Summer Traditions...

Summer traditions are so much fun!

What is our Summer tradition? Friday nights by the pool with pizza and friends (the Rudolph family on this night and most Friday nights). It's fun for the boys. It's fun for us. It's relaxing. It's refreshing. It's easy.

So, if you're looking for us on a Friday night during the months of June, July and August, you'll find us at the pool with good children (ok, sometimes), good friends, good food and good drinks!

Fun times for all!

PS...Sweet baby girl Ava missed out on last year's Summer tradition, but made an appearance just in time to enjoy this Summer. Welcome little Ava. We love you (and so does Uncle Brent)!

Things I Love...

In no particular order, here are 100 or so things I love:

~ Sunny Sunday Mornings

~ Palm Trees

~ Chocolate Brown

~ Beach Towels

~ Southern Living

~ Crosses

~ Ipod Shuffled

~ Santa at our House

~ Pottery Barn Kids

~ Catching Fireflies with the Boys

~ Brent's heart

~ Pregnancy

~ Coconut/Suntan Lotion Smell

~ Bed-time Prayers

~ Cool, Crisp Fall Mornings

~ Disney World

~ Big Hats

~ Brent Telling Me He is Proud of Me

~ Laying by the Pool at the Beach

~ Friday Evenings

~ Sweet, Happy Dreams

~ Decorating my Front Window

~ Ballet Pink

~ Forgiveness

~ Charleston Chews

~ Star Gazer Lilys

~ Bible Verses that Inspire

~ 4th of July Fireworks

~ Flat Stomachs

~ Snow

~ Pictures of my Family

~ Date Nights with Brent

~ Babies Bellies

~ Bunny Rabbits

~ Love Attacks

~ Peyton's Face When He's About to Hit the Baseball

~ Periwinkle Blue

~ A Good Workout

~ God/Jesus

~ Bonus Checks

~ My Blog Page

~ Sweet Potato Casserole

~ The Little Things

~ Sleeping In

~ Eeyore

~ Clean, Shaved Legs

~ Porch Swings

~ Summer Tunes

~ All White Rooms

~ Goggles on the Boys

~ Cheese

~ Brighton Jewelry

~ Love Attacks

~ Christmas Morning

~ Brent's Hugs and Kisses

~ Fireproof

~ FSU Football and Baseball

~ My Mom's Words of Encouragement

~ Church Hymns

~ Old Wood Floors

~ Anything Baby

~ Fall

~ The Days My Boys were Born

~ Chubby Cheeks of My Palmer

~ Pizza

~ Classical Music

~ Big, Furry Golden Retrievers

~ A "Get Lost In" Kind of Book

~ Peyton's Hugs

~ Brent When He is All Dressed Up

~ The Thought of Having 3 Boys

~ Pecan Pie

~ Infinity Pools in the Caribbean

~ Cottage Living

~ Shopping with My Mom

~ Winter Mornings & Snowman Pancakes

~ Scarlet Red

~ Purses/Bags

~ Music Played Loud

~ Pumpkins

~ Sweet Tea

~ Memory Books

~ Twilight Series

~ ANYTHING Tiffany

~ Sound of FSU Marching Band on Game Days

~ Lime Green

~ Cornbread Dressing

~ Brent After He Goes Fishing & Hunting

~ Lilly Pulitzer

~ Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

~ Traveling

~ Clean Hair

~ The Boys When They First Wake Up

~ Bright Orange

~ My Wedding Rings

~ Sandals

~ Shabby Chic

~ Hydrangeas

~ Great Lipstick Color

~ Cheesecake Factory

~ Spring Time Tallahassee

~ Palmer's Little Voice (and Laugh)

~ Faith * Hope * Charity

~ Dina Ivory

~ Report Card Days

~ Speckled Butter Beans

~ Bows

~ Coastal Living

~ My Playlists

~ Memories

~ Shoes

~ Love Languages

~ Christian Music

~ Yankee Candles

~ Coton Colors

~ Good, Faithful Friends

~ Toasted Poundcake with Butter

~ Florida

~ Really Good Movies
~ My Job

~ Wedding Day Memories

~ Easter Sunday

~ Big 'Ole Bellies (the Boys)

~ A Good Bible Devotion

~ Unconditional Love

~ Baby Feet That Have Never Had on Shoes

~ A real Baby's Breath (not the flower)

~ Facebook/Status Updates

~ Brent's Job

~ Puppies Breath

~ Pushing Presents

~ Childhood Memories

~ Peyton in His Baseball Uniform

~ Sunrises

~ Hugs and Kisses

~ Forgiving Family

I know I've left some things off of the list -- things I truly treasure and just didn't think of when I started thinking about this list. I also know that over the years I will add more to the list (and some things might fall off). But for now, I am happy to have and had so many wonderful things to love! This is my happy list. This is my praise list. This is my list -- one that I look forward to adding to each and every day!

TRULY BLESSED to have all the blessings we have!
Chasity

Where is Palmer?

On "the floor"...that's where!

