This weekend we went to Orange Beach to spend some grown-up (and Jay Paul) time with our dear friends Darby and Justin.  Justin, Jeremiah, and Tommy have been best friends for…a long time.  I’m not exactly sure of the years, but we heard some stories from Middle School this weekend (Justin, I’m sorry Jeremiah never would admit to being jealous of your baseball card shop).

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I hate I never got a good shot of all three!

Let’s just say upwards of twenty years of history.  This weekend, we had an exciting new addition!  Tommy, who has served as a communal husband to us all for many years–with his servant heart–now has a girlfriend.  Sweet Sarah!

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Let me find a better picture where we can actually see you…

Sarah, greater love hath no-one than to put a picture of themselves looking like a crazed wolverine so that they can show how beautiful you are 🙂

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Outside and in, she is truly wonderful.  I didn’t know it was possible to find anybody we thought good enough for Tommy, but it’s happened.  Most of the weekend we spent lounging and talking.  At least, that’s what we girls did.  Jeremiah, Tommy, and Justin went spear-fishing and trolling in a torrential downpour.  They’re really weird when they get together.  So much so that Darby, in all seriousness, asked Justin about their life insurance policy before we arrived 🙂

Friday night though, the skies were clear and we put our party pants on.  Some of our party pants were blue and just-the-right tightness 😉

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We went, by boat, to one of Darby and Justin’s favorite spots, but because of how long it took me to leave Jay Paul with the babysitter, we got to the restaurant at closer to our normal bed-time than dinner time.  Then, we were told that there was an hour-long wait.  The boys, fearful of the starving women they’d left in the boat, pulled some marvelous she-nanigans…I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sight of Justin’s head bobbing through a raucous crowd with a large tray of food and drinks held high over his head.  We sat in the boat and had a quiet, breezy, laughter-filled cocktail hour at 9pm.

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We did eventually have dinner on the patio, and found that the live band sounded much better from the boat than they did from a few tables away.  Finally, since a couple of our party members had never experienced the Florabama, we decided we must pop in for a few dances and a little people watching.  By the time we headed home, all three girls fell dead asleep on the front of the boat, covered by a couple of huge fuzzy blankets.  Our fearless captains got us home safely but were pretty tired themselves by the time we arrived.

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The only thing that was missing was Steven and Lindsey.  We missed y’all!!!!!

I wish I hadn’t put my camera away after the first night and never pulled it out again, but I only had one available arm for the rest of weekend.  Baybus loves his mama–all.the.time.

Most of our days look much more like this:

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Pace and Mary Aplin are trying to figure out how to eat sunflower seeds.

than filled with friends and date nights.

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Can you see the girls and Locks in the distance, picking honeysuckle?

I am not the ONLY one Baybus is crazy about.  It can be hard to get a picture of him when I put him down, because this is the normal view:DSC_0924

He is cooing like crazy these days–the sweetest little sound on earth.  When he gets cranked up, there’s no stopping him!DSC_0923

Right now we’re not sure if he’s going to be a singer or a politician??

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Whatever he is, he’s going to be sweet.

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8 Responses to “Friends and Life”

  1. I’m liking Jeremiah’s hair on the longer side! Looks like y’all had a great time. Miss seeing y’all. xoxo.

  2. Katie Snow says:

    Fun! I read Darby’s blog too! Lindsey and I were sorority sisters at Troy….she and her man had the sweetest wedding. Feels like forever ago.
    Oh and Baybus looks like your hubby. That is too sweet. His mommy looks NOTHING like a crazed wolverine, but I did get a huge laugh:)

  3. Tara says:

    I love seeing your youngest daughter’s dirty summer time feet while wearing a sweet smocked bishop…that screams “Summer time Southern style”!

  4. Darby says:

    You are so not a wolverine! My pants were way tight! That food was soooo good! The weekend was a blast! We love y’all and hate being so far! And p.s. you forgot one important weekend memory- Don’t be a bitch! 😉

  5. Lindsey says:

    why does jeremiah have like one button buttoned on his shirt? you girls look beautiful and i’m so sad we missed out. especially on darby’s tight party pants. have to plan another one soon… once we upgrade steven’s life insurance policy:).

  6. lauren says:

    cute cute pictures. your little boy is precious and it looks like his sisters adore him! 🙂

  7. Mary says:

    Please tell me their favorite restaurant. We have a place in Orange Beach and everytime we go, we’re always looking for good places to eat. We’re going next week!
    I won’t get too personal and ask the name of your babysitter 🙂

  8. Jane says:

    Hi Abby,
    My name is Jane and I’m with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blogs about Orange Beach to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you soon!
    Jane

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