Ok, I probably will not rock cowboy boots. 

We are moving to Nashville, Tennessee! I can't quite believe it. Stu and I have been trying to move our family out of Florida for 13 years. And it is finally happening. 

As our wedding approached in 2006, we went to Nashville for job interviews (Stu even had an official offer from a police department) and shopped for houses with a realtor. Then some conversations happened, decisions were made, and we stayed in Florida. Since then, we have randomly attempted to find jobs in various other states... I think at least 10 states have our resumes. The doors never opened. 

So we stayed. 

And dreamt of four seasons. 

It's been a while since I have really blogged and posted. I have thought about it... I just haven't done it.

I don't know if it is some kind of strange nesting thing, but I've had this strong desire to really keep things private lately. As someone who has been writing about and sharing my life for almost 8 years now, the privacy thing seems out of character. 

When I think about potentially giving up the blog, I almost hyperventilate. I love this thing. This website has been a labor of crazy love and obsession for years. I don't know who's reading it, but I know someone is. Instagram has been my easy, go-to posting spot for the last several months. It's kept fairly up-to-date, although I never post live. In any case, I think now would be a lovely time to quickly review the past few months and catch you up on the Adventures of the StuCrew.

How's it going? What's going on in your world?

I feel like it's been a while since we spoke. Life is good, we really can't complain. Let's quickly recap things... 

As you know, we started a new school. And the kids are THRIVING there. Stu and I were SO incredibly proud when both kids found out they were going to be Students of the Month! Both! 

Obviously, these are not complete lists. They are my snarky thoughts as I am feeling them at the moment. I am coming out of my hurricane hole. Irma put me in a funk. This felt like the longest storm - and I was around for all the 2004-05 hurricanes and went without power for weeks! Irma drained me mentally, emotionally. She stressed me out.  

This machine is awesome. It is so easy to use. We simply love it. Now I literally have no excuse to not to make snow cones all the time. 

I can't believe I am so behind on posting this one. But that's life, right?

When my cousin Alex and his fiancé were in town, my mom hosted another Sunday Puppy Pool Playdate. It seems like we are always splashing around with the crazy pups. 

So, in honor of school starting this week, I give you our last HOORAY in photo form:

Fun Fact: Abby HATES the pool. Poor girl. She does not appreciate the personal floatie we give her and the special attention. We even let her in the pool before opening the gate for Z. 

Because the 4th was on a Tuesday this year, the holiday weekend felt like it lasted FOREVER. 

Don't get me wrong. We had a really awesome weekend. It was busy. There was a lot of adulting happening. There was a fair amount a whining. There was a LOT of eating. 

Sounds confusing. But our town celebrated the 4th on the 1st this year. The town square (yes, we have one of those, and it is an actual square) party began in the afternoon. But we waited until after dinner to head down. 

Thank you (again) to all of the men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedoms. We know freedom is not free. It comes at a steep cost. We do not take it for granted. 

We packed SO much fun and crazy into one weekend. It was a bit insane. Anyway, let's jump right in and recap these crazy four days. 

Reagan was going through withdrawal. She really needed her besties.

I can relate... I miss mine. But that's a whole other thing. 

So we invited her BFFs over for a sleepover. We took the girls to our (new) favorite pizza joint - Aunt Mary's. 

Huge news from our family... We bought a house!

We are in the midst of hurricane season (June 1-December 1). And we just had a close call with a category 4... way too close for my comfort, thank goodness for the wobble. 

Because I have hurricanes on the brain, I thought I'd share some preparation tips and thoughts for you. Maybe something here will come in handy for the next time. 

We try to always have several cases of water at the house. But, when a storm is in view, I like to grab an extra or two. And I get a couple gallon jugs too. 

In 2004, our section of Florida got hit repeatedly by storms and I realized what a commodity milk is. It took at least a month for milk to reappear in the store coolers. This time I made sure to have two extra gallons on hand. 

It is impossible to know how long the power will be out when a hurricane (or tropical storm) rolls through. So, make sure you are stocking your kitchen with items that do not need to be cooked.... or things that can be cooked on the grill. I made sure the freezer in the garage was full of meat (we could thaw and grill chicken, burgers, hot dogs, even steak). I also ordered a lot of lunch meat. The plan was to keep the lunch meat in a cooler, with the bread and condiments. Remember, it's best to keep the fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible when the power is out. A cooler is excellent for things you want to grab multiple times.