This past weekend, when my Dad and Grandparents came into town, Brent and I gave up our bedroom for my Grandparents...since it's on the bottom floor. My Dad and his wife slept in the guest bedroom, so that left only a few places for Brent and I to sleep -- the top bunk in Palmer's room or "the floor." Thinking Peyton would sleep in his bed, Brent and I decided to take "the floor." Until...the boys discovered "the floor."

I made a pallet for Brent and I in Palmer's room -- not bad, pretty cozy looking if I do say so myself. Little did I realize what EXCITEMENT the boys would get out of just thinking they were going to get to sleep on the floor -- so willing to give up their nice cozy beds for "the floor."

So, here we go...musical beds. We quickly changed plans...the boys slept on "the floor," Brent took Palmer's bed (bottom bunk) and I (whew!) took Peyton's bed -- Peyton grinds his teeth at night, so that removes me from any thought of sleeping in the same room or bed with the little booger (trust me -- my sleeping habits are a whole other blog!).

Well, today is Wednesday. Company left on Sunday and guess what?! Palmer has decided the floor is his new bed (Peyton got smart and reclaimed his bed). I suppose I could just pick up the pallet and put it away, but what fun would that be...every night he gets "SO EXCITED" to be sleeping on the floor.

Honestly! Who knew "the floor" would be so exciting??!! Guess we'll see how long it lasts!

TRULY BLESSED to have a little boy that gets so excited about the little things in life on this Wednesday evening!

PS...I captured this cute obsession on camera. I think I'll remind Palmer of this when he is 16 and complains about having to give up his bed for company (that's a whole other blog too!).

Crazy Week...

Well, the week ended...finally! No complaints though! All went well...happy 40 year old hubby, happy clients, happy Dad and Grandparents...Whew!

Before I recap the weekend, I have to admit a big, huge mistake that I made -- on Thursday, I stopped at Target! BAD IDEA!! Why??!! Because I bought the 4th book in the Twilight series. For whatever reason, I felt that I could actually buy the book and not read it for another four days...yeah. right. On Thursday night, I had a crap load of things to do -- laundry, floors, bathrooms, grocery store, etc... Ask me! Go ahead..."Did you do any of those things?" Truthfully, only the laundry! Everything else, my sweet hubby did. He did it all: bathrooms, floors, baths for the boys. Shoot, he even fed the boys (ok, so when I tried to take credit for this, Brent replied, "All you did was put the pizza in the oven. If it were up to you, the pizza would have been burnt to a crisp and the boys would have gone without dinner.")! I was useless Thursday night, with the exception of reading 200+ pages in my book. Apparently, I needed a break. Not like me to usually slack on stuff like this!!??

Anyway, we were ready (thanks to Brent) for the Dad and Grandparents to arrive. I left work early on Friday to go to the grocery store (which should have been done prior to this, but Twilight got in the way)! It was going to be a weekend of cooking.

After hugs and kisses, we all got ready to go to Peyton's Friday night baseball game. He did so good-- totally showing off for the Grandparents. Then we went back to the house and ordered Pizza and watched the FSU Baseball game. Fun times. We were all tired.

Saturday morning came way too soon. After a huge breakfast, we loaded up the bikes and went to the park -- the boys have so much energy! We managed to sneak in a quick nap, and then it was time for Baseball...again! The last game of the season. Each little boy got a game ball. It was cute. This game, however, was a little rough on Grandma. She had to go back and rest -- this was a wake-up call. My grandparents are getting older. I felt like crying when my Granddaddy, a man that has survived two triple by pass surgeries and now has a very weak heart told me, "I've been feeling my age lately." This coming from the man that has never felt his age. I could have cried, instead, I just tried to be happy that the boys were getting a chance to spend time with them, and they were able to see Peyton play baseball!

After this, we grilled out. Simply enjoying the time together. And then, their visit was over. So quick, yet so incredibly important. I realized, this was probably their last visit to see us. It is just too much on them. This brought tears. Makes me miss home something terrible!

We did get some great pictures that we will always cherish. We will always remember this visit. It was a moment in time that we will never get back. And the best part, my Grandparents (very much from the South) gave me a great compliment -- I turned out to be a great wife and mother -- I'm a good cook, a good housekeeper and good hostess -- coming from the South...what a great compliment (I think:))!

TRULY BLESSED to have had this time with my family. A great weekend for all! One we will not forget!

Chasity

PS...Sunday was spent by the pool (with a few naps in between)!

Saturdays with "The Storm"...

The Storm Story:

New Year's Eve 2008 -- Nashville, TN -- We partied! Ok, so we partied in our jammies, but hey, aren't those some of the best parties? New Year's Eve 2007, Brent went to the Music City Bowl when FSU played Kentucky...leaving me and the boys home alone to do all the partying (good thing I'm not a big "Ring in the New Year" type of person!) So this year, it was the whole family together. We ate pizza (and the boys were allowed to have Coke), ice cream and brownies and then proceeded to make as much noise as possible (with the noise makers, etc...). We didn't quiet make it to midnight, but who cares...we brought in the New Year Philllips-style!

