A Summer's End

Friday is almost over. Kids are asleep and so is the other 1/2 of this husband and wife pair, I might add. My house is extremely quiet right now which is nice, but kind of wierd. No T.V., no sounds of children playing, no washing machine/dryer running, nothing but the sound of my daughter's classical bedtime music CD playing softly over the baby monitor in my room. And I think it's on the last song now. Before I turn in, I wanted to remember this week. I purposely tried to get stuff done at school last Friday and 1st thing Monday morning so that it might allow me these last full days at home and with my children. Undistracted as much as possible. I planned a couple of fun activities for us, but mostly we just spent our time at home together swimming, playing, cleaning, etc...just normal days, I guess. Tuesday night, a swim party for a friend, and then Wednesday, I took the boys and my nephew, Owen Thomas, bowling and then to lunch. Owen Thomas was so proud because this was his first time to bowl and he won! I was glad he won. Jonah enjoyed this day especially since it allowed him to skip naptime. (Yes, this child still takes/needs a daily nap!) And wouldn't you know it, but I forgot to take my camera AGAIN!! What is wrong with me?! :-) So, I don't have a picture of our bowling fun. (I don't have a smartphone, and my almost 3 year old phone doesn't take the best quality pics.)

Then, at the last minute, we were invited to go and play a game of LaserQuest with the Dawsons on Thursday, and I just couldn't say no even if it meant over-indulging my boys. Two days of FUN and GAMES...WOW! They better enjoy it now! Next week means a change for Mommy and the end of these consecutive days of fun!

I asked my boys tonight as they ate their dinner and settled in to watch the movie they had chosen for Movie Night, "Well, boys, do you think you've had a good summer?" I was glad to hear a big "YES!" as their response. :-)

Next summer, I have an idea to make a SUMMER FUN budget and "Fun Things To-Do List" and see how that goes. Maybe have them save up their own money for things they know they want to do. (Gotta work in some responsibility in this, right? Momma's pocketbook isn't a bottomless money pit, you know? Plus, I have just recently started a new household budget idea, and I'd like to try to teach them to budget, too.)

As I reflect on this summer, most of all, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for my children, their health, and the time we have had together. I am thankful to have the job I have where I can spend the summer days with my children. Thankful to God for keeping us safe this summer as we did so many things.
It is laid upon my heart to just write out the prayer I pray right now, so..
Thank you, God, for these summer days you have allowed us to enjoy together. Help me to always remember to cherish every day with them and to cloak them in prayer everyday. If it is Your will, I ask that You protect them from destruction, disease, and injury, Lord. I pray for the teachers they will each have this year, that You will give them wisdom, patience, and guidance. I ask the same for myself, Lord, as I teach the students You have chosen for me to teach this year. I know that You have already laid out the paths we will travel in this life on Earth, and I ask You for guidance, as a mother and teacher, that I might not hinder my children's growth (or the children I teach) as Christians, but lead them in a life where they will know You and desire to serve You with the talents You have given to them. I place my faith in You to see all of us and our friends and family, too, through this next school year safely. Thank You for Your many undeserved blessings upon us. I do not fear tomorrow because I know You are already there. Amen.

2011 Tunica Swim

This will be my last swim team post for 2011. The boys finished up their swim season this past Sunday with the 2011 Mid-South Swim Conference held in Tunica, MS. We arose early Sunday morning and headed out around 6:30 a.m. Mary Claire spent the might with Mimi and Daddy Nick as I had been told this would probably not be something a just-turned-3-year-old would enjoy. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast which is considered a "treat" at this house, and by the way, if you haven't tried the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal they are offering on the menu now, you should! It was pretty darn good, and healthier than the sausage & egg biscuit I might have ordered. :-)

My mouth dropped, figuratively speaking, when I walked into the Henderson Aquatic Center in Tunica. Wow! What a nice place! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...I sure wish we had something like this around here! (Casino dollars probably helped fund the center, though. Ever noticed that the highway to the casinos is the nicest highway to drive on? Probably the nicest in Mississippi?! O.K., maybe not THE NICEST in th whole state, but it is really nice.)

The view opposite from the swim race lanes. This was where the Olympic dive platforms were.

The view from the seating above the swim lanes. The coaches are seated along the edge of the pool.

Post-race picture of my swimmers. Jonah with his trophy, making a silly face of course!

