Hawaiian Falls...

Madison was invited to a birthday party at Hawaiian Falls for her friend, Skylar, today.  They had SO much fun!  She was really brave and rode all the rides, and loved them!  My cautious girl is becoming less and less fearful every day...she's growing up so fast.

Father's Day...2015...

The day almost ended with no pictures of daddy, but luckily, I remembered and got a few before bed!  We had church, then lunch with Nana and Papa, then dinner with Grandma and Grandpa.  A busy day of celebrating the dads in our life!

These pictures define their relationship together....fun, silly and goofy!

But to be serious, these two love their daddy.  He is the best dad in the world.  He provides for us financially, but never puts his work ahead of us.  He is always here, spending time with us...making us all laugh!  From the beginning, he has been a huge help to me with everything from changing diapers, bathing, dishes, laundry, cooking (which both kids said he was the best in the family at cooking on their questionnaire to him!), to discipline and building me up as a mother.  I couldn't ask for a better father to my babies.  We are all so very lucky to have him in our lives!  He brings a ton of joy to this family, and I'm not sure what we'd ever do without him!  Happy Father's Day, Michael...we love you!

Field day at home...

The kids decided to create a field day at home.  They had several stations for mommy and daddy, along with a survey at the end for us to complete!  Afterwards, they just goofed off with water...lots of giggles and splashing!

I love their creativity when they're off the iPads!  They have so much fun together.

Through the years....

Well, we skipped the beach one year (oil spill), and it looks like we skipped the boardwalk pictures 2 years, but I still think it's neat to look back at these pictures and see them grow!  My babies!

2009...

A little humid....my camera kept fogging up!  2011...

2012...

2013...

2014...

2015...

Pensacola Beach...2015

Vacation time!  We look forward to this trip all year long....we've made so many memories over the years!  Pensacola Beach is our home away from home.  We always think about trying somewhere new, but we always end up at Pensacola because it's what we love!

Normally, our first day is on Father's Day, but this year was a little different!  We got there earlier, and Father's Day isn't until the weekend we get back.  Michael still wanted his traditional "Father's Day" pic!

Our first lunch is always at Crab's!  We look forward to this restaurant the most!

Beignets....their favorite thing about Crabs!  And crab legs for Madison!  This girl would eat crab legs EVERY SINGLE MEAL if she could.

We spent a lot of this trip at the bay since there was a red flag at the gulf so much!  Since tropical storm Bill was brewing near Texas....it affected the currents here.  Positive side was that we didn't have any rain our entire trip!  And the kids love the bay anyway....looking for crabs, jumping off the pier, doing handstands, etc.!

We also had lunch at Shaggy's....the kids love this place!  They love using this telescope, and playing down at the bay feeding fish!

Our traditional Flounder's pictures!

They love playing down at the bay and also in the water mist play fort!

We finally got a yellow flag, so we took advantage.

More Crabs....we can't get enough of it!

Then we headed to the Boardwalk for the night....ice cream!

We loved watching them play in the bay together...the sunset was gorgeous and it was such a sweet moment seeing them get along so well!

Next day was parasailing!  Nathan has been dying to go parasailing since last year.  After several tries and waiting for lower winds, we finally set out!

Madison and I were pretty nervous, so we decided to go first!

They dunked us in the water....we couldn't stop laughing!

Then Nathan and Daddy's turn!

They liked the dunking part too!

Back to the bay...ready to use their new flippers!

We stayed down at the bay and swam until the sun went down, then went night swimming at the pool!  It was absolutely gorgeous...

Next day was beach again....Nathan LOVES his waves.  And Madison found a sand dollar!

Our last lunch was at Peg Leg Pete's!

Yep, they are worn out....completely.

Last time at the ocean.  This was the view I had every few seconds with Nathan searching for shells!  I don't know how this kid goes and goes and never stops!

They had so much fun with the waves and searching for seashells!

I'm sad that our vacation is over, but I'm SO grateful that we are able to make these memories each year.  Not only for Michael and I, but for the kids.  They have so many great memories of these trips and talk about it all year long.  We absolutely love Pensacola, and it really does feel like our second home!  It was a wonderful trip with lots of laughter, beautiful weather, and a lot of fun in the water!  It's on these trips that I stop and realize how completely blessed I am to have my sweet family.