Siesta Key: Day 1

Well, we had our first trip away from Lily and we survived!  I was so nervous the couple of days before we left but the Lord was faithful to give me peace about it and once I was down there in the sunshine, it was all good!  Plus, Lily was in good hands so that helped too.  We tried to do face time with her on the iPhone but she didn't have a clue what to think about it and barely said one word to us.  It was still fun to see her face while we were gone though!
So on Day 1, we arrived in Clearwater, Florida around 2:30 pm and then drove about an hour south to Siesta Key.  We got settled into our resort and then headed just up the street to get some food - we were so hungry!  Captain Curt's was said to have the best clam chowder in the world and after tasting it ourselves, we'd agree for sure.  After that, we pretty much hung out on the beach for the rest of the night and then went out for ice cream.  While we were sitting outside the ice cream shop, we witnessed a lady stumble to her car, clearly intoxicated ( Me and the girl sitting nearby us were telling our husbands we shouldn't let her drive away) and then proceed to hit a truck in the parking lot and drive away.  Justin thought it was only proper to call the cops and report it so we had to stick around for a bit.  Other than that, our first day was pretty uneventful and low key!

 We were pleasantly surprised when we got to our room to discover they had upgraded us to a King without us even requesting it!  On the other side of the room was a kitchen and dining table.  We totally could have saved money by utilizing it but decided to enjoy the luxury of eating out every meal!

 on the deck outside our room

 Best Clam Chowder!

 the path at our resort that led down to the beach

 The water was so warm.

Nothing better than sitting on the beach at night, just listening to the waves crash.  

Ahhh, makes me feel peaceful just thinking about it. :)

Jesus Loves Me

Sorry it's dark and you can't see us but Justin just quickly grabbed the camera so he could capture Lily singing this sweet tune before I laid her down at bedtime.  Precious!

Whit's 30th Birthday

A couple weekends ago, we ventured down to Seymour to attend our friend Whitney's surprise birthday party.  And surprised she was!  It was honestly one of the best reactions I've ever seen, tears and all.  We had a great time and were so glad to be a part of celebrating that God made her 30 years ago!

 SURPRISE!!

 Lily had fun dancing the night away with cousin Ali.  

She's really become fond of hanging out with her every time they see each other!

Gray's Lake Beach

Go, Ali, Go!

Last Saturday we spent the morning at cousin Ali's softball games.  Lily mostly played in the dirt with the boys and goofed around with cousin Angie (Ali's mom).

God Did It!

Last night on the way home from running errands, Lily said from the backseat "Look at the pink sky!  God did it!"

Justin and I were beaming as we just took in the moment and were filled with pure joy to see how she expressed awe & wonder of her Heavenly Father.

I never want to forget those little comments.  Thanks to recording them here I won't have to! 

Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Iowa State Fair: Part 2

Our second trip to the fair was on Saturday, when we went as a family.  It was amazing and ridiculous to me how we spent so much money on food and I still wasn't full!  The deep fried Pickle Dawg was by far the best, I had no doubt I'd love it!  The weather again was ideal and since Lily is into horses at the moment, we decided to watch some of the horse show.  She had a fun time giving us a play-by-play of what the horses were doing. :)