And we're OFF!

We left yesterday morning shortly after 7, heading for Ocean City.  We LOVE, love this place, with both of us raised knowing that just 'was' the summer vacation spot.

We were trying to beat traffic.  But oh my....it was heavy -

Luckily once we got to the toll plaza our lane was open =)

And there's just something about crossing over to the Eastern Shore.

Traffic remained really heavy so we decided to stop at our fav pizza place in Salisbury -

Perfect!  Thin crust, yummy sauce and cheese with pepperoni and sweet peppers.

One of the 'four on the shore' wineries is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we wanted to stop by and see Kathryn - she is so fun to chat with.

Then off to our final destination -

We made it to the check-in location just a little early, hehe so had some time to kill.  Well, we might as well hit the other winery -  let's get these two annual stops out of the way.

And this pretty bottle with the 4 arrow heads has a story....a few years ago Ronnie and the owner Adrian sat at one of the tables in the winery enjoying a bottle and talked for a few hours about the name for a blend.  Adrian told the story of these arrow heads and a man that lived/worked on the farm (which used to be grapes for Welch's).  Ronnie thought about it for a little bit and then threw out "Four Winds".  Well lookie here.....it worked!  And now we have our own special bottle.

Then it was time to check-in.

Ah!  Finally -

This place is beautiful -

With quaint little touches and a perfect view!

All checked-in, settled, but the cupboards are bare.  Time for the dreaded chore....Walmart.  U.G.H.

Two hours later we make it back to the condo and a get our 'buggy' to fill up.

This is the view from the front side of our condo.  Beautiful sunset right over Seacrets.

We chilled out on the balcony for a while, trying to figure out where we wanted to eat.  And on the way out, we caught the moon.  Beautiful.

Dinner here -

No complaints about the scallops, or stuffed shrimp along with the extras -

At 5:44 this morning the sky was 'orange' -

Sunrise @ 6:03

So I would say our first day was pretty darn good.  Sunrise at home, sunset on the bay, moon on the ocean and sunrise this morning.  We are very blessed.

And.....they're off!

Just like when they used to go to 4H camp for a week but this time a lot more grown up and with two extra =)

The weather forecast is great and I'm sure they will have an awesome time....living on a budget, eating in and doing their own laundry, ha!

They arrived safely after sending me a video crossing the bay bridge.  Aren't you supposed to be quiet and look straight ahead there?  Ugh.  But they made it. 

We love them and pray for a safe, fun filled week!

Tell me something good.....

My all time favorite Country station is WMZQ, 98.7 FM.  I have listened for years and wasn't sure I would continue when Bobby Bones replaced the morning peeps I had come to love.  But, I hung in there and have now accepted and come to love Bobby, Lunchbox, Nada, and the whole crew.

I particularly like Tuesdays.....not only is it commercial free but they have a segment called "Tell me something good!".  We all know there's tons of bad stuff but they share things they have experienced or aware of that are truly good.  I LOVE that.

It's not Tuesday but I am going to play that little game today.  First, one of the beauties of FB is to be able to connect with people you went to school with or knew in the younger years.  In some cases we weren't actually friends back then but are now what we would consider friends.  (You can tell if you like someone by their FB Posts, hahaha).  

So where am I going with this?  Well, I have been following this little guy and his family for a few years now -

Colin will be 6 tomorrow and has been through so much in these past years.  He was born with Hypoplastic left syndrome.  He has been waiting on a heart and on Monday night, his family 'got the call'.  It gives me chills both happy and sad.  Happy because this little fighter is going to get a new heart.  Sad because another family is saying good-bye to their little one.  How awesome - God works in such mysterious ways.

I spoke with Colin's grandma this morning and all seems to be going well so far.  Prayers are still needed as it will be a long, challenging road but good things do come to those who wait (and fight =).

Such a sweet boy that deserves to enjoy life like all other six year olds.  Feel free to pray....they welcome any.

