Summer in Savannah

We finally made it to Savannah. Jacob has been wanting to take me there since we were married 10 years ago. It was beautiful. I loved the tree lined cobblestone streets. They were just as beautiful as Jacob described. The best part was the bugs must have been on vacation too. He warned me about the big ones and I didn't see any.

We were able to stay in South Carolina with the Chadwick family. We had some extra driving but with the DVD player in the car we didn't mind all the money we saved. Plus being at a home instead of in a hotel was terrific.

We went to the beautiful Tybee Beach on Saturday. The ocean was so calming and as an added bonus some dolphins decided to give us a little show. They were about 20 feet away. The funny part was all the little fish that started coming close to us and jumping out of the water to try to get away from the dolphins. Landon was thrilled with the visitiors. And with body surfing the waves. Nolan was content building a sandcastle with me and letting the little wave crash on his legs. Jacob found us a couple sand dollars. It was amazing to see them still alive and their little green alge fingers moving around. After a few hours, we head to the Crab Shack. I'm not gonna lie... I was disappointed. I wanted some good crab and what I got was dry string cheese looking meat with no flavor. I hope they were just having a bad day cause I will never go back nor recommend it to others. Now the Sugar Shack down the road... Their Ice cream was delicious. A real treat to enjoy again and again. I will definately head there again.

 

Sunday we went to the Barnwell Branch and I looked forward to a relaxed vacation from Primary but that did not happen as planned. The Branch President asked me to "help". I got to do Singing Time. It wouldn't have been the same without being with the kids though. I was glad to be reminded of our Cumberland Branch. I miss it all the time.

Monday was the 4th of July so we headed to Savannah to River Street. We had fun walking along the cobblestone steets with all the shops lining the river. We got some salt water taffy. Jacob remember getting to watch them pull it as a child. We also enjoyed some shaved ice. It was a nice treat on such a hot day. The kids must have been having a good time cause they didn't complain. The parks in Savannah are so lovely. We enjoyed getting to look at all the houses too. They were beautiful. Really close together but the designs were amazing. We also got to witness a grandmother beating her child with her shoe too but that is another story itself that I never want to remember again. It made me really sad. So sad that I even dreamed about it. I can't believe people can treat a child that way. I am not talking about spanking. I am talking about losing it and beating a child. I can't believe I didn't stop it but I was speechless. (something that doesn't happen very often) If I had a do over, she would have been beating me with that shoe instead of him. Even after all that, we still enjoyed our time Forsyth Park. We even went and saw the home and store were Jacob remembers visiting his Grandmother. He had fond memories of their family vacations to Georgia. I hope we are building those same memories.

We went back to South Carolina for the Bamburg fireworks show. It was a wonderful evening. We were so close but still far enough away from people that we could enjoy ourselves. It seems that vacations are never long enough. We sure enjoyed getting away and being together. Next time, I want to head North! But first we have to wait long enough to forget the 11 hour drive or we might not ever go any where again. At least not by car.



Stake Activity Day Girls Royal Feast

The stake hosted a Royal Feast for the Activity Day Girls. They learned about Feasting on the Words of Christ. I was asked to make a Castle Background. Here is what I came up with in a week.

I found a sheet at Goodwill that was the right shade of blue. Then using some fabric scraps that my Granny had saved I constructed a castle fit for a princess. I am glad it turned out ok. Kaelyn borrowed THE DRESS from Mallory and I did her hair and makeup. It is not everyday that Kaelyn gets to feel special but today was a fun girly day for her and the rest of the girls. I sure hope we get to use this back ground again someday for a birthday party. I am going to have to rely on my sisters and sister-in-laws to have a princess party. Kaelyn has decided she is too old and wants a "spa sleepover" for her next party.

Spring Break 2011

The St.Louis Arch

Jaden Landon and Matthew wathcing movies and eating popcorn.

K,L,and N, ready to go!

Riding the Gorilla statue is something they remember doing last year too.

Granny Giving Scooter Rides.

Building the arch at the Children's Museum

Kaelyn and Nana At the Science Lab. Kaelyn got to do her fingerprints.

Nolan was totally freaked out by that dinosaur. He wouldn't take his eyes off of it.

