But, back to February it was full of FUN - Valentine's Day, Mid-Winter Break with my boys, and a trip to St. Augustine for RA and I.
The boys enjoyed celebrating Valentine's Day at school and sharing their 2017 creations with their friends.
Star Wars valentines from RF and Finding Dory valentines from Ellis
We made special treats for their classmates, too --- Kiss, Kiss Fish for Ellis's friends and Valentine Trains for RF's friends...
I LOVE getting Valentine's arts and crafts from my boys...
A special heart from Ellis...
And a piece of footprint artwork from RF...
RA even gave me a card from the puppies...such sweet beagle eyes...
BEAGLE EARS :-)
I think Spring has sprung in GA - lots of daffodils popping up around the yard...
Running around in the park next to RA's office one afternoon...
The boys started collecting special things that they found for me...
She LOVES him...and she thinks that she is a lap dog...
The boys and I were lucky enough to have the same Mid-Winter Break this year, so after it started off kind of rough (flu diagnosis for RF), we tried to fill the remainder of the break with some fun.
Being a BIG BOY at the dentist...
Handled it like a champ...
This one was less than impressed --- "Get me out of here, mama."
A great experience at the dentist meant that a fun trip to the Delta Flight Museum was in order...
Exploring all of the cool airplane memorabilia...
Time to fly the model airplane...
"Don't worry mama. I got this."
Leaning in with the turn...
"Big, big propeller, mama!"
"This airplane is so small, mama. I'd like one like this at home."
I'm sure you would, buddy...
Taxiing to the runway to take off...
"Big, big, big airplane, mama!"
RF was more interested in driving the baggage cart than flying the plane...
"I want one of THOSE model airplanes, mama."
Heading inside the big, big, big airplane...
Taking a quick look at the cockpit...
Wandering through the cabin...
They decided to walk under the airplane to see if they could reach the bottom of it...
Ellis hugging the tail..
"That was an amazing museum, mama."
Building his own airport (on his train table...) at home that evening...
Later in the week, the boys and I headed to spend a few days at Nana's house before daddy came down (with the dogs) for he and I to go on a get-a-way to St. Augustine, FL for the weekend.
Fish pond loving boys...
Nana and Babu got new turtles at their house, so the boys enjoyed watching the tiny turtles and helping Nana build up the new turtle pond...
Redneck baby...t-shirt and underwear...
Helping Nana move some rocks...
Two redneck babies having the time of their lives with a water hose in the backyard...
Learning to scoot on the scooter...
Friday morning, mama headed out for a quick manicure before RA arrived in Perry with the dogs and we set out for our get-a-way to St. Augustine.
Victorian House Bed and Breakfast in the historic area of downtown St. Augustine...
We booked the Serenity room...and it was so relaxing...
Entry way and door to the bathroom...
Bathroom...
Claw-foot tub...I miss our claw-foot tub in the Mobile house...
Sitting area in the bedroom...
Bedroom...
Armoire...
Beautiful washstand...
We arrived just in time for wine hour...
Liquor, wine, and coffee for the guests...
Parlor...
Beautiful Victorian furniture...
Perfect for enjoying a glass of wine...
After wine hour, we decided to walk around for a bit before heading to dinner.
Spotted a hawk hanging out above the local convent...
Walking through St. George street we stopped to take a look at the oldest schoolhouse in the US...
City gates...
Castillo de San Marco...
We found a great seafood restaurant (O.C. Whites) along the water...it was nice to have REAL seafood after being landlocked...
Saturday morning coffee on the front porch of the B&B...
Dining room table set for breakfast --- yogurt parfait with fresh watermelon, triple berry french toast, bacon slices, and a bran muffin --- YUM!
Off on a Saturday morning walk through town...
Calmness before the streets come alive...
We set off on a walk to the post office (RA orders vintage post cards and stamps for when we travel and we mail them to the boys) past a local college and former resort hotel downtown...
We then jumped on the local Old Town Trolley to get a layout of the town and decide on our activities for the day.
The Old Senator --- live oak tree that is said to be 600+ years old...
Magnolia Ave. - one of the most photographed streets in America according to National Geographic...
A beautiful peacock on the property of the Fountain of Youth...
We decided to get off the trolley at Flagler College and wander around for a bit...
Dome inside the entrance to Flagler College...
We then walked across the street to the Lightener Museum - a museum of random antiquities...like a dinosaur egg (RF thought this was too cool)...
ROTA - an African lion presented to Winston Churchill...
Tons of crystal...
And buttons...
And art...
Cigar band art...
And porcelain...
We jumped back on the trolley and made a stop at the San Sebastian Winery for a little wine tasting...
Then, lunch at Carlmelo's Pizzeria...
An AMAZING veggie pizza...
Back on the trolley for a stop at the oldest house in the US...
Downstairs of the oldest house...
Upstairs of the oldest house...
View of the water from the porch of the oldest house...
Gardens of the oldest house...
View of the Bridge of Lions from the Castillo de San Marcos...
Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean...
Castillo de San Marcos...
Inside the fort...
A well guarded fort...
About to FIRE!
Beautiful blue skies above the fort...
Then, it was on to the Pirate Museum! RF thought this was the coolest thing...
We headed back to the B&B to rest for a while after a long day of sightseeing and walking through the city before heading out to dinner...
We chose Harry's (another seafood restaurant)...
The view from our table at dinner...
Beautiful flowers and a nice glass of wine...
Can we say LOVE? After dinner we headed back to the B&B and channel surfed for a little while. We don't have cable at home, so I had to stop and watch an episode of Fixer-Upper. :-)
After breakfast Sunday morning (yogurt parfait with fresh melon, southwestern fritata, country ham, and a honey biscuit), we wandered through downtown again.
Aviles Street...
Aviles Street - the oldest street in the US...
Early morning look across the Bridge of Lions...
Local cathedral...
St. George Street - a nice little shopping area (pedestrian only) that runs through a good portion of the downtown area...
Treasury Street...
Believed to be the narrowest street in the US...
Two lions are located at the entrance of the bridge on the St. Augustine side --- this is Firm...
And this is Faithful...
We wandered out to Anastasia Island and took a look at the St. Augustine Lighthouse...
Our last stop of the trip was to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum...
Crayon art...
Continuous line art...
Space shuttle made out of matchsticks...
Postal stamp art...
Close up of the postal stamps...
Space shuttle...
Made out of computer keyboards...
For my Star Wars loving dudes - an AT-AT walker made out of scraps...
And Star Wars characters carved in to crayons...
After the museum we headed out to pick up the boys in Perry and get home to Covington. We had such a great time and are thankful to have the opportunity to spend quality time together on our little get-a-ways. Now on to planning our next trip --- our TEN YEAR anniversary trip! We have blocked off ten whole days in June to travel up the east coast to Maine and back, with some pretty cool stops (cool for us history-loving nerds) along the way.
