Clearwater Beach

This afternoon we checked out Clearwater Beach. Actually, we went just slightly North to North Beach because you can bring your dog! Our plan sounded better in theory. It is hot at the beach and the water is starting to get really warm. It was still fun, but I think it was too hot for Blue. We gave her lots of water to drink and I kept putting water on her back to keep her cool. But I think we'll wait until it cools off a lot before we bring her back to the beach. She did really well. She doesn't like water, so she wouldn't swim with us. She stayed on our beach mats while we were in the water. She's not the kind of dog that runs away. Although she did chase a bird. She also enjoyed digging in the sand.

The beach itself was really pretty. All the tourists hang around Clearwater Beach, near the condos and hotels, which gets pretty busy. We went just a little North and there weren't very many people.

I realized I only took pictures of Blue and of no one else. I guess that was fine since this was her first time to the beach. However, I did get some videos.


Despite her smiles, she didn't have the best time.

Hawaii

Way back last December (Christmas Eve to be exact) a friend of ours, Chelsea, got engaged. She told us they were planning on getting married in Hawaii and they wanted us to be there. It sounded like a dream come true, but I don't like to be hopeful for things that I don't think will really happen. For months I kept this in the back of my mind, but I kept telling myself that it probably wouldn't happen. I really hate to be disappointed and I didn't want to get worked up over a trip to Hawaii.
Well, our dreams came true! This trip was absolutely incredible! I still can't believe this happened to us. The plane tickets were paid for. The four-and-a-half star resort on the beach was paid for. And we received a food voucher for $100, per person, each day, for seven days.

From day one, this trip was amazing. We had a short flight from Austin to Dallas. Our next leg would be Dallas to Honolulu and then Honolulu to Kona. Apparently we have incredible luck because we were bumped to first class for the eight hour flight from Dallas to Honolulu! What an amazing flight! We were served a three course gourmet meal, including Ben & Jerry's hot fudge sundaes. But the thing I enjoyed the most was that our seats reclined in a flat position so that we could sleep. So needless to say, we arrived in Hawaii well fed and well rested. Quite the opposite of what I expected. This was just the beginning of things to come.

The Fairmont Orchid resort was gorgeous. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful. Our room overlooked the golf course, but you could also see the ocean. Hardly anyone came to that side of the resort, so it was quiet and peaceful. Just perfect. The weather was perfect and even the air smelled good.

With our food vouchers, we dined like kings and queens. There were several different restaurants to choose from at the resort. We ate things like sushi, filet minion, white truffle mac and cheese, crab legs, caviar, and shrimp, just to name a few. My favorite breakfast item was the coconut syrup that I put on my pancakes. Amazing! I also enjoyed a non-alcoholic pina colada everyday.

The beach was, of course, within walking distance. It was like a little lagoon with clear blue water. We went snorkeling and kayaking. The snorkeling was amazing! Basically it's one big coral reef right outside of our lagoon area. We saw lots of different fish and sea turtles.

We were also able to venture to the other side of the island on Ryan's birthday. Yeah, did I mention that it was Ryan's 30th birthday? What a way to spend your birthday! The other side of the island is very green, unlike the side we were on which was literally all lava rock (it had it's own kind of beauty). We hiked to see some waterfalls and found some different beaches. Well, they weren't really beaches, those are hard to come by.

Now the whole reason we were here was to celebrate the marriage of Chelsea and Jeremy. We enjoyed spending time with them and their families. We were also able to attend their marriage sealing in the Kona Temple. That was really special and a highlight of the trip. After the temple, they had a ring ceremony at sunset which was followed by a luau. Everything was beautiful and well planned. It was like something from a movie!

One afternoon, the girls had their own luncheon while the boys played basketball. Each woman received a voucher to use in the spa! I was able to get my hair highlighted and I think it turned out great!

This trip was incredible. Ryan and I really needed this trip. I was totally stress free the whole time. I went to bed by 9pm most nights and was awake by 6am. I just felt so much at peace in Hawaii. I think this really helped us get ready for the big move ahead of us. It was also nice to spend some one-on-one time with Ryan.

Initially I was very worried about leaving Cannon for a whole week. I made a "calendar of love" that showed what was going on for him that day and when mommy and daddy were going to come home. It had who he was going to play with that day and also a reminder that we would call him. He cried when we were dropped off at the airport. I was glad that he came to the airport though. Each time we called him he was happy. Toni said he did great! Of course, she planned lots of fun things for him to do to keep him occupied. The last two days he started to miss us. Then he came with Toni to pick us up at the airport. It gave me such peace of mind to know that Cannon was well taken care of and that he was not upset with us being gone for so long.

And now for the pictures!


The view from our balcony. The ocean was to the left and the mountains to the right.


Something you would typically see on your walk to the beach.








I miss those pina coladas!


Fire dancers at the luau.


The hula dancers got Ryan up on stage! This is a rare photo because Ryan never does this type of thing!












The hona (sea turtles) were frequent visitors on the beach.




I saw this rainbow over our resort on the last day.


Jeremy and Chelsea

Indian Rocks Beach

We had a beach day on Tuesday. Woody came too. He goes almost everywhere Cannon goes too.

Cannon's Room

My goal today was to finish putting Cannon's room together. His room is huge and there is plenty of space to play! He also has a large closet so we were able to store all of his old baby things. The closet door broke, so we need to get that fixed. His room is also by far the hottest room in the house. We keep his curtains and blinds closed all day and that really helps with the heat. We also got him a fan that we keep in his room.

