St. Simon's Island

Friday (May 31) morning Erik and I took off from the Reagan airport for Jacksonville, FL. We were en route to St. Simon's Island, GA for Erik's cousin's wedding.  I was really excited to see all of Erik's siblings, his parents, and some of his extended family.

At the airport, I must admit I was pretty bored while waiting for our plane.  It's kind of hard to come down from being around lots of little people with something to do every second . . . however once I got used to it I was OK with it ;)  When we landed I took a picture of the map on the wall in the Jacksonville airport, because I thought my Jackson would appreciate a city named after him :)

After getting our rental car we made a huge Costco trip to get all of the food for everyone.  By the end, that Costco cart was so heavy!  I was pretty excited to eat something new in the Costco food court as well (Asian noodle salad verdict: eh . . .not that great)

It was kind of fun getting to the rental house first.  The beach house was absolutely gorgeous with room to spare!

After another run to a local grocery store, we were able to relax in a pretty beautiful setting.

The beach was amazing to see at low tide.  It almost seemed like the ocean didn't really start as far as the eye could see.

How much do I love this guy?  Um, a lot!

Back to the house for some pool time!

Everyone else arrived late that night.  The next morning after lazing around for awhile we took a little walk.

After walking around, I decided to go for a run.  It was so hot and muggy; I only ran like two miles.  However, jogging in a new place is always on my list of things I want to do, so I'm happy I at least got a small run in.

Pretty things to check out on the island.

I am in love with the trees down there with the lacy moss that hangs down.  That is definitely a deep south thing-- we don't have them in Virginia.

Erin, Janet, and Erik

All of the girls :)

After a nice lunch at a yummy restaurant, we all started to get ready for the wedding.  If waiting at an airport feels weird without kids, getting ready for an event without kids feels even weirder!  Weird, but nice.

All spiffy-ed up!

Robert, Janet, and their 6 kids.  Erik really grew up in an outstanding family!

Oh you better believe we have a million pictures that look almost identical taken this night! :)

The wedding was in such a picturesque spot.  The weather also seemed to know that is was time to cooperate-- it was perfect!

Trying to take pictures of the procession all stealth like :) I felt kind of dumb taking pictures with my phone during the wedding.

The reception was lovely as well.  I was pleasantly surprised that Erik actually danced with me during it.  He usually "joke dances" for a few minutes and then is done.  This time, I think he danced like 5 or 6 songs.  It must have been the practice we had at the Kenny Chesney concert :)

Jessica and Tyler are just an adorable couple!  It's fun to think back when I first met her when she came out for Kaitlin's wedding while Erik and I were engaged.

  

On Sunday, we went to a local ward and then had a nice beach walk.

Haha, not sure if our feet should ever be in a bare foot shot.

I have a friend Demere here in Winchester who was literally named after this street in St. Simons.  Her parents lived here long before they had her, and just fell in love with the place (it's pretty hard not to!)

Sunday afternoon, Erik's extended family came over to the beach house for a BBQ.  I guess I didn't take any pictures, but we all had a great time.  It seems that we get to see many of Erik's aunts and uncles at least once year-- one of the benefits of living back east!

That evening, we took another walk and as we were on the pier, a man announced that he caught a baby shark.  I think Kaitlin first said she wanted to hold it, but then kind of backed off. While she was deciding whether she wanted to or not, I stepped in asked if I could hold it :)  I knew my boys would be impressed with the pictures, and really, impressing my boys is a pretty high priority for me. :)

Yup that's shark blood on my hands!  I also got it on my dress, but it wasn't anything that a little oxyclean couldn't handle.

Monday morning, I went on another little run.  I almost stepped on this (I think it's some sort of dead jelly fish?)

Later that morning, we went to Aunt Suzy's and Uncle David's house (the bride's mother and father) for a brunch.  They have an absolutely gorgeous home that was fun to see.  After that, we got one last swim in the pool, and then picked up Erik's Aunt Diane and her husband Vincent (they had a flight around the same time as us) on our way back to Jacksonville airport.  It was fun visiting with them on the drive.

Our flight however, was rough!  There was so much turbulence that did not do any favors for my motion sickness issues!  I was happy to when we finally landed. 

Then again, I was also kind of sad to see an end to our amazing little vacation we had.  I'm so grateful to Erik's parents that made it all possible, and to my Mom for being willing to fly out and watch the kids for us.  I know that we will draw on the memories we made for many years to come!