Fourth of July Fun!

This year we had planned to be gone for the 4th as we usually are, but decided the week before that we would stay here. We have several trips coming up so we thought one more week at home would be nice. And this was the perfect 4th to be in Nashville!!! The high was only 80 and that night it was 70. Never have I had on a sweater for fireworks on the 4th in Nashville. What a treat!!

Carrie did the tennis games carnival in the morning and when that ended, we all went to the pool to swim and eat lunch. Then everyone (all 4 of us!) took late naps to get ready for a big night.

When everyone woke up, we got all festive and headed to the BMCC carnival.





It was so fun. They had bounce houses, slides, cotton candy and sno cones. The kids had a blast.








Then we had a big yummy dinner there!


After dinner we got all set up on the golf course to watch fireworks. I think the hour we were waiting for them to start was more fun for the girls than anything else! They ran around with glow sticks pretending they were fireflies for an hour! They loved it and it was the perfect night for it.

This was the first year both girls have stayed up for the fireworks so that was a huge treat for them.








It was such a fun Fourth with family and friends and I am so thankful we stayed in Nashville for it this year!!

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Ballet Recital!

Carrie had her ballet recital Easter weekend this year. She did a ballet and a jazz routine. It was really cute and fun to watch. I feel like there was so much change between their performance last year and their one this year! They seemed to really follow along well and have fun doing it! They did not just look totally confused :). So here are some pics! We have the actual dances on video, but we are probably the only ones who would want to see it ;).

Ballerina ready to go!

Jazz outfit...lovely isn't it? ;)

With her friends Lucy and Mary Windham.

Big group from her class. They had a large class this year with a lot of Carrie's friends in it which made it more fun!

Friends since birth!!! Love these girls.

There's my girl!!

Love that girl.

Carrie with Dad and E after her recital!

The recital was the day before Easter so we had a lot going on that weekend! Here are some pics from Easter!

The Martin Twins birthday party was that afternoon after the recital so we got all ready and headed over for a fun Easter party!

The Easter Bunny came that night!

All ready for Church...actually got a family pic.

After Church we went over to Uncle Frank and Aunt Allison's like we do each year for lunch and a big egg hunt!

Ready to go!

The girls did some serious hunting!

Hayes with Big...so sweet.

It was a crazy weekend for sure, but lots of good memories!!

Next up, Noah's Ark play and our trip to the beach!!

For Spring Break, we went down to Ford Plantation. We hadn't been there in a long time as a family so it was great to be there. The first part of the week, the weather wasn't very good, but it got better at the end. We had such a good time just being away for a week and enjoying a change of scenery!

The first morning when we woke up, we went straight over to the Main House for breakfast. I never get tired of the view there.

Such a pretty morning.

 That day was cloudy, but warm so we got to spend the day outside playing and swimming and having our favorite time of day there...

Cookies and Cocktails! (Or cottontails as Carrie calls it)

Cookies and Cocktails is such a nice time to relax and let the girls just run around outside. They played all sorts of games and did some imagining. It was sweet time.

Hide & Seek!

The girls also helped daddy fish a lot!

Swinging...Hayes' favorite pass time.

More fishing and crabbing down at the marina.

Caught a crab...

And more Cookies and Cocktails! Happy girls.

C loved the idea of swinging together more than Hayes...think she was nervous she would fall!

Carrie had her first horseback riding lesson!! It was so cute. She just rode around and learned how to get in the saddle and how to sit and what commands to say. She really enjoyed it. Think we will do it again next time for sure!

How is she so big??

On our last night they had an Oyster Roast. That is my favorite event down there so I was so excited to end the trip that way.

(Hayes is saying "Cheeeeeese" even though it looks like she is yelling)

Dancing to the band with daddy.

And BA!

Then roasting marshmallows.

It was such a fun night! The girls had a blast. It was time to come home the next day as we were all tired from a fun week.

I think I need to do a "recap of winter" post and try to get caught up and blog a little more than I have been :)