Perfect Attendance....Is it really perfect?!?

Every other year we are fortunate enough to be able to take a trip (usually to some part of Mexico) with my parents as well as my sister and brother-in-law.  This year Krystal and I wanted something low key and "off the beaten path."  We ended up in Loreto, Mexico on the Sea of Cortez.  It's a town roughly 6 hours north of Cabo San Lucas and to say it's remote is definitely not an understatement - let me help you visualize - there's only one flight a day from LAX here to Loreto.  After landing and making our way thru customs (there was only one agent so it was a very long line) it was a 30 minute drive to our resort Villa Del Palmar Loreto and on the drive we saw lots of cacti, mountains and only one other resort.  There is absolutely nothing commercialized about Loreto and at night it's so dark it's as if you can see every single star in the sky - talk about stunning!

When we travel as a whole family we usually like to go in March (during the girls's 3 week break) but upon researching our chosen destination we discovered the sea water then would be in the low 60's and honestly really too cold to enjoy the Bay of Loreto National Marine Park, which is a huge draw for this area.  At first I was insistent the girls not miss any school and therefore we would wait until early June to go but upon further reflection I thought - the kids are in elementary school and while school is very important there are MANY life lessons that come with experiencing things away from home.  So, since July (our girl's first month of school) until the day we left I was a stickler about missing school - well let's be honest I'm pretty much always a stickler about it.  Unless they are running a temperature or throwing up they have to go to school.  It's our family rule, but rule aside I didn't want them anywhere near close to the allotted missed days allowed for their grade.   I mean missing an entire week is a HUGE deal.  Now that we are here, experiencing all that Loreto has provided for us I feel ridiculous!  Did the girls have perfect attendance before we left?  No way!  Sickness does happen and we did take a little ski vacation in February, but for all those parent's who put pressure on themselves and their kids to never miss a day of school - allow me to encourage you to let go of your drive to be perfect and go on an adventure!

A unique "amenity" to our resort was the beach/oceanfront.  You can walk out into the ocean for at least a mile and never leave knee deep water - and as a bonus the water is so clear you can see the ocean floor the entire time.  It is however recommended you shuffle your feet though as to notify any manta rays who may be swimming near.  I'm not going to lie I am very thankful we didn't see this sign before our first venture out into the ocean because had I of known about their existence I am not sure I would have found myself out as far as we walked.  Which would have been a shame because I don't know too many places you can just walk a mile out into the ocean.

This is a picture we took looking back at our hotel from where we walked out into the ocean - it's crazy how far we could go in ankle to knee deep water.

One of the coolest things we did while in Loreto was the Danzante Island Tour.  It left from the resort and took us to a couple of the islands which make up the Marine Park (there are 5 islands in total).   We got to see Danzante and Del Carmen Island, but my favorite sight was the pod of dolphins we found ourselves in the middle of.  There were hundreds (Trey would even go as far as saying at least a thousand) in this pod.  They were swimming on either side of us, behind us (they loved riding the wake from our boat) and in front of us.  There were baby dolphins as well as full grown ones.  Some jumped high in the air and there were even a few who managed to twirl as they jumped in the air.  It was by far one of the most incredible things I've ever gotten to witness.  The video and pictures don't do it justice, but if you ever find yourselves in Loreto I would highly encourage your to take the time for one of those island tours.  In addition to the dolphins we also got to see several species of birds and crabs and one adorable sun bathing sea lion (did you know they eat 200 lbs of fish a day?!?!), not to mention mushroom rocks (these are rock formations that have a small skinny base and a huge top).

This is just a quick peek at how many dolphins we saw, but honestly it doesn't even do them justice!

Believe it or not this is the face of a little girl that didn't initially want to go but now that she saw so many dolphins she's loving it!

The water surrounding Carmen Island was very reminiscent of what you would find in the Caribbean, you could literally see all the way to the bottom of the ocean's floor.  Some of us went snorkeling - not me!  I really thought this time I would face my fear and do it but at the last minute I chickened out.  Dad found a star fish which he brought up to the surface for the girls to check out and our guide managed to find a puffer fish he was able to bring up for the girls to look at.  Yes, you guessed it - the girls said no to snorkeling also!  I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

On our way back to the resort we happened across another smaller pod (about 6 in total) dolphins.  These were a different species than the bottled nosed ones we saw earlier in the day.  It was a pod of mothers and their babies - with a smaller/shorter nose - who tend to stay closer to the shore for protection.  With both dolphin encounters we were so close we could have simply stuck our hand out of the boats and touched them, both girls were smiling from ear to ear and have not stopped talking about how "cool" they were.