Landon was not scared at all.... So he said!

For spring break, we hopped on my parents bus and headed to St. Louis. It was a perfect day to visit the Zoo and the Children's Science Museum. We had a great picnic lunch too. We wish Jacob could have been there. I think the highlight for the kids was getting to ride with Granny on her power scooter. We are so lucky to get to go with my family to do these fun adventures.

Our 10th anniversary!

10 years... Has it really been that long? With the kids being older now we decided to head to Nashville for a weekend getaway. We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Brentwood. It was a great suite. We loaded our own mini bar with IBCs and Sunny D and other snack for when we got the munchies.

It was nice being just a couple again. We went to the movies and saw Just Go with it. We both enjoy some Adam Sandler when he is behaved. This one was a funny one and not over the top. Then we headed to the Temple. I enjoyed being there with Jacob again. It had been a while since we got to go together. We then had our traditional Date Night Roma Pizza. That place is the best! That next morning we were treated to a deluxe continental breakfast and did some shopping. We then went to visit Nathan and Karie Whitaker's new place. It was really great to see them again. On our way back to the interstate we found a Fat Mo's. (I notice that my highlights are mostly involving food.) Great Food. I think we met Fat Mo himself. He sure looked like the character on the billboard. I really enjoyed our anniversary. Nothing extravagant but a wonderful weekend with my best friend.

Easter Family Fun

Easter is such a fun time. I love it because the weather is warming, the flowers are blooming, and we get to remember our Savior's triumph over death. My kids actually let us sleep till 8 this morning. That gave us plenty of time to hunt for Easter eggs and spend some time with Daddy before he left for Bishopric meetings. We enjoyed learning all about the Resurrection at church and the kids came home excited to tell us all they had talked about. Nolan's teacher, Sister Cash, sent home eggs filled with the Easter story. Nolan enjoyed teaching us the lesson that he learned in class. We then went to the Flake's for dinner  and another egg hunt. This year every family made eggs for everyone else with their names on them. We personalized ours with stickers. Molly's was Super Egg with cape and all and we made Dad an anti IRS egg. He has been battleing with an audit for a while now. It was fun coming up with different ideas to suit everyones personality.  That made even the adults and teenagers have to participate. We did a regular hunt too for the kiddos but they enjoyed finding their name, too. 

Easter Morning Egg Hunt. Over 100 eggs hidden all over the house. That Easter Bunny must be tired!



Nolan found one of his eggs.

Beautiful Kaelyn Stopping to Strike a Pose.

Landon Showing off his last egg.

All of the cousins... for now!

Out of this World Baby Shower

It is so much fun for me to party plan. Mandy had no input on what kind of a shower we gave her so as I was brainstorming with my sister Michele she mentioned that Mandy and Alex keep calling it an alien. A theme was born. This was our "out of this world" shower. Tammy made fun alien space ship balloons and Chelsea and my mom did the fruit and veggie trays. Mikayla made some cupcakes for my picks and everything turned out perfect. Michele's little rice krispie alien was too cute! We played a few games. One was a fun take on the "don't say baby" game. Tammy had some Mardi Grad headband with bobble things that looked like antennas. She put green balloons on them and who ever said baby had to wear them until they caught the next person saying baby. We made Mandy wear them the entire time. The next game was drawing a baby with your eyes closed. Most of the babies looked like aliens then each person wrote words of advice for Mandy. I am going to turn that into a Baby Alien Book. The last game was the most fun for me. I had each person send me a baby picture. I then took the pictures and altered them to make them look like aliens. Everyone had to guess who they were. Very FUNNY!  Everything turned out great. Now Mandy can take the next few months and make sure she has everything ready for baby Weston.   

Alien Cupcakes and Oreo Truffles



The Diaper Cake Space Ship

Mandy Opening her gifts.

Her Shower Guests

Michele's Rice Krispie Creation.

Heart Pizzas

Kaelyn wanted pizza for lunch so this is what we came up with. We took some sandwich round and cut them into heart shapes. Then added some pizza sauce and cheese and topped them with little pepperoni hearts. Landon called them Love Pizzas. I call them YUMMY!