What's up?

Boy, I'm way overdue for an update! We are enjoying the summer and not looking forward to it coming to an end. We started the summer by heading to Destin for "First Week" and had a great time! It was a great way to wind down from the busy schedule we kept during the last month of the school year. Zachary attended football camp at USM and Ole Miss and Leigh Ashley did her annual art camp at Prep. She also participated in Prep's Show Choir Camp and loved it! She did show choir camp in the morning and then I picked her up for a quick lunch before taking her back to the afternoon Art Camp. I highly recommend Prep's Art Camp. I think this was Leigh Ashley's 5th summer to attend and she's never been disappointed! I have several priceless pieces of work hanging up at home and my parents have a couple of pieces hanging in Charlie's.

On June 4th of this year, Mark and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem like it's been that long since we said "I do"! I remember when my Nannie and Papaw had their 25th, so me reaching 20 makes me feel old! We celebrated their 50th anniversary 25 years later and I pray we will reach that milestone. It was such a special time for the entire family and I cherish the pictures we have from that day. I wish they could have lived to celebrate many, many more... but that wasn't God's plan. I miss them so much!

Four years or so ago, Mark decided that we were going on a trip each year without the kids. So, we seek out adults only resorts so we don't feel guilty about leaving our kids at home when we see other kids playing around the resort. We booked a trip to Playa Mujeres, Mexico, but then the Swine Flu thing hit so we cancelled it. When things settled down a few weeks later in the media, we decided to rebook a trip to Mexico. We changed our destination to Cabo because there were no reported cases there and it's a place we had never been. We loved it! We really need these few days each year to spend some alone time together, but our 20th certainly called for something special. Our perfect getaway requires a beach, quiet pool and a resort somewhere far away from anyone we know. As much as I love Destin, it's not a place to spend a quiet, romantic vacation because you always see a handful of people you know on each trip. That's fine for a family vacation, but not for our annual trip. We've also found that we can go to a five star all-inclusive resort in Mexico for 5 nights for the same price as a condo in Destin for a week.

Our summer traveling wrapped up with the annual July 4th Rayner vacation. We stayed at the Emerald Grande at the Destin Harbor again this year. All of the new restaurants were open in Harbor Walk and we really enjoy staying there. Even though it's on the harbor, there's a ferry that takes you over to the private beach where you have complimentary chairs & umbrellas. It's condos, but with all the nice hotel amenities like maid service, room service, onsite restaurant, pool bar, etc. Try out!

Now it's back to Rankin county to wrap up the summer. We are all gearing up for football season as well as Zachary's senior year. Where did all the time go? I look at him in amazement sometimes and wish I could just stop the hands of time. I remember when he was little and thinking that this day would come, but it would be a very long time. You know... I would be old like I thought my parents were when I was a senior. Well, I'm much older than my parents were when I was this age and THAT'S NOT OLD! I'm not a big crier, but I know I will shed many tears this year. There's not a "next year" in high school for him.... this is it! He's reaching a milestone and then it's on to the next one. Keith Harkins who is the creative mind behind the football sideline videos I help film, put together a great piece a few years ago and included it in a video they showed the senior football players a couple of weeks ago. The original version from a few years ago is on Youtube and I'm putting it on here until he uploads the updated one for this year. The first 5 minutes is what he included in this year's video and is incredible. I'm so glad he decided to pull it out again for Zachary's class. It's a great motivator for the senior players, but I hope they really "get" what it's trying to convey before it's too late. I hit panic mode quiet a bit lately and think... "I didn't soak in the moment enough when he did such and such". Well, I'm ready to soak in the moment! Mark and I will do our best to continue to nurture his wings, so that he's soon ready to fly.