A certain 6-year-old got sleepy and took about a 15-20 minute cat nap between races! :-)

That same 6-year-old thinking about jumping from the 2nd tallest diving platform...

The HUGE score board which posted the results of every race. This one shows John Owen's relay team coming in 1st place! Way to go, Covington Swim Club! (CSC)

The full view of the diving platforms

Yes, he jumped! They both did! I imagined Kate and myself, probably about John Owen's age, jumping off the cliffs at Heber Springs...Remember that, Kate?! :-)  I bet the cliffs were at least this high or higher! Maybe it felt higher as a small child, though.

Jonah and one of his coaches, Mrs. Lisa. I think it's funny how she called him "Little Jonah" when she announced his award to the rest of the team because he is the youngest swim team member for the second year in a row! My "Little Jonah" now, but not for long.

The Cheesy Picture!
We were traveling home and passed this statue of Yogi Bear just outside the Jellystone Camping Ground, and we just HAD to stop and take our picture with him!
I encouraged Jan to get in the shot. "That's right, Boo-Boo!" One day, he'll be glad he did. haha

I included this to show everyone what a "typical" picture of my boys looks like these days! You know, the one BEFORE I say, "O.K., now serious smiles and no silly faces, please."

Well, that's it for swim team this year. I wish my boys could swim all year, and I am contemplating and researching some options for them. We'll just have to see what our schedules will allow, though. Or maybe just keep ourselves conditioned with other sports until next May rolls around and swim team cranks back up. It's been a great season, and I am thankful for the coaches and parents and all of the hard work they put into making swim team fun for all its members. We've even done some recent brainstorming on how to increase membership and possibly sponsorship for next year. My ultimate dream is that we could convince the city to build an indoor facility that would allow swim team to continue throughout the year, while at the same time, provide a great recreation for people of all ages in this county! I can dream, right?

Go, Covington Manta Rays!

Just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin'...

Close to Home

I have grown up in the city I live in. This is where I call "home". My parents moved from Somerville to Covington when I was 6 weeks old. That move would mark the last time I would live in the same city with my grandparents. You see, my maternal grandparents have roots in Somerville, where my almost 91 year old grandmother still lives. And Jackson, TN is where my paternal grandparents raised their family and lived their lives.

But tonight, my "Mamaw" whom my children call "Granny", is a little closer to "home". Her dementia has worsened in a way that the doctors didn't advise that she return to her assisted living in Jackson. Today, an ambulance transported her to Covington. I went to see her tonight, and honestly, I couldn't believe the progression in a week's time in this disease she has. I know she recognized me, and I know I saw her eyes light up when we made eye contact. I know she asked me about my children even though her speech has been greatly affected. I just simply told her that when I put Mary Claire to bed I told her we would get to go see Granny tomorrow morning and that Mary Claire responded with a big, excited smile! I think Granny smiled, too, when she heard that. I am sure she never imagined that she'd make this kind of move from the city she calls "home" to Covington, the city we call "home". Nevertheless, I am thankful she's here. Close to home so we can spend more time with her, take care of her, and love on her and vice versa. :-) I don't know what the future holds and I certainly don't know if this disease she has will improve or progress, but one thing I have learned in life is that it's out of my control anyway. So, we'll try to make each day count and be thankful for being closer together on Earth for as long as God allows. As you lift your prayers, I would ask that you please say a little prayer for her and for my dad, as I know this is probably hardest on him. Lots of decision-making, and watching his mother's state change so quickly has got to be heart breaking. One of the clearest things she said tonight was, "He, (and I think she even called him "Nicky", his childhood nickname), has been so sweet and tender." (I wish everyone could have seen how she looked at him when she made eye contact with him tonight. I think she almost cried.) Time has certainly turned the table, and now the child she took care of is taking care of her.

The Countdown has Begun!

Well, only a little while left before I start back to work and the children start to school. The countdown to school has begun...

This has certainly been an eventful summer!

Some personal things I want to remember from the summer are:

1. Kicking the Diet Coke habit (I no longer drink Diet Coke, and those who know me know that this was top priority for me every morning for the last several years. I don't drink coffee, so this was my source of caffiene.) I just hope I can stick to this after school starts.

