Farewell summer, Hello Autumn

We decided to take a jaunt to Chattanooga, Tn. for our last summer hurrah!! It was awesome!!!! We stayed at The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel

in our very own Victorian train car!!!

After settling into this cozy abode we ventured about on the extensive property

After lunching in a vintage dining car, perusing all of the shops (what unique treasures we all came home with!) exploring the museums and dining at one of our fav steakhouses ( yes Nana got the chicken LOL!!!) We decided what better way to cap off an evening than by going on a Ghost adventure!!! 

After touring a very old & historic cemetery we were sufficiently exhausted (spooked!!! LOL!!) & decided it was indeed time to retire to our awaiting train car for the evening. Our next adventure began with a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast ( yep, more shopping!! Lol ) before heading to the Raccoon Mountain Limestone Caverns for spelunking!! 

As you can see these caverns were truly AMAZING!! They definitely did not disappoint!!! 

The happy spelunkers!!! :0)

Next on our whirlwind agenda was a quick stop to a dragon museum!! You just never know what your going to stumble upon while visiting other places!! Connor LOVES (obsessed) dragons so this was really a no-brainier.

Why yes folks even a dragon Christmas tree!!

It was great fun!! We made friends with the proprietors & promised to send them a "Duke" dragon from Dutch Wonderland to add to their collection!

Our next destination was Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Georgia.

This park is hailed as " the South's favorite amusement park & in my humble opinion is indeed the quintessential vintage summer time park on the lake!!  

After riding all of the amazing vintage rides (some from 1925!!) we opted for our end of summer final Labor Day meal of a seafood boil!!!

Yes, it has been a fabulous summer & now all eyes are on fall!! Hope your summer was fab too!!! TTYL ❤

Soooo... How've ya been :0)

I'm sorry for the absence!! Life just kinda gets BUSY!!!! :0) We have hired a new  housekeeper.

Any of you who have been through this process you know how daunting this can be. 1st. placing a good ad, then weeding through resumes, conducting phone interviews, next comes in person interviews, then deciding on just the right person to come into your home on a daily basis!!

Well Contracts signed ... we did it... Fingers crossed! So far so good! This process needed to be completed a.s.a.p. because homeschooling Connor keeps me very busy!! :0)

 

Sorry... I just had to!! LOL!!

Back to Homeschool has officially kicked off, & in a big way! Park meetings, science lab classes, Hip Hop classes (P.E.) Art classes, field trips, play dates, well you get the picture ;0) 

Chemistry class at The Lab

Hip Hop Class

We really love our Homeschool group & are very grateful that we have the opportunity to get together with such awesome people!! We have also been working on our backyard redo & we are loving it!!! So many cookouts with family & friends!! Our dogs hear the sound of the blinds on the sliding glass doors & come running!!!

Our nephew Noah chillaxin'

I don't know who loves the backyard more the dogs or us!! LOL! Vacations are a full time job for us!!! LOL!! & we take our commitment very seriously! :0) We love Disney World & couldn't  wait for the summer crowds to disappear so off we went!!! The Yacht club is one of my favs & the boat directly over to EPCOT is quite a nice feature too! After cruising through TEST TRACK ,& enjoying a scrumptious dinner at Nine Dragons in the China pavilion we decided upon the Magic Kingdom!

 

Epcot

Main St. Electrical Parade

There are so many wonderful things to see & do at Disney, I can honestly say, we never get bored of that place. This Labor Day weekend we are capping off our summer excursions by taking a jaunt to Tennessee where we will be staying in a Victorian train car at the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel!! My mom is soooo... excited to go, so with Nana in tow off we go again!! That's it for now, gotta run, time to get the car detailed before Roadtrip Labor Day Weekend 2013 begins!!! I hope you all have a wonderful long Labor Day weekend!! TTYL <3

What a Fun Full Week!

Our whirlwind week began with Connor attending one of his "best dudes", Jamison, bday party... He had a blast!!! Monday it was Brit's turn, she hosted a girly sleepover with the bestie, Diamond. Tuesday we bid Diamond farewell then Brittany, Connor, & I picked Nana up and met Daddy for a delicious fun dinner out. After dinner Daddy & Connor had to make a hasty exit in order to attend a Boy Scout get together in which they launched rockets!!! Wednesday we met up with Aunt Amy, cousin Noah, Aunt Kristy, & Daddy❤ for a fabulous Italian lunch outing!! It was great to catch up over a delish meal. Thursday, it was time for Brittany to host a Tea party luncheon for a few friends, the "luncheon" continued until around 11 p.m.!!!! LOL!! That's what happens when girls get together! Friday brought about a day of planning our fall schedule, in my Lily Pulitzer planner natch!! ;-)

 

I can't believe summer is almost over & school is on the horizon. Brittany is continuing her psychology studies (year 2!) with The University of Edinburgh and Connor is going to be very busy entering 4th. grade!! We homeschool & belong to several homeschool groups, our fav group is Palm Beach County Homeschoolers Inc. which offers a HUGE variety of activities. Everything from clubs, field trips, stage productions, science fairs, to soccer, parties, and park days. We have quite a full calendar shaping up! Our week was capped off by tackling a patio/yard make over for the weekend, new outdoor dining furniture, umbrella, and seating group, also a new grill.  We have a beautiful stainless steel gas grill but I have been craving a good old fashioned charcoal cookout, so you guessed it!! Daddy surprised us with a new charcoal grill (to partner with, not replace his gas grill, I was informed LOL!!) a new trampoline & some pretty flowers then voila!! patio/yard makeover complete!!! We've really been enjoying our outdoor space redo, hope you have been enjoying all of your endeavors too!! TTYL ❤

Birthday Season... That's a Wrap!!!

