Hutchinson Island

Today happened to be Father's Day and while we weren't with our Daddy, I was thanking my lucky stars for him! He works so hard to provide for us and allows me to do what I love the most...be with the kids...and, of course, take care of him :)

Because I don't have an actual "job" job, we are able to do lots of travelling in the summer months. We actually timed our trip to Florida so I was able to meet up with my oldest and dearest friend. We figure we have known each other for nearly 30 years.

We had THE.BEST.TIME. Let me say it again. We had THE.BEST.TIME! We didn't do anything crazy or outrageous, we had kids with us for cryin out loud, but we had a blast. There is something to be said for watching your best friend love on your kids. Meg is a natural with kids - she has 5 total but only 2 were with her. It was 3 days of me with my best friend and my kids. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures. In fact, I didn't get any of Meg and me. Such a shame, really. Between the pool, the beach, the poolside food/beverage service (courtesy of a flag raised on our lounge chair), how could I possibly manage a camera as well?





this is Meg's youngest, Shanan. How cute is he! ...and that is Meg you see grinning in the corner of the 2nd picture.




The days were full of fun in the sun. The nights included late night swims and card games between the girls.




Both boys either hung like champs, or slept, which allowed for Meg and me to catch up. In fact, the night before we left Drew fell asleep at 6:30 and didn't wake until 7:15 the next morning.

Look at how Drew looked after a day at the beach and pool.


and Izzy with her still sandy nose...


While I wasn't with Pete for Father's Day, I was certainly remembering how very fortunate I am to have such a wonderful partner. He takes such good care of us! Not to mention that with all the travel he does we are able to get super awesome upgrades when we travel ;)

Florida Trip

Less than a week after returning to Charleston, from Greensboro, the kids and I once again packed up the car and this time headed to Florida. Destination...Omi and Papa's for a few days and then Hutchinson Island to meet up with a dear friend.

I armed the kids each with a roll of quarters for the drive down. I can't take credit for this brilliant idea as it was one my mom used when we were kids. The deal was this - each child got a roll of quarters at the start of the drive and for every, "Are we there yet? How much longer? When will we be there?" I collected a quarter. However many quarters were left in each child's roll upon arrival was theirs for the keeping/spending. Since this was the first time we "played" this game, I did allow for 3 accidental "asks" from each child. Surprisingly we left our house at 9 am, made our first stop about 1, and I didn't get asked any questions about how much further until about 2. It is a 7 hour drive so this was pretty darn good!

Friday we went to the Tampa zoo. What a great place!
















Friday also happened to be my mom's birthday. After a fun filled day at the zoo we dined on pizza and cake. ...it was the birthday girls choice :)






I'm not really sure what we did during the day on Saturday? I think we went to the mall and then swimming. But that evening...let me tell you...what a night we had! It was "Island Party" karaoke night in Lake Ashton. Not only was there karaoke, but there were numerous contests. One was a dance competition for which my mom choreographed the routine. I think Izzy knew it better than anyone else.










At one point Drew had some sort of wipe out and needed to use his island cocktail to heal his head. Ironically with all the drinking I had to do to make it through the evening I was spotted in a similar position the next morning :)


And how sweet are these...Izzy asked Papa to dance with her and of course he couldn't say no.


There are those darn mismatched Crocs again...




Sunday was Father's Day, and after lunch the kids and I headed off for the second part of our Florida road trip.

Next post: Hutchinson Island!