my little beach bum.

this weekend was probably one of my most favorites to date. despite all the craziness lately, i have really started to feel at home here! It's not a feeling that hit me all at once, but rather slowly crept in and was cemented this weekend.
i love my job, i love my second job -- i hadn't been on Wednesday nights since Audrey was sick and when my kids saw us there they shouted "Miss Lindsey is here! Miss Lindsey is here!" and came running and gave us big hugs! it was so sweet!
i have two amazing girlfriends who are always there for me (plus my forever sister, Laura, back in NC) -- the day that Audrey was so, so sick, my best mommy friend, Anna, and her son, Brayden, who is Audrey's fav playmate, stopped by with a sand pail full of goodies for Audrey to cheer her up (coloring book, bubbles, crayons, stuffed animal, card, books) and a bottle of wine and some Milanos for me :) :) :) she is a great friend and i love that our kids and husbands like each other too!!
i love our church -- they've adopted me into their family as if i grew up there, like Will did
i love the small town community that we're in -- it was amazing to have customers and even people i've never met ask how Audrey's health was and tell me that their church had been praying for her or ask if there was anything that we needed.
i love that we're so close to so many things yet we're not surrounded by a big, bustling city. it's taken me exactly one year to feel this way, but i think living in a small southern town, away from your family and friends is a big adjustment in itself.

i had a great birthday this week! i can't believe i'm 26! we had a great dinner out on Tuesday and Ann and i had our own special girls night celebration later that week. she turned 16 this month and can drive now!! when i met her, she had just turned 12! it's crazy how time has just flown by! i just love her and i often forget that there is a 10 year age difference between us! i'm glad that i can be a good influence on her as she goes through high school (seriously, teenage girls these days are so mean! i hear about the worst things from my church kids parents and parents at the store! this is an entirely different topic though, haha!) and that we are so close.

matching sister bracelets and a smelly belly owl for my car :)

Saturday just couldn't come fast enough! it was the perfect weekend to get away. that morning, we all slept in (well, except me -- i woke up an hour before my alarm because i was so excited!!) and Audrey played and ate breakfast on the counter, which is her favorite thing to do in the mornings, while we packed and loaded up the car.

  a forty-five minute car ride lead us here:

Audrey loved the beach! the tide was low so there were a ton of little pools for her to splash in and she loved digging in the sand and making a sand castle with her daddy :)

even when she face planted at the edge of a tide pool and got a face full of sand and saltwater, she popped right back up and kept on playing! 

we waded out into the ocean for a little bit and saw a school of dolphins playing about 500 feet away from us! it was so amazing! we also saw the Anchorman 2 cast and crew out on the beach filming -- of course now Will is convinced the school of dolphins were actually animatronic and were being used in the film ha!

after we dried off and changed, we headed towards the heart of the island for some shopping and dinner.

Will and i got matching "Salt Life" t-shirts (part of a longtime joke but i actually love mine!) and new sunglasses

Audrey fell asleep in the stroller so we walked out onto the pier and shared a romantic moment, just the two of us and the sun sinking into the deep blue sea. it was so nice to laugh and relax with each other. we get so busy, and with a child it can be hard to steal away those much needed moments together.

we then headed to Sonny's BBQ (my all-time favorite BBQ place that i haven't had since we lived in North Carolina!) where Will had a healthy salad

1/4 salad, 3/4 bacon bits & ranch, so typical!

Audrey and i shared an incredible pulled pork sandwich and then she split a plate of their famous banana pudding with Will

as we headed home, i just felt so refreshed and incredibly blessed. Audrey entertained us all the way home with her chatter and giggles, and after a much needed bath, fell right to sleep with a sweet sleepy smile on her face. i wonder if she was dreaming about the animatronic dolphins :)