And Then There Were 3...

...Or 6 depending on if you count our 4 legged children.

The Gill family is growing!!

I'm 13 weeks along and recently we decided to make it Facebook official.  We are very excited of course and so far everything is going well.  The first trimester has been full of exhaustion and nausea, but thankfully nothing compared to some of the horror stories I've heard.  For the last couple months, I've been reading baby books, researching all the "stuff," looking into daycares (who knew you had to do that so soon??), pinteresting like crazy, and generally trying to grasp the incredible change that will take place in 6 short months!

Just 1 month until we find out if Baby Gill will be dressed in pink or blue!!

Beach weekends

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone by now that we have been spending lots of time at the beach.  Cameron and I are definitely water people.  One of the vets I work for has started teasing me about how many beach trips we make.  But when we live so close, how can we not take advantage??

A couple weeks ago, we spent the weekend at the Gill family condo in Gulf Shores.  Our friends, Nate & Christin, came with us.  We grilled out Friday night, then headed to The Gulf for the best mojitos ever.  Saturday morning we took the boat out and decided to hang out on Robinson Island.  We'd heard about some concert happening there, but had no idea it would be such a big thing.  We got to the island early and thankfully beached it on the opposite side of the island because this is what the craziness looked like...

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Some rich guy decided he wanted to bring in a barge, have bands play all day, and call it Gumbo Key.  Definitely fun, but definitely crazy.  My first time listening to a band while standing in 4 feet of water!

Sunday, we laid on the beach in front of the condo.  It was a gorgeous day with beautiful water.  One of Cameron's college friends and his wife were in town too, so it was good to catch up with them.

The last weekend in June we had a relaxed weekend around the house so we'd be sure to be ready for our long weekend at the beach for July 4th.  Last weekend, we headed back to Gulf Shores for the madness that is Independence Day at the beach!  We stayed at our friend Harry's house on the lagoon, along with Elliott and Darla.  Friday was a beach day - another day with beautiful water! 

so masculine

for some reason the boys were determined to fit 2 people on this float

Harry really liked my beach hat

 
We headed in a little early so we could get cleaned up for an evening boat cruise.

We stopped at Cobalt's for a delicious dinner then decided to head out into the gulf since it was so calm.  We waited for sunset, then from where we anchored, we were able to watch the firework shows up and down the beach.  Really, there is nothing like it!

When we were deciding where we wanted to spend the 4th, we were torn between our annual Gulf Shores excursion and Dauphin Island, where we had multiple friends staying.  So Saturday we got up early and took a boat ride across Mobile Bay to spend the day at Sand Island.  One of our friends recently purchased a Maui Mat - a really big piece of foam that floats on the water and can support multiple people.  I'm sure it's meant for little kids, but these grown-up kids loved it!

Steve being a good daddy

when the Edmond/Whitfields show up, they do it big!

Ellie was a hit

We made it back to Gulf Shores just in time to watch the sunset from the deck on Harry's house.  Perfect ending to a great weekend!

An Anniversary, a Baby Shower, and Blueberries

That about sums up our weekend. Friday night we had a relaxing night in and Cameron grilled steaks on our new baby green egg. Yes, our egg now has a mini me. It was given to Cameron by a friend. I haven't quite figured out just why we need it, but Cameron is pretty excited

Our CSA box comes with recipes each week and I decided to try out one for the squash & corn. So good!  Especially for two people who don't exactly love squash.  You can find the recipe here if you're interested.

Saturday I co-hosted a Sip and See for my friend Mary's precious new baby boy, Clark. We had a wonderful time and I was pleased with how it turned out. 

Saturday was also Cameron and I's 6th wedding anniversary. Wow does time fly! It's been an amazing 6 years and I look forward to many more with the love of my life.

We celebrated with dinner out at the Bull, a local restaurant we've been wanting to try. Honestly it was just ok for both of us.

Sunday, I talked Cameron into going blueberry picking after church. He looked at me like I was crazy but said yes. We came home with two gallons of yummy berries.

That night I put some of them to use making a blueberry cobbler for dinner. Our friend Harry joined us and it was the perfect ending to a full weekend. 

Five on Friday

I figure it's about time to do another five on Friday. We have been loving summer around here - lots of boat rides and beach time!

1. Red snapper season was last week. Sadly it was shortened to only 9 days this year - a sore subject around the Alabama gulf coast. Cameron managed to get one fishing trip in last weekend while I was in Destin. Then my amazing hubby made me this for dinner ...

Snapper and cheese grits with a Conecuh sausage sauce. AH-ma-zing!!

2. Wandering down the wine aisle at Winn-Dixie, I spotted this 

Only in Alabama!  War Eagle!

3. I've been contemplating it for a while and finally took the plunge to join a Mardi Gras association.  I'm the newest member of the Order of the LaShe's.  We went to our first event the other day and had a blast!  Now I can't wait until I'm allowed to ride in a parade! 

4. A friend introduced me to these chips and now I'm addicted. They are so good and I've convinced myself that they are healthy :) 

5. We finally took the plunge and signed up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) box. It helps that the group we went through lets you do a 4 week trial so we can see if we like it.  We chose the small size and this is what our first one had (minus the cantaloupe that I had already cut up) 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'll be co-hosting a Sip and See for an adorable new baby boy!