Cheers to the Week, Hello December Edition

I decided to forego my typical Friday CHEERS post last week since that was the day of our 4 months post-Gotcha Day update; so, I am starting out this week by saying CHEERS to a few things I didn't get to share last week:  

Amelia Island. One thing I am most definitely cheers-ing today is that my hub and I got to sneak away, down to Amelia Island in Florida, along with 17 other couples from our neighborhood for a super duper fun weekend! The trip was planned back in the summer, and at that time, we were a "maybe," given that we didn't know how well Bella would be doing by this point. Eventually, we crossed our fingers, paid for our trip, and hoped for the best. And we're so glad we did! Bella, and her three big sibs, had a GREAT weekend with their Nana and Pop, who so very kindly took care of the kiddos from bright and early Friday morning until last night.
 

We boarded a big bus at 8:30 am sharp Friday morning, and away we went! The bus ride down was a BLAST! Lunch and bevs, music and dancing, and plenty of time to catch up with our friends, sans kiddo interruptions. It was great! (Note: I won't share *all* the photos from the trip because some just shouldn't be made public :), BUT I have included a few of my favorites)

 

A quick pit stop en route...

 

If only I could share the pics/videos from this ride... :0 :)

 

We arrived to the beautiful Ritz and quickly freshened up before meeting for happy hour. One thing that I loved was all of the beautiful Christmas decor around the hotel, both inside and outside. Not only that, there were frequently live musicians playing Christmas music in the bars and restaurants, and Christmas music playing softly throughout the hotel. Just lovely!

 

View from our room

Photo cred to my friend, Julie. <3

A boat, made entirely of gingerbread, in the lobby

Happy Hour bunch!

Anywho, after Happy Hour, we all got all fancied up and went to dinner at this amazing restauarant, Salt, that was in the hotel. We were divided up with six couples per table (by random draw), and it was so fun and SO delicious. I’ll be dreaming about that meal for years.

On Saturday morning, I was able to sneak in a quick run on the beach before heading to one of the hotel conference rooms with the rest of the girls, where we had our “My Favorite Things” party. We do this party each year, it’s just that this year, we were able to do it at Amelia. This is one of my favorite parties of the year, and I left with five awesome gifts (more on that in a future post). 

That afternoon, everyone went their separate ways for various fun activities - some hit the spa, some played golf, some fished, some hit the beach, and some (me and eight other friends!) went into (the most adorable!) town for some shopping and lunch! 

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel. I freshened up, changed into my Clemson orange, and headed to the hotel bar for the rest of the day to first, support our Auburn fans as their team played (womp woooomp), and then to cheer on our Tigers and watch as they became ACC Champs. Yahoo! 

Sunday morning, my hub and I grabbed a quick but yummy breakfast and walked on the beach before loading back up for the (much quieter, less rambunctious) ;) ride home, during which I was writing all of this. Amelia Island, thank you for the wonderful memories with wonderful friends!!

Nana and Pop. The only reason we were able to sneak away for the weekend was because our awesome Nana an Pop took care of our Lu Crew  over the weekend! This was our first time leaving Bella overnight and....she did GREAT! She did so, so well, and we were so, so proud (and so, so thankful!). Aside from Banks’ first basketball game on Saturday, they were able to just hang out and have fun!

Goldy. Our beloved Elf on the Shelf, Gold E. Locks (aka Goldy) made his return on December 1st, as he always done! And as I've done in years past, I will be sharing each of his daily antics in a post at the end of the month. If you are looking for elf ideas before then, #ittakesavillage, pop over to my Instagram feed and you'll see the ideas I post each day. :) 

Antibiotics. I am saying cheers to antibiotics because they helped Harrison feel so much better, so very quickly, after he came down with strep last Tuesday. And then, they quickly cured Banks and Raleigh after they, too, came down with strep the following day.  I am also thankful for the Lysol and Clorox blanket my hub covered our house in to try and protect the rest of us from the sickness. We also called a 911 to our cleaning lady. She usually comes once a month but I asked if she could come for an emergency sanitization cleaning session to rid our house of any pesky germs before Nana and Pop arrived. She's the best! 

Clemson. Those who aren’t Clemson fans may not understand how amazing the last few years of football have been for us. For as long as I can remember, like back to the early 80s, we have always been a middle-of-the-road kind of team, some years better than others, many years, worse, but never, ever great. But then, Dabo Swinney became our coach and brought with him his strong faith and compassionate heart, which have been amazing to witness. He always gives the glory to God. Anywho, after Saturday’s win, we are now ranked #1 and headed back to the college football playoffs for the third time in as many years. This is so big for those of us who bleedeth orange. I spent my college years cheering loud and proud on the football sidelines as a Rally Cat, and yet, our time just didn't come. Until recently. After a loooong drought, we've finally had some really fun years of success. So, while some are tired of hearing about Clemson over the last few years, we are thankful for the ride we have been able to finally enjoy after years of football mediocrity, especially given the strong faith our coach and players display - it is such an amazing forum they've been able to use to share their faith. So, with that being said, I now say: GO TIGERS! I'll unabashedly enjoy every moment of this ride while it lasts. Next up: Let’s take down Bama, again, on January 1st, 2018, as the #1 seed in the CFB playoffs. The Clemson faithful are ready!

And that’s all I’ve got! I hope December is treating everyone well so far! Be back soon with some seasonal fun. :)