FAMILY VACATION....not really

Well, I have mentioned that we have been on the road the past few weeks to Savannah and then to South Carolina. Once we got back from Savannah on Friday we unpacked and repacked and got ready for our next trip. We would go to Columbia, SC with Rob. With his job he goes out of town a lot, so anytime he goes somewhere that he drives, we usually tag alone. Not because he goes to any super exciting places, but the kids are crazy when he leaves and ask for him all the time and I like staying at hotels.. Weird, but I have always liked them since I was a kid. It is also a way for the kids to get to go to places we would not normally go. Well, before we could leave we had to take Preston back to South GA to get the remainder of the blood work done. The regualr nurse was there and was able to get all the blood with one stick. I guess Preston knew where he was because as soon as we got to the room he started crying and saying no, no, no and I'm sorry, as if he was getting punished! We hit the road and made it to SC that evening. Rob has made this trip a few times with out me so he knew where he wanted to go  eat the very first night. We went to the Blue Marlin, which is yummy but kinda pricey place. Preston's kid meal was $7 for a plain burger and fries, no drink included! I had already had a late lunch on the road so I stuck to a liquid diet of beer that night. Once we finished there we headed back to our room and watched Swamp Brothers for a few hours. It was a pretty interesting show that seemed to suck us in. It stormed pretty bad that night, which was great background noise for some good sleep.   The next morning we headed down to breakfast. I love hotels that have great breakfast to choose from and I really love when I can make my waffles in the morning. Not a meal you can really eat every morning without turning into a cow, but a few days of a waffle topped with strawberries, whipped cream and syrup is pretty amazing for a few days. Rob went off to his training and the kids and I did some shopping. It was nice to be somewhere that had a decent amount of stores to shop at because Valdosta lacks in the good stores. We headed back to the room and had dinner at the Melting Pot that evening. Rob didn't understand why we were paying so much money to cook our own food, but ended up really liking it in the end. he had been once before and didn't care for it. maybe it was the bottle of wine we ordered that made this time better. The next morning we did a late breakfast, Rob had to be in class by 8 so eating with him required us to get up too early! We hung out at the hotel most of the day and kind of relaxed. We did dinner at Bonefish that night, which was once again a yummy night of food. We made it back to the hotel just as it started storming. Bad storms, that kind you don't want to go out in at all. Good thing I had a bottle of wine already! I had a few glasses and off to la la land I went! The next morning after breakfast I decided to take the kids to the zoo. It was free for both of them and ended up only being $10 for me after my military discount. Preston liked everything but LOVED the fish part. He would put his hand on the tank and when the fish would bump the glass he would get so excited. After a fun day at the zoo, we headed back to the room and waited for Rob to get out of class. The next day we were back in Valdosta and back to regular breakfast food as well. The trip ended up being fun and I it made me happy that Preston and Savannah were able to go to the zoo!

 

Gracie doing laps in the hotel room

Preston taking a color break

FISH!!

At the entrance to the zoo, they don't know where they are yet, I swear they had fun!

Okay, so this was at the mall, I have never seen a little toilet so low to the ground. They also had the low sink and hand dryer, so cute!

Preston doing a little reading 

Married after how long of dating???

So last weekend we went to Hilton Head Island, SC for a marriage retreat. Since Rob is a chaplain, I get the "pleasure" of going on all of the retreats with him. Sometimes they are fun, sometimes stressful, but overall I learn something new about our marriage. Our first retreat, seems so long ago, January of 2008 at Epworth by the Sea in St. Simmons Island. It was fun, we were the newly wed couple, that had never had a fight, no kids, and none of the issues that most couples were there for, but we still learned a lot about communicating. Since then I think I have been to Epworth about 4 times, done the Hanan Ranch and Grassy Pond once as well, so I have had my share! But, I must say this retreat was pretty amazing, and not just because Rob organized it. He is usually the one that coordinates this retreat, or Marriage Resiliency Training as it is called in the AF, but this time he really did good and I was super proud of him. He wanted the weekend to not only be beneficial to married couples as far as the classes, but also a little break for them. There was childcare provided during the classes as well as Saturday evening to allow the couples some kid free time. Anyone that has young kids especially more than one or two, knows how hard it can be to have time with your spouse.
  I usually don't fully participate because Rob teaches a lot so it makes it difficult to really do some of the things and if he's not teaching he's running around making sure everything is perfect. This time I participated more and we even hung out more with other couples. The way that everything was set up for the trip we were all together a lot more than at any of the other places, which was kinda cool.
   We met a couple that had been married almost 2 years and got married after 3 weeks! Rob was jealous that they had us beat, we did it after 7.5 weeks,but when asked how could you marry someone so quickly they responded that it was easy because they knew that God was in it. Such a simple answer with such a strong message. You can date for years and years, but if you know that this is not someone you want to marry or spend your life with or have children with and see a future with, than WHY WASTE EACH OTHERS TIME? I know dating is fun, but why waste so much time on someone who is only gonna be in your life for a season. Let them go and move on to the person you are supposed to be with. I think a lot of people get married without really praying about it or they ignore signs that are telling them it's not right. Although Rob said he realized right away I was the one, it took me a little longer. I guess I will keep him around lol.
 But back to the weekend, I usually get so annoyed with all the work he has to do to prepare for these weekends especially how much that damn work Blackberry goes off, but after this last one I was really proud of him. It made me realize all the late nights and emails and phone calls were worth it. He was able to get all the funds to cover childcare, great location, great food, great service and overall a great weekend. He works so hard and gives so much to other people it can be frustrating, but after this weekend and learning our character traits (something new I learned) I now understand how he is, and he's not changing!

POOL TIME

He had a blast!

She just wanted to splash.

Pool time wore them out!

Got Green?????

So for me March the 17th was always pretty exciting. I grew up in Savannah, Georgia and St. Patrick's day is a big deal. Schools were closed on the 17th and sometimes the 18th as well. When I was younger it was always fun to watch the parade and where the green and the beads, once I got older it was fun to go downtown and be on River Street with all the crows of people. Now that I am a mom it's fun to dress the kids up and cute outfits and stroll around the city during the day, although going out was fun this year I must admit, I can't party like I used too and i don't really like the crowds of people anymore. Overall, it was a great St. Patrick's day and I look forward to many more. Rob finally got to meet my best friend since I was 5 years old, we laughed until our cheeks hurt, we ate pizza from Vinnie's 2 times in one day, I saw friends I had not seen in a while and we got to read all of the dumb things people got arrested for in the newspaper,(one of my favs was the guy who smacked a cops horse on the butt). I know some parents are probably thinking, it's one one holiday to have to buy a themed shirt for to be worn once a year or that leprechauns are one more thing along with the tooth fairy, easter bunny, santa, etc.  that you will have to tell your child are not real, but I don't mind! I have so many fun memories even at a young age of going into my classroom and seeing little green footprints all over the place and all of us believing little leprechauns had come in our school and they were lose and we had to find them! So yes, some may think it's silly but I look forward to my kids getting older and enjoying the holiday and all the celebrations as much as I did and still do! Maybe it's just a Savannah thing, but whatever it is it's FUN! 
Here are a few pics of our trip!