Nope...

I will never tire of the ocean...

Sunrise this AM...

Taylor and I taking a stroll before she has to get ready for school... Chance and Tanner? Yeah, they are not morning people... :)

Yesterday morning, it was amazing how warm the water was this late in the year!

So yeah, that is pretty much how it goes, catch the sunrise in the AM and then head back in the afternoon to lay in the sun and read a book...

Let The Christmas Season Begin...

I just love the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays! We actually decorated a few days ago as there was no sense in putting all the stuff up I brought down from Atlanta last Sunday just to drag it all out again today...

So the tree is up...

The stockings are hung...

All the other decorations are out as well...

Somehow I have managed to hang onto this sign Titus and I made years ago, forget exactly how many...

Then of course there is always the fabulous walks on the beach in the AM with a huge cup of coffee, nothing like it, I love it!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Again...

I'm at home, can you tell? Yeah, you will find me here anytime I have free time!

A Day In Ponte Vedra Beach...

Yeah, we are finally settling in, just have to go fetch the rest of our shit next weekend, other than that, this is the life! I love my new office, the kids all seem to like their schools, and life is grand!!!

This is where you can find me when I am not working, reading a good book on the beach while the kids play!

Chance and Taylor found a horseshoe crab, it was a little smelly though...

Kids being kids...

Ditto...

This was the stuff Carolyn and I found just laying on the beach this AM when we went out early... It's stunning the stuff that is just laying on the beach...

So yeah, this is HOME! We love it! The kids are adjusting, but are making friends, Chance is as I type playing basketball with a few friends he has made across the street, and all is well... Will be glad when next weekend is over though and all the rest of our stuff is down here, but soon, it will be just a way of life, and I love it!!!

Ponte Vedra Beach...

I just LOVE this place, SO glad we decided to move down here...

One of the best things to do is go catch the sunrise at the beach, it's beautiful!

I was trying to figure out what kind of animal this was, but have not yet identified the tracks...

The hazards of going to the beach at the crack of dawn, once the sun comes out, it starts getting warm! The shirt can come off of course, but the jeans? Yeah, from now on I'm bringing a pair of shorts with me as well!

Absolutely beautiful views...

We also only saw three other people all morning at this particular beach, there were a few more at the first one we went to though...

So yeah, we are loving it down here, although the kids aren't too keen on getting up at 6AM just to go to the beach, we don't even wake Chance and Tanner up anymore to ask if they want to go, because we know the answer... :)

Finally!!!

Of course we are not quite done yet, I had to leave some stuff behind as I ran out of room, but we are nearly there! It's been kind of tiring, but man, I am so happy to finally be here in Ponte Vedra Beach!!!

Moving day! Luckily Zac helped, he towed one of the cars down, I towed the other down with the U-Haul, and yeah, that thing got 5.7 Mpg... ugh!

Our new home!

Kids hopping on the neighbor's WiFi, well, at the moment we are using it until Comcast gets out here next week, sigh...

Living room from the kitchen/breakfast area...

Back patio...

So we are nearly settled in, everything we brought with us is unpacked and put in it's place, I just have to go back next weekend, fetch Zac again and then get another trailer and get the rest of the stuff, although, about the only things I left behind is our Christmas stuff, the furniture in my office and a few other things, so yeah, once that is done, it is over and we are done!

Chance and Tanner start school tomorrow, went and got them all checked in today and Taylor starts on Friday. Not sure they are looking forward to that or not, but I'll bet within a week they will all have new friends and be fine. Chance is at the moment outside playing football with some new friends he has and all is well... :)

Ugh...

Update? Yeah, I'm busy... I'll soon be relaxing though, VERY soon! Two minutes and 37 seconds from the ocean...

Home Sweet Home...

You know, I have wanted to move to Florida for some years now, and it is finally happening! I can't believe it, picked up the keys today though. Taylor and I are the only ones down here, and the only reason we came down, is we found the house on Craigslist, and we read so many stories about people conning people out of $$, so I just came down to meet them in person, they are legit and the home is fabulous and in a great community with pools, workout rooms, spa, tennis courts, etc, etc, but the best part is, and Taylor timed it today, it is 2 minutes and 37 seconds from the ocean!!!! Yeah...

Taylor at the ocean today...

You can walk for miles if you choose, I LOVE it!!!

Yeah, like I said, 2 minutes and 37 seconds from our house... :)

Ponte Vedra Beach baby! Can you tell I'm excited? I am!

Yes, this is our new home! The guy we are getting it from is such a nice guy, we had a great time meeting him today and his kid. Yeah, the van, they are cleaning it up for us. The guy is so nice, it was very great to meet them...

