FSMS Conference 2011

I'm trying to play catch up again...things at work have been hectic (which is usual at this time of year) but it doesn't leave much time for my to blog when I get home. Fortunately I was able to take off three days from work and attend the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society Conference again this year in St. Augustine. Gigi and Granddaddy graciously went along with us so Kate and I would have some company. We had a great time, lots of shopping and pool time, but I was terrible at taking pictures. I always wish I would do better, but it's so hard to get a good picture of Kate at this age - she refuses to smile or look at the camera most of the time.

I tell my parents over and over how much I appreciate them coming with me - but I can not emphasize how nice it is to have their company!  Especially to help with watching Kate when Justin and I have conference functions to attend.  The first night we were there, Wednesday night, Justin and Papa participated in the BBQ cook off and placed third.  Kate went to dinner with Gigi and Granddaddy while I went with Justin to the BBQ dinner at the Caddyshack restaurant, located across the street from the hotel. 

Each day, we stuck to a simple routine.  We would shop or see the sights with Gigi and Granddaddy in the morning and after lunch, we all headed back to the hotel for Kate's nap.  After nap time, we took Kate to the pool for an hour or so before dinner. 

On Thursday night, Justin was able to join us for dinner so we went to The Columbia restaurant in downtown St. Augustine.  It's one of Justin's favorites, but I think we all enjoyed it.  Kate loved the music and danced every opportunity she had. 

Dancing by the fountain with her new sidekick, Minnie.  Minnie hasn't replaced Kitty, but she's a close second.  Kate now sleeps with Minnie and Kitty every night.

My handsome husband and sweet little girl.

On Saturday, we sweat our way through downtown St. Augustine again to see the Castillo de San Marcos.  I know Dad wanted to spend more time exploring downtown, but with a two year old our time was limited.  Thankfully, my dad is very understanding.  We were able to hear the canon fire and explore the entire fort before we decided it time to head back to the hotel.  

 

The girls - with our unexpected purchase of a new stroller.  On Friday, we had driven to Jacksonville for the day to shop and discovered we didn't bring the stroller with us!  Luckily there was a Babies R Us nearby and Gigi and Granddaddy purchased this as an early birthday present for Kate.   Whew.  Crisis averted.  I wished I had forgotten something cheaper like a sippy cup.

As always, I wish the trip could have lasted longer (or at least my time off of work) but all good things have to come to an end.  Thanks again Gigi and Granddaddy for everything! 

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!

Tonight we celebrated my dad's birthday - although technically his birthday isn't until tomorrow. We had a great time together with Uncle Jordan, Aunt Katie, Nanny and my parents. Kate took a fantastic 2 and a half hour nap this afternoon (it's rare her naps last longer than an hour and a half) so she was ready to celebrate tonight.

Kate and Granddaddy!

She helped blow out the candles tonight - getting ready for her birthday which will be here in only a month

After dinner, Aunt Katie styled Uncle Jordan's hair like Kate's. I'm starting to see some Cowart family resemblance.

Happy Birthday Dad! 

I'm so blessed to have such a great dad!  Love you!

Just another Thursday night...

It's quiet at the Evers house tonight. My little sugar is in bed, daddy is outside working, and I am enjoying some time to sit and blog (in between loads of laundry). I love quiet nights like this. I wanted to share a couple pictures from my evening with Kate. Tonight us girls walked to the mail box to check the mail and Kate brought puppy in her stroller.

After our stroll, we ate dinner and then it was bath time.  The latest thing Kate likes to do after her bath is run naked around the house.  I think every toddlers goes through this phase, which is very entertaining as long as their are no accidents.  The funniest part of Kate's streaking is her repeating "Nakee, Nakee, Nakee Baby" over and over until someone catches her and puts her pajamas on her.

Taking a break from streaking to read some books.

Crazy girl!

Sapp/Crews Family Reunion 2011

This weekend, I "twisted" the arms of Justin, Mimi and Papa to go to the Crews/Sapp family reunion.  The real reason I wanted to go was to see Justin's grandmother, Gaga, and his Aunt Linda.  We haven't been down to Naples since April and since it's going to be Christmas before we can visit again, I wanted to take advantage of the short drive and visit Gaga and Aunt Linda.  Gaga called us Wednesday night and asked if we would be interested in meeting them in Lake City, FL Saturday night and then going to the reunion Sunday in Lake Butler, FL.  I immediately said yes and Justin reluntantly agreed.  I'm not sure if any of the Evers will ever say it, but I think they are glad we went.  I know I am and Gaga was beaming at the family reunion, showing Kate off to her extended family.  Although Gaga married into the family, I think it's sweet she still attends every year, even though Grandaddy passed away several years ago. 

