Isn’t spring wonderful? I love the warm nights and mornings, the smell of flowers as you walk along the streets, the pollen on your car (okay, maybe not that one so much…), golf season, bright colored clothing, local spring festivals…

Speaking of festivals, we went to a local Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach last weekend. My family has very fair skin, so we slathered on the sunscreen and donned the wide brimmed hats. It was the hottest day of the year (so far) with temps ranging in the 90′s!  I’m always excited to participate in local activities that bring the community together. I especially love it when they are free! 

As we neared the downtown area, we noticed that parking was going to cost us $10-$20. I have never enjoyed having to pay to park!  This popular event happens every year. The streets were packed from one side to another with pedestrians and vendors, many displays of local artwork and crafts. It was lunchtime and I was incredibly hungry. I couldn’t focus on the art, or the live music…  so I followed the pleasant smell of fried shrimp to the end of the lane. Many booths were selling shrimp, mainly the same dishes, but different charities were being sponsored at each booth. Overwhelmed by the sight of long waiting lines, I sought shelter from the blazing sun, and graciously asked my husband to get me a basket of fried shrimp. The small baskets ended up costing us $11 per person!

When we finished eating, we began to wander through the streets, looking at the displays, and trying to dodge the sweltering sun. I was starting to get very thirsty. I price checked many booths, and they were all the same. $3 for a lemonade. ::sigh:: I’m such a sucker for a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day! $3 it is… 

A little irritated that everything was so overpriced and also becoming easily tired from the heat, I was ready to go home. The free festival ended up being not so free after all… Isn’t that how the story usually goes? Though parts of the adventure were not as we had planned, being together with our little family was nice. Another memory in our books.

-Courtney

What a glorious last two weeks we have had!  While I love my home state of Kentucky, part of me longs to be in the low country of South Carolina.  I can never resist the charm of cities such as Charleston and Beaufort.  This year our first stop was in Charleston.  While my husband had business meetings to attend, I had 3 days to explore and shop!  My first day included a Charleston tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and made me realize I should have paid more attention in my history classes at school. 

After touring the City of Charleston we headed to Magnolia Plantation, a 17^th century estate that features the oldest gardens in America (c.1680). They told us on the garden tour, that the first azaleas planted outdoors in the United States were planted at Magnolia Plantation.  It is amazing to me that the plantation has been in the Drayton family for over 300 years and one of the family members  who is in her 90’s, still lives in a secluded location on the property.  I am so appreciative of the family’s ability to save this piece of history and to share it with us.  After a delightful box lunch, our final stop was back in Charleston at a lovely pink mansion located in The Battery.  A dream came true as I sat on the piazza aka porch of that lovely mansion, sipping lemonade. I just know I was a real Southern Bell in another life, I just had to be!  I am a “natural” at sitting and sipping.

After our visit in Charleston, my husband and I made our way to the South Carolina coast for a week of rest, relaxation, a little golf and fishing – stopping along the way in Beaufort, S.C.  Beaufort is another beautiful city with a historic area of gorgeous mansions.  As the wind blew through the magnificent live oak trees covered in Spanish moss, I saw many more front porches just waiting for someone, maybe waiting for me to come and sit. I wondered what tales these trees and mansions could tell. I envisioned lavish parties with carriages arriving full of ladies and gentlemen dressed in their finest clothes.  I imagined children running around playing hide and seek as adults visited under the shade of those beautiful oak trees on Sunday afternoons. 

The South Carolina coast was just as I remembered.  The waves rolled upon the sand bringing sand dollars, jelly fish and shells for beach combers to discover.  Being on the beach allows me to relax my body, my mind and recharge my inner batteries.  Something magical happens that first morning as I make my way along the boardwalk to the beach.  My bag is always full  – beach towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, bottle of water, cell phone, a snack and most importantly a new book to read.

As I take my first steps in the sand a memory from my first grade reading book flashes through my mind.  One of my favorite stories was about Dick and Jane at the seashore.  As I make my way through the sand, looking for the beach chairs and umbrella with my name pinned on them, I say to myself “make room Dick and Jane, I am here!”

My Family

When my son was born in January of 2009, I was a tiny bit overwhelmed having a fourteen-month-old daughter and a newborn.  My husband and I had always been on-the-go and travelled a lot.  When our daughter arrived in 2007, we really didn’t slow down.  We just got her a passport, packed our bags, and took her along to Germany, Turks and Caicos, wherever the wind blew us.  But, I suddenly felt like I would be stuck at home for years and that it really wouldn’t even be fun to travel with two little bitties!  My husband, wanting to try to take away some of my anxiety, said, “I’m totally content with the places we’ve been, and I’m in no hurry to pack up and travel.  Let’s just enjoy a year or so at home.”  Exhale!  I felt so relieved!

