Hardin Beach Time

Last week was my and David's summer vacation. It began with time in PCB with my Mom's side of the family - we are the 4th generation to vacation there, and we go as often as possible. The next stop would be Mexico Beach for the Griffin Beach Week. Our nephew, Ben, is also the 4th generation to vacation in MB. As you can gather, there's a lot of family history on the gulf for both of us. Our great vacation was capped off with my Mom's 50th birthday party this past Friday at my parent's house. First, I wanted to share a few pics of our time in PCB.

On Friday night, the whole crew of 12 headed to Boondock's. Here are some of the cousins: L-R. Katie, Me, Hugh, Tana, Gracie, Chandler, and David. Ivy and Asa had been there earlier in the week. Brince had to work, and Abs is overseas.

David and I at Boondocks, on the Intercoastal Waterway

Love him!

My Mom, her Aunt Bren (my great Aunt), cousin Jamie, and my Aunt Jill.

Beach time! This is where they were parked for a week!

Ben and Amanda hung out with us on Saturday! We were so excited! He was ready for the slide!

He loves his Day-da!

David even agreed to try out the slide!

We had so much fun with Ben drinking from the water keg.....he loved having us "pour" it in his mouth!

After an incredible meal at George's on Saturday night with David, Gongaman, and Mom, we snooped around this gorgeous beach front tree house. Its simply magical, and this photo doesn't do it justice! It was like a dream!

On Sunday, Mom, David and I headed to Destin to hit our favorite antique store, Smith's, and a few shops at the outlets.

I pledge allegiance...

On Monday, the weekend was slowing down, but wasn't over yet! Brince and Clayton agreed to stick around until the fireworks at dusk so onto the boat again we go with another picnic in tow! Sadly, the rain came in and was in and out over the course of the day. However, it wasn't raining hard enough to stop us from having fun! Later in the day we grilled burgers one last time, and then the rain really began. The fireworks didn't even start until close to 10:00pm, so Cleeze and B decided to go ahead and hit the road. 

I got this sweet hat for myself for the weekend's festivities, but it looked so cute on David I had to snap a pic!

The Arnolds left early to make a pit-stop in Atlanta, but the 4 amigos made a day of it! Those big ol' rain drops weren't going to stop us!

Later that afternoon we had a cookout pre-fireworks.

After the fireworks, we braved the rain back to the boat. Clayton looked adorable in my clear umbrella.

That's one patriotic pair!

So happy to have B with us!

We said the Pledge several times over the weekend, but couldn't resist one last time.

David and I are at the beach for a week with our families, so stay tuned for more on family beach time!

Fourth Fun

Me and my best friend Amy! This flag belonged to my grandparents too!

On Saturday at lunch morning, the Arnolds and the Griffins got movin' to head out onto the water. We packed 3 coolers, 4 baskets, and two beach bags full of any supplies we would need. We cruised around until we made it to the Jollay's on a more southern part of the lake. Afterward, we headed to the Smithsons for the afternoon and for dinner. Thanks for feeding us, Smithson group!

After a decent bedtime on Saturday night, we got up early on Sunday to do it all over again. We were pumped when Clayton and Brince arrived a little after lunch, and we headed back out onto the boat. Here's the highlights from Saturday and Sunday....

The Arnolds!

Our boat-lovin' doggie!

Hanging out in the water at the Jollay's

Sunday morning started off with a bang! The four of us made our way down to the dock for a day of sunshine, and while loading onto the boat, Amy's sunglasses fell into the water! So, here's Chris getting ready to dive down to go after them...

While Chris was underwater, his wedding band fell off!

No worries though! David came in for reinforcements and retrieved both things! Whew! The day has been saved!

With the sunglasses back on, Amy decided to chill in our huge float!

And the boys took it over shortly after us gals.

With Brince and Clayton now in tow, we set off for another day of boating. We headed over to the Smithsons for an awesome afternoon of lounging in the lake, cornhole, and friends.

Chris, Aynsley, and David

Ben, Brince, David and Jamie - cute boys!

Our fun group! Ben, Meghan, Aynsley, David, Kate, Jamie, Brince and Ashley in back. That's me, Colby, and Callie up front.

This trophy was at stake!

Brince and David played Eric and his friend in the semi-finals.

Sadly, Brince and David didn't win the cornhole title, so we took it back home to grill up some burgers for a night of Game of Things and Musical Flip Cup. As you can see, Bax was ready to go home too!

Fourth of July Weekend kickoff

Our Fourth of July weekend was so fun! We got to see so many of our friends! Amy and Chris came into town for the long weekend on Friday afternoon - we were so happy to have them up and their sweet Maddie! Meredith and Johnathan came up from SSI to be at her parents' lake place, but we stole them away for the evening on Friday. And our awesome Gainesville friends, Callie and Brian, came over too! Great group! David grilled salmon which we served with cream cheese grits and kale. Here's the highlights from our inaugural evening...

Rigatoni, tomato, mozzarella, and parsley pasta

Cucumber, mango, red onion, and jalapeno relish for our salmon

Cauliflower potato salad

Fresh corn salad with tomato, greens, cucumber, and red onion

Spinach avocado wraps

My patriotic table!

My grandparents, Mama Doris and Datee, were the most patriotic people ever. They both loved this country, and honored it every Fourth of July. Until this year, we always gathered at their lake house and had tons of friends and family coming in and out, with the house smelling of all things delicious and summery - fried chicken, BBQ, Brunswick Stew, watermelon, and every other picnic food imaginable. This beautiful, worn American flag belonged to them, and I thought it was the perfect piece de resistance to add to my patriotic decor.

As usual, I brought in hydrangeas from the yard!



One of my appetizers for the night: Greek skewers - olives, cucumber, and tomato with feta dip. Mere brought the best artichoke dip, and we had chips and salsa along with cheese and crackers.



Waiting for our friends to arrive!

The Roberts came for dinner, the Arnolds visited all weekend, and The Hughs came over too! We all sat on the back deck laughing until waaaaay too late. :)