beach getaway

What better time to reminisce about a fun beach trip than when you are stuck inside because of cold, icy weather? (That and I have some serious blog catching up to do!) Montgomery was supposed to get hit with some nasty weather last night and today. Schools were canceled on Saturday in anticipation of the Sunday night storm! The storm must have mostly missed us down here because while Tupelo, MS and Atlanta, GA got a few inches of snow, those of us in Montgomery just woke up to icy windshields. But, hey, I'm not complaining--my husband got the day off!

We went to a friend's house in Florida for conference weekend back in October and it was the perfect mini-getaway! The drive down wasn't too bad...except after it was dark, we ended up on this 50-mile stretch of road that was completely pitch black and there was a sign that had a picture of a bear on it. No joke. It was a little bit hard for me to relax after that. But we made it to the house in one piece. The weather that weekend was absolutely gorgeous and perfectly warm. This was the view from the house.

Paradise! I could have stayed there forever!

And there were dolphins swimming back and forth the entire weekend. It was amazing to watch! We even saw a few jump way out of the water, which made it feel like we were in an even more exotic location!

Michael and Reese did some fishing...

...and built sand castles and went swimming in the ocean...

...and played with friends in the sand. What could be better?

It was the perfect weekend and right now I am wishing that we could go back. Down with January blues!

Alabama State Fair

Michael and I took Reese to the Alabama State Fair when it passed through Montgomery and it was a blast! Reese loved all the rides and it was so fun to watch her on them. Every time she went around she would wave to me and squeal as if she has never had more fun in her life! Hilarious.

(of course she picked the pink horse)

Yes, that is Reese squealing every time she goes around--I could not stop laughing at her! Oh, to be two and at your very first fair!
Reese was a real trooper--I made her pose on every single ride!

It was hilarious to watch Reese in the bumper boats! It looks like she is in the tank alone, but I promise there were other kids (it's just that the rest of my pictures from this ride were blurry). I think the boats must have been a little tricky to control because the kids couldn't move on their own unless the ride worker gave them a push. One poor kid got stuck going around and around in circles and started balling. Once Reese realized that she could stick her hand in the water, she quit even trying to steer and just started splashing around.

(I mean, is this kid having fun, or what?!)

We got Reese and ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles, which she thought was the best thing ever! (until it started melting and Michael started eating the cone...that did not go over well) I finally got to try a deep fried candy bar (I have wanted to for years!) and it was yummy. I thought the outside would be a little bit crisper, but it basically tasted like a funnel cake with gooey chocolate inside. How bad can that be?
And the night ended with a performance by Blake Shelton. Not a bad get for Montgomery, AL, eh? I can't wait to go again next year!