9 years of wedded bliss

Nine years ago, I made the best decision of my life!

Harry Potter Movie Night

(YES I made glasses out of pipe cleaners! And YES I wish I had a Gryffindor banner or cape and YES my son Duce was humiliated by me and YES people looked at me funny and YES I was the only one with any type of Harry Potter paraphernalia on!)
I love the Harry Potter books. I didn't start reading them until last year and I am ready to read them all over again. The first time through, I rushed because I wanted to know what happened next....now I want to go back and actually enjoy and soak in more of JK Rowling's incredible imagination! So it should be no surprise that I wanted to go to see the latest movie.

My brother, Ryan, and his two oldest, along with his brother-in-law, Jonathan, my mom, my sis-in-law Emily and Duce and Jett came along for the show.

The movie was scarier than I thought (can't believe it was only rated PG) and like all Harry Potter movies, SO much was left out! But all in all I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the 2 PART final movie(s)...yup...they are making the last book into 2 movies! About twenty minutes into the movie, Jett told me he was cold and wanted to lay down. I was to ingrossed in the show and must have mumbled something to him that said "lie down then" because when the movie was over, he was asleep on the NASTY theater floor! (good thing because he slept right through the really scary parts)

Camel lashes!

My baby, Tee, had eyelashes to DIE for. This picture was taken at Crystal River out by the pool. But it looks so amazing to me, that I thought it deserved its own post! It seems a waste to have such voluminous lashes on a boy!

Crystal River and Scalloping in the gulf!

(This is what happens when you go too many hours out on the ocean WITHOUT sunscreen. Tsk. Tsk.)

Last weekend, my family went over to Crystal River to do a little "scalloping". And let me just tell you....it was FUN!!! I LOVE snorkeling...add in the thrill of finding scallops and I didn't want to come back into the boat. Duce and Jett had a great time in the water, too, and were each successful in their snorkel attempts. The girls and baby Tee stayed back at the hotel (with grandma) and went swimming in the pool. The hotel rooms were a bit rough, but the pool and park were GREAT! There were oysters and fishing trips galore...and what is a Munns boating trip without running out of gas...yes....it happened again! That just means more time to fish and swim, right?!

Dad, Daniel and Jordan shucking the scallops

Jordan and Shanda grilled up some freshly caught oysters and served them up....a cracker and some hot sauce. I think this was my first oyster....not exactly delicious, but not as bad as I expected....you mostly just taste cracker and hot sauce....maybe that's the point.

I finally convinced Duce to try one. He was a little hesitant, but finally ate it.

IT WAS A LOVELY WEEKEND. THANKS GRANDMA AND GO-DAD MUNNS!!!

Before leaving, the boys filleted the fish. Then last night we had a "fish fry" with some of the catch from the weekend...plus some frog legs Daniel had caught previously. Yum! (I did not try the frog legs...and Tyler called me a wimp!)

Gold and Tee

Goldie and Tee squeezed into a one man stroller for a little walk around the house. (I love that Tee is grabbing Gold's finger the entire time!)

(and if you haven't noticed, I've discovered the "collage" on Picasa....makes posting a lot of pictures so much faster and easier)

I'm all "banged" up!

So after much debate, I have only trimmed my hair and my sisters all talked me into bangs. Haven't had them since 6th grade. Most of the time, I like them. But the times I don't, thank heavens for bobby pins! My cutest husband had said many many months ago no to me getting bangs, so I was nervous to tell him. He flew in from Utah and when I picked him up, I had them pinned back so he couldn't tell. We chatted a bit once we were back in the car. I finally turned to him and said, " I have to tell you something and you can't get upset. (pause) My sisters are really really excited, my mother is thrilled and even my dad said this isn't a bad thing." Now, as I'm saying this, his expression is going blank and he looks like a deer in the headlights and I realize that it sounds like I am about to tell him I'm pregnant! So to put the poor man out of his misery I quickly take the pin out and fluff my hair down and say, "I got bangs!" The relief that washed over his face made me laugh. My sister later asked him, given the choice...bangs or pregnant....he quickly said "bangs!".

During my hair debate, I found that just about every guy I asked said NOT to cut it and just about every girl said to cut it....except my sisters. They were adamant about me not cutting. And since Shelly is my hairdresser, I went with NO cut.....for now at least. So I just trimmed off about 3 inches. And NO I didn't darken it either. This is my natural color. I guess having the bangs makes my hair look darker!

Happy 4th of July

HAPPY 4th of JULY

We spent the 4th of July at my parents house. We had family over and ate the most delicious food...pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, grilled corn on the cob, homemade cherry pie, raspberry salad, green book club salad, kidney bean salad, watermelon....and yes, the list goes on!

(you can just make out a white dot and a brown dot in the pond. That is Boss and Sugar...they were doing laps, trying to catch the geese!)

We went swimming and fishing. The boys were trying to catch the little baby resident gator in my parents pond. The kids all had a blast with the sparklers. Only one injury....Josie put her hot sparkler in the bucket, but somehow managed to burn her fingers in the process (its always an Anderson getting burned on the 4th!)

Sam did a nice little fireworks show, followed by Duce lighting his birthday fireworks. When ours were all over, we went out to the dock to watch the other fireworks from around the lake. It was a great way to spend the day.

PS: if you haven't, read 1776. It certainly made me appreciate the sacrifice that so many went through in order for us to live in this amazing free country that we do!

Duce's birthday at the beach!

(you can sort of see the rocks in the water....kind a bummer for boogie boarding)
A DAY AT THE BEACH

Duce picked to spend his 8th birthday at the beach. It was a little too hot for me. And it was low tide and there were rocks everywhere, so not the ideal beach day, but the kids had fun, nonetheless. Despite the danger of busting it on the rocks, they all tried boogie boarding, too. Tee was Tee. Roaming and doing everything to keep Tyler and I from ever sitting down! The girls built sand castles that they decorated with sea shells. What a fun way to spend the day! Happy Birthday, Duce! (Friday the 3rd was his actual birthday, even though we had a party last week for him)

Tee and Tyler were matching in their striped board shorts!

Swimming Swimming Swimming

WE LOVE SWIMMING. Especially when Tyler is in the pool to throw the kids around! (don't you LOVE the girls suits...and they were only $5 from Old Navy!)

I remember the few times my dad got in the pool when we were kids and how much I LOVED to get a "whale ride". The tradition continues...my kids swarm Tyler for a ride each time he gets in the pool.

WE LOVE SWIMMING!