Girls' Trip - Savannah and Tybee Island

We haven't had a typical girls' trip in a couple of years and this year was no exception. We tried to organize a trip with lots of our friends, but it ended up just being me and Terri. While, I was bummed that we were not able to get more people to go, it turned out to be an amazing trip. It was very relaxing and I would not have changed anything about it. 

We visited Savannah on the first day and took a trolley tour around the city. It was very pretty and we enjoyed Forsyth Park and walking along River Street. We ate lunch on a balcony overlooking the river and enjoyed browsing in little boutiques. 

In the afternoon, we went to Tybee Island, where we rented a condo. It was really nice and overlooked the ocean. We spent the next few days reading, walking along the beach, chatting, and eating at some amazing local restaurants. We also got to visit with Heather, who was able to come to Tybee for dinner and relaxing on the beach. 

It was really nice to have time with my best girl friend and I enjoyed getting to go on a laid back vacation. I was still very excited to return home to all my boys, who I missed very much. 

Derby Days

The Kentucky Derby and all of the usual festivities were pretty much back to normal this year! It was so nice to be able to go to Thunder of Louisville and the Fest-a-Ville events that we had missed out on the previous two years. 

We started the Derby celebration with Thunder of Louisville. We usually get to watch from someplace in the Humana building, but it was closed this year. We were fortunate that Carl's friend Arti invited us to watch from their downtown apartment. We spent the day doing carnival rides, watching the air show and watched to fireworks that night. 

Evan was able to do lots of pull ups. He even did more than one of the newer soldiers that tried!

The balcony at Arti's place overlooked Preston Street. Preston thought that was super cool.

The Great Steamboat Race and Fest-a Ville was lots of fun. The Belle of Louisville won! Preston enjoyed more carnival rides and games. 

We went to Thurby this year, which was a first for me. We met up with some friends and had a great time watching the races, hearing live music, and enjoying good food and drinks. 

We hosted our first Derby party at our new house this year. In addition to our usual guests, we also had lots of our new neighbors join us. One funny thing is that only one person placed a winning bet for the actual Derby race and it was five year old, Carter! The horse that won, Rich Strike, went of at 80-1 odds! 

Preston's 10th Birthday

On April 22nd, Preston turned 10 years old! We were thankful to be able to have a normal celebration, after the past two birthdays had to be celebrated with Covid related precautions. We were able to celebrate his "Earth Day Birthday" with his friends at school. We brought cupcakes and his friends made him cards and shared some special well wishes for him. It was so nice! Later that day, he continued his celebration by opening presents and having a big party with his neighborhood friends and family.

Preston is a great kid. He is an avid reader and loves to play with his friends. He loves being one of the big kids in his neighborhood friend group and is a great leader and friend. He enjoys telling riddles and jokes. He likes to play video games and enjoys collecting and trading Pokemon cards. He is especially sweet and cuddly and he enjoys his special time with me or Carl. We love Preston so very much and we are looking forward to the upcoming year. I am sure it will be full of fun and new adventures!

 

Key West Spring Break 2022

We went to Key West for spring break this year. We had not been there for spring break in several years and this trip turned out to be extra special, because the Amshoff family was there too! The kids had so much fun and it was so nice for us to watch them together. As another bonus, the Petrosky family met up with us one afternoon for lunch, fishing, and going to the beach. There were other fun things as well, such as a sunset sail, dinner out with Carl, and going for drinks at The Tipsy Rooster with Rachel and Teddy. It was a really special trip and definitely one that will be remembered fondly.

This picture was taken the night before our flight to Key West. The server offered me the special margarita. I had no idea it would be that big! It was delicious and a super fun start to our Key West adventure. 

We met this very calm iguana at Casa Marina. She enjoyed getting petted by everyone! I have never seen any iguana act like that. They usually run away and hide when people approach them.

Caroline turned 10 years old on Saturday, April 2nd. She spent her day at the pool and then we all had dinner at Salute. She also enjoyed a special ladies only birthday dinner at Hot Tin Roof. I think she felt special and had a wonderful time being celebrated.

Bonnie Mom and Grandpa also had a small birthday celebration for Preston, since they will not be back from Key West in time for his actual birthday. He was quite surprised! He enjoyed taking pictures and eating cupcakes. 

Evan spent a great deal of time fishing off of the White Street Pier. He caught this shark early in our trip. He was excited because it was his biggest shark he had ever caught! 

Later in our trip, he went fishing at night and caught an even bigger shark, which was over 5 feet long!

Evan helped another guy that was fishing bring this big fish up on the pier. It was hue!

We took several trips to the botanical gardens. I love the beautiful flowers. The kids loved chasing all of the lizards, especially the curly tail lizards.

The boys didn't catch any curly tail lizards, but they caught plenty of anoles. Evan also caught a gecko!

We went to Fort Zach, where we enjoyed a dinner grilled by Teddy. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and the adults enjoyed a beautiful sunset. 

After dinner at the beach, the kids swam at Bonnie Mom and Grandpa's pool, while Carl, Rachel, Teddy and I enjoyed some drinks at The Tipsy Rooster. The Moscow Mules made with pear infused vodka were delicious!

We ate breakfast at Croissants de France. They didn't have a table big enough for all of us, so we let the kids eat at their very own table. They loved it and were very well behaved. They even ordered their own food and drinks. It was SO cute and they made lots of people sitting around them smile. 

We went snorkeling and fishing with Captain Rio. Aunt Rachel and Alex joined us and Alex said it was his best day ever! He got to go on a charted boat, go fishing and snorkeling for the first time with us! Evan was so sweet and let Alex reel in a fish that he caught. Alex was so happy! We caught a bunch of fish, including a few keepers! The boys enjoyed seeing sharks at the marina when we retuned. 

We also went out on a dedicated fishing trip with Captain Kevin at Geiger Key Marina. We caught over 70 fish! When we were done, everyone met us at the The Fish Camp, where many of us ate the fish we caught. Evan and Preston fed the big nurse sharks and all the kids fed the fish with leftover fries. 

Carl and I enjoyed a beautiful sunset sail. While we were sailing, the boys went to the playground and water park with their cousins. They had a lot of fun and Evan even managed to climb a palm tree and get some coconuts!

We had some special time with Preston, while Evan fished. We ate lunch at Moondog Cafe and had ice cream from Flamingo Crossing. 

We found a cool place called The Retro Room, where you could get drinks and play lots of games. Preston enjoyed the video games, as well as learning to play shuffleboard. 

We spent lots of time at the pool. We split our time between The Reach, Casa Marina, and the pools at our house and Grandpa and Bonnie Mom's house. 

On our last afternoon of our trip, Carl and I enjoyed walk, along with drinks and appetizers at Salute. 

We also took some family pictures together on our last night on Key West. 

Key West is a beautiful and unique place. Here are some pictures that I took during our visit, that don't really fit into a specific spot on the blog, but that I wanted to include.