I wasn't sure how Kate would react to Gaga and Aunt Linda but I was so happy that she acted like she sees them every week. Immediately, Kate kept repeating "My Gaga" and was so excited when Gaga rode with us to dinner and sat by her. On the way back from dinner, Gaga had to run an errand and while the rest of us were waiting in the car, Kate kept asking me "Where my Gaga?" over and over again until Gaga returned. I hope they enjoyed the trip as much as I did!

Kate's new favorite ride - the luggage cart.

All the girls - Me, Kate, Gaga, Aunt Linda and Mimi

Justin's Driving Again!

My life has changed for the better today - Justin is driving again!!  I hope it's going to be a long time before I hear any complaining about running errands, going out to get dinner, or picking up Kate because he has waited for this day for six long months.  I'm not going to lie, it has been exhausting these past six months, but I can't complain because we have had a wonderful support system of friends and family who were always willing to help however they could.  I owe a huge THANK YOU to my mom, Aunt Katie, and Lanier (Justin's business partner).  Without them, I don't know how I would have made it.  Although it was an unfortunate event at anytime, God's timing was perfect in the sense that we were able to make it work with the least amount of conflict and inconvenience.  I was working part time during most of these last six months and since Justin was working for himself, he had the option to work from home or get rides with Lanier.

Tonight, Justin drove us to church with one stipulation:  he had to let me take his picture.   

Thinking back, the more appropriate picture would have been one of me in the passenger's seat with my legs propped up on the dashboard, relaxing.  Well, relaxing might be a bit of a stretch because the thought did cross my mind about how I was going to stop the car if he had another seizure while driving.  Thankfully, Justin is a small boy so I guessed there was enough room for me to squeeze in between him and the wheel if I had to - does that make me crazy?  Justin would say "yes" but I would say I'm "prepared if needed".  

In all seriousness, this has been a challenging time, but I'm so thankful Justin hasn't had anymore episodes and is able to get back to being independent. I had a couple moments here and there where I felt like I was drowning in responsibilities/stress, but God always had a way to make me realize how blessed I am and to help me keep things in perspective. I'm trying each day to remind myself to put my faith in God when I feel stressed or overwhelmed - "Let Go and Let God". 

VBS 2011

This past week was Vacation Bible School at Timberlane. Unfortunately I had to work late most of the week and missed two nights, but Kate and Justin were able to attend all week. Kate had two of the best teachers at VBS, Mr. Raymond and Mrs. Tracy, and some of the greatest friends to share the fun with.

Our theme - Sea Jesus.

VBS wouldn't be complete without Audrey to share it with.  I have no idea what they were looking at, but they would look anywhere the camera was not.

Watching the "Puckets" (each night there was a puppet show - the highlight of Kate's night)

Listening to a bible story (and side note: check out Kate's new hair-do). 

Can't wait for VBS next year!

10 Year High School Reunion

A couple weeks ago I went to my 10 year high school reunion - yikes.  I remember wondering in high school who would I be at my 10 year reunion : would I be married and to whom? what kind of job would I have? would I have any kids, if so how many? where would I live? Honestly the truth today are not the answers I would have given 10 years ago, but God has blessed me more than I could have imagined.  I might not have the huge house I dreamed of, or the fancy car, or the ability to stay at home with Kate, but my ordinary, everyday life is great.

I had a good time at the reunion and I'm glad I went.  I was afraid I would regret not going since you only have one 10 year high school reunion.  It wasn't life altering in anyway, but I didn't really expect that.  With Facebook, I can keep in touch with just about everyone I want to.  But there's something about seeing someone face to face that even Facebook can't compete with.  There's only so much personal conversation you can have over the computer.  It's nice to see an old friend, meet their husbands/boyfriends, and to watch them react to seeing you after 10 years (hopefully those were "it's great to see you" faces and not "time has not been good to you" faces). Haha.

Friday night before the reunion, Jennifer and Noah invited us over to their house for dinner.  We had a great time hanging out and the kids enjoyed playing together.  Betsy - I stole these pictures off your blog.  Sorry!

From left to right: Kyndall and Ashleigh-Anne, Me and Kate, Elijah, Betsy and Koby, and Jennifer

The kiddos.  Kate did not want to take her picture (can you tell?).

Saturday night was the big event.  I wasn't able to go to the picnic at Tom Brown or the tour of Lincoln High School earlier that day because I was working, but I made sure to leave the office and be on time to our reunion.  The minute we walked through the doors, it felt like a flash back in time seeing all the familiar faces.    

Jennifer and Rebekah (friends since elementary school) myself and Ashleigh Anne (friends since middle school)

With the husbands.

The Rebeccas. 

The three of us were all in the same second grade class so to avoid confusion, we had to go by Rebecca M. Rebekah S. and Rebecca C (me).  Even today we still refer to each other as that from time to time.  Somethings never change - well except that I am Rebecca E. now, but I'll still answer to Rebecca C.

My handsome husband.  If you would told me in high school the two of us would be married, I would have laughed.  After all, I did tell him before we went on our first date that I didn't think the two of us would last.  Thankfully God has other plans!