adult night out

We recently had an adult night out with some friends.  We celebrated three different birthdays that night!  Annie, Travis and Jake.  Getting out sans kids and being with friends is so good for the soul.  That night we promised to do it more often.  

{my good-looking birthday boy!}

These girlfriends of mine are so very special.  I've known them all almost basically my entire life, well and one is my sister!  We've literally done life together forever..  This past year we've started a monthly Bible Study where we get together once a month.  No husbands.  No babies.  It's glorious.  We get to chit chat for a while, eat, laugh and just talk about real life.  Going through life with these friends makes every day a little easier.  Thankful for these girls, so thankful.

{some of my favorite girls in the world.}

{and when we're together we are a little bit crazy...}

maeve a year later

For Maeve's first birthday, I bought her the most precious little dress.  I think I honestly bought it when she was only about six and a half months old, I was so excited for this girl to turn one.  It completely fit her bright, bubbly and one of a kind personality.  We took a recent beach trip and I took this dress with us.  It just looks beachy and fun.  And believe it or not it still fit her!  It's a size 12m but sister friend is a tiny little thing.  She still wears almost all of her old clothes from the past year.  Look at these pictures from last year.  Good lord this girl was precious...and a little chunky!

{maeve at one year} 

{still has the sweet smile.}

{her hair has always been perfect.  from day one she's had her own little style.  she could truly wear one of the "i woke up like this" shirts and totally rock it.}

{we've loved that little gap toothed grin for a long time!}

a few more beach pictures

Julie sent me a few pictures from her camera that I just had to share...

{facetiming geej and papaw}

{kid absolutely loves the ocean.}

beach trip round two

For Labor Day, we headed to the beach for a few days with our friends.  Growing up my family used to always go to Destin, we went before it was the hot spot {like it is now}.  The past several years we've been going to the East Coast, so it was nice to head back to the Gulf for a visit.  We spent our days playing in the water and digging in the sand...

{sometimes you just gotta cry. disadvantage of being a girl.}

{julie and the sweetest boy alive, jack.  seriously, he's the best kid ever.  never cries, always smiles, sleeps like a champ.  i mean really?!?}

{daddies and their daughters}

{my favorite beach dude taking a snack break.}

{love these girls}

{the kids loved this ocean!  they loved playing and splashing around.  trav and i are actually sitting on our knees in this picture.  the water and weather were both perfect while we were there.}

{failed attempt at a family photo.}

{...and perfection!  how we managed to get this picture, i'll never know but i'm in love with it!}

{maeve is obsessed with baby jack.  she wanted to touch him, hug him, tickle him, kiss him all day every day.}

{two sweet friends.}

{getting some baby jack lovin'}

{no word for this mess of a lady!  she's too much sometimes.}

{we didn't just go to play, Trav had classes each morning he had to attend.  while he was in class, we were doing this... no complaints from me.}

After long days on the beach and naps to re-energize ourselves, we headed out for the evening.  Each night we went somewhere different for dinner.  Restaurants in Destin are so cool and fun.  The kiddos had a blast at each place.

{dinner at stinky's}

{after dinner we headed to sea side, i think, for a little fun!}

{sometimes when you're trying to snap a family photo, real life happens.  here maeve was crying because she wanted me to hold her.  trav is laughing and probably cringing because i'm making him take yet another family picture.  and asher is moving my face saying 'ooooook at de yights moooommmmmy!!'} 

{snapped this gem before heading to dinner at the back porch.}

{dinner at the back porch}

{the kids loved watching the ocean, listening to planes fly by and just being outside to eat dinner.}

LuLu's was probably the best place we went to and it had great entertainment for the kids.  It was mainly all outside and had corn hole, a water fountain and toys for the kids to play with.  A man was on stage singing and it was a very kid friendly and happy place.

{dinner at lulu's}

{there was a little area outside that had the best view, so we took advantage and snapped some family pictures.}

{these three loved being together!!}

{after lulu's we made an ice cream stop.}

And then sadly after a few days with our friends in the sand and sunshine, it was time to head home.  We decided to head home a day early because we were exhausted!  At home, our kids have their own rooms where they sleep/nap.  This was our first beach experience where all four of us were in the same room.  One of us ended up in the bed with Asher every night and he's not fun to sleep with!  Asher and Maeve both make little noises throughout the night that would wake us up, so we were all ready to get back home and in our own beds.    

{about to head home}

{one last group shot.}

We had an absolute blast with our friends at the beach.  Right now, they still live in Memphis so we don't get to see them as much as we would like.  But spending a few days with just them was perfect and good for my soul!  Until next trip!