Back to School!!

Today was Caleb and Isabelle's first day of school as a second grader and a kindergartener!! They are both attending Christ Covenant School, and now Isabelle has moved up from the preschool into the elementary building. It's a bitter-sweet time to end the summer days and begin the scheduled days of the school year, but they were both excited about it. Yesterday, they had an ice cream social for the kids to meet their teachers and see who would be in their class. So, it made today a little easier since they already knew where they were going and where their desk would be in their classroom. Isabelle gets to wear a uniform this year, too, so it will make getting dressed a little less stressful in the mornings. Isabelle and Caleb begin the day at the same time, now, but Isabelle only goes half days for kindergarten, so she will be done before lunch. Caleb is finished at 2:45.

When Caleb prayed last night, he thanked God for the opportunity to go to school. Praise the Lord! That is a good start to the year, and we pray that they both really enjoy their teachers this year as well as the children in their class.

Seeing their classrooms the day before school started


Before leaving for school


At school, about to start the day!

Isabelle at her desk

Florida beach vacation

Our family got to take a trip back to our old stomping ground a couple weeks ago, when we stayed at the Sandestin Resort. Barrett attended a medical conference for a few days, and we used that time to make a vacation out of it. It was our first trip to the area to stay for a week as tourists, and it definitely felt different than living there. We got to deal with the nasty traffic on Hwy 98 the whole week, which we usually tried to avoid as permanent residents. However, the resort where we stayed was great and the pool was a lot of fun. On Tuesday evening, Barrett's parents came over and stayed with us for the remainder of the week. It was great to hang out with them, and they were a big help with the kids. We ventured out to the beach to play one morning with Caleb and Isabelle, while grandmamma and granddaddy let Judson sleep up in the room. Judson was more prone to put the sand in his mouth and eyes, so it was easier for all of us if he stayed away from the beach. We spent most of our time at the pool, which included a kiddie pool and a waterfall for the kids to play under.

On Sunday, we enjoyed getting to worship with our friends at our old church. We went out to eat lunch with our pastor and his wife, along with some other friends after the service, and then on Sunday evening got to attend a small group Bible study that our good friends participate in each week. Our kids got to play and catch up with their friends, and so did we. We invited our friends the Wards and the Linns to come out to the resort and swim with us on Monday and Tuesday, and that was a lot of fun. Caleb even got to have a sleepover with his good friend, Johnny, while we were there.

Our friends


One evening we all went out to eat at one of our favorite beachfront restuarants, The Back Porch. We were reminded again that we were there during tourist season when we had to wait and hour and a half to be seated on a Wednesday night!

Eating an appetizer while waiting for a table


During the week we visited some of our favorite spots like The Harborwalk, Destin Commons, and Baytowne Wharf. It was hard to work in everything we wanted to do, and we were somewhat limited by having a toddler and working around nap schedules, etc., but we had a nice time and enjoyed our visit.

Playing in our condo



Playing at Destin Commons

Looking at fish and turtles at Baytowne Wharf

The view from the top floor of our condo


Playing on the beach






Granddaddy and Grandmomma with the kids

Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Barrett and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary by going to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, June 13-17. In looking for a place to go, we decided we wanted to go somewhere relaxing and not feel like we had to be going and doing things the whole time. We heard about Zihuatanejo from our friends Sarah and Jeremy, who had gone there last year, and they had great things to say about it. So, we decided it fit what we were wanting to do, so we gave it a try. We are so glad we did!! We had such an amazing visit. We stayed in a boutique hotel called Amuleto, which was located up on the hill overlooked the bay. We had gorgeous views from our room, which had a private lunge pool and sundeck on the second level. We were very pampered the whole time and the service was incredible.

We also really enjoyed the food- we ate most of our meals at the hotel, where everything is made fresh every day. For breakfasts we usually ate whatever the special was, along with fresh fruit and homemade pastries with unusual and yummy homemade jams to go with it. One evening we went out for dinner to an amazing restaurant called Tentaciones that offered a different view of the bay. The views were breathtaking, as the restaurant was located on a littLe outcropping of cliff, so you had a wrap around view of the entire bay. There was an infinity pool that stretched the length of the patio, so you almost felt as if you were floating on air. We were the only guests that evening, since it was the slow season when we were there, so we got all the attention! The restaurant has a fixed menu, so each course they brought out was a surprise, but we loved everything they served us. They even serenaded us during our dessert!

