Summer Vacation to Atlantis

Our family was very excited to head to Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas at the end of June. This was our first big family vacation since our Italy trip at the end of 2018! We were all looking forward to traveling together again. Look how gorgeous it was when we flew in. We knew we were in for some fun!

We landed on Thursday afternoon in Nassau and took a shuttle over to the hotel. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived since it was before check-in time. Not a problem; we headed out to the pool for a late lunch while our bags were stored. They called us a little bit later to say our room was ready, so we headed up to check it out and unpack. We were all pretty excited about this view; it's beautiful!

The Reef rooms are geared towards families. We had a nice king bed, a sofa that pulled out into a double, and a lounger at the end of the sofa that Mia used for her bed.

We  appreciated having a little kitchenette in the room. There was a two-burner stove, sink, dishwasher, plates, basic cooking sets, Keurig, toaster, and microwave. We used Instagopher to deliver groceries upon our arrival. This allowed us to make breakfast in our room each day (except a Starbucks treat one morning), and gave us plenty of snacks to enjoy.

We were happy to finally be here!

The famous royal towers from our room. Everything looks very spread out on maps and even as you're looking around. However, we found it all easy to navigate, and it didn't feel as spread out when we walked around.

We decided to spend the afternoon and evening walking around the property and getting our lay of the land. Everywhere you look, there's something beautiful to see. The grounds are kept immaculate. The flowers are lovely. There's so much sea life to see. The hotels are bustling and have lots of interesting things to see. Here's lots of pictures from our time walking around, both this evening and other days of our trip.

Lily and I enjoyed sitting outside in their big oversized chairs one evening reading.

They have a two different aquarium areas. One is under the royal tower, and it's called The Dig. It was fun to walk through.

There was also a combo indoor/outdoor area called Predator Lagoon. There were a few scary looking guys in here!

We spent most of our time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at The Cove's pool. It was huge! It had waterfalls you could swim through and sit behind. It also had "ruins" throughout the pool with seating around them which made for such a relaxing time. We all got tons of reading done as we enjoyed time relaxing under some umbrellas on the chairs by the pool too.

The girls figured out they really enjoyed the non-alcoholic daiquiris: strawberry for Lily and mango for Mia.

Mia and I decided to give some of the waterslides a try too. First up was the famous Leap of Faith. You climb to the top of their Mayan Temple, then slide almost straight down and through their shark tank. It's fast and so much fun! 

I went down first (above) then Mia followed (below).

We rode a innertube ride down the Temple too which was really cool. We rode together which was fun. It goes pretty quickly down but then it slows so you can actually see all the sharks swimming around you while you're in the tube. We rode this one a couple of times! Another day we went to the Aquaventure Park which had several fun innertube rides that we enjoyed. They dipped, curved, dropped, and went through blackout areas. It was so much fun! Atlantis also has a "rapid river" which was pretty cool. We rode it many, many times, and Lily joined us on some of those rides. It has some lazy river feels to it where you are just floating along, but then several times you are pulled into some rapids. You bounce around, spin around, and float from side to side. All of these rides were a good time!

We decided to spend all of Monday at the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous! We spent a lot of time in the water, and we even snorkeled a bit which was fun. We also enjoyed reading up on the beach.

This is a great place for Ryan to enjoy a Bahama Mama, and the girls to enjoy a frozen drink!

We also enjoyed several good meals while we here.

We went to Seaglass twice because we liked it so much! We loved their charcuterie board and their cheese plate. Ryan and Lily enjoyed their wings a lot. I liked their peach and goat cheese bruschetta. Mia liked the popcorn appetizer. It was a really good spot. We totally enjoyed this s'mores dessert too. It was perfect!

I decided to try their signature cocktail which was called "Pineapple Passion." It came in the coolest looking pineapple glass! It also tasted absolutely delicious: absolut elyx, John Watling's paradise rum, licor 43, luxardo maraschino, passion fruit puree, crushed pineapple juice, lime, and peychaud's bitters.

One evening we went to the Burger Shack. Man, it was good! The burgers were huge, the sweet potato fries were spot on, and the milkshakes were quite tasty.

We couldn't wait to try the Italian restaurant from New York: Carmine's. It did not disappoint. It's all family style, so we decided to share the chicken parmesan, olive oil and garlic spaghetti, and sautéed broccoli. Every single bite was delicious.

One evening as we were in the Marina area, there were a few independent artists there selling their wares. I saw one lady who was selling homemade doughnuts, and I couldn't resist. I bought a guava cream cheese bruleed donut. It was amazing!