Most of the rest of our trip was spent relaxing by the pool, hiking and walking the beach.  It was so beautiful, aside from the bee situation.  Yellow Jackets were everywhere.  3 out of the 8 of us got stung, myself included. Addie was so terrified she was begging to just stay inside towards the end of the week, of course we forced her outside and she of course enjoyed it.  I do wish they could have done something about those bees.  It was the worst case of them I have ever seen.

We did venture into town one morning.  This consisted of a 45 minute van ride from our hotel.  I will have to admit though it was totally worth the long ride.  Their downtown was so quaint with great shops and beautiful scenery the closer you got to the waterfront.  I wish we had timed it better and would have found a way to eat because there just seemed to be so many delicious smelling options.

Our return trip home was less than ideal.  We had an almost 9 hour layover in LAX which was brutal for not only us but also the girls.  We took an Uber from the airport with Krystal and Bryan and headed towards Manhattan Beach, California.  The girls got a quick glimpse of LA and got to walk out on an actual pier.  We found a cute little Italian restaurant for lunch and then unfortunately a case of food poisoning hit my brother in law and we had to head back to the airport.  We caught the red eye back to Hendersonville and decided if we ever go back to Loreto next time we will fly into LAX, get a hotel room and take an early morning flight out the next day.  Waiting around all day just to get back home was somewhat miserable.  In the end it was a great trip and I am so glad we pulled the girls out for this adventure!

Lexie gets Baptized

Sunday, May 1st 2016, was a BIG day in the Ford House.  Why?  Because Lexie followed through her proclamation of faith in obedience with her baptism.  

She first accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior in June 2015 at Crossfire Basketball camp and a couple months later she went before the church and shared the news publicly.  Following thru in baptism is another big step she was finally ready to take.

Making the day even more special was the fact her very best friend Emory chose to be baptized at the same time.  These girls are as thick as thieves, but without the other knowing they each made the decision to have it done at the same time.  How very special!

A couple of days before Mimi took Lexie by the church to record a short video where she told the congregation a little bit about herself and when she accepted Jesus.  On Sunday, I was with Lexie on the side of the baptistry, and of course I was so nervous/excited/happy for her that I wasn't able to see the video and to be honest I don't remember much of what she said, I was so focused on watching her to make sure she was ok!  Fortunately, Trey had the forethought to record the video on his phone.

Lexie was instructed by the church to wear a dark swimsuit under her gown or a pair of dark shorts and a t-shirt.  My rule-following child came downstairs Sunday morning dressed in black shorts and a dark grey t-shirt.  God bless her!

She didn't worry or freak out or anything.  She was as calm as a cucumber and did great!  I am so proud of my big girl.  

Look at the pure joy on the faces of both girls.  What a special day, one I will remember and cherish forever!

Cubcats with a Cause

It seems as though hosting a lemonade stand is a rite of passage for any kid.  Lexie, my oldest daughter, has been begging her dad for months and months to build her a lemonade stand.  She and her bestie Emory - without any encouragement or prompting from the parents - were adamant they wanted to sell lemonade and jewelry and all the money they raised they were going to give to HIPP.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly HIPP stands for and even more importantly why a group of 7 year old girls wants to raise money for a cause other than themselves.

The Hendersonville Inclusive Playground Project (HIPP) is a group of motivated parents and community members who aim to create a state-of-the-art inclusive playground.Inclusive playgrounds provide accessible, universal play spaces that allow children, regardless of physical, mental, or developmental needs, to play side-by-side with their able-bodied peers. Play areas are not just places where kids have fun, they are places where kids learn to interact with the world, and with each other. Inclusive play spaces serve as joyful incubators of a more inclusive society, in which children with disabilities can enjoy equal opportunities to flourish.

To be honest I believe the plans for this grand fundraiser started last year as kindergartners after attending a program at their school where they had the opportunity to play basketball in wheelchairs.  From their initial request we were eager to help them make this idea a reality, however, as life often does things got in the way and we never made plans or set a date for this event.  About 3 weeks ago the girls started amping up their requests to sell lemonade and jewelry, this time even going as far as to suggesting a location.  So we made a deal, the lemonade and jewelry sale would happen, but they were going to have to do as much of the planning and work as possible.  After all, this would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to the girls how much time, planning and work goes into the execution of a successful fundraiser.

