October-ventures

Hey, remember last October when I was like totally "Mom of the Year" and took my kids on fabulous fall adventures like every weekend in October???  Well, just pretend we did all that stuff this year, too.

I mean, seriously.  October just came and went.  I didn't put my fall harvest scene, complete with scarecrows, in the front yard.  I didn't make either of the boys costumes this year.  We did zero baking with pumpkin spices.  And we didn't even take the boys to the pumpkin patch this year!  We got our pumpkin at Wal-Mart.  (I have failed as a mother.)  Our annual tradition of heading to the pumpkin patch on a beautiful, crisp, fall afternoon so that each of us could select our own, appropriately sized pumpkin did not happen.  I was kinda crushed.  But, lucky for us, there's always next year!

Although we were a bit too busy top the October adventures we had last year, we did still have a blast in October spending time doing fall-y things, taking a much-needed trip to the beach, and spending lots of time with the fabulous fam.

Jus and I actually took a date night the first week of October.  ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!!

We went to Cheekwood on teacher appreciation night (free admission, WOOT!) to see the amazing Bruce Monroe LIGHT exhibit.  It was gorgeous.  The pictures just don't do it justice.

And the scarecrow exhibit was going on, too, and I ran into my faves Jack & Sally!

 After we got back from the beach, we didn't have any groceries of course.  So we took the boys to their first breakfast at Waffle House.  I don't know why Chandler is 6 and hasn't had this right of passage yet.

 Afterward we went to the zoo to check out the new animals since we hadn't been in a while.

 We checked out our old friends the zebras, ostrich, and the bongo, 

 Hung out with the lorikeets for a bit,

And then went to check out the new kangaroos.  They did zero hopping while we were there.  In fact, out of the 17 that I counted, they were all just layin' around.  This one didn't seem to mind us interrupting his slumber.  Lazy bones.

 Later that week, Nana and I took the boys on a picnic to Centennial Park.  We ate, fed the ducks,

climbed the hill to the Parthenon (that's my two rotten kids standing on the edge up there)

and then just spent a while climbing all over the Parthenon and through the park.

Chan & I (and Aunt Carly) took a date to Snow White Drive-In one night for dinner, then headed over to the Capital Theater to see BeetleJuice.  Fun times were had by all.

 We went over to Nama & Ben's one night to check out their new boat.

Celebrated Baba's birthday!

And took the boys to Ghouls at Grassmere (another annual tradition that we just couldn't miss!)

Last weekend we drove down to Atlanta for Justin's Uncle Shawn's surprise 40th birthday party.  (BTW, can you believe he is 40?  I for real need his anti-aging secret.)

 We had a great night spending time with family that we don't get to see too often

 and Chan and cousin Kaia played forever outside before heading in to watch Doc McStuffins.

We carved our jack-o-lantern with buddy Chezney and other friends at Growth Group on Tuesday to prepare for Thursday's trick-or-treating.  Buuuuut, trick-or-treating was postponed to Friday, November 1 due to severe weather in our little part of the world.

 So we just pretended that yesterday was Halloween.

I was the wretchedly wonderful Cruella DeVille this year.  And Liam was Spot.

 Chan was a "Skull Lord Ninja".  He didn't want me to make his costume this year (tear..)

 As usual, Justin made the house super creepy.  Mitch and Trevor came over to scare the daylights out of the poor children in the neighborhood.

 While Grandma, Aunt Carly, and Cruella took the boys trick-or-treating.

 We had super fun, even if it was November 1st.

And after our jam-packed day, these boys were spent.

So, even though we didn't get to do all of our usual fall and Halloween adventures, we still had a great month.  But, next year, I am totally not getting my pumpkin at Wal-Mart.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

~L.M. Montgomery~

(from Anne of Green Gables)

Till next time friends!

Brittany :)

The Sea and Me

We got back from the beach yesterday.  As of today, I want to go back.  Like now.  As always, it is good to be home, but this trip felt all too short.  The break from school and work was very needed indeed and the trip did help to rejuvenate and refresh us.  I didn't even take any work with me for the car ride down and Justin turned his work email off (GASP!!).

So instead of worrying about grading papers, answering emails, lesson planning, meal planning, cleaning, laundry, etc, etc, etc...we took the past week OFF.  The only thing on our agenda was relaxation and fun in the sun.  We drove down to Panama City last Monday and spent the week with my fam at our favorite place, The MoonSpinner.  Here are some of the pics from our week at the beach:

Every good road trip includes a nap in the car, right?

The boys and I hit the beach as soon as we got checked in.  We hadn't gone last October as we usually do, so it had been far too long!

Liam and Mommy walking the beach while Daddy and Chan found shells

Sunset from our balcony on our first night.

I mean, seriously.  Can it get any better than this???  The water was this clear and perfect the whole time we were there.

The big cousins got new boogie boards and were pretty stoked to catch some waves on our first full day.

Chan found his new favorite thing to do at the beach!  (Thanks to Uncle Jon for the new board!)

And they all spent hours out there riding the waves, whether big or small.  They didn't care. :)

And while the big kids were playing in the ocean, we set up this sweet spot for Liam to play in the sand.

He kind of loved it.

Just like he loves his Momma.

And Chan also had to do the annual obligatory burying of "hisself" in the sand.

Day 2 was a bit cloudy, so we headed to Gulf World to check out the dolphin and sea lion shows and talk with some parrots. Photo bombed by a dolphin.  Unbelievable.

And we headed to The Pink Pelican that evening where Momma put on 5 pounds of banana split.

Day 3 we were back in the water!

Weather was perfect and the water was glorious!

Then we went to Hammerhead Fred's for dinner before Liam crashed before 7:00

The Koehns hit the beach again on Day 4!

Justin recruited Katelyn, Gracyn, and Chan for some snorkeling action

And they spent plenty of time searching for shells, crabs, coral, and other sea finds,

(Jus and Chan: snorkel buddies)

While Liam realized his affinity for sand castle building,

And Momma just relaxed in the sun.

Uncle Jon even dug out sand letters for all the kiddos, even an S for baby Sam!

The next night we ate in so that we could grab some family shots on the beach at sunset.  My sweet boys :)

The cousins

Sweet Chan and his sun kissed cheeks

My three favorite boys in the world :)

Little baby Lamb

Mommy's boys

Uncle Woody with his nieces and nephews

The boys with Nana & Baba

All the boys

The Koehn Four

Me and my fella

Boys being boys

Nana & Baba with the grandkiddos

And being extra goofy

Ri & Chan

Loving on each other (this was before Chan pushed Liam's face in the sand)

My parentals

Me with bis sis Andrea and big bro Justin

And here we all are: the whole fam

And Jus and I caved later that night and took Chan to get his own pet: a hermit crab he named Charlie

Another pic just after sunset

We spent our last day on the beach doing more swimming, snorkeling, sand playing, and some paddle boarding

Chan floated for a few minutes anyway

And I could've spent all day out there!  I've decided I need a paddle board.

Our last night we headed to Pier Park

And ate on the boat at Margaritaville

Couple of parrotheads

While we didn't eat at Dick's Last Resort, Chan insisted on a picture with Dick

And Liam insisted on a shoulder ride

Then we went on to the Pier Park rides where Chan decided he wasn't a fan of The Sea Dragon

And Liam realized he likes anything that spins.

So, I bid adieu to our beautiful beach until next year.  Until then, I will just close my eyes and dream of the soft sand, the calming waves, and the cool ocean breezes....

"The sea, once it casts it spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

~Jacques Yves Cousteau~

Till next time friends!

Brittany :)