After a scoot to Florida last year with the whole Thomas fam, we happily returned to Jekyll Island for this year’s spring break. While I love the idea of doing different things for our spring breaks, and I hope we will in the future, Jekyll sure is hard to beat in this season of life: relatively inexpensive, a quick road trip away, and warm, beautiful, historic, and bike-able – among other pluses.
Even as we returned to a familiar location, we managed to sneak in some novelty along the way. I’d love to tell you about it and share a few photos, if you’d like to see!
The first big change for this visit was where we stayed. On our last two visits, we chose to stay at the Jekyll Ocean Club – and loved it both times! The suite set-up is perfect for families, and it’s a dream to be steps away from the beach and right upstairs from the in-house restaurant.
This year, we opted to stay at the Jekyll Island Club, the Ocean Club’s sister property. Located about a mile away on the marsh side of the island, it’s a beautiful historic property built in 1888. The Island Club is a little more grand and formal in feel (there’s a croquet course on the front lawn!), but friendly to families, too. When we saw that staying in the turret room (!) was only about $100 more per night, our decision to switch properties was made.
For us, it was more than worth it. The kids loved winding up and down the circular staircase, sketchbooks and markers and stuffies tucked under their arms, while John and I sat on the lower balcony, Spanish moss under our feet and the beautiful marsh view just beyond.
The second big change was that we traveled with friends! Not in a formal way – it was more akin to a happy accident – but dear friends from home overlapped with us for most of our stay and so we got to enjoy Jekyll in a new way, side-by-side. While they were staying at the Ocean Club, we met up for dinner twice, for a late afternoon on the beach, pool time, a bike ride out to Driftwood Beach, and more.
Our kids loved playing together and it was a delight to get to enjoy each other’s company while they did so. Aside from camping, this was the first time we’d ever really vacationed with friends. Although I’d consider this the most-casual version of “vacationing with friends” (we didn’t stay at the same place, share all meals, or match up our itinerary from the start), it still had the thrill of something new. Not all good friends are good friends to vacation with, but these ones certainly are!
In the midst of those two changes, we enjoyed many of the same things that keep us coming back to Jekyll. On the first night, eager to stretch our legs, we walked to dinner at Red Bug Motors Pizza. It’s a tiny spot with average food, but the walk along the golf course was lovely and the playground right next door was fun while we waited for our order.
The next morning we rented bikes from Jekyll Wheels to complete our fleet for our stay (we’d brought my bike and June’s bike from home, and rented a bike for Shep and a bike with bike seat for John and Annie). We then biked to breakfast at 80 Ocean, which is at the Ocean Club – their waffles are legendary with our kids and always their favorite meal of the trip :)
Then, we biked out to Driftwood Beach, a 10-mile loop. It still shocks me that our kids’ little legs can do it, but the bike path is almost extremely flat, so that helps. We brought lunch from The Pantry, and John and I sat on a blanket and chatted for over an hour while the big kids explored down the beach and Annie puttered around in the tide pools, perfectly content in her own toddler world.
After a gray morning, the sun popped out and lit up a brilliant blue sky when we arrived back at the Island Club mid-afternoon. The kids were desperate to get in the pool, so we did that before cleaning up for dinner at The Wharf, the restaurant steps away from the Island Club.
The next morning was also gray, so after biking to 80 Ocean for breakfast (more waffles!), we drove out to Horton Pond to see if we could see any gators. The skies opened up while we were pulling in, but we dodged the raindrops to get to the observation platform and spotted a few despite the rain. We were stranded with a kind couple from Ohio who had been vacationing in Jekyll for 18 years – it was fun to chat!
From there, we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (more about that here), had lunch at The Pantry, and then met up with our friends for a gray late-afternoon exploring tide pools at the beach.
We then hustled to our rooms to change before zipping back to the Ocean Club for dinner. The kids were beyond thrilled to be seated at the kitchen bar, where they had a front-row seat to the wood-fired oven and pizza-making station. Very fun and memorable.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Island Club restaurant’s buffet. It’s fun to eat in the formal dining room, but I might skip it next time – hard to compete with those waffles, ha. We spent some time exploring the grounds and cottages before meeting up with our friends for another bike ride out to Driftwood Beach (!). I don’t think our kids would have agreed to 10-mile rides on back-to-back days, but the lure of riding with friends and playing together at the beach was overpowering.