2. I set a goal at the beginning of the summer for how much weight I want to lose and vowed to begin seriously training for the St. Jude 1/2 marathon this December. So far, I've lost 6 pounds, and I am running almost everyday even if it's at 9:00 at night. Whenever I can work it in. A friend advised me to treat it like my JOB...something I must do everyday! I still have a lot of work to do before Dec. gets here!

3. I passed my School Leadership Series Praxis!! Still praising God for that!

4. Cleaned out all the kids' closets, reorganized the playroom, made donations to missions, made some additions/rearranged the dining room and cabinets with my Mamaw's (my paternal grandmother) things she gave me several months ago. This was a little sad for me as I pictured these things in her house, the house that she will never be in again, that I will never visit her in again. Someone else is there now, and my Mamaw is not doing well as her dementia seems to be worsening. I wish she could be here in Covington, closer to us, so that the children and I could go see her more. My goal is to try to get to Jackson more in the next few months so that I can see her and she can see her great-grandchildren more often.

5. As a family, we have accomplished many goals this summer in VBS week, baseball camp, basketball camp, swim team, a small version of Kindermusik, the celebration of birthdays, family vacation time...whew!

A wonderful summer!

With Mary Claire beginning preschool this year, we will all be in school somewhere for the first time! Yay! I am hoping that we'll all fit into a schedule nice and easily as the coming days draw closer. One thing's for sure, we have got to go to bed earlier at night! We have been allowing the kids to stay up later and later, and my kids are not late sleepers no matter what time they go to bed the night before! They wake up at the crack of dawn almost. Mary Claire is my only one who has been somewhat of a "late-sleeper" usually waking between 7:00 and 7:30. There have been some mornings she makes it to almost 8:00. :-) My boys are so good in the mornings, though, that they will not wake her up, or me (if I'm still asleep). They go straight to the playroom and start playing Star Wars or superheroes, you know, the typical "boy stuff". Yesterday, I went up to tell them breakfast was ready, and they had pulled out a board game and were playing it together. I love these summer days! Days when we can be carefree in the mornings, days when I don't worry too much about putting on make-up or fixing my hair, or what I'm going to wear. Comfortable and COOL are key!

But lurking in the distance is the REAL world, a world where I frantically get myself "together" for a day of teaching young children and my own 3 ready for a day of learning (Yes, this is where I live a pretend life of a single working mom since my husband leaves the house before 6 a.m. everyday. Listen, all you single Mommas out there or you Mommas who have a husband who is out of town with work a lot, you are at the tip-TOP of my SUPERMOM list!), a world where we leave the house at 7:00 a.m. (Hopefully with everything we need for the day!), spend the day in our perspective "places", and then reunite every afternoon for the journey home or to the next scheduled music, dance, or sport activity. I hope I don't sound like I am complaining for that is certainly NOT the case! I love my God, my children, my husband, my job, my life as it is. And it is what it is for a reason, I believe that. Sure, there are some times I have looked at another's life and thought, "O.K., what did I do wrong that prevented ME from having that type of life?" or "Why didn't God allow me to be a stay at home mom?" (I think I'd make a good one.:-) But God is still teaching me that He chooses specifically what He wants me to have, and I am just extremely THANKFUL for it all! I certainly don't deserve any of it! So, on the anticipated mornings that I'm probably going to not want to face the day or rush to get ready to rush out the door, I will give Him all the glory for it! For each and every day whether it be CRAZY or not so crazy.

And along with these three, I'll be counting down the days to next summer!

A Super 6th Birthday!

Jonah turned 6 yesterday!

Happy Birthday to my superhero!

We celebrated with friends and family last night and had a SUPER good time!!

Jonah loves all things superheroes hence the theme of the party. It was fun planning it!

Here's a look at the invitation we sent to friends and family:

And here's some pictures from the party:

My SUPER birthday boy!

We surprised him at breakfast yesterday with this Captain America suit for his birthday! He loved it. I might be a little partial, but I think he makes a perfect Capt. America. Jan thought the little boy modeling the suit on the front of the package looked just like Jonah! hehe

Watch out world! The Justice League superheroes are here!

Of course, I used this opportunity to go ahead and get our 2011 Halloween costumes lined out.

Be on the lookout for these superheroes to reappear around Oct. 31st! Gotta get my money's worth out of these, right?

The cake!

