Apple and Eve

So, I belong to influenster.com and occasionally they send me stuff to try for free and write about it on my humble blog. Today I got a box of apple and eve organic juices to try. The kids have pretty much decimated the juice boxes we got (lemonade, apple raspberry and fruit punch) and the hubby creature attacked the cherry juice. (I am not a fan of cherry anything) the kids were impressed with the yummy flavors and slightly surprised that I let them have a juice box. The hubs thought the cherry juice was perfect too. Would I buy it? Depends on the price..around here organic translates into expensive. Is it on the list for a treat for the monsters? Definitely! Do I recommend it? Based on the reactions of 3 very happy kids and a happy hubby..yes!

Beach Grandparents

When I was a kid, my parents wisely took us to the Outer Banks for a couple weeks every summer. When we got older, we were allowed to explore the village of Buxton without them. On one of our exploring runs, we stumbled upon The Old Gray House. We met the owners, Dewey and Mary Parr. Those two..wow. Mary was warm and grandmotherly to us, a pack of tourist kids from PA who were out unsupervised. Then there was Dewey. He sat us down and started telling stories of growing up on Hatteras and spending time at his grandparents house..the very house we were sitting at. The very first time I met him, I was convinced that there was nothing he didn't know and I quickly made daily visits to see him and soak up every bit of knowledge that he had to offer. That was some twenty plus years ago..at least. The Old Gray House has always been a must stop on trips to Hatteras and chats with Dewey and Mary have always been the highlight of my visits. I've always held them close to my heart and was so excited when they finally got a Facebook page. (Even if their website is pretty spectacular) Fast forward to 2013..I got word that they had lost their son. Thru constantly checking on them thru social media (and I mean obsessively), I became friends with a good friend of theirs. Sharon and I clicked pretty quickly and soon enough, I was fortunate enough to be accepted as a friend on their private Facebook accounts. What started out as me adoring them when I was a kid has quickly transitioned into my most treasured friendships. I adore them. I am fortunate enough to be able to call them my beach family. They are my beach grandparents. As I write this, my beloved beach grandpa, the one and only Mr.Dewey, is facing melanoma. He's got a couple surgeries coming up soon and I know that if any 84 year old can handle it, it's him and if anyone can handle getting him thru recovery, it's my beach grandma, Gram Mary. These are two people who have touched my life in more ways than they will EVER know and I love them to the moon and back a million times. If you're reading this, pray for them.

If you want to find the most amazing people ever created, look up the old gray house on Facebook or www.outerbanksshells.com