Nice Little Sunday

A couple of weeks ago, we made a Sunday afternoon trip to the airport so that Gary could take a friend's little girl and wife for a ride in the helicopter.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures in the helicopter since Daddy was busy and Mommy's hands were full with 2 squirmy little ones!  However, the girls LOVED the ride, and, even though they really had no clue what they saw, they were thrilled at the fact that we flew over Mamaw and Papaw's house and have talked about it ever since!

After the quick ride, we took a tour of a couple of the other planes in the hanger.

The girls were quick to take the controls and thought they were big stuff climbing in and out of the airplanes!

I'm not sure if Daddy or the girls liked the day more!

On the way home, we finished off the afternoon with a stop at the DQ!!!  The girls have definitely discovered a love for ice cream this summer!

Besides our fun airport adventures, I also wanted to post a few final pictures of the girls opening up their last round of birthday presents over the last several weeks!

They got cute pajamas and books from Aunt Sally...

 More cards and piggy money from Ma and John...

And purse pups from their friends Peyton and Paris...which they have hardly put down since they opened them!

Since it was also Mrs Ann's 40th birthday (Peyton and Paris' mommy), the girls made her a birthday card for us to take to her party!  We haven't let them play with markers much yet, just because we don't want to deal with the mess, but since we gave them markers in one of their birthday packages, we gave in!  I was sitting at the table helping them make the cards, and they were being very careful and doing great...until I walked away just for a moment!

 Luckily, they're washable...and I truly appreciate what that means!!

Now that the birthday fun has fully ceased (even though they still call people on their little play phones every day to say "Thank you for coming to my birthday party!), we've just hung out and acted silly!

 Here's a cute fall shot in our birthday sweats from Ma and John...

 Macy likes to wear Daddy's shoes...

And the final shots are from a couple of lunch and play dates with some of the girls' close friends!  Here's an after church lunch with Taylor...

And a DPK play date with the girls' best bud, Hannah!  It almost looks like we have trips, doesn't it??

Perfect 10!

This year marked a major milestone for Gary and I as we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!  I am honored to say that I've spent 10 years married to my very best friend who has been a part of my life for an unbelievable 17 years!  It is so hard to believe our little T-town wedding was so long ago!  All these years later, it's amazing to look back on our truly wonderful lives and to realize how truly blessed that we are!

I didn't get a post done immediately after our celebration in July, but before the memories completely fade, I wanted to post a few pictures of our fun trip!  We went on a SEVEN DAY cruise to the Southern Caribbean, VERY reluctant and sad to leave our little darlings behind, but also VERY eager to get away from the chaos of our new house, busy jobs, and just the stress of being mommy and daddy for a few days.

 As nervous as I was about the length of our vacation, I was very excited to make it through the week with an appreciation for the great life, beautiful daughters, and wonderful husband that I have, and a much more relaxed and re-charged spirit!  While we were on our trip, we were able to enjoy time as a couple,

and were able to make a few awesome friendships that made our trip all the more enjoyable.

We were able to SLEEP LATE, enjoy relaxing meals with adult conversation,

hang on multiple gorgeous beaches, tour various islands, kayak through the coves of St Croix's "Salt River",

watch airplanes land and take off FAR too close for comfort in St Martin, and zipline through the rainforests of St Lucia (don't you LOVE the hairnets??)

...and...enjoy MULTIPLE sail away drinks on the ship...

...with our new friends and the awesome bartender, Ran! :)

While we were on vacation, Macy and Makayla were able to experience a vacation of their own staying with Mimi, Aunt Miss, Aunt Sabrina, Uncle Clayton, Aunt Sheryl, and, of course, spending LOTS of time with their cousins, Haley and Noah!  Every time we called (which, fortunately, was at least once per day), we were told about the "great adventures" of the day, where they spent lots of time at the pool, playing hide and seek with Haley, and visiting the Cabbage Patch Kid factory where they each brought home a new family addition!  Mimi, Aunt Miss, and Aunt Sabrina did an awesome job of sending LOTS of pictures, texts, and emails, and we were able to feel very involved in the day to day activity!  I think the girls may have had as much fun on their vacation as we did on ours!  :)

It was a great experience for all, and while I love every minute of being a mommy and look forward to MANY vacations with the family in tow, it truly was a good experience for all of us.  The girls were able to develop a new level of independence, we all missed each other so much and were so happy to be back together as a family, and Gary and I got to be just that...Gary and Mandy, husband and wife!  I can't say it enough...we are SOOOO blessed!

More pics from our trip and the girls' adventures with the fam can be found here - http://s937.photobucket.com/albums/ad218/mandyernst/10th%20Anniversary%20Cruise/?albumview=slideshow