 I was so pleased with how it turned out. And it tasted good, too. Those of you who know me best know that I did not make this. (And I know the thought didn't even enter you mind that I MIGHT have made this). Sweet Scentsations in Munford (901.837.4306) did it. I sent them a picture, and they created this masterpiece at a very reasonable price.

Super Jonah cookies!

The cake/cookies table

The food table with chips and DIP!, "hero" sub sandwiches, fruit, and every superhero's favorite candy...LIFESAVERS!

I don't know if this picture turned out too dark, but I caught Jonah swooping his little sister up and giving her a BIG hug during his party. This is just a small example of how he is with her most of the time. If you read my previous post, this is exactly what I was talking about.

4 generations of girls

I wa so glad that my grandmother, Mrs. Mary Virginia Davie Caudle, was able to come to Jonah's party! She will be 91 in October, and she is extremely special to me. So are the other two girls...Virginia Marla Caudle Phillips (my mother) and Mary Claire Hensley! I am so blessed to have these girls in my life.

Supergirl flies down the slide!

Surrounded by friends for singing "Happy Birthday!"

The superhero blows out his birthday candle!

The SUPER crew!

A great group!

 Thank you to everyone who came and made Jonah's birthday special!

Jonah and Mommy

Forget what the comic book says...

In this story, these two heroes fell madly in love!

(I never said I wasn't CHEESY! Right, Jan?)

I included this picture of my friend, Christi with me to say THANK YOU to Christi for helping me out so much in getting ready for the party. I was running so late getting started Friday afternoon, and she came through BIG TIME in helping me! I couldn't have done it before "go time" if she hadn't helped me. She is a super momma and super friend! Always thoughtful even to those who are not thoughtful to her. Super giving, super sweet, super cook, super creative! Thanks, Christi! Love you!

One last thing...

Jonah, I love you with all my heart! You are a SUPER special little boy with super special qualities. You are kind, tender-hearted, funny, loving, and you show a special interest in family and knowing all the family connections we have. You love your big brother and little sister so much and you are not afraid to show them! You like adding numbers which just confirms my suspicion that you are "wired" a lot like Daddy. You

like to spend time with friends and you love anything VANILLA! (I think it's so funny that you specifically request vanilla frosties at Wendy's when everyone else asks for chocolate.) I love the super cute things you say and your super cute little bottom in your Speedo swim team suit. (Yeah, one day that will embarrass you! Sorry!) You amaze me with the things you remember that people tell you about the Bible and Jesus and you ask questions about things I don't even think about sometimes. I like that we both LOVE peanut butter so much that we will eat it right out of the jar with a spoon! Forget the jelly...

You love to use the ipad to record moments with our family and I love that you love your family so much!

Never lose sight of what's really important. 

Happy birthday, my sweet Jonah!

Love,

Mommy 

When I Need to Remember

Maybe it's because my baby boy, Jonah, is turning 6 tomorrow, but I am feeling like there are so many moments with my children that I need to "bottle up" while all of my babies are still young. All of my "baby birds" have birthdays in April, May and July, so with Jonah's birthday celebration tomorrow, we will end another year's worth of planning kids' birthdays at this house. (Jan and I are both Fall "babies", but of course, birthdays are much different and less celebrated as you add candles to the cake. Only the milestones get the most attention in adulthood. Thank the Lord for those milestones, though.)

This blog is intended to help us remember the moments we spend together while at the same time allowing our family and friends to share in the moments. (If they so choose...) So, today I just wanted to post some recent moments with my children that I know one day I'll need to read again. One day when I need to remember them this little and this innocent and this sweet.

Wait a minute!!! I thought I said SWEET!

Oh, brother...

Hold on, sister! We are not gonna rush this

growin' up thing.

The princess who is spoiled silly getting a royal "push" from Daddy Nick.

After I put her to bed last night, she called out, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Jan went in and she said, "My covers came off. Cover me up." (Note to self: Keep working on "Please" and "Thank you".)

So, he did as he was instructed. (Of course!)

 Then she looked up at him and said, "Now my dreams will be better."

THAT was all he needed to hear. Boy, can she play a good game.

