Spring Break 2015

One of the best things about living back on the east coast, is that we are much closer to our families. With that being said, for spring break, we hit the road and headed to my hometown of Pensacola, Florida. We left a day early and stopped in to see some of our dearest friends in Charlotte, NC. We  played, ate, played some more and just had a great time. Did I mention, we love the Jackson family. Here are some pics from our week long vacation.

Seriously, us girls are so lucky to have these handsome fellas and Riley girl is already in love with little man. These guys were our cooks for the evening while us mama's hung out and caught up.

 We are never too short on entertainment with these middle girls. So much fun. Babies had to get in on the action too.

 Our sweet big girls giving each other one final goodbye. They have come a long way since being 4.

 Ahh, sweet Sara. Have I mentioned how much we love them. Well Sara is a gem and has one of the biggest hearts for the Lord that I know. As we say down south, she's a keeper. And this little man has us girls swooning. Not sure what happened to big man's photo, but if you think he's adorable, you should meet his big brother.

Needless to say that when we hit Florida, us girls were ready for the warmer weather and the beautiful beach. We were determined to make the most of our time. Even if it mean't everyone else felt chilly. =)

Caroline working on her strength and conditioning per coach instructions while on vacation. 

So my girls love, love, love their Uncle B and we were so thankful he took off the week to share in our fun. 

Home of the Blue Angels, Pensacola beaches allow for a free airshow of the demonstration team. Hubby took the opportunity to share in the moment with our G. I think he is officially homesick for those jets. Fighter guys and desk jobs, don't mix real well. We are crossing our fingers he finds his way back to the fleet after his time here at the Pentagon. 

Well here is our crew, plus a little friend we made on the beach. 

Sadly, Riley girl was not a fan of the beach. She did not care for the water or sand, so she just snuggled with myself or her sweet daddy under the tent. 

Not only did we hit the beaches, but we also went to the creek and did a little swimming and tree swinging. The big girls headed off with their Uncle B and Daddy and little and I hung out and watched the birds fly. Still not a fan of the sand, can't you tell?!?! 

So the one day we didn't hit the water, we went and toured the Lighthouse on NAS Pensacola. It was an awesome tour and we loved the view from up top!

In Easter preparation, the girls filled the eggs. They were great and Riley only ate every other piece ;-) Her favorite was the musketeer with marshmallow filling. A girl after my own heart! 

Next came egg dying with Grand daddy. Only in the south do you find a monogram kit with their egg dying kit. 

We couldn't stay away for long, back for some more sun. It really is our happy place.

A little night time bowling fun in the glow hours. Not to brag, but I won! =)

So not sure how I missed the group shot, but one of THE best things about being on the east coast is getting to celebrate our family's big moments, birthdays, weddings, pageants, etc. Here is Riley just hanging out in the big girl chair watching her cousins slide down the 18 foot slide. She looks so big here. Yay, Happy Birthday to our sweet P!!!

So not too many food posts, but this is God's gift to southern people. Crawfish, 10 pounds of them and not a one left.

Campfires and smore's

Sleepy baby hanging by the fire with this handsome guy! 

Easter Sunday was my favorite day there. I love being with all of my cousins, minus a couple not being  able to make it. It brings back so many memories of my own childhood and everything that I remember about being home. 

 My girls, plus their photo bomber cousin. Gotta love having boys around. They bring so much fun to the group.

 Well hilarious photo here. This is a family tradition of the crew getting their picture made on the church steps. We've always done this growing up. First us and now our kids. However, after a argument over who had whose bow, one sat in the back.  Love them and this. Although it is not perfect,  it really is perfect.

                                                                Family Easter photo.

 Another cousin tradition is to line the cousins up on the couch oldest to youngest. We were sad to be missing some of our crew this year, but hope next year they will be here too. We thought it was funny to recognize we have the oldest and youngest of the group present.  Cousins are your first best friends!

One of my favorite memories growing up, was going to the Waffle House on breakfast dates with my Daddy. Now we get to take my three girls and they are pretty much smitten with the fact that they care about how they like their bacon and waffles. What more could a girl want?!?!

Whew! That is a wrap from our spring break vacation. After traveling 18 hours back on Monday we are now back in school and starting into our routine. Grace began soccer this week and Caroline is pushing through her competition season and we are already counting down until summer break. We have lots planned with both sides of the family for summer and we couldn't be happier about that.