Which Objects Don't Belong?

When filling up the tub for Will's bath, his routine is typically to throw in all of his bath toys. This morning, however, Will decided to add a couple miscellaneous items to the mix...more specifically his sippy cup and a mini flashlight. Such a devious child ;-)

Time with the Fam in Destin

We always have such a great time spending time with my family in Florida; and ever since Will's arrival, it adds a whole new dimension. Although we don't take near as many trips to the beach, we seem to get a lot more family time in, which is always welcomed, considering we don't see one another near as often as we'd like. It helps when we have another visit marked on the calendar, and thankfully it's already set for December when we head to Chicago.

Our flight took off last Saturday, October 11th, and we stayed through the following Saturday, the 18th. It's amazing how quickly a week goes. There's always so much we want to do and people we want to see, yet we never get it all in! Along with some good friends, my parents have been in the process of starting a new church in Destin, so it was fun to experience that with them. We thoroughly enjoyed the service and meeting the people they talk so much about.

Since Dave and I were married in Destin, it always brings back a lot of great memories. After church we ate at the country club where our reception was held, which is always one of the places we hope to go while we're in town. Funny...now that I think about it, most of the places we hope to go are centered around food ;-) Our long-time favorite is a restaurant on the harbor called The Lucky Snapper...it has the most amazing view that never gets old!










































We discovered a couple new places this time around too. One in particular will probably be a new favorite, called Dewy Destin's. It's your typical hole-in-the-wall joint that serves some of the freshest seafood in town - not sure how it could get much fresher since it sits on the water! Tables are situated along two docks and the food is prepared in a trailer - no joke. We met my brother Scott for lunch and sat there for over two hours - it was great :-) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera along to snap any photos, but I discovered one via flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonod/2917992737/in/pool-water

Thanks to my parents, Dave and I were able to enjoy a lot of date nights - it was wonderful!












One night we had dinner at yet another favorite restaurant, and it happened to be Coast Guard appreciation night. There was a fireworks display on the water and we had the perfect view from our table (quick video taken on my phone):

Even though our trip went quickly, we still managed to get a lot in. We saw both my brothers a handful of times, and even went to visit Buzz at his fire station. It was fun being able to see where he works, check out all their trucks and gear, and meet some of his co-workers he spends so much time with. Dave was so kind to watch Will so my mom and I could go shopping for an afternoon too - thanks honey ;-)












Fireman in training :-)

































The weather was perfect every day - 80 & sunny! We did make it to the beach a couple times, and once was just in time to watch a beautiful sunset. Again, not the greatest pictures since they were taken with my phone, but better than nothing! I took a short video of that too:

Sunday Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

Although Will was born in time for us to visit the pumpkin patch last year, he was too young to have any sort of appreciation for it, so we were excited to experience it with him for the first time this year. We ventured out yesterday afternoon and Will enjoyed watching all the other kids and activity around him.

Next year he'll be able to take in a lot more which will be even more fun, because Vala's Pumpkin Patch has a lot to offer. It sits on 152 acres with nearly 55 of them set aside for planting pumpkins every year. Some of the attractions include a 5-acre Nebraska Cornhusker Maze, hay rides, petting zoo, play area with old farm equipment and huge tractor tires, haunted paintball shootout, pumpkin air cannon and catapult launch, and our personal favorite...the pig races!

















Once again we lucked out with great weather, so we enjoyed just strolling around the grounds.

Yesterday was a full day, but I was bound and determined to take Will to the park at an attempt to snap a few photos. It didn't take long for me to realize it was going to be a challenge, however. Will is at an age where he won't sit still for two seconds. As soon as I had him set in the perfect position and backup to take the photo, he'd follow me.

Good thing I brought along some Cheerios. Although, this is also why he wasn't looking at the camera...he was focused on eating. I would try calling his name, but he'd ignore me entirely. If nothing else, it was a good excuse to be outside. It was another beautiful fall-like day here so we enjoyed being at the park :-)

Kristin's Birthday Weekend

Kristin came into town this past weekend so we could all celebrate her birthday. We did a lot of eating out at some of our favorite restaurants, and even went to the Husker v. Virginia Tech game on Saturday. I hadn't been to a game in a couple years, and never had I been to a night game at Memorial Stadium, so it was a fun new experience.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and that pretty much saved the day, because the team wasn't looking too hot... not to mention one particular official who was copping an attitude which literally cost us the game. Dave, Kris and me were excited to go together, as Grammy was very kind to watch Will :-)







Grammy & Grandpa with Will @ The Cheesecake Factory








Kris, me & Dave :-)




















Li'l Red is the coolest













Kris & me :-)











I was a little excited for a heaping plate of nachos, only to discover they had JUST sold out...or so we were told. The guy behind the counter informed us of this, only to spot him minutes later chowing down on his own heaping plate - grrr!

Congratulations, Mary & Ryan!

Well, it's all said & done...Mary & Ryan are married and that does it for the college girls...we're all married off. It's been fun being able to look forward to each other's weddings, and now a lot of us are having babies, so we'll be planning the next round of trips.

The wedding was held in Mary's hometown of Madison, WI. It was a beautiful day to match a beautiful wedding - and, as you would expect, Mary was a beautiful bride!! The reception site was gorgeous - it was held at a country club set high on a hill overlooking a lake. We danced the night away and all of us Taylor folk closed down the reception :-) Catching up with Taylor friends is always one of my favorite things, and since Dave stayed home with Will, I was able to stay up into the wee hours of the night/morning and not have to worry about getting up at the crack the next a.m. (thanks, babe)!

After dancing all night we were quite hungry when the party was over, so me and Nikki, Kate & Virgil ordered pizza and hung out in our hotel room until 2 a.m. After Kate & Virg retired for the evening, Niks and I stayed up talking until 3:30...just like the good ol' college days...not sure how we ever kept up with those hours!!

The following morning we all went to Ryan's parents' house for brunch. It was nice being able to spend a little more time with the bride and groom, as the wedding day is always so crazy.

Spiders, spiders everywhere!!!

Just in case some of you were unaware, I have a severe dislike for spiders, or anything even RESEMBLING a spider!! I may be extreme, but I don't even like watching crabs crawl on the beach because their movements so closely emulate a spider's! I have a keen eye for those creepy crawlers...I can spot them a mile away!

I don't know if I'm becoming increasingly more sensitive to them, or if they really are more prevalent this year, but I have seen a lot of them around lately. I often run early in the morning with Will in the jogging stroller and am a little apprehensive about jogging on the sidewalks in our neighborhood because of all the big trees - I've run through some webs before and it freaks me out! I'm not sure what kind of spiders these are, but here are a few photos of one I spotted in our front yard the other day...these are the kind I've seen a lot of lately and I think they're ICKY looking!