On another happy note, the first time Blake went to Ocean City with us we took him with us to our annual White Marlin weigh-in.  Most kids don't find this interesting but he did (and of course Cierra is used to going and knows the drill).  The next year our vacation fell during the tournament again....Blake excited.  This year, we will once again be there at that time but more importantly, Blake and his family (along with Cierra) spent the past week in OBX.  Blake went on his first deep sea fishing trip and texted Ronnie late yesterday afternoon with a pic of a blue marlin he 'hooked' - I can only imagine his excitement!!!

and another beauty -

We later learned that they actually caught and released a Blue Marlin and TWO sailfish; along with catching and keeping a wahoo and tuna.  They had an awesome day.  Beautiful pics also, taken by the one and only "C".  

I am so glad they had such an awesome time and blessed to have Cierra included in their family adventures.  

We went -

We saw; we left -


Yep, as soon as Karra won the local Soap Box Derby we knew we were going to head off to Akron to experience her CHAMP run but.....we wanted it to be a surprise. I am HORRIBLE at keeping secrets so it has been a real challenge for me, for over a month at that, ha! But we did it!

No facebook updates, no 'check-ins', no "see ya there" comments, nothing. Just plain NOTHING about our trip. We left Friday morning, cards in hand for Karra, Ally and Trevor and arrived in Akron a little after lunch. We headed to our favorite Winery there, grabbed a bottle of wine for Jeff and Robin then searched for the perfect 'good luck' present for Karra. Not too big, just very special. Oh my, Ronnie had this idea to get her a small stuffed rabbit - not just the foot but the WHOLE rabbit. So that we did. (of course there's a really funny story but I'll save that for another time). We put the wine, plastic wine glasses, card and rabbit in a bag and headed off to their hotel. We were so excited to surprise them. I had been texting her all day just to see where they were and what they were up to.

Once we make it there and are at the final stop light, sure enough, Robin is at the truck, door open, talking on her cell. We pull into a bank parking lot and stalk. Wait. Stalk. Wait. Finally she's gone in.

Inside the lobby we insist that the front desk clerk call their room and tell them a package has arrived which requires both signatures. (Ronnie had called Jeff earlier in the week and said we were sending a package so it shouldn't be a surprise..) The front desk called them while we snuck over in the dark and waited. And not too long later, we see them....and this is what we got. (yes, very bad pic but I was excited and shook, lol)!


They were glad we came! We talked about their presents, their week, strategy and then headed out. They had planned an early night since they had to be up at 4 AM (sigh).

And today - we were able to share in the excitement of her 'run down' the AASBD track but unfortunately was eliminated (single elimination :( ) But she was ok, knowing she went there a CHAMP and goes home a CHAMP!


We watched the Trevor


and Ally


who were also eliminated so headed back to WV. Now we will unpack and repack heading for next destination......our home for two weeks! ahhhhhh - we're so 'cited!

Riding out the storm.....

Bags packed - motor home ready, house sitters waiting but we're not leaving anytime soon :( Today was supposed to be the day we left for Daytona Beach.....yes, supposed to be. Unfortunately we are right in the bull's eye of more than 2 feet of snow. I like snow but this year we have had more than our share so I'm pretty much over it and ready for Spring. Now we sit and wait for this to stop (sometime tomorrow) so Ronnie and Jeremy can get all the parking lots clear. Then, we will be on the road heading to the sunshine state!

We can't complain though, we have made the best of our situation. We kept Kayden last night and have enjoyed having her here with us today...she had Mickey Mouse waffles this morning We moved the cars around before the snow came (notice the asphalt)we read some books...we watched out the windowwe played with some 'toys' :)then we went outside...wow, lots of snow! Boy, it is really snowing! and what a difference from this morning's picture.

And now Daddy came and picked up the princess and we won't see her for over a week. For us, it's back to last minute stuff and cleaning so I'm ready whenever the bus is ready to pull out :)!