Our most favorite activity was on Saturday afternoon. We had booked an experience at Dolphin Cay. This gave us the opportunity to play with a dolphin! Cherie the dolphin was the alpha female. She was beautiful. We got to pet her, instruct her, feed her, and learn about her.  It was an incredible experience, and I'm so thankful we had this opportunity!

Her belly was so soft.

We all had the chance to feed her which was really cool.

Cherie performed all sorts of tricks for us to as she followed the commands we gave (with the assistance of her trainer). 

I think all of us would say this was our favorite part of the trip!

On Monday evening after dinner, we took our time walking back to our hotel room, just enjoying the scenery around us. We saw a beautiful sunset which was a perfect way to end our time here.

On Tuesday morning, we enjoyed room service breakfast as we packed up. We had to leave our room at 11, so Ryan and the girls hung out in the lobby while I went back outside to read in the oversized chairs for a bit. Our shuttle arrived right at noon, and we headed back to the airport to head home.

This was such a wonderful trip, and so many great family memories were made. We are so thankful we were able to travel together again, and Atlantis was an absolutely beautiful and wonderful choice!

The Start of Summer

The first week of summer was pretty great. Soon after the last half-day of school on Friday, our family had some lunch and then headed home to open summer baskets. This is a fun little tradition that just gives the girls some fun things to use over the summer to help beat boredom. This year's basket included things like candy, books, magazines, art projects, candles, beach towels, and waterproof phone cases. It's always a good time.

After that Ryan and I headed north to Chattanooga. Ryan's longtime friend, Allison Gord, was getting married, and we were thrilled to get to go. She and Mark were getting married at a beautiful home on Signal Mountain. It was great to see my old sorority sister, Jen (Baxley) Mercer, there too; she's one of Allison's most dear friends so she came up from Jacksonville. It was a gorgeous evening; we're so glad we were able to celebrate with them, and we wish them many years of happiness together.

On Saturday, we had a Stranger Things season 4 marathon since it came out the night before. We got up early, ate a quick bite, and watched six episodes in a row. Then it was time to push pause because we got to go to a United game in Katie's dad's suite again. Woohoo! We always love this. We were glad Lauren Martin was able to join us too. Friends make events like this even more fun. Unfortunately, the United lost, but it was still a fun game. After we got home, we watched the last episode of Stranger Things to wrap it up. What a fun day!

On Sunday, Lily's class all went to the Braves' game together to celebrate Trip's 16th birthday. What a great celebration! Even better, Braves got the win!

Grandpops flew into town while Lily was at the game, so Ryan, Mia, and I had fun hanging out with him. It's always good to have him visit. On Monday (Memorial Day), David, Ryan, and I went to the Imax at Atlantic Station to watch Maverick: Top Gun. It was awesome! That big screen made it so cool, and it was just a great movie. On Tuesday, we pretty much hung around which was nice, and David left very early on Wednesday morning.

Unfortunately, David called us on Thursday afternoon to let us know he tested positive for Covid. The girls and I started to feel a little bit unwell on Friday.  On Saturday, both girls tested positive as well (though Ryan and I both tested negative). Neither felt well, so this wasn't a surprise, but this gave the really big bummer that it meant they couldn't go to camp the next day as expected. I am so very grateful that camp offered to let them come at a later session this summer instead, so they are planning for that in early July. The next five days meant we all needed to quarantine (though Ryan and I tested negative again on Monday). I worked from home, and everyone just kind of hung around. We could go out after those five days, but we needed to be cautious and the girls needed to keep masks on if we were around others. It certainly wasn't the week any of us had planned. On the other hand, it gave us the gift of time with one another which I am always thankful for.

A few other things going on around the house the last few weeks:

Mia totally sewed up a big hole in the arm of one of Ryan's t-shirts. I had no idea she knew how to do that, but she did, and she did it well. I was so impressed!

Ryan and Lily took Decker with them on one of their breakfast runs to Red Eye Mule one day while Mia and I stayed home and slept. He makes a pretty good little travel buddy.

Ryan and I had a date night at Mojave one evening for dinner and to hear Mark Miller perform. He's definitely one of our favorites! He played a lot of covers this evening which was so incredibly good. Dinner was quite tasty too; we'll do this again.

Our whole family loves musical theater, so we were all excited to head down to The Fox one evening to watch Frozen. The girls had watched it on YouTube previously, but Ryan and I had not seen it. It was so good! We all loved it and are glad we were able to get some last minute tickets.

Lily completed this gorgeous paint by number picture recently. These colors are absolutely beautiful together. This might be one of my favorites.

