Florida Fun

Love the sound of crashing waves. Here is a view from our condo balcony.

We're enjoying our 3rd visit to the ocean within the last ten months.

Thanks sis for inviting us along.  These are great memories to share together.

So far on this visit, we have...

Enjoyed breakfast at the Donut Hole. Here is a photo taken after we all had full tummies.

 Love, love, love the condo view from the 3rd floor.

Stroker and I always get gulf front, but from now on, I am taking Darlene's advice and staying on the lower floors so the people on the beach don't look like ants.

Here are Stroker and Brookelynn getting ready to head back up to the condo.

I love to sit on the balcony and listen to the crashing waves (especially just before bedtime)

 Brookelynn worked on a sand castle

Stroker relaxed

 The guys rested up for dinner. Stroker never gets much rest because Brookelynn piles on top of him.

Took a sunset dolphin cruise and captured this photo.

 Spotted these on our dolphin cruise.

We ended the night with dinner at the Crab Trap. Here we are while we were waiting for our table. 

Remodel Complete

Well, the master bathroom and the new laundry room are both finished, just in time for us to leave for Florida. We won't even get a chance to try out the new shower before we hit the road this evening.

 I guess it will give us something to look forward to when we get back.

Here are some quick before and after photos.

Before

Brooke just might get ahold of me for posting this image. All I have to say is "Cutie Patootie"

Work in progress

removing the old floor

enclosing the old bathroom door and placing laundry fixtures. 

After

The new Laundry Area  The new doorway of the master bathroom

 The glass brick window and corner shelves in the master bathroom

The nook for the toilet in the master bathroom

Feels good to have this project complete. Hhhmmmm....what would be fun to work on next?!



Is It Friday Yet?

We keep trying to get into bed early to catch up on rest, but we don't seem to have any luck.

Hopefully this weekend will be packed with R&R.

I plan to spend alot of our time right here on the balcony.

Also looking forward to spending time with family there.

I checked the forecast tonight and it looks like the weather is in our favor. Yay for sunshine!

Just dreading the hours on the road.

As for current "happenings", today we picked out new floor covering, had dinner at El Tap and attended Bible Study at Faith Fellowship.

Last Day of School

It has been a hectic week to say the least. Not only am are we physically drained, but also mentally exhausted. Today, we could not even think of words to finish our sentences half the time. We both stood over the contractors and micromanaged their every move LOL.  We were up until midnight last night completing the demo so that the sheet rock guy could start at 7:30 this morning. Demo was not a hard project, it's just that we were so busy yesterday, that we didnt get to start demo until almost 10pm. This remodel has been a fun project and we have certainly taken our time with it. We tried to decide on a paint color today, but did not get anywhere with that.
Stroker took his truck for an oil change today and took my car to get the tires rotated since Nissan didn't bother with it on Friday. I picked up Brookelynn from school early and Treasure asked if she could come over too. They spent the afternoon running around the yard and giggling. Aaahhhhh summer...it has arrived.

Bedtime at Last

Let me start by saying; God graced us with a beautiful day today. For that, I am truely grateful. 

We just returned home from a late dinner.

I had myself all worked up for nothing today.

Everything went smooth as silk, but our bodies are feeling worn out for sure.

I'm missing Devin and look forward to him being back home tomorrow evening.

Looking forward to Faith Fellowship tomorrow morning.

I leave you with my thought for the day that I ran across on Pinterest

That wraps up week three of May 2012.

Middle School, Here She Comes...

Today, my little 4th grader graduated from elementary school. She received 3 certificates at the ceremony.

One for exceeding the Study Island goals set by her reading teacher, one for having a straight "A" average for the entire year and a final "certification of completion" of elementary school.

 My kids are growing up way too fast. Here is a photo of Brookelynn receiving her "Straight A" certificate and a photo of the "fantastic four".

We also went to O'Charley's today for Brookelynn's graduation dinner, I got the oil changed in my car and they were supposed to rotate the tires, but they skipped it and didn't think I would notice.

Our shower unit was delivered today. We are bracing ourselves for the construction of the master bathroom that will take place all next week. The contracter mentioned today about painting. Stroker and I gave each other "the look".  Yipee!

 We didn't know that painting was included in price. We thought the painting would be left up to us.

Still kinda dreading tomorrow because it will be hectic and rushed.

Devin abandoned us this weekend for a trip to Memphis. He should be back home late Sunday evening.

Speaking of  taking trips, we are looking forward to heading to the beach next weekend and waking up to the sound of the crashing waves. Maybe we will eat at Dewey Destin's again, like we did last summer.

Hayes House Hustle

I just finished reading Erin's blog. Today, Brandon left for another trip to Japan. I think it is for six to eight weeks this time. I look forward to his blog posts while he is over there, but feel sad that they all will be missing each other terribly in the upcoming weeks.
As for the Hayes House, we are winding down the last couple of school days, setting school schedules for next year, and gearing up for a busy weekend.
Last night, I worked on the treat bags for the three girls that came home from school with Brooke every Wednesday night and joined us at church. The bags are nothing too fancy, just personalized bags, water bottle, snacks and a couple of toys. Maybe their parents will drop them off at our house on Wednesday evenings this summer so they can still go with us to church.

