Annie Sloan Chalkpaint

As you can bet, our spring break was so full and so fun!  Upon returning from Georgia, we got busy with some projects around the house.  Currently, we are moving Carter into his own room, so he and Summer no longer have to share.  And, we are doing some redecorating in Tilly and Story's room, so they don't feel left out!  

My girls (like most in America these days) are obsessed with all things Frozen.  They wanted a "Frozen" room, so we got to work doing just that.  We began by painting this dresser.  

I have been reading, pinning and reasearching lots about Annie Sloan chalkpaint, so I knew this was the route I wanted to go for painting our furniture.  I picked out the color, Provence.  Annie Sloan chalkpaint is kind of pricey, so we went up to Home Depot to see if we could make our own.  You definitely can!  

Here it is, all chalkpainted and finished!  

And, once we finished the first piece, I couldn't wait to get started on the second piece.  Who knew painting could be so therapeutic?  I'm addicted.  

These are nightstands in Summer's new room.  I chose the Annie Sloan color "Old White" for these.  

And here they are! 

Chickens!

David and the children have been quite smitten with the old yard bird for some time.  They have been wearing me down, too!  

While we were "home" for spring break, Cousin Keri showed us her chickens, and the children just squealed with delight!  

Needless to say, there was only one thing to be done.  

Get some of our own, of course!  And that's just what we did once we got home to Hattiesburg from Georgia.  While we were in Statesboro, David and the children found a chicken coup for a really great price at a tracker supply store.  

May I introduce you to Darth Vadar, Maddie (of Liv & Maddie), Doc McStuffins, and Sheriff Callie! 

I feel the need to share that Miss Maddie did not go into her pen willingly and for an hour the six of us, plus Carter's friend, Peyton, chased her all over our yard and our neighbors' yards!  It was a hoot!  She finally gave up, and we were able to capture her.  To this day, whenever David goes out to the coup, she runs and hides from him! 

We've acquired right at 3 dozen eggs already, and the children are loving them.  Carter's assessment of how they taste:  They are sweeter and more delicious!  The yolks are much richer, and they truly do taste better.  Can't beat farm fresh eggs right from your backyard!

Savannah for Spring Break

 On Monday of our spring break trip to Mama's, we drove to Savannah for the day.  I'm confident Carter and maybe Summer had been to Savannah before, but Tilly and Story have not ever been, and I wanted to remedy that!  Savannah is one of my most favorite places in the whole wide world.  

The very first thing we did was to drive over the Talmadge Bridge, which takes you over to Georgia into South Carolina.  I knew we couldn't be this close and not do it!  

Here we are driving over the great bridge! 

 Hello, South Carolina! 

Savannah hosts one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades in the world, and they were already getting ready for the big day when we visited.  My children could not get over the green fountain!  

So.  Much.  Fun.  

I love these four to pieces.  They were such champs on our trip!  I loved showing all of my favorite things about Savannah.  

I remember when I was little, I loved to see the Georgia Queen.  

These four had so much fun playing on this little boat.  I love watching them pretend and play together, not much better! 

They were happy to let me take their picture as often as I wanted to, and I love how they always put themselves in order, ha! 

And this guy.  He was so precious to drive us over to Georgia for our spring break, knowing that he would be completely disconnected for the week.  Mama doesn't quite get the whole wi-fi thing ;) 

We ate at one of my very favorite Savannah restaurants for lunch, Spanky's.  There are several locations in Savannah.  When we were little, we ate at the one over by the mall almost every time we were in town.  

The menu is the exact same as it was when I was little, not that I needed one.  I only order one thing when I go to Spanky's, chicken fingers with spuds!  So yum!

After lunch, we made our way further down River Street to see the waving girl, Florence Martus.  When I was in 8th grade, I did my Georgia state project on Savannah, and my mom and I made a video of famous historical sites here.  There are so many to choose from.  Florence Martus made the video for sure! 

We also checked out the Olympic Torch.  In 1996, when the Olympics were held in Atlanta, the yachting events took place in Savannah.  

On the way to Savannah, I told the children that the best candy shop in the whole world was on River Street and that we would be sure to stop in while we were there.  They loved it!  We still haven't finished off the salt water taffy from our trip.  

After we stocked up on sweets, we snuck in the back entrance to the Hyatt so that we could ride the glass  elevator inside.  This was something I loved to do as a kid.  I will have to say that the elevator seemed much bigger when I was little than it does now.  

