NYE in St. Simons

For New Years Eve this year we decided to switch things up a bit and went to St. Simons with some of our neighbors for the weekend.

Before we left to go out of town though we were excited to see the Mills as they were stopping by through Atlanta.

Our friends' home is on St. Simons, but is part of a Sea Island property and they are members at Sea Island, which was such a treat.  We had sitters at the house for the kids so the adults all went to a very nice dinner that evening at The Lodge. We had a delicious dinner with amazing service and then all hit the sack.

The next morning the kids played outside a while and then we all got ready to head back to The Lodge.  It was so dark the night before that I didn't get to really see how beautiful the grounds were that surrounded this area.  There were big oak trees, hanging moss, and gorgeous views.

While the gals of the group checked out the pro-shop, the guys took the boys to hit golf balls at the range over looking the ocean.  I know the boys couldn't appreciate the view, but they loved the experience.  In fact, when we met back up with them, Hudson was looking so disappointed.  I asked him if he didn't have fun and he quickly corrected me.  He was upset that they had to "let some other people have a turn" and wanted to hit some more.  I need to get that boy into golf lessons ASAP!

The guys stayed back at the club to have lunch while the moms took all of the kids for a little more sight seeing. We went over to Sea Island and oh my goodness, it was gorgeous!  More huge tree lined streets, lots of history and beautiful homes and hotel.

We took the kids to The Cloister to get fresh cookies and hot chocolate that is available every afternoon and then we walked around the courtyard a bit. It was a warm day and everything was so beautiful.

We took the kids to a few other shops and let them pick out souvenirs before heading back to their house for the evening.  The adults got to get all dressed up and head back to The Cloister that evening to ring in the New Year.

I got this dress on super clearance right after Christmas at Belk for $14!!! I wasn't going to buy anything new, but then when I realized what a good deal it was I couldn't resist.

It was fun to get all dolled up and the kids were all so sweet. I guess they don't see their parents dressed like that too often so they kept making all sorts of comments about how nice we looked.  Harper wanted to take pictures of us so, "Everyone could see our beautifulness." :-)  I just loved that and she sure knew how to make my day!

Our dinner reservations weren't until later so we were able to spend some time with the kids, get them fed and settled for the night and before heading out to dinner.

We ate at Tavola at The Cloister and it was such a fun experience because we sat at the pizza bar and watched the chef make our pizzas right in front of us.  That coupled with great wine was the perfect way to spend our time leading up to midnight.  We finished up and then found a spot on the patio to countdown and watch the fireworks.  It was a great way to ring in the New Year!

The next day we stayed around the house and played games, did puzzles and just relaxed. Then around lunchtime we made our way back to Sea Island one last time so the kids could do a little fishing at the dock.  My kids LOVED this and it honestly brought back so many memories for me.

My grandparents lived on the Intercostal, so my entire childhood was spent fishing off their dock.  They got a few crabs out of the water that were interested in the bait and then Hudson capped off his day with a fish!

After lunch it was time for us to pack up and head home.  We wanted to have a full day at home the next day to get caught up on things, but it sure was hard to leave sunny and mid-60's weather to come home to a cold and rainy Atlanta.  It was such a fun weekend away for us though and the perfect way to kick off 2017!