SNOW Days!

Last week the talk of the town was the snow we might get and by Friday afternoon we are all hunkered down and waiting on the winter weather to arrive.  Hudson kept watching and waiting and hoping for snow. 

The kids did their regular superstitious rituals to make it snow.  Pajamas inside out and flushing ice cubes down the potty!

The next morning when I woke up and peeked outside I was so bummed to see just a dusting of snow.  I figured the kids would be just as disappointed, but they were so pumped and so excited to see the little snow we did get.

There wasn't much in our yard, but across the creek there was more!  Everything was pretty much iced over.

From the plants to the basketball goal and everything in between.  It was all covered in ice! 

The kids loved it!  They thought it was so much fun and stayed out all day to play.  The driveway was also like a big ice skating rink.  They ate icicles, did donuts with Robby in the golf cart, and pretended to ice skate all day long.

Walker loved it, too!  He didn't want to come inside and when I finally made him he sat at the door whining to go back out.  

 

It was a great day and was all had so much fun just being at home together and enjoying the unexpected day at home.  By today we were able to get out and do some things this afternoon like a birthday party and practice, but the best news came this afternoon when we learned that schools would be canceled tomorrow!  Things around us are fine, but in other parts of the county the roads are still pretty icy.  Even if our snow is gone, we'll still take it! 

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!

Christmas 2016

The kids woke up at a decent hour and were all excited to head downstairs and see what Santa had left for them!

Handley got a tumbling mat, new headphones, a mermaid tail blanket, bluetooth speaker, and a digital printer.

Harper got a soccer rebound net, mermaid tail blanket and also the digital printer.

Hudson got hockey sticks, a bow and arrow, a drill, robot dinosaur, flat ball, and spy glasses.

And the other big surprise for the kids was a basketball goal! Santa couldn't fit it inside, but they were super excited.

After taking in all the gifts it as time to open things from our family and the highlights were a baseball glove that Hudson gave Robby...

And a stunt stand that Robby made for Handley!  She is so excited to practice at home now!

It was a warm day and we were so happy because that meant lots of outside time and lots of playing with new stuff!  

Christmas Eve Eve & Christmas Eve

 Well, the kids go back to school tomorrow and that means back to reality for me.  I've really enjoyed having them home with me and not being on a schedule, but all good things must come to an end.  What better time than now to finally recap our awesome Christmas.

I knew this little guy was going to be pretty sad when it was time to pack away his Christmas tree. He loved having it in his room and cherished every ornament on it!

On Christmas Eve Eve we packed up at went to stay with Gigi and Papa.  We had planned to go see the Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier (along with everyone else in Atlanta!).  It was so packed, but that didn't stop us from having fun.

After a yummy dinner we packed in my car and were ready to see some lights!

There were tons of light scenes to see and the kids had so much fun yelling Merry Christmas out the window to everyone we passed.

The next day, much to Hudson's disapproval, we all got dressed up and attend the candle light service at church.  

Then we came home and took fun pictures on the reindeer while we waited on Gigi and Papa to arrive.

Then it was time to pop the bubbly and grill the steaks.  We were ready to celebrate and so excited for Christmas!  We baked cookies, ate dinner, put out carrots for the reindeer and had an awesome evening!