Mother's Day 2011 is going to go down in history as one of the best if not "the" best! The boys surprised me with a getaway to one of my all-time favorite cities, Savannah. It's hard not to fall in love with the charming Southern city. The natural beauty of the massive Spanish moss-draped oak trees that line the streets and historical parks & squares is enchanting. The history of the city is memorizing too. Hundreds of historical monuments and plaques provide hours of entertainment and don't even get me started on the cultural attractions.
Our first stop was the Gryphon Tea Room which is operated by The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The boys had planned a very special lunch for me.
Anh & I sipped on peach ice tea as Jaxon & The Hulk (aka Baylor) enjoyed ice cold lemonade. A tea room might have been better suited for a mother with two girls, but I appreciated the thought. My little wild men are just too energetic for such a delicate tradition. I'm sure the lemonade didn't help either!
After a delicious lunch, we strolled through a few boutiques in the quaint area around SCAD before making our way to the hotel. We are loyal to one hotel in Savannah because you just can't beat it's amazing view of the world famous Savannah River. Even the pool and splash park which are incredible take a backseat to the view.
The boys loved taking the ferry back and forth across the river for meals and sight-seeing. Plus, it's pretty awesome to watch the traffic on the river as you lounge by the pool. We even spotted a few playful dolphins!
In addition to the ferry, we saw quite a few cargo ships making their way up river to the port, and tugboats were a common sight as well.
Even the classic paddle boats seemed to blend right in to the historic vibe of the city.
However, this work of art definitely stood out to EVERYONE! It's hard to miss the $11.5 million mega-yacht docked front in center.
Quantum of Solace...Perfect name because it was seriously straight out of a James Bond movie. I can't even imagine the luxury!
If you could tear your eyes away from the mega-yacht for a moment, the Savannah waterfront is lined with touristy shops and restaurants. The boys did a little shopping and picked up souvenir golf balls to add to their collection, but the "pirate" ship offering free tours was by far the favorite waterfront attraction.
It seemed to be owned by a group of seafaring gypsies that merely requested a donation as you exited. Based on the crowds, I'd say they probably do pretty well on busy weekends.
From the waterfront, we made our way through countless squares on the way to Forsyth Park's ornate fountain.
Along the way, the boys even stumbled upon a few secret gardens. I'm not sure which one was good and/or evil. Maybe we needed to be there at midnight to tell? Oh well.
Finally, Forsyth Park! Such beauty!
A quick picture at the fountain, and then we continued onward to the playground. Perhaps the fountain would have been more impressive to the boys if they had been allowed to play in it? Thank goodness for that beautiful wrought iron fence. Otherwise, I would have had quite the scene on my hands.
Instead, the playground provided the excitement Jaxon and Baylor were searching for all day. The park was a lively combination of locals and tourists. Families dined at picnic tables and blankets that were strewn across the grassy fields. Children laughed and shouted as they raced around the playground. It was like a scene from a movie actually. Perfectly idyllic!
Can you believe that was only day 1? On Mother's Day, we awoke bright and early thanks to Baylor, the morning person in the family. He didn't want to waste a second sleeping away our vacation.
Although, I'm sure even Baylor could have been tempted to nap in one of the resort hammocks! Sadly, there was no time for napping. We had a brunch date ahead of us!
Another trip on the ferry led us to a local favorite, B. Matthew's Eatery. Yum! Yum! Yum! Southerners know how to eat!
The day was off to an excellent start! We wandered the streets and meandered across suspended walkways on the way back to the waterfront. Savannah is truly a maze and there's something beautiful around every corner. You just have to take the time to explore every inch, as if that's even possible. I imagine even the locals discover something new on every stroll.
Mother's Day 2011 was beyond memorable and will be a day/weekend that I remember forever. My boys made sure of that & I love them for it!
The staff labeled Baylor as "King for the Day" and adorned him with an inflatable crown & scepter (of course!) and turned both boys loose in the inflatable kingdom made up of 8 bounce houses. They stood stunned for a moment about where to begin, but 0.5 seconds later they were racing to the top of an inflatable mountain!
I considered that the warm-up for this 2-story slide! At first, Baylor seemed slightly intimidated by the slide's height. Luckily, parents were welcome to join in the fun, and it only took one plunge to bring out the adrenaline junkie in Baylor.
Jax, as always, was our little dare devil hurling himself down the slide face first all the while incorporating twists, turns, and flips into his performance. I guess the fear factor is somewhat removed when you're surrounded by cushioned walls!
To the boys' delight, many of the bounce houses incorporated competition and weaponry. Jousting and boxing were both big hits, as well as the obstacle course which pitted brother against brother. Let's just say, both Jaxon and Baylor are very competitive by nature. I hope they never find themselves within the same age bracket for sports. Things could get ugly!
As cool as all the bounce houses were, Jaxon and Baylor seemed to constantly gravitate back to one I'll label "The Firing Range." Go figure! Who doesn't love firing air-powered ping pong ball cannons at their mommy? I'll remember that, boys! 
Sadly, we eventually had to leave the inflatable playground, but that doesn't mean the fun came to an end. Aunt Nguyen planned a fun hibachi-style dinner for us, and of course it wouldn't be a birthday without cupcakes and presents!
Baylor is quite proud of his age! 
These aren't the only cupcakes Baylor enjoyed during his birthday week. That's right, the celebration stretched out over a full week. Ha! Midweek, we hosted a playdate that allowed Baylor to celebrate with his little buddies. Sadly, in all the excitement, I failed to take a single picture of the pool party. I'm sure you can imagine the chaos!
Bringing the festivities to a close, we celebrated Baylor's milestone one final time with Grandfather, Grandma, Uncle Travis, and Aunt Kelly. Yep, even Aunt Kelly flew in! Although, I'm fairly certain the timing was merely coincidental. As always, Grandfather arrived with enough presents to rival Christmas! Baylor didn't seem to mind receiving ALL of the new Disney Cars 2 toys currently on the market. Seriously! Grandfather doesn't understand the concept of less is more...clearly!
Ultimately, everyone had the same goal in mind...Spoiling Baylor on his 3rd birthday. Mission accomplished!
Baylor giggled as each new animal/reptile emerged from his container and was incorporated into a complex tale the handler was telling. All I remember of the story was the main character, a lizard. The lizard stomped around telling all of the other animals, "I'm big. I'm bad, and I'm mean!!!" Apparently, he was exactly the opposite. So, it's sort of fitting that Baylor walks around now repeating, "I'm big! I'm bad, and I'm mean!" Well, at least one of the adjectives fits on any given day.
Baylor was truly mesmorized by the creatures, but Jax was the brave one that volunteered to actually handle the largest snake. To my delight, he was assigned the tail rather than the head. I'm not sure I would have been able to handle the reverse. It was creepy enough watching the snake twist his tail around Jaxon's little hand!
With the boys at home, golfers like Phil Mickelson had to endure my paparazzi-like behavior this year. Something tells me that he's used to it, and all the other golfers probably welcome the extra attention in Tiger's absence. Again, probably should have taken the boys so they could see there are players worthy of their support. Lesson learned!
Truth be told, I actually enjoyed being able to watch a bit of play this year. In 2010, we mainly toured the grounds and the facilities and missed out on following the players because of the boys' short attention spans. Well, I should probably say Baylor's short attention span. Ha!