Mia is still loving her VR set that she bought a couple of years ago. It's great when it's nice weather, and she can play it outside because it gives a much larger open area to move around in.

This is simply a picture of our good boy! Isn't he adorable?!

Ryan and I bought these windchimes at Love Street recently. The colors and shape is so pretty, and it makes beautiful music when the wind hits it. I love it!

Lily went to a spend the night party at Lauren's house recently. I love this board she took: pretzels with a homemade onion dip, chips with guacamole or queso, and chocolate (this picture was pre-melted chocolate chips) with bananas and strawberries. So creative and yummy!

We recently had Mom and Dad over for dinner to celebrate their birthdays since they're only 9 days apart. Ryan grilled up smashburgers for us, and we had some chips, coleslaw, and blueberries on the side. Dessert was a caramel honey macadamia nut tart from Hawaii (thanks Goldbelly!). It was a great evening with delicious food!

I am so thankful for my mom and dad. I couldn't ask for better parents!

Our friend, Sherilyn Johnson, is an excellent baker. She offered "cake camp" classes during the summer where she taught kids how to bake delicious cake and then ice them into beautiful designs. Mia was excited to go, and look at this gorgeous blue marble with drip icing design that she made! I'm so impressed with this, and I hope Mia will make more of these.

Mary Preston came to spend the night with Lily and Rylie came to spend the night with Mia one evening. The girls love when they can have friends over, and we are thankful for the sweet friends in their lives. Ryan stopped by Jerusalem Bakery to pick up cheese to make mannaish for breakfast for us all, and he couldn't resist getting a few different types of baklava too.  It's so yummy!

What a delicious and colorful dinner we made one evening! Steak tostadas, cream corn, chips with guacamole, and raspberries. This tostada recipe was in the very first Piquant Post that we received, and it's still our favorite. It's delicious!

Sometimes it'll be pretty quiet around the house as everyone's just doing their own thing, and then every so often I get a picture like this.  I have no idea what's going on, but it makes me smile to see my girls together!

Other items going on that I don't have pictures of:

Our small group is continuing to meet which we are thankful for; it's great to study the word of God together with others each week. 

I was glad to have lunch with my old friend, Elizabeth Smith, recently at Taquiera Tsunami. Our families were so close for several years before they moved; it's been several years since we've had the opportunity to catch up in person. It was a great lunch that went too quickly; I'll look forward to next time. 

I had my friends, Katie and Amanda, over for dinner recently which was a lot of fun. It's good to have girl friends! 

Ryan and Mia went to see the Jurassic World movie together for a daddy-daughter date. I know they both enjoyed it. 

Our whole family went to see 42 when Parkway Point theater brought it back as a $5 fan favorite. It's one of Ryan and mine's favorite movies. Chadwick Boseman does an excellent job portraying Jackie Robinson. This movie does a great job showing the courage Jackie (and others) had to change the game of baseball. I'm so grateful we were able to see this in the theater again.

While the half of June hasn't started out exactly as we expected, it's been a good one. We are so very blessed, and I am happy to thank God for those blessings every day.

Logic School Graduation - Lily

 It was a great evening of celebrating the 9th grade class as they finish up their time in the logic school at Stonehaven and move on to the rhetoric school. We've come to adore these classmates over the last 11 years (Pre-K through 9th).  We are thankful for each of them. It was so fun to see everyone come together to celebrate each of the students and challenge them to finish their time at Stonehaven strong. After a nice dinner, a teacher came up to introduce a student, give them a specific word chosen by the teachers characterizing the student, provide a Bible verse, and challenge them on how they can continue to grow. We loved hearing each one of these.

Mrs. Corley introduced Lily. We love Mrs. Corley! She's a great math teacher and an absolutely lovely lady. She introduced her, and said the teachers had chosen the word "respectfulness" for Lily. She noted how Lily is respectful, kind, friendly, and welcoming of others. She gave her Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." She challenged Lily to continue to grow in her respectfulness of others who are not as easy to love. We look forward to seeing how Lily chooses to rise up to this challenge.

It was fun to have dinner with friends. Lily enjoyed sitting next to Liam Harvey, Addison Corley, and Trip Johnson.

Avery, Nate, and Lily have been in class together since they started in Pre-K. We love watching these three grow up together! We're glad Liam came along halfway though 5th grade.

Each students' name, class, and trait were written onto a stone. The school is seeking to make some kind of structure which uses these stones as these are the building blocks of the school. I'm excited to see what that is.

We sure do love this girl and can't wait to see the path the Lord sets for her to walk in these upcoming years!