Digi Scrapping!

I know it is summer and I am just getting around to doing my Christmas pics. It is hard with a toddler running around. I am trying to learn how to do this digi scrapping, but there is a huge learning curve. This was made with a template from atomic cupcake.

Monkey Joe's!

Over the weekend, the Brinkley family joined the McLaughlin's and Ragan's at Monkey Joes. Monkey Joe's is a huge warehouse full of Bounce Houses (Moon Walk) and

blow up slides, etc. It was packed since it was the weekend and quite overwhelming. He had a great time playing with Chase on all the fun slides. It was so funny watching him try to walk in the Bounce House.

I love the picture above of Chase getting ready to go down the slide. This is totally his "very excited" face. Now, doesn't that make you smile!

We made it 2 hours at that place. By the time we left, Dawson and I were sweating bullets. It was so nice to visit with Nicki, Skip, Aidan and Izzy. Thanks for stopping by on your way to Sarasota!

The Beach!!!

Last Friday, Chase and I joined some friends at Cocoa Beach. There were 7 adults and 15 kids...I know, crazy! It completely wore Chase and me out!

I brought a toddler raft for Chase to ride the waves. He absolutely loved it! He had no fear of the water and really enjoyed playing at the shoreline. His swimmy diaper started getting really heavy (from all the sand and water) and it would make him off balance. I wish you could have seen him stumbling all over the place.

Next time, Daddy will need to join us. Hopefully, we will be able to make it over to the beach for his birthday.

This is a cute clip from Chase's bath last night. He was a root a toot tooting! make sure you let it buffer before watching it.

Here is a cute picture of Chase's new haircut. We cut off a little more this time and he looks like a little man (sniff sniff). He also has a bit of a wave to his hair now that it is shorter on top. So cute!!!

Last week, Dawson and I celebrated for 6 days in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. We were celebrating our anniversary (late) and his BIG PROMOTION to Finance Director. Finally, he is reaping the rewards for all his hard work. We found out the day before we left for vacation! What a way to go!

The Dominican Republic is beautiful, but a very poor third world country. Where we stayed it is known as the "kite surfing capital of the world". They were actually having a kite surfing championship the week after we left (right on the beach of our resort)! We didn't see the signs for free lessons until it was too late (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Besides, there were about 50 kite surfer and 50 windsurfers out there at any given time. I was nervous that I would get caught up in someone elses line. I have tried windsurfing once and it was so hard.

We went on an amazing waterfall tour. We were told that we had to walk through the water to get to the waterfalls. Therefore, we had to wear a lifevest, swim shoes, and a helmet. We both thought that we would be able to wade in the water and see the waterfalls. Nooooo...we actually climbed up all seven waterfalls. At times, I did not know how we would be able to do it. It just seemed impossible, but our tourguides made it all possible. Seriously, we climbed on top of our guides ande they also pulled us up to the next level. It was exhillerating looking up at the beautiful rock formations and water rushing down. Once we finally reached the top, we slid down 5 of the falls and then got to jump down the last two. It definately got our hearts pumping! I wish we had pictures to show you. It was an amazing an amazing experience that I would do again and again!!!

Chase stayed with his Nanna and Mammaw. It was very hard being away from him for so long, but definately a much needed vacation. He loves being over there and kept them busy.

My mom still has the pins in her arms, but is able to do so much more now. She will have surgery to remove the pins in 2 weeks. Then rehab.