I plan to take the bags to Brooke's class graduation tomorrow so that she can give them to her friends.

Yesterday was mom's 73rd birthday, so we celebrated at Nick's Restaurant tonight with her favorite meal (Lobster tail).

My brother took this picture of mom and text it to me a couple of days ago. LOL.

 It's not quite the typical 73rd birthday photo that you would expect to see, but it is the most recent photo I have.

The next two days are going to be super busy. Our new shower is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, Brookelynn's 4th grade graduation is tomorrow, Devin gets out of school at 12:30 tomorrow and will have to be picked up and we plan deliver some tables, chairs and canopies tomorrow since we will not have the time to deliver them on Saturday.

As for Saturday, well...I don't even want to think about Saturday. I am having mixed emotions about that day.

Post 400

Wow, I have hit 400 blog posts with this entry.

This is kinda what our day felt like all day today...and we were literally running circles.

Stroker and I did slow down long enough for a nice, quiet lunch for two at O'Charleys.

Thank goodness it's bedtime. We are sure gonna sleep good tonight.

Mother's Day Weekend

Today,  God graced us by holding back the rain.

We had a full schedule and the forcast had a 50% chance of rain and storms.

Not a drop fell on us until 6pm. 

I admit, I was a little worried that we were in for a wash-out, but He always has a better plan.

I was treated to a Cracker Barrell breakfast today too. Tomorrow will be waaayy to crowded to attempt a restaurant meal; today was a much better day for celebrating Mother's Day.

I was also surprised by an unexpected gift. Nan (Francis) delivered a warm, delicious, homemade chocolate pie to me for Mother's Day. How sweet of her was that? I was so happy...not only for the pie, but that Nan wanted to make me a Mother's Day gift.

Tomorrow, Stroker's mom plans to join us for church and then I will go to White County to visit my mom.

I had an old childhood photo of mom and her family enlarged and framed as her gift.

We got Stroker's mom and Nan some gift cards.

Stroker say's holiday's are just a "money racket".

Typical thoughts of a man.  Uuuggghhh.

Seven Day Recap

Although my blog has taken the back seat in my carpool of priorities here lately, I do have lots of tidbits about the Hayes House Happenings to share.
Friday, May 4th, Devin finally got his birthday gift (just 3 months overdue). He has been on the Nashville Preds bandwagon this year and was desperately determined to attend a Stanley Cupp playoff game. If it had not been for his birthday gift, I would have never allowed myself (& Stroker) to pay such a price for close seats at a sport event. He said he really liked them though. Stroker came home talking about what a good game it was and how fun the atmosphere was at the game.

While Devin and Stroker took in the game, Brookelynn and I joined Darlene, Gary and  Trent  for dinner at Outback then stopped by Cookeville's Relay for Life event.
Saturday, May 5th, was a stress free day. The weather was nice and our agenda's were clear. Darlene and Gary came back over and hung out with us for most of the day. Darlene and I went to Hobby Lobby for a bit. That evening, they went to watch Matasia in a horse show.

Sunday, May 6th, we went to church and to El Tapatio for lunch. We done a little bit of shopping to have some snacks for the week and spent the rest of the day lounging around.
Monday, May 7th was the day that we went to the Doyle United Methodist Church Revival. Our pastor was the guest preacher of the night. After church, we had dinner at El Tapatio. It was after 10pm before we got back to Cookeville.
Yes, you read that correctly, we ate mexican for two days straight.
Tuesday, May 7th, was a reality check. It was junior high orientation for Brookelynn. We walked around the school, checked out the classrooms and learned a bit about the do's and don'ts of middle school. I cannot grasp the thought of my baby being old enough for jr. high. Here is a photo of us at orientation for junior high with Brookes best friend since BB's preschool. They are so glad that they will finally be back in the same school together next year.

Wednesday, May 8th, was a sick day for me. Headache and nausea most of the day.
Also, on Wednesday, Stroker sent me a picture message of this..

LOL...1999. Speaking of "where does the time go", what happened to the last 13 years?
Check out my posture. That herringbone chain that I was rockin' must have been weighting my neck down LOL. My little Devin still had his chubby cheeks and his Tommy Hilfiger gear going on. Stroker said that somebody at his job had a photo album and that picture was in it. 
Wednesday evening, I got to feeling better and managed to take the carload of girls to church Wednesday night.
Thursday, May 9th, Devin and Brookelynn decided to spend some quality time together and play some ball in the yard. That is something that does not happen often.

Good Eats

Tuesday, I tried a "Flippin' Burger" from Algood and it sure was good. I had been hearing people rave about how yummy they were. There is just something about those mom and pop burger joints.

So Wednesday, I took mom to the doctor (for the fourth time) and they scheduled 2 more appointments for her to come back, so they can decide if she needs surgery.
How many doctor visits does it take to make a decision? Uuuggghhh. Not to mention the appointment consumed the first half of the day on Wednesday.
Wednesday evening was filled with four giggly girls at our house again and a fellowship meal at church. I made pasta salad to take. It must have tasted pretty good, I only had one serving left to bring back home.

After all that cooking I done last night , we opted for Rib City tonight.

So it appears that all we have accomplished this week is dinner each night.

As a matter of fact, some days I am surprised that we even accomplish that.

There is just not enough hours in the day.