I want to always remember how Jonah has been so sweet to his little sister. He caters to her as if she were his child, asks her if she wants anything (which, of course, contributes to her being so spoiled), tries to explain everything to her while using a "baby voice" which just proves the extent to which he goes in "babying" her. It is sometimes too funny! I have listened to their conversations over the monitor in her room when he goes in to check on her in the mornings and sometimes after her nap. He's so sweet and unfortunately, she doesn't always reciprocate. She doesn't truly realize what a wonderful big brother she has. Maybe one day she'll understand. For now, it's a little comical the way she will argue with him,

"bite his head off" with a SASSY response, etc. (I have told Jan that they almost have a love/hate dislike relationship.) It's funny to watch them in action...Jonah trying to nicely tell her to do something and her "snapping" back at him. Don't worry, though, he holds his own with her. And he doesn't hesitate to apply the "eye for an eye" method if she dares to smack him or pinch him.

Jonah: "She pinched me right here, Momma! So, I just pinched her right back!"

Here's my "big man" who says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up. At least that's what he thinks right now. He went yesterday to meet with a trumpet instructor to see if he's ready (old enough) to start learning to play. He is excited that the instructor says he is ready! Right now, I think it's safe to say John Owen is in a "silly stage"...do all boys go through this?! I probably did, too, but I seemed to have blocked that from my memory. hehe

He is CONSUMED with Star Wars and knows things about the subject that sound like a foriegn language to me. He also LOVES video games!! (I dislike them VERY much, but it's something he enjoys, so I have to get over myself on this one. Plus, it's something he must have genetically inherited from his Daddy because Jan's like a kid when it comes to video games.)

Oh, yes, let's remember this and laugh at it when you are 16 years old and throwing a different kind of fit!:-)

Can we say strong-willed and determined?

See what I mean? Silly boy!

Nevertheless, one REALLY GREAT swimmer!

This little boy is happy doing whatever his big brother is doing...even acting silly!

As a result, double dose of silliness for Mommy!

I am sending out an SOS!!

Jonah has a wonderful sense of humor and sometimes doesn't even realize how funny he is without trying to be funny. Mom and I laugh at his expressions a lot! A few days ago, he made a terribly funny face as I put some summer squash on his dinner plate and told him he had to take a bite. I think I said something like,"Don't knock it til you try it." He took a bite, made an even worse face as he chewed and then said, "My taste BUGS don't like it, Momma." :-)

 (Gotta love those crazy taste BUGS!)

The swimmer, John Owen, in action!

John Owen has God-given talent and an ability to make friends so easily. I pray that he'll begin to realize his talents and not take them for granted or be lazy with them and use them to the glory of God.

Mary Claire and Lucy taking turns spraying each other with COOL water! Mary Claire got a real kick out of spraying folks while saying, "Take that!" Such good manners, I know.

I believe God's gonna use these two little girls in a special way.

I know most of you reading our blog also read my friend, Kate's, blog. And I know you probably know Lucy's story. God is good! He is the Great Physician! Please continue to pray for God's healing and safety for Lucy as she wages a war on brain cancer. Since February of this year, our daily (hourly!) prayers have lifted up Lucy and her family. Her family is so special to me. We love you, Wucy! (It's so cute how Mary Claire says her name.)  

And I couldn't leave out a picture of Blue Monkey. I hope we never forget him! This is Jonah's special "sleep buddy". He has had Blue Monkey since he was 1 year old. Today, I laid down beside Jonah in his bed at naptime and watched him fall asleep clutching Blue Monkey in his arms. That moment is probably what spurred this post. Thinking of another birthday to be celebrated tomorrow and thinking that one day I'll look up and there probably won't be a "sleep buddy" or a special blanket or "I want to hold you, Momma" or "taste bugs".  I need to remember this. I want to remember all of this.

I Passed!

Celebration time! I passed my School Leadership Praxis exam! I know I haven't blogged abut this, but this is something I added to my "to do" list this summer. :-) I took the test on June 11th, and I have been waiting for 4 weeks to find out if I passed or not. Because there is always a story behind everything, I must share this...

I actually finished my graduate work in Educational Leadership almost 8 years ago! I gave birth to my first child 3 months before I finished! Thanks be to God for his birth and my finishing graduate school that year. To complete my licensure, though, I was supposed to sign up for and pass the Praxis exam for School Leadership. I had just had a baby and was really just beginning my career in education, so I put off taking the exam. After all, I had no immediate plans to go into administration. What I didn't know at the time was that God's immediate plans for me would be that I would spend the next 5 years teaching and giving birth to 2 more children. The School Leadership Praxis exam was the furthest thing from my mind, as you can imagine.