First things first, after securing the date and location, they asked two other besties to join in on the fun, Maddie and Campbell.  Together these 4 girls planned, decorated and handed out flyers for the event...

painted signs as well as a portion of the actual lemonade stand...

 squeezed well over 120 lemons...

Lemonade Syrup as well as Raspberry and Strawberry Flavor Shots

made loom bracelets and bear cat earrings and even come up with a price list for all the goodies they sold.  Never once have they complained or even fought, but instead they worked together to as a team to get everything in order.  To say I'm one proud mamma is putting it lightly!

We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better crowd of people who came out and supported the girls in their endeavor.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Together they raised $840.93 - plus there were 4 local businesses who banded together and pledged to match up to $1,600 in donations for a grand fundraising total of $2,440.93!!!!  When everything was cleaned up and the girls finally got to count the cash box they, along with us parents, were completely blown away by such generosity from everyone who stopped and visited the stand.  Not only did they have fun but it was such a great learning experience, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear they are already talking and planning another date for the next lemonade stand.

Fall Fun at Eliada's Corn Maze - 2013

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it's been almost a whole year since I've updated this blog.  It's seems as though I have been a little bit slack.  I went through some major changes at work this past year and it's taken me a while to find a way to balance everything again, but I'm glad to be back at it.  And while this was an activity from 2013, it was super fun to look back at these pictures and it definitely puts me in the mood for some fall fun!

We were invited to join some friends on an adventure to Eliada's Corn Maze.  I hadn't ever heard of it before but after a quick internet search we quickly decided it sounded like a place the kids would love.

Here we are with an inflatable Spookly the Square Pumpkin.  Do you know who Spookly is???  It's ok if you don't because honestly I hadn't ever heard of him before either.  But by the end of the day we went home with his book and had our DVR set to record the movie the next time it came on.  I'm telling you if you're kids haven't heard of him before they will love him, its all about being different and how that's ok.  We read the book (and Addie pretended to read) so many times that by Christmas the pages were coming loose.

Our fist activity was shooting down pumpkin men with potato guns!  And let me tell you both the kids and the adults LOVED this activity.

They also had giant pipe slides....

A spider web climbing next...

A corn sandbox...

And of course everyone's favorite a cow train!

One of the things I loved most about this particular corn maze was they have a children's maze version that follows a story book.  It was perfect for our kids and their short attention span!

We rounded out the day's fun with a good old fashion hay ride.  You'll notice in the picture below Lexie doesn't look super thrilled, it turns out she was not a fan of the itchy hay.

Celebrating 10 years in Grenada

Last year, as we were celebrating 9 years together, we decided anniversary 10 was a big one and we should mark it with a trip.  We thought seriously about going back to Kauai (our honeymoon location), almost booked the plane ticket, but after hearing lots of good things from Zach and Cristin about Sandal's resorts we decided there was a certain charm to going tropical where everything was all included, no time change to recover from and we wouldn't have to think about anything else other than relaxing and enjoying ourselves.  We went to the Sandal's website and noticed they had a new resort opening in December in Grenada and without much thought we booked a room!  I mean seriously...doesn't Grenada just sounded awesomely tropical?  It also didn't hurt that because we booked long before the resort actually opened that we got a killer deal!

For those of you who have never gotten the opportunity to visit a Sandal's, trust me when I say if you ever do don't hesitate to just go.  Our time in Grenada was perfect.  Not only was the location beautiful and warm, but the people in Grenada were also incredibly nice and friendly.  With 9 restaurants and a hot dog stand there were plenty of food options and we never got bored with the variety.

Sadly, we don't have too many pictures because basically we stayed in the lounging position the entire week.  Which if you know Trey and I, not doing anything but laying in the sun under an umbrella, reading books (I read one entire book each day we were gone and Trey actually read one whole book and is over 50% into his second one...WHAT!), drinking drinks and occasionally swimming when we got hot is not normally how we do vacation.  We are usually much more adventurous but the truth is we were exhausted, I guess just from the day to day routines of life and we found ourselves truly enjoying doing absolutely nothing and answering to no one!  I am leaving this vacation feeling more relaxed than I have felt in forever.

