Pensacola Beach, Florida

We drove 2 hours to Pensacola, FL last weekend. We started out at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Also the home of the Blue Angels. Airplanes are one of the boy's favorite things right now, so this was right up our alley. Not to mention that it was free! That was a pleasant surprise.

 They have a kids area with what looked like a big Navy ship. The boys played on it forever and it was nice to break up the museum with some play time. I kept trying to take pictures of the boys and this really annoying kid with a super mullet would NOT go away. Almost every time I went to take a picture, he would show up and smile for the camera.

 I took a back view of the mullet for you viewing pleasure.

 There were so many play airplanes and real airplanes for the kids, and adults, to climb in. It was so fun! The boys kept saying that they were the pilot and telling us where they were flying to. Most of the time they say they are flying to Washington, Idaho, or Disneyland.

 My legs fit in this airplane slightly better than Justin's.

 The Blue Angels!!

 They had a little 50's exhibit that was really cute.

 Wow!! It's really the Blue Angels!!!

 We did a little swimming after the Air Museum. Jack brought this ring with us and he was cracking us up with it. He kept wanting me to take a picture of him "jumping" into the water. He has always been so timid around the water, so he was thinking that he was being pretty cool.

 Anderson was not shy at all and was just jumping in. I should have brought some floaty rings or something because we had to be on him like a hawk. He was having so much fun though.

 Then we spent some time at the Pensacola beach. It was so fun! The sand was awesome and the water was beautiful. Jack brought this little kite that he has been dying to fly and flew it forever. It was definitely a dollar well spent!

 We buried Justin in the sand. Anderson was pretty concerned and didn't think it was a fun activity. He kept trying to get the sand off of him.

 It was a fun little "stay"cation.
We saw this awesome motorcycle (sort of) on the way home. Jack thought it was hilarious. Can you see the white socks with crocs? It just screams tough guy, right? I think it compliments the leather vest. :)

Hopefully the rest of the South is this much fun!

Our House

My family has been asking me to put some pictures of our house up since we got here, and I haven't wanted to do it because I feel like every room is still a work in progress. So just as a disclaimer, I move stuff around almost every day, and there is still a bunch of stuff that needs to go up on the walls. But I have enough done now, that it feels like a home. It has taken me longer than I wanted to get it all put together, but for some reason my decorations just weren't as cute when I pulled them out of the box (annoying how that happens). So I have tried to rearrange some things and add a few new things to make it feel fresh and new.

 This is the boy's room. It has always been our plan to move them into the same room once we moved, and the transition has gone pretty well. Sometimes they have a hard time settling down at night but for the most part they do really well.

 We bought Jack a twin mattress when we got here and put Anderson in the toddler bed. They both were beyond excited to have a new big boy bed. We still need to get an actual bed with a head board and what not, but we think we might do that after we move next and get Anderson a matching one as well.

 We have looked and looked and looked for some bedding that would go with all the pillows we already have and have had absolutely no luck whatsoever. I purchased three different ones at different times thinking I would like them and when I got them home and in their room, I hated it. I ended up returning them all. And I wanted to buy two of them so that when we get a twin bed for Anderson after we move, their bedding would match. Well after striking out over and over, I was looking through a box with my bedding from college and found my twin bedspread and tan duvet cover. So that's what he has on his bed. It works for now.

 This is the boy's bathroom. I never knew how nice it would be to have more than one bathroom. And we even have one on the first floor! No more walking upstairs to use the restroom. :)

 Our room.

 Our bathroom.

 This is the entry way. The hall leads to the bathroom and laundry room at the end. We have a nice big laundry room which has been a major step up from my scary basement! The door on the right of the hall is just a furnace closet.

Our family room.

 I LOVE the tall ceilings and the open space.

 We need an entertainment center. I hate that little table that our tv sits on. I have been looking on craigslist and in lots of stores but haven't had very much luck. Everything I like is expensive and more money than we would like to spend right now. So it's been put on my "someday" list.

This house has so many big windows!! It's amazing how much light we have now.

 Kitchen.

Also a huge step up from our old house. I have nice new appliances! It's fabulous.

 Dining room.

We were trying to find a new home for our entertainment center since it didn't fit our tv anymore. We decided to paint it and make it into a big shelf/hutch/I don't know what to call it. I think it turned out cute.

 A little funky on the color, but I love it.

 Don't mind the pile of decorations on the floor that have yet to find a home.

 Out third bedroom is really small and is currently a play room. It works really well. I hate having toys in the boy's room so this is perfect for them to play in and make a mess.

 This is our house. It's a duplex, but we never hear or hardly see our neighbors. It's kind of nice. We have a little fenced back yard. It is little but at least it gives the boys somewhere to go and play.

This is our street. It is so quiet! We are loving it. We have both missed Ohio like crazy, but one thing we don't miss is our loud and busy street.

So there you have it. Our Mississippi home in a nutshell. :)

Mini Triathlon

 Justin participated in his first mini triathlon on the base. He decided about 3 days before that he was going to do it. So with basically no preparation in the swimming and biking department, he still thought it sounded fun. He did really good considering that it was his first one and besides running, has had no training for it at all.

 After the swim, they started on the bikes. He borrowed a bike since we don't have any, and we decided that road bikes need to be purchased sometime in the near future. Now that Jack has a bike and loves riding it, all we need is a seat for Anderson and we could go on family bike rides.

 After the bikes, he started on the run which was his best part of the whole triathlon. Justin is a good runner, and enjoys doing that as regular exercise. So naturally, this is where he saved on time.

I was really proud of him! He did great and finished strong, especially for deciding 3 days before to do it. I was impressed. Now if I could just learn how to swim better, I might be able to do one with him!