But in March of this year, that all changed when I recieved an email stating that this Praxis version would "phase out" in June 2011. I panicked! Oh  no! I could have kicked myself for procrastinating, whether intentionally or not. I signed up THAT SAME DAY to take the exam at the University of Memphis. I spent the next 2 months catapulted into a frenzy of events that didn't really allow me ample time to study or refresh myself on the coursework I had completed almost 8 years ago! Before I knew it, there were just a couple of weeks left before my scheduled exam. Even my husband doubted my time put in to preparing, and warned me that I was probably setting myself up for the possiblity of having to take the test again. I was so consumed...I prayed that God would just show me a little mercy on the test. I specifically prayed that He would grant me a clear mind and that He would guide my thoughts and answers. And if it were His will, that I would pass the first time. The week before the test, and while leading the music at VBS at church, I used every "spare minute" a mom of three small children could find to study. Saturday, June 11th arrived, I left my house at 6:00 a.m., set my sights on the U of M, and hoped for the best. The testing period was approx. 4 hours (2 timed sections), and I was mentally tired after I finished. I drove home in the quiet car praying that I had passed just so I wouldn't have to go through that again! Then the waiting began...4 weeks I would wait to know the results.

Yesterday, for the first time in 4 weeks, I checked the website to see if the results had been posted, but they hadn't. I read where the approx. posting date was July 12, 2011, (the next day!) Problem was that I would have no internet connection during the day until the serviceman came...sometime between 1:00 and 5:00! Why not wait a little longer, right? He showed up at 4:00, got the internet up and going, and AS SOON AS I LOCKED THE DOOR BEHIND HIM, I took off to the computer! Draggin' Mary Claire behind me and saying, "Come on, Mary Claire! Cross your fingers. Let's see if Mommy passed her test." She didn't have a clue what I was talking about as I logged onto the computer, but I made it sound exciting, and the excitement was contagious. I will never forget the look on her face as I screamed and started jumping up and down when I saw my passing score. She thought it was too funny! And it probably was funny to witness her mother jumping up and down in pure delight. The boys heard the racket and came running into the room asking, "What's the matter, Momma?" I continued to jump and say, "I passed my test, I passed my test!" And they smiled at the sight. John Owen was so sweet to come over at that point and hug me. It's funny how his hug said it all, "I am happy for you, Momma." They had no idea what this meant, but they knew it meant something special to me. And we all enjoyed the moment.

So, one more thing checked off my "to do" list, I guess. I believe God has a way of preparing us for where He wants us to be, and I can't help but wonder where He'll lead me with this in the future. One thing is for sure.. it feels GOOD knowing that I have this DONE! What a relief! I passed! Now, what will I do to celebrate?

Farewell for Now

We are spending the morning at the beach and pool here, and then we'll say our farewell to the beach. This has been a wonderful trip full of good times, relaxing times, scary moments, and laughs. We have enjoyed having Mimi and Daddy Nick with us for the trip. I don't know who enjoyed afternoon naps better, Daddy Nick or Mary Claire! :-) I always dread the last day...I love the beach! It seems as though the time flies when you are here, but I guess that's true of anytime when you are having FUN! I feel at home here. I know I'll be happy to be back home when we get there. Plus, home really is wherever these people are...

On our last night, we decided to go on a dolphin cruise.
Mary Claire getting a little help putting on her life jacket.

Mimi and Mary Claire on the boat and ready to see dolphins!

Flippers Restaurant at Bear Point Marina
This was the marina where our dolphin cruise was stationed.
(The food was really good, and the free homemade ice cream was a special treat.)

We saw dolphins! There was a baby dolphin, too, which made Mary Claire's day.
This cruise was very nice. Small, family-owned, only 16 people on board, and the kids got to "drive" the boat. I got some really good video, but the batteries on my camera were going out so these are the only shots I got. With the video, we got good footage of the dolphins jumping out of the water and playing in the wake of the boat. I would recommend this company to anyone...Skipper J's Dolphin Cruises in Orange Beach! Nice husband and wife team own and operate it.
Speaking of husband and wife team...

I love you, Jan! Thanks for being a wonderful husband and father. (My "teammate" for life!)
The adventure is never ending!
Now, I'm off to sink my toes in the sand one last time...