Festival of Lights!

Michael and I got to spent the weekend with Jennifer down in Charleston last weekend! 

We had so much fun, except for Michael getting an ear infection while we were there. He was so pitiful. 

Friday night, we headed over to James Island Festival of Lights! The weather was beautiful, and we were able to get out of the car and walk around. 

 Michael was really excited that he got to ride up front with us, to look at the lights!

When we got out to walk around, they had this carousel for the kids to ride. He was pretty excited! 

 Jennifer rode too!

 It's hard to see, but Michael is standing in front of that tree. 

 Some of the beautiful lights!

 Ravenel Bridge in lights

 And then the old Cooper River Bridge!

The rest of the weekend was spent in our jammies laying around. It was so relaxing, and great, to just hang out and catch up with Jennifer. She's moving up here soon, so that may be the last time we get to go down there!

Life's a Beach!

Last week, Julie and I drove down to spend a few nights with Jennifer for a little Girls trip. Jessica couldn't make it, but we were still trying to get her to go with us up to the last minute.

We left Wednesday night, after Andrew got home from work and arrived at Jennifer's around 9:30. She had some snacks and drinks ready for us and it was such a nice welcome. We talked and laughed, and stayed up way too late. We talked about what we wanted to do while we were there and made plans for the rest of the week. Thursday morning Julie pops her head in my room just after 9:00 am and tells me that she is leaving. Her MIL was watching her kids and she got sick. So Julie had to go pick up the kids and drive them home (a 3 hour drive). Her plan was to drive back to Jennifer's (another 3 hour drive) either that night, or the next morning. Well, by that afternoon, Julie had a fever and was feeling awful. So, she decided not to come back at all. And it's a good thing to, because she ended up having strep throat!

So it was just me and Jennifer. It was 1:30 before we pulled our butts off the couch and decided to head to the beach. 

We stayed till around 6, and it was wonderful! 

Thursday night, we stayed home and snacked and sat around. So relaxing! 

Friday we headed back to the beach. 

To just lay at the beach, read a good book and have great conversation with your best friend, is the best way to spend a day. 

Friday night jennifer and I went out for pizza. Then back to the house to lay around some more. 

Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market in downtown Charleston.  We got a giant fresh lemonade and some kettle corn. Jennifer also picked up some fresh veggies and some fresh ravioli. 

We brought our beach stuff with us, in case we decided to go back to the beach. Well, we did and it was so crowded. But still very relaxing, once we got parked and found a nice spot on the beach. 

We were at the beach for most of the day and decided to leave once a very dark cloud showed up. I guess everyone else decided to leave also, and it took us forever to actually get off the Isle of Palms. But as we were leaving, we saw the most beautiful rainbow. 

You can faintly see a double rainbow. 

I put together two pictures, so you could see the whole thing. It was incredible! 

Saturday night was a lot more laying around. 

Sunday we got up and headed over to the outlets. It was tax free weekend and Jennifer wanted to look for some clothes. After a quick lunch at Panera, it was time to drive to Columbia. Andrew and Michael were meeting us there, since my ride left me stranded. (Just kidding Julie) 

We had a great time, and it was so relaxing. It reminded us a lot of our trip to the Bahamas last year. We really wish Julie could have stayed and that Jessica could have come. We missed those girls so much. Hopefully we will be able to plan another girls trip, and more than just me and Jennifer will be able to be there! 

Thanks for a great trip Jennifer! I had such a fun relaxing time! 

4th of July in Charleston

Jessica, all the kids, and I drove down on Wednesday, July third, to spend some time with Jennifer. It just worked out that we would be there for the forth.

We arrived around lunch time on Wednesday and just hung around Jennifer's house that day. We made a trip to the grocery store with all of the kids in tow, to buy what we would need for the next 3 days. We decided to eat all of our meals at home. Trying to take three kids out, wouldn't be fun for anyone. 

Thursday, the forth, we packed up the van, and headed to Isle of palms for the day. 

We brought a picnic lunch, and were prepared to stay for several hours. We even brought a baby pool for the Abby. It was a bit of a hassle, but ended up being a great idea. 

The kids did great at the beach, and had so much fun running in the waves and we got to sit in the ocean supervising. It was actually pretty relaxing. As relaxing as a trip to the beach with a three, two, and one year old. 

We didn't do anything exciting for the forth. It actually started raining in the afternoon, and rained most of the night. We grilled out hot dogs and hamburgers and had a lovely night in.

We put the kids to bed and we played Mexican train! We actually played every night after the kids went to bed and it got very competitive! 

Friday, it looked like it would rain, but we decided to go to the pool anyway.  The kids had so much fun at the pool, even when it started pouring! 

