Thought some of you Mamas out there might be interested...

I came across a great deal on Stephen Joseph toddler backpacks on Ebay and wanted to let you all know about it in case you need one for your kiddo or as a gift. These are adorable and the lady who sells them will even personalize them for free with your child's name!! I've seen a friend of mines order and they are just precious. I ordered two today and can't wait to get them. Anyway, $21.90 will get you the backpack design of your choice (and there are lots to pick from), along with FREE embroidery and FREE shipping! I've seen them elsewhere and with shipping and monogramming the total comes to over $35.00!! Anyway, I wanted to pass it along...

While the Cats Away...

With Allie gone for the night at Camp Meeting, Wyatt seized the opportunity to explore the forbidden treasure chest that is 'sister's room!'


(Please note that the green motorcycle in the picture did eventually trump all. He really is all boy...no really...I swear!!!)

Don't Blink...

I was passing through the bonus room today heading towards my office to do some work when I saw something that stopped me in my tracks...
It's amazing what can change in the blink of an eye... and even more amazing perhaps is the way things seem to stay the same.
Man, how time does fly.

Been There. Done That.

Got the T-shirt!!Well, I did it! I ran my first Peachtree and it was AWESOME!! I have never seen so many runners in all of my life. If you have any interest in running (or walking for that matter) I definitely recommend trying it at least once. There is so much excitement in the air and there are so many people who show up just to cheer on the sidelines. I really wish I could have had my camera with me to take more pictures, but needless to say I wanted to carry as little as possible. There were tons of photographers there though and they will be posting their pictures on a website throughout the week, so hopefully I will have more to show as the week progresses. In the meantime, here are a few from the day...

Me, along with my brother Tim and my sister Pam in the hotel before the race...

Pam and her hubby, ChrisI decided to drop back so I could start with Tim's group so we could run together. Here we are moving ahead to the starting point. Woo Hoo!!
Mom and Dad kept the kiddos while I ran. They looked too cute and patriotic not to get a picture of... They even had their house dressed up for the fourth. This was them waving goodbye as we drove home last night.

Once we got home we met up with Michael and went to celebrate the fourth with some friends. Living as close to South Carolina as we do, fireworks are easy to come by, so it has become somewhat of a tradition to have a fireworks show each year. Truth be told, the men just like to light things on fire and so this presents the perfect opportunity. There are usually about 30 families contributing to the firework fund, so the result is usually pretty awesome.
Happy fourth, everyone!

Four Days and Counting...

Beach Bums

To quote a little Soul 2 Soul (ahhh yeaaa, baby!) it's 'back to life, back to reality' here at the Rich household. We're back from a week at the beach and missing every minute of it. Apparently I missed a lot. (You know who you are and I really, REALLY want a update and especially a picture... but I guess I'll be patient given the circumstances.) Anyway, we had a great week and tons of fun with our friends. All total, there were seventeen... yes that's s-e-v-e-n-t-e-e-n people that went with us and yes, we all stayed in one beach house. The kids had a blast and we were very fortunate that they all got along so well. Now, let's get to what everyone really wants in a blog entry... the pictures. Here are a few of my favorites...

Allie and Wyatt, taking it all in...

Allie LOVED the waves!

Allie & GeorgiaThe jellyfish were really bad one day. Here's one of the four we caught for the kids to look at...

The kids were bummed they couldn't swim much that day, but Wyatt had no problem finding other ways to occupy his time...Allie Loved putt-putt, which btw, I WON. It came down to the all the men and me in a very heated match. On the last hole I came on strong with a hole-in-one to tie the game with Michael. So... on to a tie-breaking hole we went... and guess what??? I got another hole-in-one to secure my victory. Oh, sweet, sweet victory!! (What?!? Me...competitive? Nahhh.)

Here's Allie... my little golfer-in-training.

Allie showing off the pose she now does in all of her pictures. The girls even got hair wraps. Allie learned to jump off the side of the pool! Next step... no life jacket!
I love this shot I got of the two of them!My little beach bum...

I also figured it was about time we had a family portrait taken since... well... we have NEVER taken one before. (Well, other than the d.i.y. one I took for the church directory, but that totally doesn't count. Plus, it was many pounds ago...LOL!) Since I'm usually the one taking the pictures, I never get to be in them myself. So we hired a photographer to come and take some family portraits of us on the beach.

Well, as a photographer you can probably guess I kinda had in mind what I wanted. After a long search, I found just what I was looking for at Beach Bum Photography. David and Jessica are a husband and wife photography team and they were awesome! They were both so sweet and wonderful to work with. Plus, they were totally affordable! Their session fee included a disk with all the images on it so I could crop, Photoshop, and print at my leisure. If you are ever in the Pensacola, Navarre, or Destin area, I TOTALLY recommend them! Here's a few shots from our session...
O.K., so that was more than a few pictures... but what did you expect? I was really happy to get so many shots. They shot hundreds of images... way too many to post so I had to narrow it down as much as possible. Seriously though... If you need some beach pictures and you're in their area you should totally give them a call. You won't find anyone sweeter!

Now, I'm off to comment on some blogs before I start loosing friends...

Best $20 I've spent in awhile....

I was at a consignment store today searching (and searching... and searching...) for a full-sized play pin and happened upon this little gem. Well, actually Wyatt spotted it first and the look on his face left me with no other option but to take it home with us. As you can see... he is IN LOVE with his new Jeep. Not bad for $20!
BTW, if any of you know where I can find a full-sized play pin... the big old-fashioned square kind, but in a pack and play style... PLEASE let me know. I was lucky enough to find one at the last Kidsignments sale, but we really need one more to take to the beach and to leave at the other grandparents house. I have looked everywhere, so if you ever find one PLEASE let me know. Love ya for it!

Anyway... since the last two posts have been all about Wyatt, I decided that I needed to add one of Allie be fair. So... here's one that will be shown to all potential boyfriends...

Turning four has brought a whole new since of independence. This is most apparent in her choice of wardrobe. She insists on picking out her own clothes and getting dressed all by herself every morning. I think somewhere Stacey and Clinton just threw up a little...