Callaway-Away!

Girls' trip!

The last couple days, the girls and grandmas (and me) have been enjoying a stay at Callaway Gardens! Hopefully we can make this girls trip a tradition!

We arrived on Monday around lunchtime. Now, I will say this. The check-in process at Callaway leaves much to be desired. After waiting around in line, corralling two kids full of energy after the car trip down, just to be told our cabin wouldn't be ready for another four hours, if that... But it was only up from there. We had lunch in a cafe and fed the extremely excited turtles at the Discovery Center.

So. Many. Turtles!

Then we headed to the "beach" to watch the FSU circus performance. Fun fact: my high school friend Tiffani performed with the FSU circus while she was in school there! I believe her act was the Spanish Web (top of the photo collage). The only downside? It was so hot! I can't believe the acrobats didn't slip off the ropes or drop their juggling sticks! I was sitting in the shade couldn't stop sweating!

The Big Top!

I guess I should have prepped Violet more about the circus. In her mind, circus equals clowns, elephants, all that Ringling Bros jazz. She kept asking where the animals were. And she seemed more than a little nervous by the trapeze acts way up there at the top of the tent. I did capture a picture to prove she enjoyed it, however.

Pretty impressed, elephants or no.

Finally our cabin was ready. We unpacked and ordered a pizza dinner, delivered to the pool. It was a great first day!

After sleeping in, we got ready for the beach. We were one of the first families to arrive and loved having the place to ourselves. Although it never really got that crowded at all. Everyone had fun swimming and we stayed through lunch, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, having a great time.

See those four heads to the left? That's us!

Big chir!

Checkmate!

Playing an intense game of library with Mimi.

Later that afternoon, we visited the butterfly house. It was very pretty, such a calm space, full of falling water and fluttering butterflies. There was even a big glass case where you could watch them hatching out of their cocoons. Very cool!

Butterfly House.

 After dinner (during which a woman stopped by to tell us how sweet and entertaining the girls were... this as Violet laid on the bench talking to herself and I held Annie's bowl of mac and cheese with one hand and ate my salad with the other hand while keeping all the spillables, breakables and cutting utensils out of her reach - good times!) we stopped for ice cream at the little shop right near our cabin.

The next morning we had time for another quick trip to the pool before we had to pack up and head back home. I bet Matt missed us! (Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!)

Let's do it again next year!