We did enjoy walking down the hill to the beach a couple mornings to go for a run, and we went into town to do some souvenir shopping at the market, but most of our time was spent relaxing, reading, and cooling off in the pool. It was so beautiful and relaxing that it was hard to leave! Amuleto met and exceeded our expectations, and we fully enjoyed our time in Zihuatanejo. We just wish we could go back next year!!

View of the Bay from our hotel

Infinity pool in our room

Our private sundeck

At our hotel before going out to eat

At Tentaciones

Our amazing view at Tentaciones- they called it the Titanic table- you can see why!

A beautiful sunset

Eating a meal at our hotel

The Allens come for a visit

In May, our good friends Jeremy and Sarah Allen came to Jackson for Sarah's brother-in-law's graduation from RTS, and they stayed with us at our house for a night. They brought their two oldest children, Reagan and Sophie Claire, who are the same ages as Caleb and Isabelle. Our kids don't get to see each other that often, so there was a good bit of shyness at first, but they warmed up eventually and had a really good time playing together. We got a babysitter for the kids that night and the adults went out to eat a yummy steak at Shapley's, one of our favorite fine dining restaurants. They went to church with us on Sunday morning and ate lunch with us, but then had to head back home. We had such a nice visit with them- it's so great seeing good friends that go way back to college days, and now our kids get to enjoy playing together- fun times!

Isabelle and Sophie Claire

Caleb and Reagan- Caleb being goofy and not wanting to get too close...

Jeremy, Sarah, me, and Barrett

Children's Museum Fun Run

The weekend of Judson's birthday, the Children's museum had a one mile fun run that we did with the kids. Caleb and Isabelle ran and Judson cheered from the sidelines with the grandparents. Afterwards, they had the splash pad sprinkers on to cool off and they gave out free smoothie samples- yummy! It's always fun to get out for those community runs, and the kids have a great time, too.



Isabelle with her friend, Ellie



Judson at home playing with one of his new birthday presents: a water table

Judson's 1st Birthday

Judson turned one year old on May 27, and we celebrated with pizza, cake and presents at our house. We had a grand celebration with both sets of grandparents attending, along with Tim and Virginia (he is such and important person). Judson was hilarious when it came time for cake- we put him in his high chair at the table and just put his piece of cake right on the table in front of him. He looked at it for a minute, and then just put his face right in it! Of course we all laughed and he thought it was very funny being the center of attention so he proceeded to do it again and again, making sure he had everyone's attention each time! I think Caleb and Isabelle enjoyed opening his presents more than Judson, but he did enjoy playing with them.

It was one of the rare occasions when both sides of the family are able to get together, so we really enjoyed getting to be with everyone and share Judson's birthday with our family.




Caleb and Isabelle got him a nerf sword so they could all play together

On his Buzz Lightyear riding toy

Remembering Scout

On Wednesday, April 6, our beloved dog, Scout, died due to kidney failure. She had not been herself for the past few months, but we didn't realize until recently just how sick she was. She had been throwing up more and shaking incessantly. At first the vet thought that she might be having pain from arthritis, so we started her on some anti-inflammatory medicine. However, after a few days of her symptoms not getting any better, we took her back in and they did some blood work on her. That was when we discovered that her creatinine levels were very high. We admitted her to the vet hospital that day and they gave her IV fluids for a day to see if it would help bring her levels down, but it didn't work. Then we knew that her kidneys were in massive failure and there was nothing left to be done at that point. It was then that we had to make the very sad and heart-wrenching decision to put her to sleep. It all just happened so quickly and I had no idea we would have to say goodbye to her so soon. She had been part of our family for almost ten years and had seen us through all our moves, our children being born, and had just been a sweet and good dog by our side all that time. It was so sad losing her, so I wanted to write this as a kind of memorial to her for us to remember what a sweet dog she was and smile at the good memories we had with her.

