathway to paradise

Beachin' makes you hungry

Jumping waves

No place I'd rather be--Watching the waves roll in while chatting with my favorite girl.

Is it really even a beach vacation if you don't get an airbrushed t-shirt with your name on it??

We decided to stay in for dinner that night and just order pizza

Late night crab hunting

Believe it or not, I was the fastest and best crab hunter in the group. I caught tons of these itty bitty baby ones with my bare hands.

Late night dance party...

Beach day 4!

Ready to try again...

Snack break

Heading out to dinner

Dinner at Sea-n-Suds in Gulf Shores

No beach vacation would be complete without a night spent at the go kart track so that I could show everyone who is boss.

Yep, that's me and my girl leading the pack!

Kyndall decided she wanted to try the kids go karts for the first time

She learned from the best

Beach day 5--Happy 4th of July!!

Trying to catch minnows

Her patience and quickness paid off and she finally caught one lowly minnow.

From fish to crabs--If it's alive she wants to catch it!

What I look like to the sharks! Ha!

Always eatin'

When you hear the ice cream man coming....

Somehow ice cream from the ice cream man at the beach always tastes better.

Even my big kid got a treat

One of my favorite things about Kyndall is her ability to make friends wherever she goes. She started talking to these girls at the pool and before long they were buddies. I love that about her!

Mr. Cool

I can't think of anything more American than a day spent with family on the beach, a visit from the ice cream man, burgers on the grill, ice cold watermelon, obligatory coordinating 4th of July outfits, followed by fireworks at dusk and sparklers in the driveway. God bless America!

Then, I made the whole family dress up in red, white and blue for some obligatory 4th of July pictures on the beach.

Around sundown we set up our chairs on the beach and got ready to watch some fireworks

Miss America

Beach day 6--Our last day in paradise!

The water was so calm and clear this day that it almost felt more like a lake than an ocean. That gave us the perfect opportunity to try and minnows with the kids' nets.

For our very last night of vacation we decided to book a sunset dolphin cruise out of  Orange Beach and I think it's safe to say it was the highlight of our week!

Virgin pina coladas are our favorite!!

We saw so many dolphins! They loved surfing along with our boat and playing in the wake.

After the most wonderfully relaxing week it was time to say goodbye not only to our little piece of paradise but also to our family. We parted ways as they made the trip back to Tallahassee and we made the long drive back to Dallas. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect summer vacation. The weather was gorgeous, the house was just right and we all came away with some priceless family memories. It was so perfect in fact, that we came straight home and re-booked the exact same house for the very same weekend next summer! Now we're counting down the days until July of 2020!

Of course we had to stop at Cane's on the trip back home

We arrived home to the sweetest note from Kyndall's teacher which made her day!

The rest of our July was pretty busy. On Sunday evenings we cheered on Matthew and his co-workers as they played in an adult co-ed softball league.

Really, this girl just went to the games for her love of the concession stand.

Kyndall took up an interest in learning to sew and off to the craft store we went to buy some fabric, needles and thread. She spent many hours up in her craft room hand sewing various projects that she would come up with. On this day she sewed a small pillow for our dogs.

Later that night we caught Huckabee actually laying on it!

Another day she decided she wanted to sew a stuffed turtle...

I was pretty impressed with this creations, especially considering it was all hand sewn. She even put little eyes and a flower on the head and stitched a little smile.

We took advantage of the cheap summer movies several times on days when it was just too hot to do anything else!

She cheered on her friend Malani at her softball game...

Malani's fan club

She also cheered on her friend Bailee

We hadn't been home from vacation very long before it was time to pack up and hit the road yet again. This time she and I would be making the yearly trip back to Nashville for my annual check up with my transplant team at Vanderbilt.

We always love going back for these appointments each summer because it gives us a chance to spend some time in Jackson TN which is where I left my heart three years ago when we moved away. There is just something about that town and those people that will always draw me back and make me wish we still lived there. As we drove into town the most beautiful double rainbow appeared and it was as if God was saying "welcome back!"

I didn't have a whole lot of extra time during our trip but no matter what I will always make time for these sweet friends of mine! I may be gone but they make sure I know I am definitely not forgotten! 

I had to be at Vanderbilt two different days because I had two different types of check ups. The first was a scope with my GI doctor to make sure that everything on the inside still looked alright. I don't mind these at all because with them comes propofol and with propofol comes loopy A-A and then the best sleep ever.

She's practically grown up in these halls. When I first became a patient at Vanderbilt she was 2 years old and had to be pushed in a stroller. Time surely flies.

My scope went well and I got a good report from Dr. Schwartz so I'm clear for another year. My friend Lisa who served as my driver post-op snapped this picture of me as I was being wheeled out of recovery. Ever since she was little Kyndall has always wanted to ride on my lap anytime they insisted I need a wheelchair. Some things never change.

