Beachin’ It – The Food

Well, if there is one thing in this whole world that the Basfords and Moseleys do well, it would be eating.  Because folks, we like food.  And here is our evidence:

Your eyes are not seeing things.  This is our bread pile…and it is missing THREE bags of bread.  Oh, did I mention we like carbs?

Mandi pretty much became our cook for the week, which was fine by me ;)  We cooked up some simple and delicious meals at the condo (can you say Low Country Boil).  A few nights we did round up the crew (all 8 of us) and head out for dinner.  Our first was a local seafood joint in St. Augustine.  Osteen’s never disappoints.

You know its good when you see a sign like this…

It’s just simple business here, folks! 

Howie was so excited to eat some fried shrimp ;)  I like this picture of his pure joy!

 

Us girls with our brood!

Since fried goodness wasn’t quite enough, we headed to a local ice cream shop in downtown St. Augustine!  The breeze felt so good as we strolled (literally) down the cobblestone streets to get here!

And it was sooo good!

Later in the week we headed to Saltwater Cowboys…ummm, can i have seconds?  Those grits were delicious!  You know its good when your waiter comes up in cut off jean shorts and a denim shirt.  yes ma’am!

The view from the restaurant porch!  God is so good!

Look at those sweet babies.  Too bad we realized .002 seconds later that they were playing looking at SOOT!  oops!

Oh, and that alligator tail was delish as well!  Yummo!

I think I gained another 5 pounds just remembering all that goodness…oh, wait, I did. 

Beachin’ It – The Pool

Our beautiful condo/resort on Cinnamon Beach had two gorgeous pools to frolic in.  Too bad we were banned from one.  You see, the oceanside pool was deemed the quiet pool.  The adult-only pool.  The you-can’t-enter-with-crazy-kids pool.  Good thing for us, because we got to enjoy the beautiful zero-entry pool, complete with hot tub, kiddie pool, AND splash park…I don’t think we missed much anyway!!

Ella LOVED this pool and we both love the zero-entry.  They are great with littles to splash around freely while mamas lay down and stay cool without getting the hair wet!  It’s a win-win!

See the happiness in that face?  Totally in her element in the pool!

She even whipped up some “pancakes.”  (And notice that dry hair.  Poor thing, she is just like her mama in SO many ways.)

My little burrito.  I could eat her up!

Beachin’ It - The Ocean

What’s better than a week at the beach with your family and fabulous friends…well, nothing!  In early September (yep, I’m a little slacker) we hit the waves on Cinnamon Beach with our beloved Moseley’s.  It did not disappoint!  Jonathan and I had not been away on vacation like this since our honeymoon SIX year ago!  Thankful just wouldn’t fit…we were overjoyed! 

So, without further ado, I’ll will bring the vacation to you in categories, because, well, I took too many pictures and can’t organize them in a better way ;)

See this beautiful can of Coke?  It’s resting upon the sand, in all its glory, just passing the time away.  We used to join that can on the beach.  Now it is just a lonesome soul.  Sorry Coke, we are too busy with kids now, and we wouldn’t have it any other way (as long as Coke is still in reach…amen).

 

Toes in the water, toes in the sand

This little girl loved the beach with a deep kind of love.  Her mouth was pretty much like this the entire time we were on the sand!  Her sister, on the other hand, preferred the calmness of the pool (which explains panic faces and a lot of carrying in all of our beach pictures with Ella)!  However, Audrey’s love of the pool didn’t quite run so deep.  Good thing we had both to satisfy these girls!

Look at that beach…not a soul in sight.  It was so peaceful!  September is the time to go!

Who loves building sandcastles…I think Daddy!

Ella began warming up to the ocean little by little!  Towards the end of the week, she only still panicked when Dillan would run toward the water.  I can still hear her little voice crying, “Ms. Mandi…oh no…get Dillan, get Dillan…ohhhhhh.”  Such a tender and cautious heart.

These girls are great sisters and fabulous friends!  Ella often says, “This is my friend, Audrey.”  Seeing their deep bond develop is just overwhelming at times. 

This picture is not good at all (we were moving down the beach) but it holds such a cute memory!  The girls were laughing so much at each other in one of their little games they develop…and understand.  This particular game consisted of putting dresses over your head while the other one yanked it down…they are creative I tell ya…I’m thinking Parker Brothers will be calling soon! 

Precious memories.

Three Years and Fifteen Months

The little ladies took a trip to see Dr. Grooms for their well-child visits!  They both did great while we were there, even through a nasal mist and 4 shots. 

Apparently Goldfish are way more exciting than my camera…ha!

Ella Claire 

Height: 39 inches (90%)

Weight: 34.5 pounds (75%)

Audrey Anne

Height: 29.5 inches (25%)

Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (25%)

So thankful for my healthy youngins!

First Ballet Class

Before we ever married brothers, Laura and I were best friends.  Among many things, we shared a deep love of dance.  We danced for years together, choreographed songs at church, and daydreamed of Ballet Magnificat.  We also dreamed that one day our own littles would attend dance and the love affair would continue! 