From the time we got Scout as a puppy, she always loved to eat. She would act like she hadn't eaten in a week every time we fed her. She literally inhaled her food. She was our built-in cleaning service for getting all the food particles up off the floor. Another thing she always loved was ice. Every time we would open the freezer, she would be right there, wagging her tail and waiting for us to toss her a piece. She would always be around when I was putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher as well. She would help to get the excess food off the plates and silverware for us. It's amazing she never cut her tongue on a sharp utensil. Barrett was her favorite person for free food handouts. She knew she wouldn't get anything from me, so she would sit at attention in front of Barrett when he was eating, and watch every movement of his hands in hope that he would let her lick his plate or bowl.
When we lived in our first place, and Scout was a puppy, we would take her outside and Barrett would go to the back of our yard and I would stand in the front. We would each have a piece of cheese with us and we would take turns calling her as she ran from one side of the house for a bite of cheese, back to the other for more cheese.
She never liked the water. She didn't like swimming (it was hilarious to watch her try to swim in Barrett's parent's pool!) and she hated to get a bath. As soon as she realized that I was taking her toward the bathroom, she would dig in her back paws and refuse to move!
We liked to tease that Scout was like a cat with nine lives- she did some pretty crazy things in her younger years, but always recovered. Once she was running down the stairs and jumped from about seven stairs up from the bottom and flew into the wall, but got up and acted like it hadn't even hurt. Another time when she was a little puppy she managed to climb over the doggie gate and fall face first to the ground. She had an egg size bump on her nose for a week after that! She did her share of damage to our furniture when she was a puppy- back before we learned the value of kenneling. Our couch had begun to wrip in one spot, and one night when we came home, we found chunks of cushion foam all over our floor. It's amazing that she survived that experience!
Before Caleb was born, we didn't know how she would react to having a baby in the house, so we practiced showing her a baby doll and teaching her to be gentle, etc. We never had any trouble with any of our children with Scout. She was the most gentle dog and put up with all the kids pulling her hair and tail while they "played" with her.
Every once in a while, Scout would get into a really hyper mood and tear around the house, going from one side to another as fast as she could, evening bumping into furniture as she tried to maneuver. The kids would jump up on the couch to avoid getting run over and we would all laugh and egg her on. The kids thought it was hilarious, and Judson would giggle and laugh as he watched her. After she had worked out every last drop of energy, she would just colapse on the floor and not budge.

Barrett's mom, aka Grandmamma, wrote a sweet story as a tribute to Scout, and I wanted to share it here. It is in the same style as the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book.

If You Give a Dog a Hug . . . .A Tribute to Scout
By Grandmamma Jones

It was almost time for Grandmamma and Granddaddy to arrive for Christmas vacation. The tree was decorated; the lights were twinkling; the stockings were hung. Everyone was excited including Scout. Scout always liked to see Grandmamma for she had been her friend since she was a puppy.

We see our grandparents drive up in the driveway and go out to meet them. Hugs and kisses are passed around to everyone over and over again.
Our dad helps Granddaddy unload the car. There is luggage, goodies made by Grandmamma, and presents. What a happy time at our house!

Waiting inside is Scout, our brown dog. Scout sees Grandmamma and begins to wag her tail as she sees Grandmamma approaching. Grandmamma leans down to give Scout a hug and that’s when it all begins. . . .

You see, when you give Scout a hug, she give you kisses——kisses on your ear. It tickles and makes you laugh. (Grandmamma has learned to be careful for she found out the hard way that Scout likes earrings.)
When she kisses your ear and it tickles, you begin to laugh. You might even clap your hands and say, “Scout.” Then she begins to run and run. She runs around the room, and then around the whole house returning to hear you clap her on.

If you say, “Go, Scout, go,” she runs even more. Sometimes she sprints through the doggie door and into the screened porch. Give her a second and away she goes through the screen door and around the yard in circles and back into the house again.

By this time she is tired and wants an ice cube. If you give her an ice cube, she will want another. After the ice cube, she rests on her checkered bed. When she is rested, she will ask for your attention.

Scout will stand and look at you, pace the floor, and look some more. Eventually, if you have not understood her message, she will begin to twist her head, body and tail as she smiles at you. She wants you to follow her . . . it is time to eat. Before you can get to the laundry room, you can hear her moving her dog bowl as if to say, “Hurry, please!”

When you feed her, she is so happy and full. Scout wants to thank you, so you give her a hug. Then comes the kiss on your ear, and the tickles and giggles. And you know what happens next. It starts all over again. . .


Scout as a puppy




Our first family Christmas picture

Yes, she used to get up on our furniture!

Bounding down the stairs

Scout with Caleb


Caleb with his stuffed dog "My Dog", and his real dog, Scout


Isabelle with Scout



Isabelle always asked to have her picture taken with Scout

Scout wearing her Air Force bandana

Scout kissing Judson