Gulf Shores advice needed quickly!

Mark and I have been tossing around the idea all summer of "getting away" for a few days, just the two of us, before school starts.  We had a fun getaway trip planned and most details worked out, but at the last minute some flight prices jumped significantly and we had to start considering other options. (No worries - my sweet husband made me promise and commit to another "just us" trip date before we could plan anything for this week.) 

Fortunately, due to a sweet gift from Mark's head Camp Counselors this year, we have a fabulous opportunity to take a family vacation to Gulf Shores during the latter part of this week.  We are hoping for the best as far as the oil situation goes!  Here's where I need help - I am clueless about where to eat, what to do, where to shop, etc. in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  I grew up much closer to the Florida Gulf Coast so Destin/Ft. Walton/Grayton is my area of knowledge...Gulf Shores not so much.  But, I KNOW there are some of you who read and follow this blog that can help me out!  Please comment or email me with any recommendations or places to avoid! 

It's that suffocating part of the summer when the school start date looms in the near distance and I always feel like I need just a little more of a break from reality - a little more time to get projects finished - a few more days to sleep late - a few more pool trips with Turner.  I cannot explain how excited I am that we have this opportunity to just get AWAY as a family for a little while before reality sets in.  So, let me hear from you!  We want to make every moment count!

Splash Park!

Last Friday, Turner and I spent the morning at the splash park at the Opelika SportPlex.  If you live in the Auburn/Opelika area - this is totally worth the drive out there and the $4 each you pay.  Turner had a BLAST!  Her favorites were the buckets suspended about 15 feet above your head - they fill up and dump out at random and it was exciting to try to stand under the one that would soak you next!  Definitely something we'll be doing again very soon!

Why it's all worth it.

Mark just finished his 15th year serving with Camp War Eagle.  I just finished my 8th summer as his significant other, often fondly referred to as a Camp War Eagle widow.

As many of you know, I got to know Mark through my involvement as a CWE Counselor in the summer of 1999. (You should see the gleam in the eyes of new Camp Counselors when they find out this juicy info...they always want to cook up some steamy story, but the answer is a resounding, "NO - we didn't date then!")  Looking back, I realize that my experience that summer, while it was the single most influential experience of my Auburn career, was also a necessary preparation for my role as Mark's future wife.  If I didn't love and believe in this program as much as I do, I don't know that I could deal with the challenges it brings to our lives. During the months of May and June we see Mark sporadically and there are ~20 days in our summer that we literally do not lay eyes on Mark - at all. If I am being totally honest, at times I can become bitter and resentful.

Yet, there's a certain time of year that all the frustrations fade and I remember...there is a greater purpose.  This is is Mark's calling (for this season of his life).  It's a ministry and he uses it as such.  It's a way for him to be the amazing behind the scenes servant leader that God gifted him to be.  He understands and accepts the challenge that he's constantly being watched - remembering daily that his words, actions, and leadership traits are molding the hearts, minds, and futures of young men and women.

I am really, really proud of him.  Even prouder to claim him as my husband.

Last week after the banquet, he shared with me that one of the most special gifts was a booklet created by the Camp Counselors this year.  (These are students that he hired in November - so they've known him around 8 months.)  Each Counselor had a small page and had written a personal note of gratitude to each member of the staff.  Mark shared his book with me, and I think I got through about 6 pages before I got choked up.  I was reminded over and over again why it's worth it - the late nights, the exhaustion, the just flat out missing him.  I pulled out a few comments that really paint the picture better than I can...

"I will never forget when you prayed for me before my surgery."

"Your support and confidence in me changed my life."
"I went from fear to admiration in the blink of an eye."
"For the first time in my life, I can be myself."
"I am so glad I not only got to know Mark the boss, but also Mark the man."
"You dedicate yourself to one situation at a time and give it your undivided attention."
"Thank you for pushing me past boundaries I set for myself"
"I realized I needed CWE more than it needed me"
"You are an Auburn father to us all....why else would you sit with me in the hospital?"

 "Because you pushed us as you did, we are better people.  We can take the abilities that we never knew we had and use them in our future jobs."

"I will take things I have learned and become a successful and great dad, thanks to you.  My ultimate goal is to become half the man you are."

 And my personal favorite - this one made me laugh out loud.  :)
"Even though you are not (very) old, it honestly stresses me out to think of a time when someone else will take over as ruler supreme of Foy 189.  I hope to be far, far away when this occurs, because the ensuing implosion will leave Auburn as a desolate wasteland."

