This has been the year of weekend travels and family photos, y’all!  March-April of this year was crazy for us, with weekend trips to Myrtle Beach, Asheville, and Okeechobee all in a 5-week span of time!  We were seriously so exhausted when May rolled around!

For those of you who may not know, my hubby is from Okeechobee, Florida, and all of his immediate family is still in that area (within an hour or so radius).  Which means we hop cheap Allegiant Air flights to Florida at least once or twice a year!  Usually, we just pick any old weekend that works for everyone, but this trip, we went the weekend of a fundraiser event – a shooting competition at an actual shooting club with an 18-station course.  (I didn’t even know such things existed – but now that I do, I really wish we had one in southwest VA!)  We also kept our visit a secret from Linda, Jason’s mom – so we got to surprise her at her front door when we got into town on Thursday evening!  : )

On Friday the whole gang headed over to Jensen Beach to visit with Jason’s sister, Kimmy, and her hubby, Justin, and their three kiddos!  I couldn’t resist snapping a few candids while everyone was just chatting and enjoying being together.

Love this of John Michael with his newest baby girl, Ava Mae.

Sisters… : )

And this one might be my favorite of all of these candid moments … what makes daddy hands holding baby feet so endearing??  This was totally unprompted, which I’m sure is one reason I love it so much!

I love this cute little mommy and each of her girls.  : )

A little uncle-niece bonding!

Biscuit got in on some of the action, whether he liked it or not…

And how cute are these two?!  I can’t even stand it.

That evening, Kimmy showed us this delicious little coffee bar (Blue Door) that she and her girls visit regularly.  It had the most adorable outdoor patio seating (complete with string lighting overhead!) and I think we sat there for at least an hour sipping our cappuccinos and teas.  I absolutely loved it.

And of course, Dan did what Dan does and gave the bar owner a hard time at pretty much every opportunity that presented itself.  And Kimmy and Jason couldn’t keep it together.

But for real, this little place was fantastic, and if you live anywhere near Jensen Beach and have an affinity for good coffee and tea (and savoring it in the most picturesque outdoor setting), then you MUST check it out!  It felt like we had been transported back to Italy.  Somebody needs to open a cute little place like this in Christiansburg!  I would be there all. the. time.

The shooting competition was Saturday, and the Rickards boys were gracious enough to let me participate on their team (y’all, I was so horrible.  we just won’t even talk about it.) so we spent the day riding around in a golf cart from station to station, shooting shotguns.

And, yes.  The Rickards boys are all wearing the exact same Columbia shirt.  Jason enjoyed telling everyone who asked about it that their mom dressed them.  (which is 100% untrue.  they definitely did this all on their own.)

And we had to get a team photo in front of our sponsor’s banner!

That night, in my newfound spirit of taking family photos whenever the opportunity presents itself, we set up the tripod and took a few shots of the fam!  Jason’s cousin and his family were even able to join us for a few!

Then we grabbed just the Rickards + Pigott clan!

And then just the Pigotts!

One more of the Pigott fam, and then just the Rickards + Pigott kiddos…

And I snapped this shot of the Rickards boys with their dad on Thursday night when we first rolled into town … not sure how long it’s been since the 4 of them had a picture together, so this one is extra special and I’m SO glad we set aside 5 minutes to take it.  : )

And I can’t resist sharing a blooper, because… bloopers make me giggle.  (p.s., I love how dedicated Lydia and Lily are.  even when everyone else was talking, blinking, and making other weird faces – they’re smiling right at the camera!  haha!  way to go, girls!)

We were already missing everyone by the time we got to the airport in Clearwater, but we’re so glad we were able to fit this visit in!  We love our Florida family!  <3