The Chinchilla Villa

That is the name of the place we rented on Tybee. If you like old houses and art, you would probably like this house. It was built in the 1800's and most of the structure is original (and leaning slightly). Some things have been updated, such as the indoor plumbing, but even that is very old. This is a picture of one of the bedrooms.

This was on the front door, which appears to be original to the house:

This is the dining area. The furniture looks to be circa 1940 or something like that. The fireplace didn't work, but if if did, it would serve both the dining area and living room. The air conditioner consisted of two window units that served their purpose well, considering the size of the house.

This is the kitchen. You can see the sink is very low and the counters are all wood. There is no dish washer. Isabella is stealing the bananas.

The front walk way leading to the porch was made of old bricks, with the company name monogramed onto each one.

This is the roof of the front porch. It was nice and big and had two ceiling fans which kept us cool.

This is the only bathroom. You could really feel the leaning of the house in this room. The clawfoot tub is really old, as well as the sink, but the water was hot and clean. I think the tile is original.

This is the living room. I don't know what the deal is with the giant lamp, but I like it. There was alot of art on the walls and several art magazines in here, which made me feel right at home. There was also a small flatscreen T.V. with cable and a dvd player and a pull out futon sofa.

This is the front bedroom. There was a window air conditioning unit in here. The other window faced the Bull River.

This is the bathroom sink. You can see the rust stains from years of use.

All in all, we enjoyed staying here. It was like stepping back in time, and forced us to live a little slower, which we were looking for. The price was right, too. We may stay here again someday. I wouldn't recommend it for small children younger than 3 because there were so many nooks and crannys with bug treatment tablets in them to keep away roaches (which I never saw, so I guess they work). We were literally in the woods here, right on the shore of the river. The kids loved it because of the swing and treehouse, too. Tony could step off the front porch and go fishing, so he liked it as well. I loved the view of the river and the slower pace out there.

Clowning around at the "Chicken Lake!"

Elena had another soccer game on Tuesday (they won 1-0)! After the game, we cruised over to Chick-fil-a for dinner. They had a clown there painting faces and making balloon animals. What a circus! It was fun, though. The girls had a good time. They love going to Chick-fil-e because of the indoor playground and yummy food. Elena always called it Chick-a-lay and Isabella calls it Chicken Lake! They had their faces painted like butterflies.

Panthers go 2 and 0!

That's right sports fans! The Purple Panthers have done it again with a 2-zip win over the green and yellow team! After weeks of rain and holiday delays, the girls are back out on the field again! They didn't miss a beat! What a great day for a game!

Elena played midfield, which requires ALOT of RUNNING! She was very tired and thirsty!
Gotta keep Izzy busy!

Awaiting instructions from the coach.

Going after the ball!

Wednesday wind down

We went to the Centennial Olympic Park on Wednesday for something called the Wednesday Wind-Down. It's basically a free outdoor concert and Tony's friend's band was playing (they were awesome!). We had a good time! The girls really enjoyed the fountain, so I have made plans to come back when it's warmer out so they can play in the water.

This was their first concert! I think they really liked it because they sat still and watched for an hour and a half! I think if it had been warmer, we would have stayed the whole time, but we couldn't take the cold anymore, so we left to get ice cream.....

They were totally into it!

This photo was not staged!

Of course Isabella has to make a silly face!

Tony's friend is on the drums.

Easter Egg Hunt

These are pictures from our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. It was a COLD damp morning! Elena and Isabella are wearing the dresses and cardigans I got from Old Navy. They ran around and got tons of eggs and had a good time in spite of the bad weather!

Hiking with the girls!

Spring break 2009! I took the week off to spend time with the kids and have fun in the....rain? SNOW??? It snowed on tuesday! I guess mother nature didn't get the memo that it's APRIL! That's why, when the weather finally warmed up on Wednesday (65 degrees), I decided to head up to Sawnee Mountain with the girls! I noticed online there were several trails to choose from, ranging from easy to difficult, but when I got there, there was only ONE trail! Later I realized that I parked at the WRONG entrance, so we got to hike the DIFFICULT trail! No problem! The weather is beautiful and the girls had TONS of energy....until about halfway into the hike! Isabella's "wegs" hurt, so I carried her all the way (a mile and a half!) back to the car on my shoulders! In spite of that fiasco, we had a great time! They are already asking to go hiking again, or as Isabella says, "go hiper!" I really enjoyed the trails at Sawnee Mountain because you really feel like you are out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and mountains...then another family just like yours passes you with a smile and a wave!

We found several trees that were hollow inside. The girls took turns sticking their heads in this one and shouting "hellooooo!"

Taking a break with their hiking sticks.

They decided to do a little rock climbing....Isabella went around it instead....

Posing in all their triumphant cuteness...

Underneath a lean-to we found.

At the beginning of the trail.

At the treehouse.

Early Easter

Elena and Isabella received early Easter baskets and just COULD NOT wait until next Sunday to open them, so naturally, I caved! (What can I say? Have you been a victim of big, brown puppy dog eyes?) Also, I wanted an excuse to take pictures of Isabella in her new spring outfit I bought for her with a cute matching headband! Enjoy!

"Awwww! Look at the cute little peep!
"Yay! a chocolate bunny!"

"OMG!!! Elena wanted these cute purses from Steinmart sooooo bad!"

Seriously, she really loves them!

Notice the big brown eyes! How can I say no to THAT! (I am weak!)

The new me?

A few weeks ago, I went to my usual place to have my hair cut and noticed they were offering 20% off for highlights for the month of march. I have never really colored my hair (twice, I think), so I thought this would be a much needed change to get ready for spring and inspire me to work harder to lose the weight I put on over this last year. Don't ask how much weight or even how this relates to weight loss (it doesn't). I decided to go ahead and have it done and--sure enough, I have lost a couple of pounds since then! I don't really know why changing my hair color even slightly has inspired me to exercise more, but you can bet that I will do it again!

The camera doesn't really pick up on all of the highlights in this side view.

Look ma! No more grey!

And finally, me in my new "throw and go" shirt. The necklace was my valentine's gift!

Panthers win!!! 1-0

Elena defends the goal!
Another great play!

Halftime snack

Fight for the ball!

Elena, number 11!

She was so happy, she was jumping up and down!

How cute is Elena in her purple uniform?!!

What a beautiful day for a game! Elena played in her first soccer game today and her team won! She was great! At first, she wasn't quite sure what to do, but by the second half, she was kicking that ball halfway across the field! She played a defender and really did a great job and had alot of fun, too! Everytime I looked at her, she had a great big smile on her face!