Words that were used to describe Mark...
servant leader -- a source of strength-- mentor-- a strong and fearless leader -- motivating--a father to us all

I considered not allowing comments on this post because I am not doing this to get people to say nice things about Mark.  In fact he may be really unhappy I put all this out there in words - for every bit of pride I have he's got double the amount of humility.  And the last time there was a post that honored Mark it generated all sorts of commentary from past CWE staff, the funniest of which was Star's question, "Who is Mark?"  (I seriously almost fell of my couch laughing when I read it...since Star was my roommate, one of the reasons I am married to Mark and was in our wedding.) 

I couldn't stop myself from sharing my heart on this, and one day when this blog is converted to a book I want Turner to be able to read and be as proud of her daddy as I am.  She'll understand, like I do, that it was all worth it.  She'll see this scripture lived out in real life, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..."  Colossians 3:23 


Mark we are so proud of you.  And we are happy to have you home. 


 

Cupcakes: Eat at your own risk!

This is just a small snapshot of life in our house these days.  A 2.5 year old with an attitude makes for many interesting moments!  (and by the way, I have NO clue where she gets that sassiness...) 

In my previous post, I mentioned the "end of CWE celebration party" we are having at my house tomorrow night.  Turner is very excited and has been talking all week about her "Camp War Eagle friends" coming to see her at her house.  We did all the grocery shopping this morning and thankfully Turner was very patient, but during the process I talked to her about preparing food, what the menu would be, how we had to buy this and that for the party, etc.  I also mentioned that I needed her help tonight in starting some of the appetizers.  

So, tonight we arrived home from tumbling and I was talking to my mom on the phone.  Turner kept saying, "Mommy, you needed to get the colors in that box down - we need to make stuff for the party." I was not focused intently on what she was saying, but she just kept getting louder and louder.  Finally, I had to tell her I didn't know what she was talking about and asked her to show me the colors she wanted.  I about died laughing when she walked me straight to the pantry and pointed directly at the little 4-pack box of food coloring bottles we used this weekend to make rainbow pudding pops.  She thought they were colors! (Crayons for those of you who don't call crayons colors...another story for another post.)

I got them down and put them on the counter, only to find her trying to pull them out one by one within about 10 seconds.  I explained that we didn't need them for anything we were making for the party and she totally lost it.  I mean, crying, screaming, pitching a fit...I sent her to her room to cool off and when she returned she immediately went straight back for the food coloring.  She even told me not to touch it - insisting that we needed cupcakes for the party tomorrow night.  I tried another angle, reminding her that we needed to eat our dinner first and then we'd get started on party food....another crying fit, screaming "But we NEED to make the cupcakes for the party!!!!"  Forget the Food Network reality show, we were having "Cupcake Wars" live and in color, right there in my kitchen.  

So what did we do?  We made cupcakes. :)  The only icing I had in the house was chocolate, so there was going to be no dying that with food coloring.  I remembered a recipe for a rainbow cake, so I figured I'd just try to divide the batter and dye it, layering it in the cups for a rainbow cupcake.  Turner of course helped me through this process...first I turned around from grabbing eggs to see her with both hands digging in the bowl of cake mix like it was her personal sandbox.  Not really sure if we had washed her hands after tumbling or not...  

We finally got all the ingredients mixed together and one bowl dyed blue (despite a little hand trying to steal licks here and there...are you proud Pop???) ...when I turned slightly to grab another spoon and turned back around to find Turner licking a nice sized portion of batter off the blue spoon.  After we finished mixing the colors, I handed her a beater which she promptly licked clean then dropped on the floor.  The whole time she's dipping out the spoons and helping herself to a cake batter treat - making a hilarious mess on her face. Ok...I know this next move is completely idiotic...but I told her to sit still (with a blue cake batter beard) so I could run get my camera.  Y'all, I am not kidding I didn't even get OUT OF SIGHT before she was digging more cake batter out of the bowl.  I rounded the corner to this face...notice the red icing...she switched bowls in there somewhere. (Sorry for the poor quality - I was trying to be secretive, then I realized my presence had no effect on her behavior at this point.)

And this is what she was doing by the time I made it around the kitchen corner.

Finally, we got the batter layered in the cups and set to baking.  They actually turned out really cute and I did convince her that we'd ice them tomorrow for the sake of freshness.  Not sure why "freshness" matters to me, since the cake mix was sifted well with questionably clean hands, and almost every ounce of batter was stirred with a well-licked spoon. 

CWE staff be advised - you better start thinking of your excuses now if you are too chicken to try one of Turner's cupcakes.  :)  You wouldn't want to hurt her feelings now, would you?

What's going on in our "neck of the woods"?

This post is a little random, but we are living a little randomly these days as we soak up these last few weeks of summer vacation.  Most days we spend our mornings at the pool, and if I am being perfectly honest I only wear makeup, roll my hair, and wear something other than "around the house clothes" about 2-3 times a week.  :)  It's liberating to be free from schedules, but to a type A person like me it can be maddening at times when I know I waste time on random projects!