When we last left off I was excusing myself in preparation of our daughter Brittany's birthday!!!Well let me commiserate with you a moment, I must confess that 19 is indeed a difficult year to plan a birthday party for. Brittany had decided that she did not want a large elaborate friend bash but rather a lovely quaint family party. Sounds easy enough, right?... Well now about a theme and decorations? After many days, weeks, etc. LOL!! of discussing several options Miss Brittany deemed appropriate. Our lovey settled on ... Alice in Wonderland MadHatter Tea Party!!! But no run of the mill mass produced paper party supplies would suffice for our princess ;-) soooo... with that we set about locating vintage china, linens, tea services, even a vintage Disney cookbook was used as decoration!

Hand made banners and special dining requests per the birthday girl came together with all of her fav people to complete a truly magical birthday party fit for Wonderland!!!!

 

After making all of her wishes, blowing out the candles on her coconut birthday cake (specially decorated by Aunt Kristy, Connor, & Nana), & opening all of her beautiful gifts, it was time for a fireworks extravaganza!!! Which was followed by a helicopter flyover!! After celebrating for hours with all of her favorite people including her "Bestie" Diamond Lewis ( the only friend who made the invite list!lol!!)  It was indeed time to retire.... Birthday complete?!?? Not yet, we were then off to a lovely weekend to Universal Studios!! We stayed at Lowes Portofino Bay Hotel ( magnifico!!)

 

lunched at Moe's in the new Simpsons Area, dined at Bubba Gump's (think Forrest Gump), then caught a late night showing of the Conjuring!!! (Very scary!!!!)

after a Moscato nightcap and a rickshaw ride back to our Villa we were indeed off to (a much needed) dreamland!! TTYL ❤

Birthday season continues!

Hi all! Wow, we sure have been busy bees around here! Is it just me or does this summer seem to be flying right by?!?

 

We left for vacation after Connors bday and enjoyed two weeks of fun, fun, fun!! We road tripped to Pittsburgh Pa. where we settled in for a few days to take in the fab area. First we went to Idlewild Park -an awesome amusement park with such unique vintage classics as the Rolo Coaster and Mr. Rogers neighborhood trolley ride!!! Sooooo... Cool!!

 

Next stop Conneaut lake park to ride the very vintage Blue Streak,

 

after that experience we ventured to The Melting Pot for an incredible dinner!!! Trust me you have to try the s'mores fondue for dessert ... OMG!!! Heavenly❤

 

As a finishing touch to a perfect day we ventured to the Incline, beautiful breathtaking views of a fab city!!

 

No stop in Pittsburgh is complete for us without a jaunt to the National Aviary to visit a few of our feathered friends

 

then off to visit our hometown in beautiful Northeast Pa. where we visited with Chris's bestfriend of 40 years over scrumptious wings, of course we stopped at my sisters to vist Bro-in-law Len, Sis Kim, our nephew little Len, & we missed our niece Tiffany as she is a busy teenager out for a sleepover with friends❤ After catching up & shooting off fireworks ( we "rocked it hard",as our adorb nephew phrased it!!! Lol!!) we grabbed my fav pizza in the world and headed to Philly. Last year we took in Independence hall & the Liberty Bell so we decided to surprise Connor with a visit to Battleship New Jersey this year... He flipped!!!! Brittany,Daddy,& I dutifully kept pace behind a very excited nine year old who "had to" investigate every inch of the ship!

 

We jumped back in the car and headed to the Jersey Shore, our fav summer spot!! Lunch at the Wharf on the water,

 

stop at Acme for yummys, head to our fav home away from home,settle in, then beach, pool, cookout, repeat!!!!

 

We spent time shopping in Cape May, riding the rides on the Boardwalk, fireworks on the beach for the fourth,seeing WWE Smackdown live at the Convention Center, lounging in our private cabana at the water park on the pier, many rounds of minigolf, delicious dinners out including but not limited to (lol!!) The Bayview & Groff's, Ice cream at Seashells, simply put...enjoying all the Jersey Shore has to offer & relishing time spent on our family traditions. My bday was up next which we celebrated with a fab steak dinner outing & an awesome Lilly Pulitzer haul❤❤❤ Upon returning home Brittany & I were invited to a super fun Baby Shower for Brit's adorb friends Anna & Richard to help celebrate the approaching arrival of their Daughter Anastasia❤

Anna's mom put on the shower and it was fabulous!! So many cute games, delicious foods, great people, and beautiful gifts for baby❤❤❤ Next up is Brittany's bday so I'll have to excuse myself in order to prepare!! TTYL❤

Birthday Season Begins!!

We have many celebrations during the summer months, my sister Kim had her birthday June 19 in Pa. & my Mother, sister,our other sister  & I got to celebrate with her this year!! We have not all been together in Pa. in 10+ years!! Next on the birthday trail was Connors!!! He turned 9 (where do the years go???) on June 22, we celebrated at Fun Depot with a dozen of his closest "dudes" 

After pizza and birthday cake the dudes couldn't wait to attack the laser tag, go carts, bowling, & of course video games!!!

5 hours later!! We finally got all of the happy (sweaty!) dudes to decide that no one could continue on without collapsing!! Lol!! Next on the birthday trail is Independence Day (Americas "birth" of independence) which we will be celebrating on summer vacation!!!!! Woot woot can't wait!!!!!

Here's wishing everyone a truly FAB Fourth of July!!!! TTYL <3