Happy Easter!!

We were going to go to the sunrise service on the beach, but did not get up in time to make it by 6:30AM... So, we decided to color eggs instead, well, Taylor, Carolyn and I did, the boys were not interested in getting up to do it... :)

The eggs we decorated, first time we have ever done that with real eggs I think...

About to start the egg hunt, and yeah, this is probably our last one... :( The boys are not really all that interested anymore... Oh well, time for new traditions I guess, like off to the beach with a book, beer and a towel for the afternoon... :)

bunny ears... :)

Yikes!

Has it been that long?? I suppose it has... Lots going on... I met up with some of my old friends from the Marine Corps and they decided that we should meet up, so we did...

While Carolyn and I were in Las Vegas, Marci spoiled the kids rotten of course... :)

Some of my friends in Las Vegas, and yeah, we left our camera at home, sigh... We had a great time though...

After we got back, we went to the Great Atlantic Seafood and Music Festival, had a good time, but it wasn't all that... :)

This is why I moved down here! We moved down in November, so we are just now getting to enjoy it!! I will be the best beach bum ever!!!! :)

45... :)

These people make me happy!

Happy Valentine's Day Carolyn!!

Super Bowl XLVI...

A House Divided... :)

January...

I'll take it...

Taylor loves it too... :)

Genealogy...

Anyone else research their family tree? I find it so fascinating... Thus far though, I have only been able to go back to about the early 1600's... I don't spend a lot of time on it though, but would like to... This is as far back as I have been able to go thus far...

Tanner shooting

Chance shooting

Willie Nelson...

Taylor and I headed downtown today to get our tickets for the Willie Nelson concert, it is a beautiful little theatre, kind of reminds me of the Fox in Atlanta... We were hoping to go in and look around, but everyone was too busy setting up for a concert they were having this evening, but oh well, we got our Willie Nelson tickets, and I cannot wait until February 8th!

Taylor in front of the theatre...

Jacksonville Beach...

Have I mentioned how glad I am we moved down here?? Yeah, January 8th, shorts and flip-flops, it was warm enough to not even wear a shirt!! Of course I do realize that it is unseasonably warm in a lot of places, but hey, I'll take it!! :)

Carolyn, Taylor and I decided to head down to the Jacksonville Beach Pier, it was a gorgeous day out too!

Big bird of some sort we happened across... Yeah, that was about as close as I would get to it...

Bird or fowl of some sort again...

Taylor making the sea gulls fly...

Taylor and Carolyn with the bird...

So yeah, a nice lazy day of sorts, went and strolled down the Jacksonville Beach, went to the pier and checked out a few shops along the shore... Nice Day!

Downtown Jacksonville...

Andrew Jackson statue...

The Jacksonville Landing...

Downtown Jacksonville...

Winter?

I'll take it... :)

My camera doesn't really do any of these shots justice, but whatever, it's beautiful... :)

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Day...

Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas? Yeah, I do! I love the fact that my family is so excited about it, I love watching my children as it approaches, I absolutely love the "Christmas lists" my children give to me in the months prior to the actual day, so yeah, I LOVE the Christmas holiday!

Yeah, we also know the reason for the season, all of my children do, which is why we normally have a cake for Jesus... My children are getting older though, so the "surprise factor" is pretty much gone as we let them choose what they want, why waste money getting things they either don't want or don't need? Yeah... Anyway, we had a great day...

If you saw my previous post, yeah, I got up at 5:15AM and waited, and waited, no one got up... Carolyn finally got up around 8AM, but the kids did not get up until around 9AM, but I figured they had stayed up late, trying to "stay up all night" as they had told me they were going to, so I did not wake them, let them get their sleep I figured... :)

Me passing out the presents...

This is the kids first thing once they finally got out of bed...

Tanner and I putting his mountain bike together, and yeah, that is my "makeshift office" in the background... There was no room for it in the house, so I just took over the garage... ;)

Carolyn got a bike too! She wanted one to go riding on the beach while I am at work and the kids are at school... Now I just need to get Chance and I a bike, which I will, and we will all have one and can go tooling around...

So, our first Christmas in Ponte Vedra Beach, and it was great! We had a fabulous dinner, ribeyes of course, Chance's favorite... Now for the New Year and getting more settled in here in Florida. I am SO glad we moved down here, I cannot wait to see the things that unfold next year, looking forward with great anticipation for 2012!

Hope everyone had a great day! Merry Christmas! Live each day as if it were your last, because you never know... ;)

Merry Christmas!!

The kids had said they were going to stay up all night, but I see that was not the case... I got up around 5:15AM, and here it is 8:17AM and no one is stirring, but me... :) So yeah, already on the second pot of coffee, and just waiting on everyone to get up...

Merry Christmas!!

Tick Tock...

Two more days! Hopefully everyone gets as excited about Christmas as we do here! Although it does not seem like Christmas as it is in the high 70's and I suppose I'll be laying on the beach later in my swim trunks reading a book, but I would much rather be doing that than freezing! ;)

Now, off to get a few last minute items prior to settling in on the beach somewhere...

Sunrise...

Rough Surf...

Headed down to the ocean this AM, surf was pretty rough, and of course the only reason we went is I forgot to buy coffee yesterday, so HAD to stop at McDonald's and get some... Yeah, it is supposed to be pretty miserable here today, overcast, chance of showers, etc... Will still be in the 60's though, so I can tolerate it... :) Funny thing is, last week it was 80 degrees and I was laying on the beach getting some sun... Oh well, should be back up in the 70's by Tuesday or Wednesday, hopefully it is, as we still need to get our Christmas pictures done...

Surf this AM...

Ditto...

Other than that? Pretty much all settled in here at the house, the only thing left to complete is my "office", although it is pretty much all setup, I just need to run a new circuit in the garage so I can plug in all my computers, etc... Will probably get that done this week... Kids have one week left of school, then they are out for the Christmas break, although I'm sure the school calls it the Holiday break, whatever. The kids are also making friends, and are constantly outside playing with them. They are all boys thus far though, but Taylor has now found a friend at the front of the community, so we will take her over there today so she can play with her new friend, they are in the same class together. I'd say I have Christmas shopping to do, but I don't, the kids all want $$, so $$ they will get. They all decided they just want the $$ so they can take advantage of any after Christmas sales that may be going on, we'll see if that works out in their favor, it probably will though judging from retailer reports thus far this season... Now for more coffee... :)

Take Two...

Went back down to take photos again, and yeah, when we left the house it was sunny, but when we got to the beach the clouds were already moving in, so I guess it will be take three sometime next week, oh well, we have fun going down there! :)

And of course we all kind of clash anyway...

Random shot of Tanner...

Chance and Tanner up on one of the dunes...

Racing up the boardwalk...

Driftwood we came across...

So yeah, we'll try again next week, supposed to be back up close to 80 degrees next week, we'll just have to hope we find a time when it is sunny... :)