Easter Weekend = Family Fun

We had an incredible Easter Weekend - for the first time in several years we went home to Conway and Myrtle Beach and were surrounded by all of our family. Papa Ed invited us to stay the weekend at his new beach house in Garden City. We often stay in Garden City often, but this new house had a swimming pool and dock so the kids were able to enjoy all of these new activities in a familiar place. We kicked off the weekend with a one night stay at Papa and Gigi's where the kids enjoyed coloring eggs and hiding them over and over.

Jude getting in the spirit.

Working hard on coloring the eggs.

Waiting to go find the eggs Chapel and Eli hid.

Papa and his brood in front of Gigi's lovely spring flowers.

Once in Garden City, we spent most of our time by the pool and enjoying time with all the grandparents. We grilled, swam, walked to the arcade and chased the ice cream truck. Having everyone together made for the best (and easiest) holiday we have had in a long time!

Ice Cream!!

Conor loves this ride at the Garden City Arcade.

Jude showing Papa Ed goodies from the Easter Bunny.

MaMa Anne giving Conor a few pointers.

Wonder what these two think they will catch in the pool?

My little fish....

Eli crabbing on the dock.

I hope you guys had a wonderful Easter too!

Very Cool Party!

My friend Mariah celebrated her son Gavin's 3rd birthday this past week. I loved this party because it was at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning (all of our little ones were on "Spring Break") and it was on Folly Beach. The older kids were at school so I biked over with the babies in tow and had the chance to catch up with some of my closest gal pals: Mariah, Caycee, Darlynne and Amy. Our kiddos are all about the same age. So much fun to watch them have an extended play date with homemade cupcakes and a Chic-Fil-A nugget tray.

Mariah and the birthday boy.

Conor and her BFF, Celeste.

Looking for gold.

Being all boy.

Eli Turns 5 - A Retrospective

The day Eli was born - April 18th, his exact due date!

Turning 1 at home with family.

Turning 2 with a birthday party at the Pirate Playground on Folly Beach.

The Big "3" with a pirate party at the Children's Museum....

And a little gathering at school.....

His 4th birthday was a week long celebration in Disney World. He had the best time!

And turning 5, has it really gone by so fast? He had lots of celebrations this weekend as well.

Papa Dan Dan got him a cupcake.

Papa and Gigi got him superhero comics and bookbag.

Conor and Jude helped me bake cupcakes for his class party.

Mama Anne and Uncle Robert helped us celebrate at Chuck-E-Cheese.

And Brett and I must be gluttons for punishment because we gave him his own drum set. He looks so cute sitting behind these and playing and singing. I will have to get some pics of that to share with you.

And, of course, we also gave him more superhero dress up outfits - what more could a healthy, happy 5 year old want??

Bahama Mama

The first sign of land after leaving FL was our arrival in the Bahamas. My first impression of Nassau was a great one. Colorful, expressive, bright and sunny. We chose to do the Atlantis port excursion which for a (high) fee included the water parks, aquarium, beach area and a free lunch. Atlantis, which I had always thought was for the rich and famous (remember Whitney Houston's reality show) did not impress me. I found it to be a little dirty, un-stroller friendly and the highly acclaimed water park reminded me of the little old Splash Zone here on James Island. None-the-less, the beach area was gorgeous, the kids had a great time and we were in a new country on vacation - not too shabby.

Arrival!

Taking in the sun at Atlantis.

What is it about a fountain that gets kids so excited?

Trying to catch a minnow with some friends they made.

Our next port adventure was the following day at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. Now, this was my favorite part of the whole trip? Why.....

I went snorkeling for the first time ever. We all rented the gear but Eli and Brett stayed closer to land while Chapel and I held hands and snorkeled around. That's us on the left of the picture below.

My big man enjoying the island.

Spring Break - Part 1

Wow! I can't tell you all how much fun we had on our vacation. It was one of the best family vacations I can ever remember. We spent two days in Florida before getting on the new Disney Dream Cruise Boat but I am going to skip those for now because I am so excited to share some of our cruise photo's and memories first. And I know that's what you all are waiting to see. So here we go.

The Disney Dream in all her glory! Check out all that luggage being loaded on board.

Waiting to board. Captain Mickey came out and my kids ran across the room to be first in line for a picture.

Boarding the boat, the first thing you is see this awesome chandelier.

Chillin'.

Mom and Dad so happy to be on vacay!

Enjoying some snacks.

My little princess.

At the theater. We saw three broadway-esque performances while out at sea.

Kids loved these big thrones on board. So glam.

Pirate night. Even the grown ups got in the spirit.

Swimming on the lido deck and watching Toy Story on the big screen. Heaven for the kids!

Eating dinner with Crush the talking turtle.

One of our two staterooms. Kids had their own space which was very nice.

Nothing beats a chocolate M-I-C-K-E-Y.

Dad being silly.

Mom and Conor eating dinner!

Can you guess which awesome family won BINGO???

These are just some highlights from the big adventure. Next up, Bahama Mama.