I will never forget the day we found out our first little bundle of joy would be dressed in pink.  It only took a matter of seconds for pink tights and leather ballet shoes to enter my mind’s eye (and Aunt Laura had just opened her own ballet studio).  As Ella grew, her love of music and dance just exploded.  The girl had moves at 10 months that her daddy didn’t have at 26;)  I could not WAIT until Ella turned three so she could share that love with other little girls!

As we pulled up to Laura’s School of Ballet, Ella was beyond excited!  And I was about to cry.  It was such a full circle moment for me.  Dance was one of my first loves in life.  At different times it was fun, emotional, raw, hard, and frustrating.  Most importantly, it was something I also used to worship our Creator!  And now my sweet love was about to begin her own journey with it.  To top it off, Aunt Laura was teaching!

Needless to say, ballet is all we have talked about this week!  She did a great job – Aunt Laura says she’s a natural;)

Just look at what she did when I told her to take a picture!

Ella Claire and her beloved Aunt Laura!

Ella and some of the girls in her class! She was beside herself being with ALL GIRLS!

We can’t wait until next week!

Our Princess and her Party!

As Ella’s third birthday began approaching, I knew it had to include two things…dress up and princesses.  Now, seeing as how the majority of Ella’s friends are of the male gender, I knew I had to come up with something that could have a masculine touch, yet still honor my little girl’s most favorite things.  While searching the internet I found a fabulous Princess and Knight party by Jodi.  This gal knows what she is doing and was kind enough to give me costume pointers!  Now all I needed was an army of servants volunteers!!!  My best friend Mandi and darling husband came to my rescue and helped me crank out 14 costumes and a fairytale cardboard castle.  Oh, and lest forget the day-of-party helpers who saved the day!  My mother in law finished all those castle bricks while my own beloved mama wrangled kids and cut fruit!  Love those ladies!

Welcome to Ella’s Castle!

As the kiddos entered, they were dressed in their personalized princess or knight costume and headed to the backyard for the festivities!

 

Craft table for the kiddos!  The girls had crowns, princess stickers, wands, and necklaces.

Little knights got to decorate their own  shields and swords (balloon swords, mind you – ha!)  Y’all, have you ever tried to make one of those balloon shapes…my father-in-law almost passed out just trying to BLOW the thing up!  Kudos to Magic Mike – you have our sincere respect for your balloon-shaping talent!

 Out in the yard, guests could choose the princess table or the knight table for their eating pleasure!

And here’s Ella’s castle in all its glory! 

Once all the princesses and knights had arrived and played a little while, a special guest show up – Princess Belle herself!  We do not watch many Disney movies (because of content), but Beauty and the Beast is on our [short] list.

I owe my niece a big, fat birthday present for this one ;)  Ella was AMAZED by her.  She dazzled the little princesses with one of Ella’s favorite stories, Birthday Presents by Cynthia Rylant, and even sang our current family favorite tune, Beauty and the Beast.  Good thing “Belle” is such a good singer!

One of the sweetest moments of the entire party came courtesy of a certain little fella who has quite the personality.  As Belle sang our tune, Knight JJ came to Princess Ella and said, “Ella, can I ask you a question?  Will you dance with me?”  And that is just what they did!

I didn’t know whether to be smitten by the genuine sweetness of our fair-haired friend, or grab my sweet princess, run to Lowe’s, and purchase the strongest lock I could find for her bedroom door.  I decided not to cause a scene and just soak up the innocence – and maybe order the lock on Amazon ;)

 

Ella loved her castle cake (and I even went to bed BEFORE midnight)!

We love you, Sweet Princess Ella! 

We are SO proud of your sweet spirit and caring heart. You always look to help and never go a day without telling someone they are beautiful!  You love to cuddle, kiss my cheek, and sing into any microphone. You light up any room you waltz into and never meet a stranger.

Baby, we want you to know that YOU are the beautiful one!  Inside and out God has crafted you into a remarkable little girl.  You touch lives in such a special way.

Right now, being a princess to you means wearing a dress and crown, and twirling across the floor.  It makes you feel so special and beautiful.  Your Daddy and I want you to always feel like that princess - special, beautiful, loved, and unique.  Because you are, baby.  You are our princess.  Most of all, you our God’s princess, and there will never be a more beautiful you. 

We cherish you!

Friends are Friends Forever

Charyl and I have been friends since our days in Show Choir and “Footloose” on the campus of Chipola Junior College!  This girl has been with me through MANY phases of my life and God saw fit for us to enter motherhood together – just 2 days apart!  I will never forget that phone call when we “both had something to tell each other!”  Now there are FIVE of them and it is such a rare occasion for us to both be in “back home” at the same time!  I love this girl and treasure our time together…and we plan on much more time as we have already betrothed our eldest!  Ha!

Charyl and either Karis or Katie (they aren’t identical, but there is no way I could tell them apart!) and me and Audrey (who was waaayyy past nap time!)

Her beautiful girls!  I still can’t believe she had twins!

These two are quite something together!

 

And just for fun!

Ty and Ella - 2010

 

Ty and Ella – 2008