Mark is in the process of ending the final CWE for 2010 and Turner and I couldn't be happier!  We will have a large party this Friday night at our house to celebrate, so the rest of this week will be focused on pulling off a Mexican fiesta for 20 people.  Tonight we enjoyed the last pep rally, but I am including a few pics from last week also.

Turner looks a little nutty here, but check out the sky from last week.

Earlier in the summer Mark took Turner to the parent dinner and she got to eat this chocolate pie.  It's quite yummy.  So, last week he surprised her with a piece at the pep rally.  After she polished off over half of it, he had to hide it to get her to stop!

This is where Turner likes to be during the pep rallies...with her Daddy, alone.  :)

Tonight, everyone was in a particularly festive mood!

And Turner took her turn at actually doing a few cheers on the field - she does a mean version of "Botta Getta" and sings "Glory" complete with an AUBURN spell out!  I have them on video and plan to post them closer to football season.

Jumping topics here...sort of.  These are the sunflowers and zinnias I gathered out of our garden last Friday night.  This year our sunflowers have been bigger and better than ever, and I was so sure I'd have lots of full bouquets for the big party this Friday...but this was the last big cutting.  :(  I will have a few...but nothing like this. 

Last Friday night, Mark and I attended a dinner honoring the CWE staff who served this summer in the College of Science and Math.  While we were out, Turner visited with the Rooker twins and had a fabulous fun time playing with their many toys!  We decided to bake some cupcakes to have after their dinner, and Turner was quite the helper in the kitchen.  She loves to sit on the counter and help me stir and pour, and this time she did the sprinkles all by herself!  After we finished, she said, "Mommy, take my picture with the cupcakes!"  I guess she's programmed to know we take pictures of things we make - she was SO proud. 

And on Monday night of this week, Turner FINALLY got to pick our first cantaloupe out of our garden.  She has been begging every time we head that direction, and Monday night I think she wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.  Thankfully, it had ripened perfectly and as you'll see below it looked and tasted quite yummy!  We have about 6 other cantaloupes that will ripen over the next few weeks, and we counted around 15 watermelons for which we are anxiously awaiting harvesting day!

And check out those pink fingernails - this week was the first time she asked me to paint them too!  She loves getting her nails done, and she really enjoyed her second trip to the pedicure salon yesterday.  I so wish I had my camera with me, since she finally stuck her feet into the warm water bath and decided she liked that a whole bunch!  Last week, here at home, she put some socks on her hands and declared herself "the pedicure girl"...she came over and started rubbing on my calves and feet.  Then she "pretend polished" my toes!  It was hilarious....so you can imagine the kick we all got yesterday out of her sitting in the little chair, laying out her towel, and pretending (while acting it all out) to be "the pedicure girl" in the salon yesterday.  She even "accidentally" really turned on the water in the foot spa!  It was priceless.

And finally, this is a picture of our "sewing room/office/playroom" floor tonight. I had been in there sewing new covers on my patio cushions this afternoon and after Turner woke up she came in there to join me while I finished.  I remember hearing her dump out Mark's blue cup full of change...but I didn't pay much attention to what she was doing with it.  Tonight, I heard the familiar sound of jingling change and found her shuffling her feet and walking back and forth over these coins.  About this time I also noticed her piggy bank on the floor.  I asked what she had been doing, and she explained, "I was just trying to put these big ones in my bank, but they won't fit!"  She tried at least 5 coins (half dollars, money chips from Las Vegas, etc.)  while I stood there and laughed!!  Never mind that she gets "paid" for helping take out the trash on Tuesday nights and she always chooses two dimes rather than one quarter.  And never mind that there were lots of pennies/dimes/quarters on the floor that WOULD have fit into her bank.  She wanted the BIG ones.  :)   

As I said...this would be random!  :)  But, you can see we are fully enjoying our good old summertime!

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a busy morning at church (thank you to my wonderful husband who got Turner dressed, fed, the Sunday School breakfast packed up and delivered to church, etc.) so everyone had long changed into comfy clothes by the time I got home.  Therefore, I have no pictures of Turner in her cute red, white, and blue outfit!  But, I do have pictures from the rest of our day, which was spent primarily napping, eating watermelon, playing in the garden, and watching fireworks!

My dad brought this watermelon that he purchased in South Alabama for $5.00.  As you can see, it's about as long as Turner and stretched from one side of our table to the other.  Between the 7 of us, we ate the whole thing!  :)

Then we walked down to our own garden to check on our watermelons.  This one had burst, so we cracked it open to see how they were ripening on the inside. We have several (like 10) others that we expect to be ready soon so we want to be sure we know when to pick them.  Turner has been looking forward to picking the first watermelon for a while now.

