As for Christmas, we decided to do a little trip this year and cut back on the gifts. We enjoy to travel, and the memories we make will far out last any material item.We decided on a cruise this year for our Christmas trip. We left the 18th and were home in time for all the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities! We went with several other families and had a wonderful time. We left from Tampa on a 6 day cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. We gave Royal Caribbean a try since Carnival had thoroughly ticked me off last cruise. Overall we were pleased with Royal and will probably sail with them again. The kids seemed to prefer Carnival though. I will post a few pics from the trip, but overall we just had a really amazing, relaxing time enjoying the warm weather and beautiful ocean views.
Our boat, Brilliance of the Seas
Christmas Day went well and the kids got a few surprises from Santa. The girls got new vanity's which they desperately needed. Carter got some Bulldog attire and cash. Kennedy and Hooper got a few new toys. Unfortunately the day after Christmas we were all hit with the stomach bug!!
So overall we had a great holiday! I will have to say it is never super easy to pull Christmas off with 5 kids, but we made it work! As for the rest of 2017? Well a lot happened! The kids finished off and started another school year, we traveled during the summer, Carter and Kevin were very busy with AAU basketball (which also sent us traveling), Maggie kept me on the road with travel soccer and Jada kept us laughing with all her plays, skits and acting adventures. Carter got his drivers license this year, and although it has been incredibly helpful... it also has scared the living daylight out of me! And to think, only 4 more kids to go!
Jada at the Christmas play. She preformed a skit.
Jada had a leading roll this year in the school play "Fame"
Maggie played both travel soccer and for her school JV soccer team.
We had to invest in a "family car" for the kids to use this year!
Carter has been playing basketball for his school team as well. He plays both Varsity and JV at Griffin Christian High School.
I am still working at Life Spring's preschool teaching in the 2 year old class. Hooper was able to enroll at the school this fall and had been attending the 3 day program. He was very unsure at first and cried almost every day, but after fall break, he just jumped right in and has been doing well since! Speaking of fall break, this year was another crazy break. Hurricane Matthew just about ruined our cruise last year and this year another hurricane had us all mixed up! We had reservations up at Black Rock Mountain in the North Georgia mountains. We had made them months in advance because the place fills up fast in the fall. Then the hurricane came through and dumped inches of rain, so we were forced to cancel. We ended up on the east coast in Florida away from the hurricane with last minute reservations to Fort Clinch State Park. It was a beautiful place and we had a wonderful time on the beach and finding shells! The campsites however were in the full sun and it was really hot! So we packed up and headed home early from this trip. But it was gorgeous and memorable none the less!
Checking out Fort Clinch
Our humble abode in what felt like the Sahara Desert
As for our summer adventures.. there were plenty of those! Kevin and Carter were all over with basketball. Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis.. we actually tagged along on the Memphis trip and celebrated Kennedy's birthday on the road. We even had our cousins come along for the fun! We had a wonderful time in Memphis and enjoyed the zoo, the big Bass Pro shop, and many other awesome sights. Here are a few pics from our time in Memphis with our family and about 10 sixteen year old basketball team boys!
Eating ribs at Rendevous downtown.
Target shooting at the big Bass Pro
Waiting in line to fish inside the Bass Pro
Kennedy rode in a carriage downtown for her birthday!
All the cousins at the amazing Memphis Zoo for Kennedy's birthday!
Visiting Mud Island and seeing the walk through replica of the Mississippi River was so cool!
The Ducks at the Peabody!
Also this summer... we went tubing down the Tocoa, hiking at Dauset, swimming in the Flint at Sprewell Bluff. Did Six Flags, White Water and Callaway Gardens a hundred times (we have season passes to all 3)!! I mean, we literally love to go and be outdoors and travel! So we spend a lot of our summer doing just those things!
Tubing in Blue Ridge
Six Flags
Dauset Trails
Sprewell Bluff
In July, we camped for the week in Florida at Rainbow Springs state park. We had a wonderful time tubing the river and visiting the head springs!
We spent 11 days out west at the beginning of the summer and visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. You can read about those adventures HERE and HERE
As for our spring break and winter breaks in 2017, we had super fun camping trips to the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia and to Blue Spring State park in Florida.
Here are the pictures from Blue Springs State Park on spring break. We also took a trip to Sea World while we were there!
Tubing the river!
At Sea World watching the killer whales!
During our winter break we stayed at the most southern state park in Georgia. Stephen C. Foster State Park. We went with several other families and camped in the middle of the swamp. There was no civilization for 40 miles. It was really an erie feeling be so far from society. We visited St. Mary's and Cumberland Island. We also took a boat trip through the swamp.
We enjoyed our nightly hikes to look for gators in the swamp!
Star gazing was also a huge hit late in the evening.
Our trip to Cumberland Island
Carter had fun chasing the wild ponies..
Queen of the swamp
Gators everywhere!
King of the jungle
So basically that wraps up the year with our travel and our busy long lists of things we do. Of course I had lots of running adventures, HERE.
We always stay busy and always are on the go. Not yet sure what 2018 will hold, but I know it will be an exciting year. We are so blessed to be able to live this wonderful life we have and I thank God every day for my many, many blessings because He surely deserves the glory! Here's to another year..
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