A Beach Get-A-Way & The National Peanut Festival

We had been planning on going down to the Peanut Festival in Dothan, AL for quite some time... it's one of our favorite yearly events that we look forward too. As the weekend grew closer, we began talking about the MAJOR calling the Beach was doing to both of us, and so we left Thursday afternoon and headed to Panama City Beach for a quick get-a-way. We both love the beach SO much... it is so calming & it always feels like home!  It was amazing to see how much Savannah had changed just since we were last there in July. 

Last time she really did not like the sand at all, and was not a big fan of the ocean, either (Mom & Dad were a little disapointed about that!) but this time she was running around in the sand and even ran into the water to play w/ her clothes on... and in 60ish degree weather! She had so much fun, and I love watching her have so much fun! 

 Matt also got to have a proud "Daddy moment" with Savannah...  I was in disbelief, but it was a cute bonding moment all the same...   

This is Matt & Savannah laying on the dock, having a spitting contest....  yes, this is every Mother's dream for the little girl....   :)

We also were lucky enough to be at the beach the same time the Ironman competetion was taking place...  all I can say is wow, what althletes!  They swam 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles, and then ran for 26.2 miles...  talk about endurance!  Here is a quick look at some of the athletes

After leaving the Beach on Saturday morning, we were headed to Dothan for the Peanut Festival that night..  now, for those of you who have never heard of the Peanut Festival, hold back your laughter, please.  When Matt & I were first dating & he took me to this, I was like what in the world... a festival for a peanut??   This is a MAJOR deal in Dothan, and has people that come from all over the country.  It's like a good old fashioned fair, but so much more!  How happy I am that this has become a family tradition for us!     Savannah got to go on her first "big-girl" rides, which made Mommy a little sad...  but she had so much fun!  

Here she is on her first roller-coaster!  She was not sure at first, but then she started 

screaming & having a blast! 

So funny!

Savannah & Daddy riding "Dumbo"!   She loved this, too!  (Not as much as Matt did, though!)   :) 

Well, all great weekends must come to an end, and so on Sunday morning we headed back to Huntsville.  Matt's grandmother (his Mom's mom) lives in Dothan, also, and she has been in declining health (mostly mentally) for a while, and we are bringing her home with us to stay for a little bit.  She has one daughter that lives in Dothan that has been taking care of her basically around the clock for a while now, and we thought it would be nice to give her a little break. So Nanny is coming home with us. I hope that goes well...  honestly I am a little nervous! 

Where does the time go??

I can not believe that it's been 2 months since I last posted anything!!  Where does the time go to?  We have been so busy, and doing so much I think I have just been trying to keep up!   I promise I will try to do better...  :)

We went to Tucson the first of Sept. & we had a great time!  I know Matt loved returning to a place he loves so much, and I really enjoyed him showing me around & seeing the beautiful sights!  What a different side of the world, but how beautiful it was!  Savannah enjoyed seeing her Grandparents (Matt's mom & dad) and I know they enjoyed seeing her & spending time catching up on getting to know her little personality..   so much fun!

Savannah did so good 

on her first plane ride! She loved taking off & 

once we were in the air she fell asleep for a good portion of the trip!   While we were in Tucson we did LOTS of things, including going to the Zoo, the Airplane graveyard (where there is literally 

thousands of retired airplanes), we must have eaten 100 different times, seems like we were eating every 2 hours!  We spent lots of time in the pool, also which Savannah LOVED!  She has NO fear, which is not always the best thing!  She would just run & jump into the water, whether you were ready to catch her or not! 

We had Savannah baptized

 - finally!  We wanted both sides of our family to be able to be there for that, so it took some time to get everyone on the same side of the county at the same time!   We are so very thankful for our wonderful pastor and church family who made this day very special & meaningful! 

We also went to Veggie Tales Live while it was here in town, and Savannah seemed to have a great time!  We were not so sure if she would sit through it, but she was up dancing almost the entire time!     We had a full week of shows... Disney on Ice was that week, also.  Savannah had such a great time, and I love watching her see new things & seeing her reactions to them!  What a great show & a great time for all of us!

     

 

We went to Tate Farms this last week...  what a special family time we had!  I love it & c

an't wait to make a million more!  We are SO blessed!

Noah Lee Cantrell

He is here!!  Our beautiful, precious, and HEALTY new nephew, Noah Lee Cantrell!!!  He was born at 8:40am yesterday morning , weighing almost 5.5 lbs, and the Dr's say he is just perfect... I could have told them that!   He stole my heart the moment I looked at him, and I could not get enough of him!   I found myself missing him while I ran erronds yesterday afternoon, so we went back last night for more baby loving before our trip.... how on earth am I to make it a whole week without seeing/loving on him??    I think I just might be a proud Aunt.  :)     Speaking of our trip...Savannah has been "helping" me get packed. Here are some pictures:

                    

Well... last minute things must be done. Cleaning, hair cut, and last minute packing to do!   I will miss everyone until we return!!    

The Excitment is Growing!

What a busy, exciting week we are having! Ok...so honestly it has not started just yet... but the preparation has, and so has my excitement!! There are 3 bigs things "about" to happen in our lives this week.
1) Our Sister-In-Law is going to give birth to our new Nephew, Noah Lee Cantrell on Thursday! I am so excited & can't wait to hold him & love on him! Brandi is already in the hospital, her blood pressure was rising so they are observing her until Thursday when they will induce her. Oh how I pray for a healthy baby! He is only 36 weeks old right now, so I hope everything is ok with him!
2) Saturday morning we leave for Tucson, AZ to go visit with Matt's family! I have never been out West, and I am really looking forward to it! I have seen so many beautiful pictures, and I can not wait to witness some of God's amazing creations for myself! I know I will take many many pictures, and I can't wait to share them when we come home. I am super excited to do all the fun things we have planned & just spend some quality time with Matt & Savannah, and visit with his family as well!
3) So maybe I'm not as excited about this one as I am the other two, but Savannah will go on her first plane ride! She LOVES watching airplanes, and whenever she hears one, even from inside the house, she starts jumping around and yelling plane! plane! Lets just hope she is as excited about being on one as she is about looking at them! For our sake, and the other passengers! It should not be that bad.... We will be in the air 1hr, 50mins the first time, and then we have an hour delay, and then another 2hr, 10mins so I really think it will be ok. I hope! Pray for us & a safe, un-eventful trip!! :)

Peer Pressure

So we have been noticing that we seem to be the LAST people on earth to start blogging, so here we are!  We have had several people ask us about it, and so we have decided to take the plunge & give the people what they ask for. Ha!  :)    We love reading our friends' blogs, and we have learned so much about them!  It's scary to think that people will do the same with us!   

We hope you enjoy our blog!