Farewell Summer, from the Lake.

 We have had a really great Summer this year.  In fact, up until this past week I wasn't quite ready for it to end!  Hurricane Debbie kept us cooped up inside for 3 days and I can officially say I'm very excited for school to start.  Before kids, hurricane days (mild threats) meant pizza and a Lord of the Rings marathon.  Nowadays, it's 2 bickering sisters and a 2 year old boy running around us in circles.  Big difference.  Though I am so grateful it was a mild storm and we did not lose power.

Backing up to happier times, we spent last weekend on Lake Hartwell which was this perfect Summer send-off.

Pontoon girlies.

We loved cruising the lake and exploring some islands.  Can't wait until they are old enough for some water sports.

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Took the kids to see the waterfalls at Chau Ram Park, which was an easy activity with our age range.  The "hike" to the waterfall was so short and there were natural swimming pools all around.

And to wrap up a great trip, upon exiting I26 at Columbiana Mall, I realized we could stop at Fazoli's for lunch.  Oh my gosh, the memories, the breadsticks.  It was so good!

I miss it so much I might have just googled Fazolis Franchise info ;)

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Speaking of food...I've got some good meals on deck for this weekend:

Lowcountry Boil and Rodney Scott BBQ.

We're ready to savor the last few Summer days...

Tybee Island 2024

 I'd say I'm about 90% recovered from our family vacation last week and I have a chance to sit at the computer this morning.  So, I'm going to share all about it.

This is our second trip to this beach house on Tybee.  With our son being so young and wild, we had to keep things as easy as possible this Summer, and so we decided a repeat was in order.  We did explore a few new things this year, I'll share those first!

I was looking into thrift shops in the area and found the *cutest* church thrift located just a couple blocks away from us.  I think due to it's limited hours, this place was very busy, which didn't make for the most enjoyable thrift experience.  But I still loved it.

I found these clips for the girls bathroom:

This year we also ventured into Savannah.  We hit Forsyth Park where J could just run and run.

And then we also found this adventure zone called Exhilarate.  It was a really awesome spot for all the kids.  Think Sky Zone + Outslide In x 10.  It was massive and the kids had fun and were able to burn some energy.   I wanted to note that this is absolutely NOT my idea of a good time on vacation, but children can only take so much pool and beach before they begin to whine.  It's the reality of traveling with kids and I feel like I need to acknowledge that there are some really hard moments while making the memories.

We also did the Tybee Island Marine Center.  This place was really neat.  My only complaint is how small it was.  From the exterior it appeared very large but upon entering you realize that it isn't 2 levels and it takes no time to see everything there is to see.  We still enjoyed the trip and the air conditioning.

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Ok so, from here I'll just share some pics of the things that we enjoyed on our last trip and decided to revisit.

The Sugar Shack!

If you have an early riser like us (little bro is up with the sun) then you can appreciate an ice cream shop that opens at 10 am.....

This was the girls' favorite part of the trip and where they spent their souvenir money.

Other places we returned: 

Seaweed Snowballs

The Deck Beach Kitchen and Bar ...favorite spot.  GET THE PRETZEL!

Another favorite where K took the girls: Pier 16. Get the blackened chicken sandwich.

*Note:  The Mr. Baby can not go to restaraunts these days so we had to split up and take the girls solo.

The Pier

The Arcade

Otherwise we just enjoyed all that the house had to offer, the pool, and the beach!

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Looking back on the pictures is honestly one of my favorite parts of a trip.  With 3 kids it's so busy you almost can't really soak it in until afterwards, if that makes sense... 

I'm sad vacation is over but love our routine too.

 We both agreed that this would be our last trip to Tybee, at least for a while.

Thinking perhaps a lake trip next year?

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We've got a super busy July with camps for the girls.

Here we goooooo....

xLaura

Snow Tubing at Hawks Nest

We recently spent a great long weekend up in the Banner Elk, NC area.  I wanted to share the highlight of our trip:  Snow Tubing at Hawks Nest. 

It was such a fun family activity!  There were probably 25 or so lanes of tubing, all different levels.  We spent our time on the beginner runs but would love to do the bigger ones once the kids are older.   Everyone had a great time, though little brother wasn't able to participate this year.  Ages 3+ 

They have a moving sidewalk type lift that takes you back up to the top, KEY with little ones.

I would highly recommend Hawks Nest for families with kids that might not be ready for skiing.  It's was a great little winter getaway.

x, Laura

 

Family Vacation to Tybee Island

We had a great time on our beach vacation down on Tybee Island, GA!  I'm going to share a bit about our trip and recommendations...

WHERE TO STAY:

First things first, we loved our VRBO.

Great location, great size...The architecture and design made us feel like we were at a spa resort.  It was fabulous.  We booked it for the private pool and let me tell you, it was a gamechanger.  Especially when I think back to our trip to Anna Maria Island two years ago.  We spent hours each afternoon out there with the kids, and then enjoyed evenings with a cold drink.

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WHAT TO DO:

As I mentioned, the house we rented really made the trip for us, so we spent a lot of time enjoying ourselves there.  But here are a few other things we did that I would recommend for families.

Of course, The Beach!  We walked with the wagon and the kids loved it.  I hadn't taken them to the beach yet this year because I wanted it to be exciting and fresh on our trip.

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Arcade

I wish I knew the name of this place, but it's on the corner of the main little "Tybee Strip".  We just stumbled upon it while on a family walk, and the girls loved it, especially the candy claw game.

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Tybee Lighthouse.  Daddy and MB made it to the top! 

A must visit in my opinion.

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Souvenier Shopping!  Lots of beach shops and the girls enjoyed getting to spend their vacation money.

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WHERE TO EAT:

We cooked several meals at the beach house, but we did venture out as well.

The Sugar Shack

Surprise surprise, this was the girl's favorite.

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Wet Willies

Not a restaurant but Kevin and I enjoyed thinking of the good old days down on East Bay, sipping a Call-A-Cab.

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IGA Grocery   

As I mentioned, we cooked a good bit.  We grabbed crab cakes from the seafood shop.  They were tasty!

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Pier 16

  The grilled jerk chicken sandwich was awesome!  Sitting outside is a must.

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The Deck

This place overlooks the beach, you can walk right up.  And everyone was so friendly.  I think this was K and I's favorite meal out.

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To-Go Food- We enjoyed RAW Sushi Bar and Lighthouse Pizza.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

As I've said, the house and pool where we stayed really made our trip.  It's hard to come from Charleston and not compare, but I will say that a lot of Tybee seems pretty run down.  We found some gems by researching, but there was a good bit of dinge.  For that reason, I don't think we would return for an entire week, but I would 100% recommend a weekend away at this lovely home.  The pool is heated so even in the off season, it would be awesome.  We really enjoyed our time together as a family.  The baby did so well (Thank you, slumberpod!) and I know the girls made some great memories.  K and I really did feel relaxed and reconnected, and also exhausted...

So, where to next year?