For serious Keaton fans only...

Here's a 7 minute video that Scott compiled of all of Keaton's latest activities. Enjoy!

Girls Trip 09

Well, my tan has faded, and I just sliced up the last of the avocados that I smuggled back with me from Miami. But I finally have my pictures (thanks, Meg), so I had to write a quick blurb about my girl's trip!










G - Great Friends: the kind you can not see for months or years, but can pick up a conversation like you just saw them yesterday














I - Independence: as much as I dreaded leaving Keaton, it's hard to describe the liberation I felt not to have him at my feet all day for the first time in 13 mos., knowing he was in such great hands at home!















R - Reminiscing: fond memories, remembering our lives before husbands, babies, and other commitments that took us all in different directions.












L - Laughing until your face hurts and you literally have to lie down on the floor to catch your breath and recover














S - Swimming Pigs- one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. I was peer-pressured into getting in the water with them - yuck!


























T - Trusting God: landing on an 800 ft runway stretches my faith, for sure!














R - Relaxation: no alarm clock, no bedtime, no schedule, no worries...


















I - Island Hopping in the Exumas, in constant awe of the beauty of God's creation, truly so thankful that I get the chance to experience this!
This is actually an up-close pic of one of the beaches on Johnny Depp's island (Little Hall's Pond Cay) - it was a couple islands over from us.














P - Paradise: no other way to describe it

Dream Come True

If you have not heard, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has launched a campaign to reunite the cast of Saved by the Bell for the 20th year anniversary of the show.

If you consider me a friend, sign the online petition and pledge your support for the Saved By The Bell class reunion!

He already has Lisa, Slater, Mr. Belding, Zach and Jessie on board. C'mon Screech and Kelly, join the fun! I can hardly wait...

Here's the clip of Mark Paul Gosselaar when he appeared on Late Night a couple of weeks ago in character as Zach Morris. I love it!

DAD'S DAY

Happy Father's Day!

What's the best part about being a dad?
Scott: That I finally have a title that is a palindrome
Seriously?
Scott: Watching Keaton grow

One year ago

















Today!

















Keaton has two pretty cool "Papas" too!
Papa Mark

















Papa Ray

















We love you guys!

Happy (belated) Birthday Grandma!

I totally forgot to give a shout out to my grandma who celebrated her 90th birthday on Wednesday! My Grandma Ruby is a very special lady. I was so blessed that she lived nearby when I was growing up, so I was able to see her quite regularly. In high school, we would meet once a week for dinner, cards, and piano lessons. She is one of the most loving, courageous women of God that I have ever met. Her testimony is such an amazing blessing to me. I love you, Grandma! Happy Birthday!

Can you find Keaton in this picture?

Back in Town

Well, I'm back in town! While I'm waiting on pictures from my girls trip, here's an update about what happened back at home while mama was away.

Keaton and Papa on the carousel at the zoo.














Scott and his Dad removed a wall in our garage to make me some more pantry space. I was so surprised!!


















Keaton learned a new trick! Ask him, "How big are you?" and he lifts his hands to the sky!














Grammie took a picture of him perfecting his walking skills!














Thanks to Grammie, Papa, and Daddy for taking such good care of my boy while I was gone! I'm so glad to be home sweet home.

No Boys Allowed

I feel so blessed to have lasting friendships from college. My girlfriends and I have made it a priority to plan "girls trip" every year. Work, finances, distance, hurricanes, and babies have attempted to thwart our plans, but we have remained committed to this tradition every year. I leave Thursday for our 6th annual! Here's a recap of our last 5 trips.

2004 - Perdido Key
On this trip, we learned that you NEVER waste a good beach day on shopping. We spent our one really sunny day at the outlets, and it RAINED for most of the rest of the trip! We still had a great time and enjoyed our quaint little condo on the beach on Perdido Key. We met up with our freshman-year roomate, Worth who lives in Gulf Shores. She took us to Florabama (what an experience!). We especially treasure memories at Perdido since both Florabama and our condo were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan the following summer.
























2005 - Amelia Island
We ventured to the Atlantic Coast for this trip, and Angela joined us all the way from Canada! Spelling "Amelia Island 2005" in the sand with shells took me half the day. It was so worth it!





























2006 - Miami (Homestead, FL)
Melissa's parents' graciously invited us to spend our trip at their house in Homestead (south of Miami). Meagan had William who was only 5 months old, so she just brought him along! On this trip, we took our first airboat ride through the Everglades which was SO FUN! We saw miles of beautiful wildlife including GATORS everywhere!























2007 - Miami, Nassau, Fowl Cay
This had to be one of my favorite vacations EVER! Melissa's dad flew us over to the Bahamas for 3 days including one night at Atlantis in Paradise Island. Ange made it all the way from Cambodia, and Meg's sister Tasha joined us as well.

























2008 - Homestead, FL
2008 was the year of babies. Melissa and I had our firsts (Andrew and Keaton) and Meg had her second (Hudson) all within 4 months of each other. We decided to invite our moms along to help with the babies, so we could get out together. Of course, we couldn't resist getting the boys' picture taken together!























This year, we are headed back to Homestead and the Bahamas. Pray for me, as I am VERY anxious about leaving Keaton. I have never been away from him for longer than a few hours overnight. I would greatly appreciate prayers for traveling mercies and peace that Keaton is okay, so that I can enjoy these precious days with my friends!

Puttin' on the Ritz

Bartians invade!

Bartian [barsh-an]
n. A native or inhabitant of Bartlesville, OK


















My mom, brother, and niece Mia came back with us to Nashville for a few days after we left Oklahoma. This was Mia's first trip to "Ashville" (makes sense to her that Aunt Ashley lives in Ash-ville).












Fun at The Monkey Treehouse





























Sam's Club













We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a twice!












The Nashville Zoo was a big hit. Here is Mia and I in the Meerkat exhibit. This was her favorite!













































Although the quiet house is refreshing after a week with a houseful of visitors, I'm always very sad to see them go. I quickly forget what it is like not to have someone there to entertain Keaton at all times! Can't wait to see them again at the beach in August!

Trip to Oklahoma

We made our annual trip to Oklahoma for Memorial Day weekend. We had such a great time spending time with family, swimming, and celebrating my Grandma Ruby's 90th birthday! The weather was beautiful for the entire trip!

Keaton loves my parent's dog, Shadow and Shadow loved him too!












This was Keaton's first time swimming. I think "tolerating" would be a more better description than "enjoying" his first dip in the cold pool.













Grandma with Cousin Mia and Keaton


















Keaton's first trip to Kiddie Park. We only rode a couple of rides...it's really all about the photo ops at this age anyway, right? Next year, he will be prime age to enjoy all the rides - can't wait!
































Enjoying a cookie by the pool.