So yeah, dream come true... I am so stoked, and luckily my company let me do it... Now to just get all of our shit down here, 13 days... I don't care... A few more days to toil, then we will be down here. So from now on, instead of watching Imus in the Morning, I will be at the ocean, each and every day, strolling through the surf at 5:30 or 6ish, then will head home to wake the kiddos up to get them ready for school, did I mention that the ocean is only 2 minutes and 37 seconds away?? :)

Rodeo...

Yeah, these are in no particular order, but we were driving back from lunch yesterday and saw a sign that said the rodeo was in town, so we decided to go. I guess the last time we went to a rodeo, we took Cory and James when Cory was about 10. So off we went...

Carolyn and I, obviously...

Taylor and I, Taylor with her new hat on, Tanner decided to go for the bullwhip instead... :)

Tanner trying to win $100 for going up that side of the rock wall, he did not make it... :)

The start of the rodeo...

Before it started. Chance isn't with us because he decided to go to his friends house instead of join us, although he did tell me he wants to go to a rodeo, but he had already made plans for this particular evening... :)

So we had a good time, and LUCKILY I wore jeans as it was a bit chilly the later it got. First time I have even worn jeans since Spring, sigh... Also, I REALLY need a new camera as out of the 45+ pictures I took, only these really turned out, oh well...

Let The Final Leg Commence...

Jacksonville, here we come!

Happy Birthday Tanner!

So my boy turned 13 on Thursday, but of course did not want to celebrate until today! So we did! We went to the fair from about 10 - 4, then came home and had the pizza party and opened presents! A good time was had by all...

The birthday boy!

Chance got a laptop for his birthday, Taylor got one for Christmas, so Tanner was the only who did not have one, he did have an old computer of mine, but I do not have ethernet run here, so he could not use it really, so he is finally glad to have his own!

Opening cards and presents!

Of course I only took about 5 pictures at the fair, not sure why...

Taylor and her friend Victoria! All of the kids took one of their friends, and my co-worker and his family met us there, so we all had a good time.

The fair just about wears me out though, just walking all over the place. I of course wore shorts and a t-shirt, and it was freezing! I just have a thing about this time of year and dragging my jeans out, because once Spring hits, I put them up and only wear shorts until about now, sigh, I guess I need to break them out... :)

Jacksonville...

So, back to Jacksonville again, trying to pin down the home we are going to move into. I think we have found it, now to just get down there for good, I'm tired of going back and forth as it is a LONG drive! At first I almost did not think it would happen, but it is... Now just to get all our shit down there, sigh...

This is the view from the boardwalk at Mickler's Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach, which is where we will be living... The home we are getting is not far from there, about 3 minutes, so I will be out there most mornings, along with Carolyn and Taylor, the guys prefer to sleep, they do not like getting up at 6AM, I ALWAYS get up at 6AM, and Taylor is most of the time up before me, good to have a morning person in the family to hang out with... :)

Taylor the other morning, strolling in the surf, which is what Carolyn and I LOVE to do, and we mostly do it with only Taylor when we have been there as Chance and Tanner would rather sleep... :)

Sunrise this AM, a bit cloudy, but I could care less... I've wanted to move to the beach for years, now I AM!!

Carolyn and Taylor at the hotel we stayed at last night. It was a nice hotel, I probably am one of the few people who stayed there who got it on Priceline for a fraction of the price they normally charge, there were SO many snooty people there, yeah, them and I don't mix well, we had fun with them, the kids and I... :)

So yeah, we are nearly there, in Jacksonville! I CANNOT wait! :)

Yikes...

Yeah, I can now confirm with first hand experience how people flip their SUV's... Lightly holding the wheel, texting, etc... It was all I could do when the tire blew out, and it didn't just blow out, the tread came off, and I thought the road was bumpy for a while, but when it blew, the wheel jerked so hard to the right, I was lucky I had both hands on the wheel, wow...

The tire...

Me thinking, yikes, and thanking my lucky stars that there had not been much traffic on the road as I had been in the fast lane doing 85...

Yeah, could have been much worse, but we are all still here, and there was a Walmart a few exits up, so once I put the spare on, I went and bought a new tire... :)

9.11.01

Yikes...

Wow. Has it been that long? I suppose it has, I'd say I've been busy, but I really haven't been, although I am about to be as we get ready to move again... :) I guess we will head back down to Jacksonville the week of Sept 19th and try and figure out which house we want... In the meantime, here are a few more pics from our last trip to JAX...

Taylor's sentiment about Jacksonville... :)

Carolyn and I at Castillo de San Marcos...

Taylor and I at one of our favorite spots...

Kids at Castillo de San Marcos...

Ditto! Hopefully we will be down there for good soon... :)