Tuesday we had reservations to eat at Paula Dean's restaurant, Lady and Sons, which is located in Savannah, Georgia.  It was about an hour drive from our house on Harbor Island, so we decided to take a day off from the beach and explore a new city for the kids. We booked the Savannah Trolley Tours and selected the option for getting on and off the stops as much as we liked.  To my surprise, Eli loved it. Turns out that he's a little history dork too, and I can't wait to tap into this common interest with him. Ellie didn't love it, but she was a great sport about tagging along.  As long as we kept her fed, hydrated, and properly fanned, she was a champ.  Bless her southern little heart! Our first item of business was to find a place to eat because we were famished!  Our super-awesome tour guide suggested Cleary's .  If you've seen "Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil." this will look familiar to you.  That's beca

Because we didn't love the beach at Harbor Island, we decided to explore Hunting Island to start the week.  It's a private island that requires a pass or fee to enter and was absolutely amazing, plus it was only about a mile from where we were staying.  As a side note, parts of Forrest Gump were filmed at this location. When arriving at Hunting Island, you drive through a preserve area that is rich with wildlife and nature.  It is breathtaking and reminds me so much of parts of Mexico's coast that are untouched by time.   The island also offers a conservation center with daily activities and a lighthouse with tours available until 4:30 each day.  We didn't do either activity because our kids were more interest in playing than learning, but my brother and his family did the lighthouse tour with my dad and they all report that it was a fantastic experience. While most of the beach is clear, there was a neat coral formation that was perfect

Sunday was our first full day, and we were more than ready to hit the beach with the kids!  After "sleeping in" and sipping on some coffee, we loaded up all of our gear and headed out for some fun in the sun! The island had a private beach that was a short golf-cart ride from the house and easily accessible from a board walk.  I'm not gonna lie, that particular beach wasn't my favorite.  It was an inlet so the water was very murky and the sand had a mud-like consistency.  Remember the crab from yesterday?  Yeah, poor Eli got bitten as soon as he stuck his foot in the water. I think it was a hermit crab thankfully, but how random is that? The best part was that when the tide went out, the beach was almost a quarter-mile long with little shallows of water that were perfect for the babies.  Even though I didn't love the beach for a traditional experience at the ocean, it was gorgeous to look at and perfect for a morning or evening stroll! Since we

For the first time since before I was married, we took a vacation with my entire family!  The party of 12 included my parents, my siblings, their spouses and kids, and my little crew.  We stayed in a precious little house on Harbor Island in South Carolina and had the very best time being together as a family. Typically Eric and I like to leave for vacation on the Friday evening of our departure so we can split up the drive for our kids.  But with another trip planned for later this year, we decided to save money and hit the road bright and early Saturday morning.  We were hoping Eli and Ellie would stay asleep, but no such luck.  Worry not, they were good little travelers minus a few too many pitstops for potty breaks - which was a welcomed change of pace following the "gum incident" of 2017 when Eli put gum in Ellies hair! If you've been around for a while, you know our drill...no chain restaurants on vacation.  You also know that we basically plan our tr