Afterwards, we briefly swam at the Ocean Club pool before hustling back to the Island Club with a thunderstorm at our backs. We met back up with our friends at Driftwood Bistro for a last dinner together of simple, classic, yummy Southern favorites before one more night in the turret and one more breakfast of waffles before heading back to North Carolina the next morning.
Each day with these people is precious. I’m so grateful we got to return to Jekyll this year, and to add another layer onto our spring break memories. Thanks for letting me share a peek, friends!
Generally, I prefer to look forward. I love to dream and imagine the future, and we’re lucky to have reason to hope for good things ahead.
Looking back can be harder. It’s a reminder of the good things that have happened, yes, but an inevitable reminder of the passing of time, too – and, depending on my mood, that can be fraught. (I know I’m not alone in this!)
Still: looking back in intentional ways has helped me to take what I can from each year, to appreciate what it had to offer, to learn what it had to give, to acknowledge the hard and appreciate the good. Our lives are what we give our attention to, and these posts are my way of giving a little attention to the year of my life I just lived. Thank you, as always, for indulging me!
As always, our year started by celebrating our best big girl turning another year older – this time with a birthday hike on the big day and a petite pottery painting party a few days later. We said goodbye to the CWM commercial office space and I headed to the beach for a weekend with the Articles Club gals. On the blog, I shared my reading list, my goals, and – for the first time – our family goals for the year.
There were more celebrations in February! In lieu of 2022 Christmas gifts, my sisters and I (and husbands) chose to go out to dinner together – not so easy since we don’t live in the same place! – and we were able to make it happen at Kindred over Presidents Day. We also stuffed our Valentine’s mailbox, went to see the Duke basketball team play and Riverdance tour for my birthday (reflections here), finished the first Harry Potter, and started composting (a long-awaited splurge).
We spent lots of time outdoors in March, including on the field and sidelines for another soccer season for June and Shep. I chaperoned my first elementary school field trip (a dream come true, as silly as it sounds!), we replaced our roof after hail damage, and we kicked off our spring break trip with 20 hours in Serenbe, a nostalgic treat from my SW days.
In April, we reached our spring break destination – a return to Watercolor, Florida, to celebrate John’s parents’ 50th anniversary with the whole family! This is where we discovered Annie is obsessed with belly flopping into pools, ha. We celebrated Easter in Greenville, SC on our road trip back (complete with an ER visit after having to administer the epipen.) We took another little weekend trip to Asheville, where we met up with my younger sister to celebrate her paying off her student loans, and I traveled to Texas for work. Whew!! In between trips, we picked strawberries and June had her first piano recital.
With school out for the summer, June swam on our neighborhood team for the first time (and greatly enjoyed learning group dances on the pool deck), the kids played street soccer almost daily with neighbors, and June and Shep camped in the backyard solo. I hosted another book swap, biked the American Tobacco Trail with a dear friend (44 miles!), and we took one of our favorite trips of the year to Beaufort, NC before heading north to spend a week with my parents, sister, and cousins in Connecticut.
We began the month of July in Maine at our island and concluded it with Shep blowing out the candles at home on his fifth birthday. In between, we had a stopover in DC on our road trip south, an insane rash from moths (!), many evenings at the pool, and a joint birthday party with Shep’s best friend at a local park. On the blog, I shared a few takeaways from Habits of the Household, my favorite nonfiction read of the year.
In August, we welcomed two of our nieces and nephews for a week of cousin camp, highlighted by the debut of the Best Friends Snack Shack, hikes, and our nephew learning to ride a bike! We discussed the Barbie movie with an all-pink Articles Club, stayed with John’s parents for a week at their new home in Virginia (so much closer to us!), and kicked off another season of soccer at a field we can walk to. And then school started – second grade for June and a final year of preschool for Shep!
September saw the advent of Team Thomas Tuesdays, a dream many years in the making. It’s been (mostly) a delight! We also organized our garage – a sore spot in our home that had been dogging us for years – with some professional help. In honor of our 11th wedding anniversary, John and I had a special date night to see Wicked and took a quick weekend trip to Charleston (not without its relationship lessons). We led a book study at church onThe Common Rule and I started volunteering weekly in June’s classroom to run a reading group.
We had another favorite trip in October – to Boone, NC – as well as a memorable gathering for the 8th anniversary of Articles Club, a visit to the state fair, our annual camping trip with the Rays, and a chocolate chip cookie tasting party. Sadly, John’s back pain flared up again and he continued to battle it for the rest of the year.
