Orange Beach 2015...post 1

We took our trip to the beach back in May. Most of the Caughern family was able to make it. Aaron's younger brother and his crew were the only ones who didn't go. I have got to say, it was AWESOME!! We had such a great time. The kids did great on the trip down and on the way back. No one got sick or injured. There were no fights or arguments. I couldn't not have wished for a better week with the family I married into. This will mostly be a picture post with a description of how we spent our time. The pictures will not be in any specific order because I don't want to organize them =)   Ready??

Self explanatory. Me and my love on the pirate cruise.

Pirate Levi. This was Wed's adventure. It was 2 hours of fun for the kids.

A view from the upper deck.

Captain Evan. He's really steering the boat. The true captain was so nice to let Evan do this.

Waiting for a hermit crab to make his move. 

Evan and his buckets. He had everything from a tiny jelly fish to shells in there. 

Heading out for a daddy/daughter date. One of my favorite pictures.

Dads and their daughter's heading out. Aaron's older brother and his girl, Bella.

They were able to watch this crazy bird swoop down on the fish and bring it back , and then watched as it gulped it down. 

Another self explanatory photo

These two, Evan and Dylan, earned the nickname "Minions" They were always together and had so much fun.It helps that they're both small for their age.

Helicopter ride was Monday's adventure. In case you don't know the older girl...that's my niece Tiffany. We brought her along for the fun. Every one rode and Katie and Evan got to ride twice to fill empty seats. The pilots were great.

This cute little crab just wanted to get away from us. 

Easiest kid to get pictures of. All he wanted to do was catch a fish. Goal met.

cousins...Levi, Bella, Katie

Me and my Evan

My fantastic in-laws looking at the back of the house we stayed in.

Beach trip isn't complete without a family photo. This was taken about 6:30 in the morning. And we almost waited too long. It got bright very fast!!

All 8 kids

A visit to the Naval Air Museum was Thursday. Levi and Aaron rode the flight simulator. It flipped all the way around in all directions.

Pensicola Lighthouse

View from the top of the lighthouse

the front of our house

again and again and again....

One guess who's feet those are

Camp Caughern. This was our set up every day. We would put it up first thing in the morning, about 6:00, and take it down in the evening, about 7:00. No on e ever messed with it.

The crew

We stopped over in Mobile on our way home and toured the U.S.S. Alabama. Very cool!!

These are not all the photo's. I'll put more in the next post.

Katie's 8!

My sweet little girl isn't so little anymore =(  She turned 8 on May 9th. She likes all things girly. If it twirls, sparkles, smells pretty or is any kind of jewelry she's all over it. She also loves to sing...when no one is watching. She sings and hums all the time. And she has a very pretty voice. But she doesn't like people watching her. We're working on using the gifts God gave us to bless others. This was a smaller celebration because we left for our week long beach vacation that next Sat. But she felt loved and got to do some fun things. She's growing into such a lovely young lady. I sure love her...

Wearing her new birthday dress on Mother's Day

She wanted a carrot cake for her birthday. I had never made one. But for my girl, anything =)
It was so yummy.

Her birthday doughnut. 

She got her toes done in preparation for the beach.

She got her hair cut

The end result

Warrior Dash 2015

 This year I 'ran' the Dash with my sis in law, Diana. We had so much fun! They don't time you anymore so the pressure to do really well isn't there. It took us about an hour. That's a good time for a first timer like Diana. She did great! And even got a warrior wound when her shin made contact with a rock. She was a trooper and kept on going. My brother Andy and nephew Tyler did the competitive heat. Tyler was the 19th to finish and has an invitation to do the Dash in Tennessee in Oct. He rocks!

Starting out!

nearing the end

This is the Goliath. Looks fun, doesn't it? Can you see Diana up in the corner?

Cold water!

Tiny flames but I wanted a good picture =)

Man! Are we nasty or what??

What a great memory

One last picture with our viking hats. 

Ninjas in Training

My kids have been taking taekwondo for about 8 weeks now. I have been so amazed at how quickly they've caught on. I knew Levi and Evan would do well because it suits their personality. But Ethan and Katie have proven just as fierce. We found a class for homeschoolers and it's been great! While the kids(all in the same class) are getting their kick on I get to enjoy adult conversation with other moms. I have had so much fun watching them during class.

First official day

Katie showing her fierceness

Just cause he's so stinkin' cute

Ethan being tortured by a girl...won't be the last time =)

Working on high kicks

This was taken today. 8 weeks after they started. All 4 are ready to test for the next level belt.

A Perfect Day

We spent the day at Honor Heights Park In Muskogee, Ok. A park I grew up playing at once a week for years. It was a beautiful day! We had a picnic, hiked a trail, fed the ducks and caught some tadpoles. The kids had a great time, were very well behaved and I got some time with my mom. We're already planning our next trip.

The 4 best things I've ever done

Generation picture

Catching tadpoles

pretty girl

found a friend