Our family just got back from a delightful and much-anticipated vacation to Florida over spring break! It’s wonderful to be home again, and I’m planning to blog more consistently in the future. I have been concocting all sorts of ideas for upcoming posts. :) But first I’ll write a bit about our trip.

So we set off on our grand adventure last Sunday and drove pretty much the entire day. We stopped at a hotel in Mississippi overnight. It was interesting to see the different changes as we drove farther south. You know you’re really down south when the gas stations sell pickled pigs feet and boiled peanuts. No joke.

Because it’s off-season, Mom found a great bargain at a condo-type place for us to stay near the coast in Destin, Florida. It was colder than usual in Destin the week we were there, but the ocean was magnificent. The night we arrived it was quite windy with large waves. We saw at least a dozen surfers out there as well. After unpacking and settling in, we decided to take a walk along the beach. I’d intended to only observe the water, perhaps dip a foot in that first time, but my brothers and I found wadding in it irresistible and ended up getting pretty wet. :) Thank goodness we had a dryer!

The guys and I enjoyed collecting shells along the beach – I was surprised at how many there were! I tried photographing a few on the beach:

On the second afternoon, Mom, Daddy, and I decided to take a long run along the beach. With our travels I hadn’t run or really moved for a few days, so it felt great. And it was one of the prettiest runs I’ve ever been on, as we ran right along the shoreline.

We enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL sunset on Tuesday.

My brothers made lots of sand sculptures and dug large pits in the sand. Austin and Jonathan dug two huge pits connected by a tunnel. After we had gone up to our room, it was funny to watch from the window and see people’s reactions when they walked by those holes. They always stopped and some people actually got in and crawled through the tunnel.

We celebrated Jonathan’s 11th birthday on Wednesday with vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet. :) We also visited an army air force museum, which was interesting.

There were lots of different types of aircrafts. This was one of Jonathan’s favorites.

On Friday morning we packed up and drove home. It was a blessing to be able to spend time together, and I am grateful for the memories we made. I enjoyed the quiet walks along the beach, running, watching the Beverly Hillbillies as a family, enjoying the scenery as we drove, the good meals Mom made for us, hunting for shells, watching movies and reading books together.

Now the end of spring break is rapidly approaching, and it’ll be time to get out my textbooks and tackle the next half of the semester. I’m looking forward to it. Well, folks, it is a beautiful Saturday morning, and I have some more unpacking to do, so I’ll say goodbye for now.

Thank you for dropping by, and have a lovely weekend!

Hello friends! I thought I’d give you a quick update from over the past few weeks! I don’t have many pictures for you today, but I’ll just write about what’s been going on these days. :)

For Daddy’s birthday on earlier this month, I made a cake with layers of chocolate cheesecake, chocolate cake, white cheesecake, chocolate mousse, white swirl, and chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s my favorite cake…ever. Would anyone be interested in the recipe? I’ll just warn you ahead of time that there’s not a speck of health in it, but that’s okay for a birthday cake! :) Hee-hee.

School is going well! Two weeks ago I finished the first quarter of the semester. It ended with a long round of unit exams. I also took the ACT that same week, which was tough. I was VERY glad to get those things behind me, after which I enjoyed a nice little break. My school load is demanding, but not too terribly hard, and I am enjoying my classes very much. I’m also looking forward to spring break in the a few weeks!

Wesley and I were inspired by a friend to start watching Dr. Who! And though it’s taken a few episodes to get into, I have found myself enjoying them and even *trying* to mimic a British accent. :) I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a Whovian yet, but it’s been a fun thing to do together.

Last week we got freezing rain, which coated absolutely everything, including the roads, with ice. On Thursday everyone stayed home because of the icy weather. It was a very pleasant, cozy day, despite the slushy mess outside. Since then we have gotten almost every form of precipitation (sleet, rain, snow, etc.). Missouri weather is so strange!

Austin and Jonathan competed at another speech tournament over the weekend (the same one I posted about last year). They did very well, each placing among the top finalists and winning a few trophies. We were all so proud of them. :)

One last thing…we’re having a photography contest at God’s World Photography this week! The theme for this month’s contest is animals. This contest is open to anyone, so if you have a picture you’d like to enter, head on over and check it out! :)

So there’s a little update….we have had some busy/stressful days over the past few weeks, but God’s new mercies abound, and His goodness in every aspect of my life never ceases to amaze me. I am reminded many times each day that mine is a life truly blessed.

Have a joy-filled and God-honoring week!