In November, we met up with cousins for a coooold day at the zoo, I biked the ATT one more time, we had friends over for what we hope will be many more Sunday pizza hangs in 2024 (more about that soon!), and we celebrated Thanksgiving in the Florida Keys with my family in honor of my parents’ 40th anniversary. (Annie’s first flight!)
December felt full, slow, and all about community. We fit in lots of beloved Christmas traditions – many with friends or family in tow – but worked hard to keep plenty of white space for playing, baking, and reading books at home, too. Shep started the very lowest-key basketball, a new delight of his life, and at the end of the month, we hosted my family for a few days of Christmas fun and then flew to California to be hosted alongside all of John’s family at his sister’s home for even more.
For us, each year in the life of our young family is a delicate balance – between travel and staying home, between “new” and “the same,” between pushing and choosing rest, between work and play, between freedom and control. We do not get it right all the time, not by a long shot – but we try. We think deeply about it, and pray for wisdom, and act carefully, and adjust as we go. It’s both rewarding and overwhelming to see a year in our life summed up like this, but as always, I’m choosing gratitude. It’s not hard, and for that I am, well, grateful.
Friends, I know I’ve said it before, but I am SO excited for what we’ll discuss here (and elsewhere) in 2024. Thank you for being here, and for sharing so generously with me! It’s one of the delights of my life. Wishing you a healthy, happy, and abundant new year. My 2024 goals are just about ready to share, so I’ll see you soon! :)
Invariably, the words I write at the top of my PowerSheets each month are some variation on “This time is yours to enjoy.”
This, apparently, is the reminder I need month after month – not a reminder to work harder or do more, but a gentle (yet insistent) remix of my grandmother’s “I just tried to enjoy them.” In the swirl of work, and distractions, and travel, and daily responsibilities, and evenings, and mornings, and after-school afternoons, it is the call that most resonates with me: to look around. To notice. To delight. To enjoy the imperfect abundance all around me, and to reflect gratitude to the One from whom all blessings flow.
I am extending that offering to you this month, too.
On my calendar: — Trick or treating in a family Halloween costume once again, though this year’s theme is child-directed and looks to be less creative than past years… — Our annual fall mountains trip! We are headed to Boone. Very excited by our lineup of hikes and restaurants and also by the fact that it will be in the 30’s when we wake up some days (!). — Two back-to-back camping trips – one with our small group from church and the other, our rescheduled outing with the Rays due to torrential downpour.
What I’m loving right now: — 2024 PowerSheets are available now! I went with the Jade cover and it is even more beautiful in person. Join me! :) — These little penguin ice packs are perfect for sliding into lunchboxes or anywhere you need something slim! — Poor Bishop Hooper is a new-to-me duos that sets the Psalms to music. I think this playlist is the perfect background for cooking or tidying up the house in the evening.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
New segment alert! I thought it could be fun to highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Maybe this will help you find something you’ll love!
What I read in September: — The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue | June and I continue our parallel reading of this series :) Just the sweetest! — The Common Rule | A friend and I are leading a book study of this at church, so I’m re-reading it one chapter a time. It’s been great, and I’m experimenting much more with the habits than I did when I read it on my own! — Golden Son | The middle book in the Red Rising trilogy, which I’m re-reading after a few years. Though my YA author friend calls this the best dystopian fiction he’s ever read (and I can see why), I also remember why I never went on to read the third book last time: the ending is crushing. Going to push through and complete the trilogy this time, though!
My reading list for 2023!I’m still 19 / 24 so far for the year, but I feel confident I’ll complete the list over the next three months! :)
Revisiting my September goals: Work out 3 hours each week (I did not quite hit this, but I made lots of progress! I also need to figure out a better way to track this… going to experiment with using my monthly planner in the month ahead.) Tackle the garage (YES! Major win!See a little reflection on this project here.) Film Sheptember Make our 2015-2019 photo album (Progress! I laid out 2015…) Write and design the Articles Club guide (Moving to October!) Book a fall family photo session (Booked + completed!) Share the first half of the new blog series (Yes! Thank you for all your kind, thoughtful participation here – it’s been a joy!)
October goals: — Write and design the Articles Club guide — Edit Sheptember, Volume 5 — Host the chocolate chip party — Tackle Annie’s closet — Organize the gift storage (There’s a particular spot in our attic where I toss things throughout the year as I buy gift or stocking items on travels, at consignment sales, etc. It’s time to go through it so I know what I’m working with as December approaches!) — Send care packages to our college babysitters — Finish our 2015-2019 photo album — Execute an extra-special setting for the 8th anniversary of Articles Club
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2023 goals!
