July 4th and Dad's Birthday

This past weekend, all of the kids and Dad went to the beach to celebrate his birthday. The kids being- Mandy, Will, Brandon, Mike, Becky, me and Kara. We absolutely had a blast. Mandy, Becky, and Daddy got there on Friday. Will, Brandon, and I got there on Saturday, and Mike and Kara came down on Sunday.
We layed on the beach ALL DAY Sunday, and it was amazing, packed, but amazing all at the same time. The girls enjoyed a few pina coladas, while the guys enjoyed their beers. Mandy and Will made everyone lunch AND brought it down to us! Needless to say it was a good day with some much needed QT with the family. Before packing up and heading back to the hotel room though... Dad had the great idea of going parasailing. I agreed even though I thought I might die on the way out to the boat.
AGREEING WAS A GOOD DECISION. It was a blast! Brandon and I can't wait to do it in Jamaica. Hopefully we will see more sea creatures than jellyfish-which Mandy thought were coconuts. (Love you Mand)




Anyhow... after parasailing we all got ready and went to PF Changs... one word as Will would say DERISHOUS. All in all the weekend was great... and I definitely plan on encouraging a yearly beach trip-because those are the kind of memories you can't make twice.




And for your viewing pleasure--- a photo montage

Getting Started...

With the wedding swiftly approaching, I have found myself slipping away. By this I mean from friends, family, and just life in general. My wonderful sister and I have appointments booked almost everyday for the planning of the big day. I don't know what I would do without her. She is such a phenomenal person through and through, I am so blessed to have her as a sister. So Mandy, if and when you read this-thanks... just for being awesome. With that being said neither of us have had much time to spend with friends and family. We have not been able to keep in touch with distant friends and family as much as we both like to, and I think it is beginning to get to both of us...



I digress,
With all of the excitement, fun, tears of joy and stress, I have officially decided to start blogging-

A) Because I like to super stalk peoples blogs, yes even strangers
B) So that our family and friends can keep track of our lives and hopefully experience some of what Brandon and I are experiencing as we are about to embark on a beautiful and blessed journey of marriage
C) So you can all part take in the excitement, fun, tears of joy and stress that we are experiencing and...
D) Because I think it looks like fun

So I hope you enjoy following The Coates 24/7 Bliss blog, whether we know you, or not. And please do not hesitate to give advice... I'm definitely a newbie at this.

P.S. PTL there is spell check