Lemonade for a Cause

These two little guys were super excited to have a Saturday afternoon lemonade stand!  Their school has been collecting money for an adoption fund and they gladly donated all of their proceeds (over $20) to the cause.  Patrick's mom sent the assistant principal this picture and that led to their appearance on the school's WE ROCK announcements first thing Monday morning.

Easter Sunday

It was so strange being on a cruise boat for Easter Sunday morning.  Quite unconventional for sure!  

Thankfully, the Easter bunny still came to our house and the kids were able to find their baskets when we arrived home from Charleston.  Happy to celebrate the Risen Savior any place we are!

The "Littles"

After sorting through my pictures from the cruise I realized that I had a TON of photos just of Ashley and Preston, who we affectionately called "the littles" all week. :)

Even starting on the first day, the two of them were best buddies, content to hang out together. 

They played at the slides together, enjoyed ice-cream together, plotted about going to the candy store together, relaxed together, ate together, etc.  The littles spent almost every awake moment together for an entire week!

I wondered mid week how long it would last . . . like would they be so annoyed with each other by the end of the week?? But nope, they had a blast from day one through seven!  I'm so so thankful for their friendship and how much they enjoy each other!

Crusin' the Bahamas

We left Charlotte on Sunday, April 14 for the adventure we have talked about and anticipated for months . . . a week long cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate Grammy & Papa's 50th wedding anniversary!

We left the hotel in Charleston Monday morning and headed straight to the port.  It wasn't long before we were all settled in and beginning to enjoy life on the ship

The kids couldn't wait for the temperature to warm up, they hit the water slides right away.

The bigger kids checked out the mini golf on the top level.

But it wasn't long after we set sail that the water fun began for everyone.

Our first stop was Freeport.  We opted to do the beach excursion, which turned out to be our only beach day so we were super thankful we did it!

Before the shuttle left for the beach, we explored the shops at port and all got color changing rings.

And then came the crystal blue waters.  It was awesome.  We enjoyed the afternoon in the shade of an umbrella watching the kiddos play in the ocean.

Then it was back on board for our first gala night dinner.

Watching the sunset was amazing!

We enjoyed lots of on board events, from watching karaoke to a craft morning to many nightly shows, there was always something to do!

It didn't take Savannah long to realize that she could combine two of her favorites for breakfast.  She would take a croissant and eat out the middle part, only to fill it with the daily soft serve ice cream.

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Our next port was Nasseau.  We did a walking tour which was fabulous!  We learned so much about the history and culture of the land.  

We even found a touch of home on Charlotte Street!

Here is the Queen's Staircase, which was dug by slaves.

Silly dad at one of the nightly shows.  This was the night Savannah's poor eating caught up with her and we skipped dinner and the show to give her tummy a break.  Unfortunately, the seas were quite rocky and we had to skip our last port of call at Half Moon Cay . . but we made the most of another day at sea.

On our last night, as we headed back to Charleston, we took some family pictures.

Preston enjoyed one last ice cream cone before disembarking Sunday morning.

This was such a fun adventure.  We had a blast enjoying time together as a family and made so many special memories.  HUGE thanks to Grammy and Papa for providing such a wonderful experience.  I'd say our first cruise was a hit!!

Early Easter Egg Extravaganza

This year the neighborhood Easter egg hunt was perfectly scheduled today, right after we got back from Charleston and the weekend before we left for the Bahamas.  Unfortunately, Savannah couldn't attend due to her basketball training, but Dave and Preston had a swell time!

Cooper River Bridge Run 2019

We were all excited to get away for a quick trip to Charleston this weekend!  Dave was thrilled to be able to run in the Cooper River Bridge Race again this year so we took the kids out of school early on Friday and headed to Charleston.  As soon as we checked into our hotel (which was AMAZING) we headed for the walk downtown for our favorite dinner at Hyman's. 

Saturday morning Dave left super early for the race so the kids and I had some fun hanging out at the hotel and enjoying the delicious breakfast . . that monkey bread was to die for!

Run, Dave run!!!  He had his best 10k time ever!!

We then all enjoyed the post-race activities in the park, which included our fun photo booth pictures and CPI couch picture too.  Of course, there were tons of freebies, from fruit to muffins and lots of other yummy treats too, so we loaded up!

All too soon it was time to head back to Charlotte.  Although it was a fast trip, it was fun and another great Bachmann adventure. 

As soon as we arrived back in Charlotte and got out of the car, Preston heard the first ice-cream truck of the year.  He bolted inside to get his money and was delighted with his purchase!