Last quarter of 2023, here we go! Feel free to comment on anything I’ve mentioned here or anything else on your mind!
While it would be a delight to completely finish each monthly goal, it’s not always possible. Some goals I don’t even touch, while for others, I make progress, but don’t quite close the loop. Such was the case with an item from my July goals: tackling the master closet. I wrote in my August goal update that John and I made great progress but weren’t quite done, and though I didn’t officially list it as an August goal, I’m thrilled to say that this month we went through every shoe, hanging item of clothing, shelf, and drawer in our closet and bedroom. We kept only what we love and made sure it all has a neat and organized home (with the help of two of these to corral our drawers). What a sense of accomplishment!!
One other thing to mention here at the top: behind the scenes, I am preparing a new series for September and October. In the last two years, we’ve tackled blogging and working part-time as a mom when the leaves start to change – it seems fall brings with it the energy to dive into some meatier topics! This next topic is one I feel passionately about discussing and also that I know needs to be addressed with great care – because when it is talked about online, it’s generally in the most tribal and discouraging way. As I’ve been prepping, I have been continually thankful that you trust me to lead conversations like this. I do not take it for granted.
Something fun: in this series you will be hearing not just from me, but from a few trusted, real-life friends, as well. For those who were around for the popular Marvelous Mama series of a few years back, I hope this gets you excited :)
Because it’s always interesting and helpful to see your guesses, feel free to take a stab in the comments as to what our fall topic is this year! I hope to publish the first post on Tuesday.
This is not a glamorous picture, but I snapped it because it’s an accurate representation of what my quick + potent planning session looks like every Sunday. PowerSheets with monthly calendar, weekly notepad, laptop, blog planning clipboard, lots of markers :)
On my calendar: — Our anniversary trip to Charleston! It will be much shorter and simpler than last year’s ten-year celebration in Mexico, but we are SO looking forward to it. — Our annual camping trip with the Rays! We are headed to a lakeside campsite in Virginia and they are bringing their boat! — The first day of fall! We’ll bake apple cider scones for our family and June’s teachers, a tradition we started seven years ago.
What I’m loving right now: — Grab your tissues – “At the Table” by Josh Garrels is a beautiful tearjerker that will get you right in the feels if you’re a parent. Hurts so good. — This podcast episode is basically the story of my life. Like everything from Morgan Housel, it packs a punch in an efficient package – here, in less than 15 minutes. — June requested more daffodils and tulips in our yard, so I ordered this mix of butterfly daffodils and this mix of tulips. I love that they ship at the right time for planting in your garden zone!
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
New segment alert! I thought it could be fun to highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Maybe this will help you find something you’ll love!
What I read in August: — As You Wish | Even though I would classify myself as just a fan (and not a super-fan) of The Princess Bride, this book was a delight! Written by the author who played Wesley, it includes tons of behind-the-scenes details from the making of the movie as well as commentary from the all-star cast. A fun summer read! — Raising Emotionally Strong Boys | I liked but did not love this book. While I adore David and Sissy, it didn’t feel like this book pulled out much more than they talk about in the RB&G podcast. — Red Rising | I first read this book in 2014, then again in 2017, but when my sister was reading it for the first time on vacation, I couldn’t resist pulling it back out. Described as a cross between The Hunger Games and Ender’s Game, it’s also wholly its own distinct world that will grip you from the start. — The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden | June and I continue our parallel reading of this series :) Just the sweetest!
My reading list for 2023!I’m 19 / 24 so far for the year, which is officially more than I’ve ever completed in one of these challenges!!
Revisiting my August goals: Make plans for our anniversary trip to Charleston (We sadly didn’t get a reservation for FIG, but are otherwise set.) Clean out the art basket and clean off the top of my white dresser (Done! Just in time to start accumulating with the new school year :)) Buy bins for each kids’ mementos and artwork and sort items from the current joint box into them (Done! More details here.) Tackle the pantry Edit June in June, Volume 8
September goals: — Work out 3 hours each week (I just listened to this podcast episode and feel motivated to experiment this month… we’ll see how it goes!) — Tackle the garage — Film Sheptember — Make our 2015-2019 photo album — Write and design the Articles Club guide — Book a fall family photo session — Share the first half of the new blog series
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2023 goals!
Happy almost-fall, friends! Feel free to comment on the new series topic or anything else on your mind!
