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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
By the time we settled into our hotel in Florida, the sun had gone down. This was not going to keep the kids away from the beach however. They were bound and determined to feel the sand between their toes before the sheets. So...how could I argue?
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Tate |
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| Shiloh |
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| Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Tate |
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| Shiloh |
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| Ryder |
They got a small taste of the ocean before bedtime. I knew that sleep would be short, much like Christmas Eve...they went to bed giggling with eager anticipation for the morning.
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The kids were so anxious to get in the water, that we had a very early start. This allowed us to take in the Pensacola Beach sunrise. Breathtaking!
https://youtu.be/DAeKxJnpS34
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Tate |
For the first three hours of the day, we did nothing but enjoy the beauty of the beach. While thoughts of the many things I had aging on my to-do list kept creeping into my mind, they were drowned out by the lyrics to Jason's song, SLOW IT DOWN...
Sometimes, the most important thing to be doing in a given moment, is nothing.
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| Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, and Choice |
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| Tate and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Choice, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder and Choice |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Tate, Choice, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Tate and Ryder |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Tate |
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| Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
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| Shiloh |
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| Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Ryder |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh |
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| Tate and Shiloh |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, and Choice |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh |
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| Tate |
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| Shiloh, Choice, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Choice, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
I imagined that being shriveled up like little prunes after spending so long in the ocean would be cause enough for them to want to dry off. I was sadly mistaken as one by one they splashed into the hotel pool on the way back inside. We spent another hour there. I could tell this was shaping up to be a very productive day on our trip.
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| Tate and Choice |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
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| Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Shiloh and Choice |
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| Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Shiloh and Choice |
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| Shiloh and Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Tate and Shiloh |
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| Tate |
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| Choice |
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| Tate |
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| Choice |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Shiloh and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate
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After a final dip in the hot tub, they were ready for lunch. We cleaned up, checked out of the hotel, and went across the street to eat.
Pensacola is a special place for our family because it is where Andrew's sister, Shelby, spent a large majority of her life. While here, we wanted to revisit places that reminded us of her. We chose to eat at Flounders, where she used to work.
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Tate, Shiloh, Choice and Ryder
IT WAS AWESOME!!! I had to think long and hard about if I ever wanted to leave. |
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| Juliann |
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| Choice, Ryder, Juliann, Shiloh, and Tate |
But the show must go on. After all, we had another visit scheduled for today. This was in fact, the reason that Pensacola made it onto our list of tour destinations.
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Juliann |
We stopped by Nate's house. To date, the only communication we'd had with Nate had been via email. He was extremely polite in those messages, explaining that he grew up just outside of Prescott, AZ, in Chino Valley. That reason alone would have compelled him to get involved. In addition to the demographics, Nate had another connection to our Granite Mountain boys. You see, Nate serves as an active member of the United States military. He is a true hero, fighting for the freedoms that you and I enjoy and often take for granted. Now that Nate is stationed in Pensacola, we were anxious to stop by and pay him a visit today. There were so many things on our list of reasons to thank him, not the least of which is his service to our country.
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
Sadly, Nate wasn't home. The reason for his absence, however, speaks to his character and values. Nate has been shipped over seas on a deployment. As we were knocking at his doorstep to thank him for the donation he made to our family, he was offering up his very life, if necessary, for you and me. God bless you Nate for setting a firm example of what it means to dedicate yourself to the service of others and to stand tall when you receive the call. May God keep you and bring you home safely.
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Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice
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Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice
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A big thank you to Nate's roommate, Conner, who accepted the cards and Be Better Bands in Nate's place and for being willing to deliver them to him when the time comes.
And to all those who put your lives on the line to protect all of us who live in this great country, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
