A Quick Weekend Trip

I was lucky enough to be able to go back down to Charleston for a night this past weekend.  Mom, Dad, my sis, bro in-law and beautiful niece Olivia were all there, so Adam was nice enough to agree to watch the boys for a night so I could spend some time with my fam.  It was wonderful to be with everyone even if just for what felt like a few hours.  I don't get to see my sis and her fam often so it's a special treat when we do get to see each other.  My little niece Olivia is growing so fast and she couldn't be any cuter...of course I'm not prejudice at all!  ;)

When I got to town, I had a yummy lunch at The Variety Store with Mom and Dad.  

I can remember going there when I was a little girl.  

Such a cool place to watch the boats at the marina.

My dinner date Saturday night

Yet another attempt at a family photo... Olivia poses a lot better than the boys.

Sweet girl

Beach Week Recap

I look forward to our family beach week every year and this year was no different.  We just got back from a wonderful trip to Wild Dunes near Charleston, SC.  We are so fortunate we are able to take this trip every year.  What precious fun times! I like to document our trip with pics, so here they are... We had wonderful weather, so every day we were able to go out to and enjoy the beach and the pool.

 The boys loved playing with Grammy and Poppy

The boys were a little unsure of the water, but

they warmed up to it by the end of the week.

Chillin with Poppy

Apparently there were a lot of sharks swimming around our beach.  

2 were caught while we were there...comforting, right?!

Rocking my new Athleta swimsuit.  I absolutely love it!  

It's so comfy for chasing little ones around the beach and pool. 

We also did a little pool duty.  

The boys loved swimming with Daddy.

Checking out the boats on Shem Creek

Our attempts at a family photo.  

I'm giving up on getting a good one of everybody.  

It's impossible!

The paci's HAVE to go!  These boys are too attached!

I would welcome any advice on how to get rid of them.

Another attempt at a family photo

Adam and I were able to get a couple of date nights in...we headed downtown both times.

They have totally redone the Vendue Inn and the Rooftop Bar is awesome now!

I made a reservation a little over a month in advance so we could finally try Husk.  

I honestly was a little skeptical but it definitely lived up to all the hype...fabulous!

I got the SC Grouper and Adam got the Catfish and both were delicious!

Our second date night we ended up at Basil (surprise, surprise!) then we found an awesome ice cream place on King, Jeni's!  I hadn't had ice cream in forever so it was a special treat!

One of my fave things about vacay is the food!  

We ate out every night and I enjoyed some dang good seafood almost every night.

The boys wanted Poppy to read to them every night before bed.  Precious!

Before I end this post I have to mention our lifesaver for the week...

This wagon was perfect to haul all our stuff to the beach.  

It folds right up too so it doesn't take up too much space in the car.

As usual we were sad to leave and already can't wait for next year.

I haven't traveled around the world, but this little slice of heaven on Isle of Palms has to be one of the greatest places ever!

In the Gym...

Most of y'all know I'm a gym rat.  I can't help it.  There's nothing I love more than a heart pumping workout and a good sweat.  It is therapeutic for me and a great stress relief! I've had a few questions about my gym routine, and I couldn't be happier to share.  Of course every week is different but here is what I do on an average week.
Cardio 4-6 times a week I'm a bit of a group fitness junkie so most of my cardio comes from attending classes:  BodyCombat, BodyAttack, Spinning, and the rare BodyStep class.  I will also take an Intense Body class every now and then.  I love this class because it combines cardio and weights into an hour.  Now that the weather is nice I run at least once or twice a week, and once a week I do a quick interval sesh on the lovely (ick) treadmill---hate this but it's only 20 minutes and a great fat burner.      Pump 1-3 times a week I teach BodyPump anywhere from 1-3 times a week.  BodyPump focuses on low weight and high reps.  It's a total body workout and it's fabulous!  It's different every week but I try to get some sort of weight training in at least 3 times a week.  It's a good week though if I actually get in 3 weight sessions.  
Weight Lifting Depending on my Pump schedule, I average 2 or 3 times a month, BUT I am trying change that and lift heavy weights at least once a week.  My body is used to doing light weight and a ton of reps, so I need to hit  the heavy weights hard to shock my body.
Pilates and/or CXWORX I had been adding in Pilates or a 30 minute CX class once a week to help my core, but this honestly has gone by the wayside the past few weeks.  I did make it to CX this week and it felt great!  I honestly was skeptical of Pilates at first but it is amazing and so great for your core.  I can honestly tell a difference in my core strength by going just a few times.  Now Yoga is another story...not my thing but that's ok.
Ok, so I'm curious about the latest craze...Barre training.   So if any of y'all have done this I would love some feedback! 
I will leave y'all with a few pics from our last Pump launch.