When we left River Street, we drove over to Tybee Island.  My children have not been to the Atlantic Ocean before, and until I was in college this was the only ocean I had ever been to.  It sure has changed a lot over the years.  

The weather could not have been more perfect for our outing.  

David with the littles.  

And my turn.  

While we were on the pier, a group of fishermen caught a stingray! So cool!

And then, David treated the little ones to some ice cream.  What a fun daddy!

This guy.  He's way too good to us!

The ice cream was kind of a big hit, too.  

Wouldn't you say!  I adore this picture and the up-close view of his freckles!  Love!

From the beach, we drove down to the Tybee Island Lighthouse, hoping to climb it.  However, they paint the lighthouse every 10 years, and it just so happens that our visit fell on the 10 year mark, ha! 

The gift shop was open though, and I got a really great coffee mug to remind me of our travels.  

Another view.  So pretty.  

Carter and Summer wanted their picture in front of it.  

Upon leaving Tybee Island, we drove over to Fort Pulaski to walk around and learn some more about the history of this great city.  

As we were walking along the top part of the fort where the canons are fired, this great ship passed by. Carter yelled:  Look, Momma, it's a lego boat!  I can kind of see that! 

The four littles inside Fort Pulaski.  

Carter wanted his picture with the giant canon.  

And then Tilly, too!

The children on one of the giant oak trees Savannah is famous for.  

And that concludes the wonderful visit to Savannah portion of our Spring Break travels.  Next up, the newest member(s) of our family! 

#odellfamilyspringbreak2014

This was one of my most favorite spring breaks!  Ever!  

 Thanks to some teacher work days, the children and I were dismissed from school at lunchtime on Thursday, and we did not have to be back for 10 whole days!  Bliss! To celebrate the start of what promised to be an awesome break, the big 3 and I enjoyed lunch at one of our favorites.  

 Friday, we slept in!  Can you hear the hallelujah chorus? The children and I spent the day packing and cleaning and getting ready for our trip.  The older girls and I even squeezed in a quick workout during nap time! 

 Nothing like a good clean car to get ready for a long drive.  

 Friday night, David and I enjoyed a quick date night, such a treat!  

 And then Saturday morning, we hit the road! David's contact was giving him fits, so he had to take it out for a while, yikes!  

 The children took turns sleeping.  

 Just not all at the same time, ha!  Thankfully, we had an uneventful trip and made it to Mama's house safe and sound.  

 Sunday, we had a great visit with T.  The children are always so excited to see her.  

 And sad to see her go, ha! 

 Sunday and Tuesday afternoons, we spent the days playing in the sun and being with Mama and our cousin Keri.  

 These two. They staged it themselves and called me to take their picture.  So many tea parties have taken place on Mama's back porch! 

 Tilly spent some time scoping out her new American Girl catalogue from T.  She cannot wait until her birthday when she gets the real thing!  

 One of our favorite games in Georgia was racing around Mama's house.  The children ran and ran and ran.  

 One of our favorite things about our visit was getting to see this girl.  

 The girls could not get enough of Keri!  

 Please excuse the large number of pictures, 

 But there were just too many cute ones that I could not decide!

Can you see where Story gets her cute dimple from?  

 Love these two faces!

 Tuesday afternoon, we took Keri home, and the children were ecstatic to see all of their chickens.  You can only guess what happens next. . . I'll save that for a separate post, too.  

 The children were completely smitten.  

 We love love loved our time with Mama.  Tuesday morning, David took care of the children, so that Mama and I could have some girl time, such a treat and so special.  First, we got a mani/pedi - she got the mani, I got the pedi.  Then, we ate lunch at her favorite place, Ocean Galley.  After lunch, we took her car to get it washed because the pollen, oh my stars, the pollen!  Then, we headed home!  Thanks, David, for the precious gift of time alone with Mama.  Sadly, our time at home just flew by way too fast.  That always seems to happen.  The children genuinely enjoyed their time at Mama's and were so sad to leave.  Me, too!  

 Since we've lived in Hattiesburg, I have made several trips to Mama's with Story and even once with Tilly.  Every time I come home, I would tell David about this peach orchard that I always wanted to stop at but never made the time.  Well, on the way back home to Mississippi, we stopped!  And it was wonderful!  We cracked pecans.  

 We bought peach ice cream.  

 And we ate until our little hearts were content.  

So long, Georgia.  You were real good to us.  We hope to be seeing you sometime again real soon.  And David, thanks for making this trip so incredibly special and perfect.  You are my most favorite!  Ever!