it's official

Zak has officially relocated from Orlando to Tallahassee as of Sunday afternoon. He started work as a valet at a hospital in Tally Monday morning and will be working full days there at least four days/week until school starts. Right now he's sleeping on an air mattress in a room with no furniture (!) but should be getting a mattress, bed frame, dresser and desk in the next two weeks or so. Starting around August 20, he'll be attending FSU and history department orientations, registering for class and starting school! Hopefully he's able to get the classes that he's interested in and still be able to work two days a week as a valet for a little extra saving money. Less than 5 months to go! (15o days to be exact....)

love, z&j

oh those summer niiiiiiiiights

For the past two weeks, my parents rented a home in Pass-A-Grille, a small beach town just south of St. Petersburg. I took time off work and got to spend the whole two weeks there with my Mom and Max (our dog), while other various people came and visited for a couple of days. Over the course of the stay, we saw my aunt, uncle and cousins, my grandparents, Zak, my brother and his girlfriend, Chelsea, my Dad, Becky and her Mom, and our old neighbors, the Stewarts. At one point there were TWELVE of us staying in the little 3 bedroom house. It was a bit crowded and sometimes hectic, but so much fun!

Some highlights from the trip:
-Seeing dolphins while we were swimming in the gulf.
-Learning that crabs can swim on top of the water and pinch you. (Who knew?!)
-Eating a restaurants on decks overlooking the gulf and getting lots of seafood.
-Playing Canasta. A lot.
-Walking to the beach .8 miles from our house.
-Wedding planning.
-Swimming in a pool filled with 4 inflatable gators, 2 normal size beach balls, 1 ginormous beach ball, 1 frisbee, 4 spalsh bombs, 1 football, 1 Hannah Montana Raft, and tons of diving sticks.
-Beautiful sunsets.
-Getting to be with family and friends!

Here's a few photos we took at sunset on the jetty one night while Zak was visiting:





Can't believe summer's almost over, but this was a perfect end to it! love, z&j

Disney Fun!

My reading endorsement classes ended last Thursday, so after work I headed to Orlando for a weekend of relaxation and celebration. Friday and Saturday we went swimming, laid by the pool, made hot dogs, played Canasta, watched Olympic Trials, made cookie cake and read. If you ever want an amazing dessert, spread Publix chocolate chip cookie dough on a cookie sheet, bake, and top with whipped vanilla icing. Seriously. It's incredible.

On Sunday we headed to Disney Coronado Springs Resort where we met up with Zak's parents, and his sister and her family. Kerri and Charlie brought Logan (who just turned 4) and Emma (who just turned 2) down from Georgia for their first Disney experience and we were lucky enough to tag along! Emma has started talking a LOT more and calls Zak 'Gwak' and me 'Jexca.' It's adorable.

We headed to Magic Kingdom on Monday and went on Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain right away. Logan enjoyed Splash Mountain (he warned us all beforehand that we would get 'wetted') but was NOT a fan of Thunder Mountain. Unfortunately, after Thunder Mountain he assumed that all rides entailed darkness, loud noises, and really fast roller coasters. This led to a kicking and screaming fit as we were loading the boats of 'It's A Small World.' As we were on the boat he was yelling "I want to get off! Go the other way!" It took him awhile to calm down because he expected a drop around every corner but by the sixth repetition of the song he stopped crying and was doing okay. Emma's mouth was dropped wide open for the entire duration of the ride and she was pointing at everything! Even though Logan scared half the kids getting on the ride (who probably thought they were headed to their doom) we figure that it will be a GREAT story to tell at his wedding. Remember when you were scared to death of It's a Small World?

After that fiasco, we decided to skip the indoor dark rides like Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion. Logan loved driving the race cars, Philharmagic Orchestra and, most of all, meeting the characters. Emma was not such a fan and never let go of Kerri. She had her nose wrinkled the entire time she was anywhere near the characters, but she did tap Pluto's nose and exclaimed, "I touched it!" Emma's favorite thing of all was the light parade that night. She was waving at every single float and, again, had her mouth wide open. So, so cute!

It was so much fun getting to be there for Logan and Emma's first Disney experience and we're lucky to have such great family. Here's a few pictures for you to enjoy!

love, z&j