It's simply not a trip to Jackson, TN unless this girl can eat at least one meal at her beloved Snappy Tomatoes. She first fell in love with this place when she was two years old and used to refer to it as "nappy domadoes". I can't even count how many meals Matthew and I unwillingly ate here just to make our toddler happy!

After two separate days of being scoped and biopsied and poked and examined I was overwhelmingly excited to find out that "Grace" the liver passed it all with flying colors! There are not enough words to express how it feels to hear your doctor say "you are finally healthy".  So thankful!

Happy 5 years, Grace! Here's hoping for many, many more!

One of my favorite things about going back to the transplant floor each year is being able to visit with the amazing nurses that took such good care of me. On this day I was finally able to see sweet Ms. Susie again!

That night we had time for one last reunion in Jackson before heading back to Texas. Kyndall and Micah have been the sweetest of friends since their days in Mrs. Kim's 3 year old ballet class. I'm so glad that their friendship has spanned the miles as well as the years.

We made it back home and Daddy missed his girls so he took us out to breakfast the next morning and then to see The Lion King.

Always rescuing some kind of critter--This time it was a WORM! So gross!

Beautiful view from our front yard one evening at sunset

July was BUSY! Once things calmed down this girl wasted no time getting back to her usual summer sleeping routine which typically meant she emerged around 11:30 am each morning asking for breakfast.

Why yes we surely did all dress up like cows for Chick-Fil-A's cow appreciation day. Anything for free food!

Another memory that popped up--Why does she have to keep growing up??

We celebrated Bailee's 8th birthday at Young Chef's Academy where they made homemade pizza and decorated cupcakes.

An acquaintance of mine opened up a shaved ice stand called Honey's and we had been dying to try it out all summer long. We finally made time and it was so yummy!

She finally picked the itty bitty pepper off the plant that she had been tending to since the spring. We cut it up so that she could try it but she was not a fan of the taste at all!

We started picking up and taking Kyndall's sweet friend Adara to church with us each Sunday and it makes my heart so happy to see these two together.

Another Sunday afternoon watching Daddy play softball--And again she proves she's here for the snacks!

Gorgeous sunset views from our neighborhood pond

We spent some time at the pool...

Friday afternoon gymnastics class, just hanging out

Fulfilling our addiction to Icees on a hot July day

Another critter rescue--This time it was a gigantic bullfrog.

I will never understand her affection towards these hideous things and she will never understand why I don't find them utterly adorable. "But Mommy look how cuuuute he is!"

Hanging out with best friend Malani

In March of this year our little town began buzzing with excitement as a new restaurant was getting ready to open its doors for the first time. Small towns don't have much else to look forward to, so it was a big deal! For many weeks leading up to the grand opening it was the talk of the town and although our family had never heard of this place, we decided to fight the crowds and chaos to see what all the hype was about. Since we aren't native Texans we had no idea what made Raising Cane's chicken so irresistible but we soon found out. If you know Kyndall then you know she eats NO meat whatsoever and she is completely repulsed even by the thought of it. Somehow on that first visit we convinced her just to try a Cane's chicken finger and by some miracle she agreed. Then, it was as if some supernatural power took over her taste buds because I promise you her eyes turned into little heart emojis and she declared in that moment that she LOVED Cane's chicken! And thus began her obsession with Cane's. Over the next few months we ate there so much that we became pretty good friends with the general manager, Tyson and he has spoiled Kyndall with free meals as well as a rare special edition Cane's plush puppy. This summer we've done a lot of traveling and Can the plush puppy has come along or every adventure. We visited several Cane's restaurants along the way and each time we texted a picture to our friend Tyson. He got such a kick out of it that he declared her Cane's biggest fan and he invited us into his restaurant before it opened one morning so that he and his crew could present her with an official "Caniac" prize pack. They also now display her picture on their community board inside the restaurant. She still talks about this day and we still see Mr. Tyson at least once or twice a week!

She put her new cooler to use right away, taking it to the pool filled with drinks for her friends!

A few days later we went back to see her picture on the board

And since then we've received pictures from several people we know saying that they saw her on display!

As a thank you to Mr. Tyson she drew this picture with the restaurant's logo on it

Since we had more time during the summer I enlisted the help of Kyndall in the kitchen. This night we made homemade pizzas and I had her knead the dough. She and I agreed that it's way too much work and we'd rather just call Papa John's! Ha! But, it was a fun experience.

Check up at the orthodontist--Still a few years before she'll need braces but it's inevitable. On the other hand, on this same day I decided to have a consultation as well and decided I was ready to take the plunge and get braces myself!

More pool time with her best friends

Morning donut runs were a frequent occurrence during our summer!

Another beautiful summer sunset from our neighborhood

Before we knew it, it was time to shop for school supplies!

Kids eat free Tuesday nights at Chick-Fil-A and we definitely took advantage of this all summer long!

We also frequented the yogurt shop a lot!

July was SO BUSY that it made a big chunk of our summer fly by really quickly but I'm so thankful for all of the memories we made and for all of the adventures that we had!