Less than two months later, my sweet husband who just can’t sit still, was approaching me with an idea to take the kids to Hawaii.  After I told him he was crazy, I started thinking about it more seriously.  Anna Kate would be 21 months old by the time of the trip, and Connor would be seven months old.  About a week later, I decided we might as well do it and just see how it goes.  For the next few months, I hunted and gathered finding all of the clothes, bathing suits, sunscreen, hats, snacks, activities, you name it, to make everything perfect!  I made list after list of everything that needed to be packed and spent about a week getting it all done while the kids were napping.  My husband, who had this big idea, packed his own few things the night before the trip!

Precious Beach Moments!

August arrived, and it was finally time to leave.  We had five bags to check, four carry-on bags, three cameras, two carseats, and one excited family!  I thought that if we could just make it through the flight without any big incident, we would be doing great!  We made it; we’re settled in our seats on the plane and ready to take off.  My son, who I’m trying to nurse to sleep, throws his head back and hits it on the armrest.  Of course, it makes a super loud noise and he starts screaming.  Heads start to turn, and I want to tell them to open the doors; I’m getting out!  Everything calmed down though, and the 8 1/2 hour flight really wasn’t so bad.  

The joy of new experiences...

The moment we stepped out of the jetway at the Honolulu airport, 21-month-old Anna Kate, started running with her baby doll and screaming, “Wow, Hawaii, Hooray, Yea!”  It seems we had talked up Hawaii so much that even the airport was amazing to her!  It was a priceless reminder to find joy in even the smallest things!

The rest of the trip went even more smoothly than I could have imagined.  We didn’t want to leave to go home!  

Fast forward seven months to this March, and you find us with a fourteen-month-old, a two-year-old, and you guessed it, on our way back to Hawaii.  My husband had no idea that his suggestion to go last year would begin our family’s love affair with the islands.  From the time we got home, we couldn’t stop thinking about how much we wanted to return, and Anna Kate asked us almost every single day if we were going back to Hawaii.  

Look what I found!

This time, we went to the Big Island and had the most wonderful time.  We saw whales, swam with dolphins, went to a luau, played on a black sand beach, but most importantly, we all had such fun together.  We were there over Easter, so the kids hunted eggs at the resort.  

I began thinking that while we love Hawaii, everyone has a special place that makes them feel relaxed, at peace, happy.  For me, that place is family.  It’s not really about where we are; it’s about whom we are with and where our hearts are.  At the end of the day, the lists I made and the things I packed didn’t matter.  What mattered most was the memories we were taking home with us…the luggage of our hearts!

-Tiffany

Ah….Maui…wish we were still there instead of doing mountains of laundry after getting back!

One of my closest friends and I both turned 40 this past year, so our husbands decided we would all take a fabulous trip to Maui together.  Now, our friends have one beautiful 6 year-old daughter and we have 4 amazing kiddos, so we were certainly quite a crew traveling all that way together. 

Beach Baby!

But for all my apprehension about the flight, the kids did great!  We have a 7 year-old daughter, a 6 year-old son, a 4 year-old son and a 16 month-old baby girl.  I was most concerned about the baby, and she couldn’t have been any better. Thank goodness!
(And I’m sure everyone else on the flight was saying thank goodness as well!).  The kids adapted pretty well to the time difference and were ready to go first thing the next morning.  This vacation was everything I had hoped it would be. Quality family time that we had all been in desperate need of.

Say Cheese!

We had such an amazing time!  Let me just tell you, Maui is absolutely beautiful.  The water is so blue, everything is so green and the flowers…oh, the flowers are just amazing.  We had our pictures taken on the beach and my girls wore dresses from Strasburg that were just perfect for beach pictures.  All the kids loved the beach. We were there for several hours a day until the kids were just completely exhausted from the water and the sun.  One night we went to an authentic Hawaiian luau that was incredible! The dancing was so pretty. Everyone had a great time.

The best part of the trip was being there with our friends.  We had never travelled with anyone that wasn’t related to us before, and it really was a fantastic experience.  I hope they feel that way, too.  (Even though our four kids were a lot more high maintenance than their daughter).   Anyway, we definitely did not want to come home. The kids all cried and begged to stay “just one more day”.  Fortunately, we have tons of gorgeous pictures and beautiful memories that will keep Maui close to our hearts forever!

- Jennifer Z.