The "Oh NinE!" card is the card we sent out to family and friends to wish them a year full of Oh So ManY BlEsSiNgS!

Thanks for letting me share some of my favorite "New Year's Eve" memories...

40...

Yep, that's all that needs to be said.

My crazy, wonderful husband turned 40 and we celebrated! And celebrated!

It was a great weekend as Mary Kay was able to come up and be with her favorite firstborn for the weekend...to celebrate a huge milestone.

(This is one of my favorite pictures of the boys! Best Friends -- even though they don't know it)

(Peyton holding the "game ball." So proud to have MeMe at the game!)

(Brent and Mary Kay together on his 40th Birthday)

After going to Peyton's baseball game on Saturday afternoon -- of which, Peyton received the game ball for hustling (it was really cute, he chased down not 1, not 2, but 3 players and tagged them out) -- the boys and I quietly snuck down to the pool, leaving Brent and his Mom the chance to go out alone and celebrate his birthday (after all, they were together when he was born). It was good to get to see Mary Kay go out and enjoy time with Brent, by herself -- no daughter-in-law, no kids, no time constraints -- just the two of them. Funny...she didn't want to go, I wanted her to go. She was hell-bent on not going. I was hell bent on her going...I won (in a good way)! They had a great time -- complete with Karaoke and all:)

(Brent, Mary Kay, Aunt Dianne, Uncle Carl & Carla)

Brent's official birthday was on Sunday, so we had a 40th Birthday Celebration at the pool --complete with family and friends. The 3-4 hour party we had planned, turned into a 7 hour party! We had a blast! The food was good. The beers were cold. The sun was out. The pool was nice and cool. The kids were in good moods...Good times with all. Brent enjoyed it and was glad we did it (this coming from the guy that was being a baby about having a party -- after going back and forth and him asking me to cancel it, we agreed to a "get-together"-- I won! Again!) Attendees included Mary Kay; Uncle Carl & Aunt Dianne; Clint, Carla, Mary Morris & Maddy; Brent's old boss, Lee Feliciano & family; Jody, Brent's hunting friend; Art, Jan, Sophia & Ava Rudop; Tad, Melody, Jude, Campbell & baby Jamison; Mark, Sarah & Emma (Peyton's girlfriend); Trevor, Ashley & baby Mackenzie; Mark, Dawn, Sierra, Alexis & Kai (my high school friend); Sean, Laura, Jack & Lucy and other peeps that I just can't think of right now!!

(the neighborhood buddies)

Sunday night, man we were tired...but not tired enough to make sure Peyton and I watched the MTV Awards to see the new trailer for New Moon...the 2nd book to my recent OBSESSION 9and I've brought Peyton into it! Yes, I am obsessed...more than you know! In fact, so obsessed, I actually bought an iPOD...yes, amazement! The first thing I downloaded from iTunes -- the Twilight Soundtrack. ISSUES!

Weekends like this one only come along once in a lifetime. So glad we were able to celebrate and have fun!

TRULY BLESSED to have celebrated such a joyous occassion with amazing family and friends on Brent's 40th Birthday.

PS...Only wished my family could have been here to celebrate with us. That would have made the weekend absolutely perfect!

Whew...

Well, I'll tell you...this has been a week and is a week.

I'm a little behind on my posts, as things have been a little hectic...Here's a quick recap and forecast of the week!

Friday, May 29th -- Mary Kay came in town to help us celebrate Brent's 40th Birthday.
Sunday, May 31st -- We celebrated Brent's birthday with a pool party and tons of family and friends.
Monday, June 1st -- Peyton had a double swimmer's ear infection -- around the world and back to the Dr.'s office and then to one of the four baseball games we have scheduled for this week.
Tuesday, June 2nd -- My Mobile clients arrived for a 3-day visit to our agency -- this means early mornings/late nights at the office. And, a baseball game, just for good measure!
Wednesday, June 3rd -- Production shoot for my clients. Time to wash all the sheets, as my Dad and grandparents arrive on Friday for a quick visit to watch Peyton play baseball.
Thursday, June 4th -- 7 a.m. Strategy meeting -- who really wants to think of branding strategy at 7 in the morning?? Again, cleaning bathrooms, floors, etc...for company that is about to arrive.
Friday, June 5th -- Dad and grandparents arrive. Baseball game at 5:30...yikes...I feel I should be singing some kind of song...
Saturday, June 6th -- Was thinking about going to the Zoo, but I'm already tired from just writing this, so now I am reconsidering...And, baseball at 2 p.m.
Sunday, June 7th -- Dad and Grandparents leave. Chasity WILL NOT be moving from the lounge chair by the pool, except for when we go to Crockett Park -- for Sundays in the Park.

Ok, I'm done...and oh, this is funny. Brent mentioned wanting to have a cookout for the baseball team. Very nicely (ok, not so nice way), I absolutely, without hesitation, said NO:)

I'm done...for now!

Truly Blessed to have so many things happening at once and the ability to keep up with it all on this Wednesday afternoon,
Chasity

PS...Sorry, no pictures for this post...other posts to come soon!