March | 2014 | Lil Bits of Love

Hi friends!

We’ve just returned from our 1st travel of 2014.

We spent 2 days up at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee in Georgia. This was a sort of “family reunion” with some of our best friends from our years on Hilton Head Island, SC. (we lived on that glorious island for 7 years, can you believe it!?)

These friends go way back……back to when Robert & I were just newlywed’s. (we moved to Hilton Head the day we returned from our honeymoon, literally.) We spent many nights grillin’ steaks and delicious salads at our condo. Many summers spent lounging around the Marsh Side pool basking in the beautiful Lowcountry sun. Many evenings with cold cocktails at Hemingway’s (now Black Marlin), Mellow Mushroom or on the rare occasion, “Bar Triangle”.

This circle of friends helped us welcome our children into this world; they’ve cried with us during times of tragedy. We’ve seen 1 through a successful two-year tour with the Peace Corps in Africa & another through a move to Nashville.

You see, when your nearest family member is over 400 miles away, you’ve got to find friends who BECOME your family…..and that’s exactly what this group is.

HHI Family

We started the weekend on Friday night with a few cocktails & games while everyone (safely!) arrived in town.

Robert & I searched out a great playground for the kids on Saturday morning. They even had a hiking trail through the Georgia woods, complete with Winnie-the-Pooh characters. It was lovely.

We met up with the rest of the crowd at the Ritz Carlton Lodge for a little lunch break.

Me & Kate McP

Lucky for us, it was “family weekend” at the Ritz & they had a trackless train at the ready for this choo-choo loving group.

I wish I could bottle up the smiles on Davis’ face when we rode this train. He was simply amazed – even shouted out “Alllllll aboard!” at one point.

Click here for a quick video clip of our train ride.

Saturday night brought more excitement, as we went up to the Ritz Carlton to listen to our friend Eric Dodd, who is an incredible musician. If you haven’t heard of him, check out Eric’s website here & become a fan.

You’ll hear him on the radio SOON.

Eric played a few tunes for Caroline & Davis earlier that day, and they were completely impressed…….check it out here.

Selfie – timer style

After a teary farewell with friends, we drove 1.5 hours north to Atlanta where we spent 2 wonderful days with Robert’s brother and his family.

The first toy that Davis found in their playroom was this:

He was so excited to emulate the tunes that Eric had just played for him. 🙂

Caroline & her cousin, Elizabeth hit it off immediately. They were like two peas in a pod.

Little Besties

We enjoyed a short walk to their neighborhood park on Sunday afternoon.

: Driving the fire truck

: Perfect balance of weight

But my favorite view was this:

Teeter Tottering with my baby boy

The weather was amazing! We really lucked out. It was cool enough to enjoy my scarf & vest (not something I get to wear often in this hot FL weather), but not too cold to play outside most of the weekend.

Here are the cousins. Pretty cute, aren’t they?