The view from the door:


The view from the rocking chair:


The view from the crib:


The view from the tent:




His room is pretty much set up the same way it was at our old house, but with more room. I am keeping most of his toys in his closet. We will rotate through the toys or just pull them out as needed. I got really sick of having all the toys out all of the time and then having to clean them up. This way we will keep some toys downstairs and some out in his room, like the stuff he plays with everyday (his trains, cars, Mr. Potato Head, and books).

Today was also Ryan's first day at work! It was just orientation stuff, so kind of boring. I did learn that his company offers a discount to Disneyworld!! So you know we will be hitting that up soon!

1,214 Miles

After 1,214 miles and 36 hours later, we arrived at our new home in Clearwater, Florida!

Tuesday night, we headed to College Station. We stayed the night with Kristina and then left at about 5:30 Wednesday morning. This saved us two hours and we got to let the boys play together one last time.



So far the drive was fine, except for the speeding ticket on got in Conroe, Texas! Since we left so early, Cannon slept for about an hour. The next stop was Crowley, LA. We let Cannon and Blue play at a park and then we got Subway for lunch. At the park, Cannon got his first bee sting!










Louisiana was SO humid! Even Blue got tired after just a few minutes of chasing the frisbee.

Cannon slept again for about another hour. We then made our way to Slidell, LA where we stopped at a mall. Since Ryan was driving that huge truck, we ended up getting ahead of him. We played in the mall in a kids area for about 40 minutes until Ryan arrived.

Then we made our way to Foley, AL. This was a little detour, but we had to go to Ryan's favorite restaurant, Lambert's, home of the flying rolls! We had to wait a super long time to get in and Cannon was so over tired. He loved playing on the wooden train outside and eating the rolls, but he ended up having a meltdown in the restaurant and wouldn't eat his dinner. We ate quickly and then left. I felt bad for Ryan that we didn't get to have the experience he was hoping for, but maybe we'll get to return another time.





We left Lambert's at about 9:30. Cannon fell right to sleep in the car and slept all the way until we got to our hotel in Pensacola, FL, which was around 11pm. We were all exhausted and went right to bed.

The next morning, Ryan and I got up early to get a head start. We let Cannon sleep as long as he wanted, which was until about 7am. That was pretty good for him since he was sleeping in the same room while we were showering and making a lot of noise.

This next leg of the trip he was a little fussier, but not as bad as I had expected. We stopped in Lake City, FL at a McDonalds for lunch. The workers there were so nice to Cannon, like Chick-fil-a nice! He had brought in his Woody doll (his new favorite toy) and they were playing with him and saying how cute Cannon was. Cannon barely ate any of his lunch, but he did offer some to Woody. They had a great playscape inside, including basketball. I just let him play and not worry about his eating. I figured he could eat in the car if he wanted to. The lady sitting next to us had accidentally bought two too many hot fudge sundaes and she gave them both to me! I thought that was so nice of her and it made me think how nice the people in Florida are.

We met up with Ryan at a rest stop and brought him some lunch. Cannon fell right to sleep and slept for over two hours! This is by far the longest he has ever slept in his car seat! I was elated as this took up most of the drive!

We made it to our apartment at 5:30pm Thursday evening, which we learned is the worst time to do any sort of heavy outdoor activity. We were very happy to get here. About 10 people from church met us at our home to help unload our truck. I am extremely grateful for them! Cannon was so excited to see his stuff again. When he saw Ryan's car he started giggling and laughing. It was so cute!

The whole drive went better than I thought. Cannon did awesome as did Blue. Blue's vet has prescribed an anti-anxiety pill for her and it worked like a charm. She really just slept on her pillow in the back seat. We had brought a portable DVD player for Cannon, but I never used it. I probably should have pulled it out on that second day, but I forgot about it. I also thought he would never want to go in the car again, but he has never complained about being in the car or his car seat. The drive here was absolutely gorgeous! Louisiana was mostly bridges, swamps, and forests. Mississippi and Alabama were also really green. Everything was pretty exciting for me to see.

Now that we have been here for a few days, we are starting to settle in. Cannon is adjusting beautifully. We have been trying to prepare him for over a month. He seems to understand what is going on. There was a fish fry church activity on Friday and we went to that to meet people. We had a great time, ate delicious fish, and Cannon met a boy his age. Today we went to church and I met two other girls who just moved here too. Cannon was excited to go to nursery and didn't even care when I left him. I am just really pleased with the way everything is going! The house is still a mess, but most things are in their right places. Here's a sample of what things look like.

Front room, from the view of the door.


We will put the computer behind the couch when we get our computer armoire.


The dining room. The laundry room wasn't large enough to put the freezer and the washer/dryer, so it has to be here. The filing cabinet is just there for right now.


And the kitchen.


We are in a two bedroom townhouse, but it's two-stories. It feels a lot bigger than I thought it would. There is also a screened in balcony just outside of the front room area. Cannon likes to play with his basketball hoop and since it's all screened in, the balls never fall! There are also stairs that go down to a grassy area so he can run around and play with his baseball. This complex has three pools and a playground. We are also about 10-15 minutes away from some beautiful beaches, so we have lots of exploring to do this week!

We Were Here

Ryan and I got back from Hawaii today and we had an absolutely amazing time! Since we are moving tomorrow, I'll have to save this lengthy post for another day. But here's the proof that we were actually there.

Why?

Why do they always have to lay on the clean clothes?