Good Friday

So, it's Friday. Good Friday to be exact. And it's been good to me so far. Productive, but relaxing morning at work, then found out I was released from work at noon. HOLLA!! It doesn't get much better than that folks!

Oh wait, yes it does. Then I enjoyed a solo Target trip, impromptu nap in the sunshine (fell asleep on the patio) and got to spend time with my most favorite man in the world.

Nash's friend Hunter is the cutest little man ever.

While we were playing, his sweet new Tom's arrived!  Loving this fresh green color...

Nash loves to fake sleep.  And gets mad when I try to take pictures of it.

I finished my night off with some Moscato and bloggie time...aaaaand, I'm complete.

Things I'm Loving...and a Printable!

This week I'm doing a two for one:  a list of all the things I'm currently loving AND a free printable of my Fall Bucket List!! 

When I was pregnant with Nash, I realized there was a wealth of information on the internet about things to do with your baby to help them grow, learn, etc...  All these ideas from Mama's around the world about giving your kids all these experiences...all right there in Google.  Pinterest now makes it even easier, and with September finally here, I feel like I'm ready to tackle some of those. 

Printables and Bucket Lists are cool because it forces you to sit down and say, "this is what I want to experience" and then gives you an outlet to share it with others.  I had found a few good Fall Bucket Lists on Pinterest (like this one and this one), but nothing that was just quite right (after all, my List must be different than someone from Michigan, right?).  So I took some ideas from a bunch of places, added my own, and voila!  Here's my list:

Click Here for the Printable PDF

Here's the good stuff.  The things that keep me coming back to the web with unbounded excitement.  Does that sound cheesy or weird?  No, ok good.  

• Saw this Coolness Graph on MSN the other day.  Some of this is clever shit! 
• I'm reading this book on my Kindle for iPhone right now...I can't put it down.  If you're married or not, it's a good read about why things do/don't work out in relationships.  Next up:  get the Hubs to read it too...it's like free therapy, eh?
• I'm such an Apple snob...I so want this.  Now if only I can con Verizon into upgrading me early.
• I'm shooting my new nephew's newborn photos this weekend, so I bought a bunch of new fabric.  I'm so loving these brights!  Thanks to Dana for giving the 411 in her blog...might be my new supplier! 

That's all for this week, but I've got a lot more cool stuff pinned on Pinterest.  If you haven't checked it out, you should.  Just sayin'.

Jacksonville Adventures - Part 1

Ok, we've been here about a month now, so I feel like it's time to do a little update on the Fleming Island/Jacksonville experience.  We've been here just long enough to feel comfortable and to have established a few favorite hangouts, but not long enough to really know our way around.  We still rely on google a lot to find the best (insert keyword here) around.  We've had some great outings and seen some cool sights.

Ok, ok, you got me.  Basically I just need to do a photo dump.  'Nuff said.

4th of July

Due to some very untimely bad weather, we weren't able to go see fireworks.  I'm so mad at myself because they had fireworks RIGHT by our apartment the Sunday before and we didn't go.  Ugh.  So much for checking "capture a great fireworks photo" off of my 30-Before-30 list.

Touring St. Augustine

Yayyyy for free passes to ALL national parks for military personnel!

It was super hot that day (notice Bubs' uber flushed cheeks), so we hit up a local gourmet popsicle joint that came highly recommended.

Trip to O2B Kids in Fleming Island

After a particularly rough day couped up in the house, we decided to check out this kids play around the corner from our apartment.  Little did we know, less than an hour later our kid would be strapped up ready to climb the rock wall.

Workday Adventures

During work one day, the guys said, "hey, let's go check out the machine gun range."  Thinking one of our units was qualifying and we'd get to see some bullets go downrange, we hopped into the GSA and took off.  After discovering they were already done and gone, we decided to just drive around and check out the area.  We found a bunch of cool, desolate lakes and old training areas.  Who knew all this stuff was here?!

Storms told us is was time to head back though.  This dark cloud would lead to some serious lightning that would eventually cause them to cancel Bubs' first swim lesson (boo).

Thanks for sticking with me through our early adventures in Jacksonville.  There are plenty more adventures (and corresponding pictures) to come, so stay tuned.  Next up though, Bub is 19 Months and oh, yeah, we're going on VACAY!

Easter 2012

As this was Nash's first Easter that he really remembered/took part in, Joe and I wanted to make sure we pulled out all the stops.  So in the weeks prior, we stocked up on eggs, colored grass, and small trinkets.  We scoured our friend base for insider tips on the best egg hunt in town.  And we cleared our schedules for a weekend of pastel cuteness.

Our first big event was easter egg dyeing.  I knew from friends that this is complicated with a toddler, but I really wanted to attempt it.  My husband is much less fond of letting the baby make big messes, whereas I'm always handing him sticky candy or letting him eat rice on his own, so I knew he'd be a little on edge.  We busted out the dyes, strapped the kid in the chair, and went for it.

Blue fingers and smashed, but pretty, eggs later, we think it was a success!  Nash was not happy when we ran out of eggs though...must remember to make more next year.

On Saturday, we met our friends Chad and Kristina and their little boy, Bradley, over at their church for an Easter egg hunt. There was swarms of kiddos, 8000 plastic eggs just waiting to be nabbed, and tons of photo ops.

Trust me when I tell you these are but a fraction of the photos I took.

Nash really didn't care much about putting the eggs in the basket.  He would just grab them, rip them open, shove them in his mouth, then move on to the next one.  Apparently we should have practiced the whole basket thing.

A doggie and some little chickies just made his day.

Nevermind my crazy hair in the photo above...that was the best pic out of the ten Joe took.  Either the kid was squirming or my hair was literally blown into my face.  But at least the pic of them looks good!

Easter morning began late since Joe had to work the night before and needed to catch up on sleep.  Mama whipped up some carrot cake waffles and cracked open the easter eggs and we waited for the snoring to subside (just kidding, Joe Joe).

Grandmom and Grandpop got him a beach toy set!  Perfect timing because, like I mentioned yesterday, we hit up the beach later that day!

It didn't take long for Nash to bust into the caramel eggs...although he was nice enough to share a teensy bite with Daddy (who decided candy is not good before 10 am).  Along with the sand tools, Nash also got a stuffie, a sweet Hot Wheels car, a little train, some stickers, and some colors/shapes flash cards.

My sweet little bunny and his Mama!

It was so nice to spend time with my little family and begin those family traditions that will stick with us for years to come.  Who knows, maybe we'll make it a tradition to go to the beach every year.  And candy before 10 am is a must!

Easter Surf Fest

Instead of a traditional Easter at church or with our families, Joe and I decided to do Easter the Florida way.  With a good old fashioned surf competition.  My friend Tiffany told me her husband Elliot (who's an incredible amateur surfer) was competing in the Easter Surf Fest in Cocoa Beach on Sunday, so we packed up the kiddo and hit the sand.

Nash got to hang with his sweet little BFF Kyla and we got some much needed sun time (which ended up being too much for pasty ole Mama).

The beginnings of sharing, we think!

Isn't Kyla just the prettiest little thing?!  She makes my ovaries ache...

While I was snapping pics of the surf action for Elliot, the hubs was playing dadddy day care with the kiddos.  Apparently they all thought it would be hilarious to bury Nash in the sand...or his legs at least.

Elliott ended up taking 1st place in the semi-finals (which is the part we saw) and 4th overall!  All that despite surfing in a very broad age bracket (25-45).  Woot woot!

And don't worry...a more traditional Easter post should come tomorrow!