39 and Holding:)

Yep...you guessed it, I am 39 years OLD now:( For some reason, I struggled a little with the fact that this is the last year of my 30's. I mean...how in the world can that be!?! Time goes by way too quickly;( I have gotten over it now, almost a month later...LOL! I have decided that 40 is gonna be FABULOUS! I am gonna make sure of it:) It was 2 years ago on my 37th birthday that I decided to start this blog. I am SO happy that I have stuck with it. I LOVE looking back and remembering all that we have done, how much the kids have grown and changed, etc... I only wish I would have started it several years before I did. I did some scrapbooking when Landan and Leytan were little so I guess this has taken the place of that;) Not sure if anyone else actually reads my blog but to be honest...I do it more for me and my family anyway. So, I spent April 9th, my 39th special day in the van for the looong drive home from Spring Break. At least I got to spend the whole day with my family right;) The kids were very good travelers and we stopped for dinner at Ruby Tuesday and then at Ritters when we got back into town so at least I ate well...LOL! Here are some birthday pictures that the kids made for me at lunch the day before.

From Lorelle...

From Liam...

From Levi...

Thanks to all of you reading that helped make my birthday a special one. I also LOVED reading all of my Facebook birthday wishes on the way home from our vacation...well, at least until my phone battery died;) Bring on the BIG 40!!!

Our LAST day at the beach;( SO much FUN!!!

We started our day with an early lunch at Fannie's On The Beach. And then we just walked across the street to the beach for the day:) The kids played, played and played!!! We had to force them to leave several hours later so that we could eat dinner and get packed up. It was such a GREAT last day!!! Goodbye Tybee...we enjoyed our time visiting with you:'(

Running from the waves...

LOVE Levi's face in this one...LOL!

Little brothers...

Liam and Landan playing football...

Lilyan really concentrating...

Levi's turn to be buried...

Big brothers...

More football...

LOVE this pic of Liam!

The ocean was cold but FUN;)

Leytan's turn...

Lorelle's turn...

My supermodel;)

Jump Lorelle Jump!

The GRAND Finale of sandcastles!

Spring Break 2011...WONDERFUL family time!!!

Day 5...Oatland Island Wildlife Center and Ice Cream:)

We were all a little toasty (sunburned) from our busy day 4 so we googled the area for an activity that might provide a little shade;) We spent most of our day at the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. It was kind of like a zoo but through a large woods. Most of the areas were shaded so that was nice:) Afterward we enjoyed a late lunch at a local place called Sting Ray's Seafood and a couple hours later it was off to the pier for some ice cream...cotton candy, superman and cookie dough were the faves:) It was a pretty mellow day and our sun-kissed shoulders appreciated the break. Back to the beach tomorrow for our LAST day in paradise;(

Checking out the snakes and other small reptiles...

Lance and his girl...

Lance and our "Sensational Six"...

My handsome Landan...

Ice cream on the pier...

The "littles"...

Day 4...Part 2: Beach, Pool and The Crab Shack!

In the afternoon, we decided to walk down to the beach for a couple hours. The kids just LOVE playing in the sand:) After returning from each trip to the beach, the kids would have to spend some time in the pool and hot tub. I can see a hot tub sometime in our future...I hope;)

Burying Liam...

Levi posing with his castle... He built it all by himself:)

Time for some football...

Leytan showing us his moves...

Landan's turn... Look at those muscles!

Beautiful Miss Lorelle...

Levi's turn...

Lance and I before we left for dinner...

We went to a restaurant called The Crab Shack...not the chain;) It was a unique, fun place and we all had a FUN time! We chowed on crab, shrimp, potatoes and corn on the cob:) YUMMY!!!

Our "littles"...

Levi on the gator...

Love it!

The kids fed the gators with meat on a stick...

LOTS of gators!

The gang...

What a FUN, FULL day!!!

Day 4...Part 1: Lighthouse and Park;)

We really packed a lot into day 4 so I am gonna blog about it in two parts;) In the morning, we went to visit the Tybee Island Lighthouse Station and Museum. I have always liked lighthouses but had never actually been up in one. My China peeps all wanted to go up into it so I thought "Why not?!" Ummm...I was TERRIFIED!!! First of all, it is a lot higher up than it looks from the ground. The steps were steep and I was afraid one of the kids would trip and fall. The kids practically ran up the 187, winding steps and I tried my best to keep up, yelling the whole time for them to "wait for me"... because I didn't want them to be up on the top without me to supervise;( They waited for me at the top and then I went out first to take a look. I snapped a couple quick pics and let the kids come out but made them keep their backs "against the wall"...I kept saying this as we did a quick lap around and got the heck down from there. I am not real sure why this FREAKED me out so much but it DID:( The kids and everyone else listening to me probably thought I was a CRAZY lady...LOL!!!

My China peeps waiting patiently for their turn to go up...

View from the top...

The kids obeying and "against the wall"...LOL!

You can see Lance way down below...YIKES we were high!

Afterward we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch outside in the beautiful sunshine and then a visit to the park was in order. It was a GREAT first half of our day;)

Even the big boys had fun...

Just a swingin...

Lorelle found a tree to climb...

Beautiful Miss Lilyan...