Our sunflowers are huge and beautiful.  I am enjoying bouquets of fresh sunflowers and zinnias daily!

Here are a few others pics of our fruits and vegetables.  We are harvesting about 4 tomatoes and about 6 squash a day - if you are interested in coming to get some let me know!  Or if you have any good recipes using squash.  The same old recipes can get old when you are trying to eat it almost daily!  Here's our most ripe cantaloupe...

...and watermelon...

...and tomatoes...

...and our baby eggplant that was planted later than the other vegetables.  They will be ready soon!

If you saw my post a few weeks ago about our trip to Bruster's, you'll remember that Turner spontaneously put on a "show" for us as we enjoyed our icecream.  The shows have continued, but they have increased in detail and difficulty.  Turner usually wants a costume and some high heeled shoes (which change color according to the tempo of the music) and has recently added the need for a crown.  She turns on the "demo" button on my piano, opens the curtain, and proceeds to dance all around the living room.  Here are a few pictures from one of the shows this afternoon - a recital for her grandparents if you will. 

Turner has quite the imagination, and frequently she feels the need to have a picnic in our kitchen floor.  She requests to lay out all the old kitchen towels as if they are picnic blankets.  Then someone gets to be the lucky invitee who gets to join her for her picnic meal.  Tonight, Grandpa took the opportunity to have a picnic with Turner but I think she may have eaten more of his dinner than he did.  Please note that all the chips you see in the picture do not belong to Grandpa.  :)

And tonight, we decided to make the journey over to the other side of town to watch the community fireworks show.  We parked on a street that is fairly far away from the launch pad so we weren't sure what view we'd have.  We also weren't sure how Turner would respond to the loud noises.  She was excited to go and as we waited kept saying, "I want to see the fireworks!"

Then the fireworks started and while we could see them well, Turner wasn't so sure of the whole noise deal.

But, once Daddy coaxed her onto his shoulders, she was all good!  Then the commentary started.  If we heard her say "Oooohh, that one was so pretty!  Oooohh that one was beautiful!  Whoa, that one was blue and orange for Auburn!  Oh, look at that purple one, purple is my favorite!" once, we heard it 50 times.  She thought they were awesome once she got accustomed to the noise!

Happy Fourth of July!

Fun at the Aquarium!

On Friday afternoon, Tootsie, Pop, Granny, Grandpa, Mark, Turner, and I loaded up and headed over to Atlanta for the evening. We enjoyed some good food and good shopping (why have I never been to The Container Store before now?) and attempted to get a good night's rest before our visit to the Aquarium the next morning.  We followed Holly's advice and spent the night, allowing us to be there when it opened at 9am.  We were so glad we did this - there was no line if you had purchased tickets online and it wasn't crowded at all.  Turner made it about 2.5 hours before the excitement turned to exhaustion, but she absolutely had a BLAST!!  Also, the new penguin exhibit wasn't open when I went on a field trip two years ago, so if you haven't seen that scroll down to see pics and get an idea of that new addition - it was really neat!

This is the penguin exhibit - you can look from a normal point of view, or you can actually crawl through a tunnel and stand in a special plastic encased area and view from the "inside out".  See pics below - WAY cool. This is us as we crawled through the tunnel.

This is us standing in the enclosure area (there were a couple of these areas) and you can sort of see the penguins basically walking around in front of our faces. 

Turner has never been to a movie, so we weren't sure how she would do in the 4-D movie.  She didn't really want to wear the glasses, so of course I am sure she was confused as to why it was blurry!  But, considering she doesn't like loud noises and it was fairly loud...she did really well!

Mark and I are both a little obsessed with the movie JAWS.  (Like, we are sitting here as I type watching the July 4th marathon!)  But, I watched it so much as a kid I was convinced that a shark was going to burst through the light in our pool and eat me while I swam.  Paranoid...yes.  I so don't want Turner to have that irrational fear!  At this particular tank, there were lots of sharks and Turner was completely fascinated!

This enormous manta ray was beautifully flipping and twisting and turning through the water - almost like a dance.  And obviously Turner was captivated, because late last night as I was tucking her in she asked me, "Mommy...what do you call that thing?  That thing that was flipping in the water?" 

After our busy morning, we headed to the Varsity for some greasy hot dogs and hamburgers before we headed back to Auburn!  We consider ourselves incredibly blessed that my parents and Mark's parents really enjoy spending time together.  It has been that way since we married and it's always great fun when we can all spend time as one happy family.  But, we have also learned that with 4 grandparents to entertain, Turner can get quite silly.  You'll notice that it's both of the grandmothers who are teaching her things like how to blow the paper off straws and who are making funny faces with her.  :) 

The pictures tell the story - we had a wonderful trip to the Aquarium!