...and so began my love affair with water

I have lots of April updates but this first one is all about water. 

Justin and I both love water and that's why the title of this post is from Brad Paisley's song "Water".  Warm weather and all things water are the best parts of late spring and summer.  As you know, a while back we tried to make a beach trip but it was a little too chilly and much too foggy. Thankfully April provided perfect weather for playing in the water.

Early in April Mimi (Justin's mom) surprised us with a new slip 'n' slide for the kids.  We set it up in the front yard and let them figure it out.  They were a bit hesitant about throwing themselves down it so I had to show them how it's done.  As you can imagine, most slip 'n' slides are not made for adults so it didn't turn out too great.  Luckily I made it out with only a small scratch and Justin did not catch it on camera.  

On that same day Meghan and Jeremy introduced us to Lost Lake.  It's a great lake only 30 minutes from our house and it has a beach feel.  It's small and private with white sand and shallow waters.  The kids love it and so do we.  It's much more convenient than the hour and half drive to St. George Island.  Two weeks after our first trip we got invited back for Brie's birthday. Here are some pictures from our days at Lost Lake.

 It's a tadpole!

 A birthday cake for Brie

The Girls!

We also made our first trip to the Trousdell pool.  It's a great community pool with slides, sprinklers, tunnels, and more.  We're hoping to sign up the kids for swimming lessons there this summer. They also have passes so we can continue to make trips there all summer long. 

I look forward to making many more posts about water!

Man's Best Friend

Well in this case, it's family's best friend.  Justin and I have both been wanting a dog but we were waiting to find a bigger home to rent/buy before we got one.  We wanted to make sure we had the room a medium/large dog requires.  Like most children McKayla has been begging for a dog for months if not years.  Every dog she comes across she is immediate friends with.  She hugs them, kisses them, sleeps with them, picks them up, and plain old spoils them. Well, thanks to Meghan and Jeremy and their awesome dog (Otis), we decided we couldn't wait any longer.  We were hoping to get a dog like Otis that is a red tick hound but couldn't find one. Last weekend Justin and I went to the pound to look around but didn't find any dogs we just had to have.  This weekend we went back with the kids "just to look" and wouldn't you know it, they were having a 10 year anniversary celebration and all their dogs were going for just $10 (normally $75-$100). So we looked and looked and played with two different dogs.  It was a tough decision to make but in the end we ended up with the walker hound/pit bull mix the shelter had named Jane.  The only thing I regret is not getting video footage of McKayla's reaction when we said that, yes, we would be taking her home.

Here is our $10 puppy on her way home with us.

Before we picked out a dog Justin and I had decided that we would name it Fenway after his favorite baseball team's stadium.  Yes he is a Red Sox fan.  So her name is Fenway Jane Wimberly and she fits right into our family.  She is very playful, cuddly, and sweet.  I could not be happier with our new addition.  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Yes, we took her into walmart.  Do you know why you shouldn't take dogs into Walmart? They just might poop or pee on the floor.  Fenway did both!!!

About five minutes into our first true walk with her she decided she needed a rest.  She did this several more times in the 20 minutes we were out.

 Did I mention McKayla LOVES Fenway?

 She is already great at playing fetch.

Meghan and Jeremy gave us a crate and she loves it.  She gets in it everytime we tell her too and doesn't whine, bark, or cry.  She slept in it her first night and didn't have any accidents all night long.  She really is a special little puppy.