Walking...

My girlfriend Melissa and I like to get together and walk when are schedules allow it. It gives us a great opportunity to talk and catch up on how things are going. I am thankful for our times together, she is a friend who I can always share the things on my heart with. 

Sometimes Sarah and Cayla join us and have their time together to hang out. They also love to photobomb their moms.

Family Photo Shoot...

John and Susie asked me to take some pictures of their family since they didn't get any on Easter Sunday, so we took an hour on a Saturday afternoon at the Wyckoff Nature Center to take pictures. It gave me a good opportunity to keep working on my photography.

Sarah came along to help in whatever way we needed. Always love pictures of my girl.

You never know what kind of pictures you are going to get with little boys, but we all tried to be patient and I think we got some shots, as well as some funny ones. These were some of my favorite pictures of them.

Together Again...

We arrived home on Thursday evening just in time to get home and get everyone settled and to bed. It was so good to be away, but wonderful to come home to our kiddos and our own bed.

Friday night we took the evening to spend as a family going out for dinner and shopping for a new washer and dryer, just what our kids wanted to do. 

Love our family time!

While we were gone - Brayden...

On Sunday after church FaFa and Grandma took Brayden and cousin Sammy to Maryland for 2 days to celebrate cousin Caleb's 2nd birthday and Memorial Day.

Watching a movie in FaFa & Grandma's car during the roadtrip

Caleb's birthday party was on Sunday night and they arrived just in time to celebrate and play.

Sophia trying to give kisses to Brayden.

On Memorial Day they went swimming at Kyle and Christy's town pool. Grandma said the water was freezing, but the kids loved being in the water. They got some good cousin time.

We got Caleb this train table with the rest of the James family.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Brayden enjoyed his roadtrip to Maryland with FaFa, Grandma and Sammy. He says his favorite part was going swimming!

While we were gone - Sarah...

For the majority of the time while we were gone Sarah stayed with FaFa & Grandma, but for 2 days she stayed at Uncle John and Aunt Susie's house while FaFa, Grandma and Brayden went to Maryland.

Unfortunately, the day before we left Sarah came down with  a sore throat and then proceeded to have a cold the entire time we were gone. I even had Grandma take her to the doctor to see if she had strep since her sore throat was so bad, but it came back negative and was just a viral cold. I felt bad for my girl not feeling good and not being in her own bed, but she was in good hands with Grandma and Aunt Susie who took great care of her.

Susie sent me quite a few pictures while Sarah stayed with them to keep me posted on how my baby girl was doing. Loved seeing them all.

Sarah got some one on one time with her cousin Stephen since Sammy had gone with Fafa, Grandma and Brayden to Maryland. She loved getting the extra time with him. He even started saying her name "Rah-Rah"

Hanging out while Rah-Rah puts on her makeup.

Heading in to church.

Pizza Time.

Despite not feeling great Sarah was ready to get out of the house for a bit, so they ventured out to the mall and later to dinner.

They go together like Mustard and Ketchup

Thanks Uncle John and Aunt Susie for hosting our girl. She loves spending time with you.

Sea Island...

Our trip was actually setup around going to Sea Island, which is on St. Simmons Island. Jason's dad was invited to a fundraiser for China Bible College which included a golf tournament, but was unable to attend so offered for us to go. We gladly accepted and in exchanged Don and Donna watched our kids. Seems like a fair trade. : )

The Lodge at Sea Island was our resort. It is actually one of 4 locations at Sea Island that you can stay. Sea Island is actually on St. Simons Island, GA. The four locations are spread out around the island, with The Lodge being the most exclusive. The resort was gorgeous with a golf course and beach right outside their back door. It definitely had a lodge feel with lots of wood throughout.

The main lobby.

Bagpiper who plays every evening on the back porch from 7-8 p.m.

A butler greeted us when we arrived and showed around the facilities, checked us in, took us to our room and showed us all the amenities available to us. The night before we left Jason and I found out that their butler service will upon your request take care of packing your clothes, draw a rose petal bath in you sunken tub among other things. I missed out on that opportunity.

Our room had its special touches with its own doorbell and a plaque that mentioned a king had stayed in our room. You know the kinds of things you find at most hotels you stay at.

I fully enjoyed our bathroom while we were there. It was the size of our kitchen/eating area at home, with two sinks, the sunken tub, a shower and separate room for the toilet. Just having two sinks was a treat.

At the desk in our room was stationary with our name already printed on it.  Whoa! You don't find that at the Holiday Inn. We also got milk and cookies every night delivered to our room and had our own Nespresso machine with all the supplies available, which would have been great if we drank coffee. I of course had to try one. I think I will stick with tea.

It was a 10 minute drive to go to the main fitness, spa, pool and beach area. On Tuesday and Wednesday I spent my days over at the fitness center and beach while Jason golfed both mornings. As a gift to the spouses who attended we were treated to a spa treatment, so I had a massage and pedicure on Wednesday.

Jason spent his mornings golfing at their Seaside and Plantation courses and then met me in the afternoons at the beach.

The PGA McGladrey Classic is hosted here.

The men's golf locker room.

A friendly alligator on the course while golfing.

On Monday and Wednesday evening we had dinners for the China Bible College. On Tuesday night we shared dinner with Rob and Becca Ketterling and Darin and Jayne Poli from River Valley Church in Minnesota. They have 8 different campuses with 2 of those being overseas. Jason was on a golf team with Rob and Darin. It was a great connection for Jason to be able to spend the couple of days with them. We got our pictures taken by the hotel before dinner, you can click on this link to see them - Sea Island Photography.

Our final stop on Thursday after sadly checking out of the resort was Southern Soul Barbeque. When we arrived on Monday we saw a long line in front of it and were guessing it was a good place. After eating there we wished we would have stopped a couple of more times to partake of their amazing food. We both had the pulled pork sandwich with Sweet Tea. I had a side of mac and cheese and Jason had potato salad. They had 4 different BBQ sauces, my favorite was the sweet. Oh man! You can't find BBQ like this in New Jersey.

We were living the high life while staying here that is for sure and soaked in every minute. It was such a treat to be treated so special. I didn't take many pictures because I was soaking in the time I had. This trip was such a blessing for Jason and I to be able to get away together, just the two of us. I don't think we will be waiting 20 more years to take a weeks vacation away together.