One night we opted to take a 2 hour sunset cruise, which also happened to be the ONLY time we left the resort, but does that even count if the boat was chartered by the resort and the only other passenger's were also Sandal's guests???  I don't know, but the cruise was fabulous.  The guides were very informative.  We saw one of Oprah Winfrey's vacation homes, as well as Grand Anse Beach, the longest beach in Grenada (2 miles of beautiful white sand and a perfect spot for swimming).  We were also informed that walking on Grand Anse Beach felt like walking on Cheddar Cheese, whatever that feels like!  We didn't set foot on the actual beach just admired it as we passed by.  The cruise also took us into St. Georges, their largest city and where cruise ships dock.  St. George's is also the home to KFC, which was such a hit when it first opened on the island an additional one had to be built right across the street because so many people flocked there on a daily basis and the lines were always so long KFC needed another location to meet the demand for fried chicken.  Apparently the chicken at those KFC's is incredibly good because they aways use fresh chickens right from the island.  Again, just viewing it from the boat I didn't get to actually eat any of this chicken, but I can vouch that any time I was served chicken while at the resort it was incredible, very juicy and flavorful.  

Let's be honest, laying around for 6 days straight, never leaving the resort, gave us plenty of time to not only people watch but also get to know some of the other guests.  Everyone we met was very friendly and it was kind of nice running into people on a regular basis.  Recognizing faces sort of installed a sense of belonging, I guess.  It's really hard to put the feeling to words.  Some people we ran into and talked to so much we were on a first name basis.  Other couples like drunk guy and fake boobs couple or even the odd couple (who we first noticed in Charlotte) and lady who think's she's 20 even though she's clearly closer to mid 50's we would simply just wave or smile at!  I know it sounds like we're horrible but all of you who are reading this probably come up with your own nicknames to remember faces by!

Speaking of nicknames I cannot do this post and not mention George W. Bush.  Tuesday night we had the pleasure of eating dinner with former president George W. Bush's clone!  I'm not lying.  We were sitting at Kimono's eagerly anticipating our Habachi Japanese dinner when I look up and glance at the couple seated across the table from us.  Immediately I turned to Trey and tell him to check the guy out.  Then we hear him speak and I'll be damned if he doesn't have a southern drawl.  Then the couple next to us asks him where he's from.  Can you guess?  TEXAS!  No way right!  I was floored!  Throughout the entire week I begged Trey to take a picture of him, but he refused.  Then as we were sitting in the Miami airport eating TGI Friday's in walks George W, and no lie he is seated at the table right beside me.  I told Trey it was fate and he had to take a picture...fortunately he obliged.  It's not a great picture but I still think it looks just like George W!

Anyways, people watching also opened my eyes to things I never really realized before.  Tattoo's are completely in for men.  In fact I would say if you didn't have one you were in the minority.  Here's another fact, why is it that as men age tattoos look perfectly normal, but when you see a much much older woman (I'm talking grey hair) do they look out of place and scream tramp stamp!  Yes, I know thats a double standard thing to say, but this is my blog and well that's my justification!  Or did you know that apparently you're never to old to wear a string bikini?  Another thing which surprised us both were the wide age ranges of the guests staying at Sandals, but to be honest that's one of the things we liked most about it.  This Sandals' resort was not just some place for young hot couple to go party, it was filled with lots of people of lots of ages just relaxing and having a good time.

So now you pretty much know what we did during the day but what about the evenings.  Well after dinner we sat around some more.  They had these awesome fire pits you could hang out at and listen to music or hammocks you could lay in while star gazing, we got lucky one night and even saw a shooting star!

About halfway into the week I said to Trey we need a picture of us dressed up at night so we set out on a selfie mission.  Clearly we failed miserable.  The picture of our feet is the best we got!  I hate the picture below because I look completely wasted and I promise you I was not, but out of my love for Trey and his love of horrible Kelly pictures I'm including it in this post!

So, you're probably wondering whether or not the girls missed us while we were gone.  The truth is yes, I'm sure they did (on one of our phone calls with them Addie specifically asked me what was taking me so long to walk home!  Haha!), but we are fortunate enough to have great friends and family who all helped us out with the kids and made this 10 year anniversary trip even possible!  And from the looks of the pictures we received they had just as much fun as we did.  

Mimi and Papaw took them to the fair...

 John and Lindsay helped them get a jump start on studying to become OBGYN's...

Lexie saw a dream come true when she finally got to ride a "real" school bus on her first official field trip as a Kindergartner...

Aunt Allison taught them how to belly dance...

And both Nana and Aunt Allison took them to princess day at the Georgia Aquarium...

So as you can see we ALL had a great time on our "vacation."  We missed the kids like crazy but it was nice to just be Trey and Kelly for a week!