Saturday morning, we went to the pool again and then came home, ate lunch, packed the van and headed home. We wanted the kids to sleep most of the way home, and that is exactly what happened. 

We had so much fun with Jennifer and hopefully we can do it again next year. 

Our Weekend in Charleston

This past weekend, I got to go back to Charleston to visit Jennifer and Julie. Andrew was teaching a class on Saturday, so I decided to go down with him to see my friends.

We had so much fun, and had beautiful weather all weekend. We thought it would be fun to take Michael and Coleman to the beach to let them play in the sand. Well, just because it was 75 degrees in Goose Creek, does not mean its going to be that warm on Isle of Palms. It was freezing! The wind was so cold. We only ended up staying for 30 minutes. But we did stay long enough to take some pictures.

See, don't we look freezing?

(I really wish these pictures weren't so dark)

We decided to go find a playground for the boys to play on. Jennifer has a great one in her neighborhood and the boys loved it.

Then we went back to Jennifer's house and the boys got to play outside some more. Around 5:00 Michael asked if he could go take a nap, he was wore out! So he took a nap, and Jennifer and I got to hang out and talk.

Sunday we went downtown for lunch at a Tai restaurant. It was really yummy. Then walked around for a bit and then it was time to go home.

Weekends always seem to go by so quickly and I wish we had been able to stay longer.

Surprise trip to Charleston

A few weeks ago, Jessica and I talked about surprising Jennifer for her birthday. Well it didn't work out to go the weekend right after her birthday, but we did get to go down the next weekend. I worked everything out with Doug, and he got Jennifer to come home early from work because "the garage door repair man" was coming. When we pulled up, she was so excited! The plan worked great.

Friday afternoon Julie came over with Finley and Coleman. Jessica has never met Finley, and I hadn't seen her since she was born. She is getting so big. Coleman was a little disappointed that Michael and Lydia didn't come with us.

Friday night we went downtown for dinner. We had so much fun and got to see a few local bands playing too.

 

Saturday morning we all enjoyed sleeping in. Since that is something we don't get to do very often. Then we went back downtown for lunch and shopping.

Since we were so close, we walked down to the harbor to see the water. It was freezing, but a beautiful view.

We had to leave Saturday night, so it was a really quick trip. But it was so much fun and we can't wait to do it again.

Finley Katie

Finley Kate
10/14/12

 So on Sunday, we were planning on going to the beach, since Michael loved looking at the Ocean when we were on vacation. Julie called us and said she was having contractions. Not really sure if it was the real thing or not, since she still had 3-4 weeks until her due date. We told her we would come over  to sit with her, until Steve got home from church. Well, while we were on our way, she called us back to say that her contractions were about 3 minutes apart, and once we got there, they were headed to the hospital, so we had to stay with Coleman at the house. They arrived at the hospital at 11:45 am and baby Finley made her debut at 12:30! Talk about fast!! We couldn't believe it! I am so excited that I was there and able to see the baby right after she was born!

Fun Weekend!

Michael and I spent this past weekend visiting friends near Charleston. We had such a fun time with Jennifer, Julie and Coleman. On Saturday, we went to the farm and had a ton of fun.

Michael and Coleman going through the hay bale maze

Michael running through the maze

Playing in the corn pit

Burying Michael in corn

on the hay ride

Coleman and Michael loved the hay ride

I tried so hard to get him to look at me, but he was too
 interested in everything going on behind me.

Loved the pumpkin

Cute little buddies

 On Sunday we were supposed to go to the beach, but our plans were interrupted by Miss Finley Kate. She wasn't supposed to arrive until November 4, but she had other plans. I am so glad I was down there so I could meet her. I'll post more about her tomorrow!

Babies Adventure in Charleston

WARNING: This post has a TON of Pictures

This past week, I spent a fun week in Charleston, with my three best friends, and their babies. We had a great week, just hanging out and spending some great quality time together.


Jessica and I drove down Monday afternoon. What was supposed to be a 3.5-hour drive, turned into a 7-hour drive! We ran into a horrible accident on the interstate, and were stopped in traffic for way too long. Then they detoured everyone through a small town, and that just added to the mess. On top of the wreck, and the detour, both babies (Michael and Lydia) were leaking out of their diapers. It was not a pretty picture. At one point, I got in the back seat, in between the car seats, and tried to keep the babies happy. It worked, but it made for one stressed out Mama.




We finally arrived at Julie's house, to find out that her A/C had gone out, and that we couldn't stay with her. So, we got back in the car, and drove to Jennifer's house. It is a good thing they both live down there, or we would have been getting a hotel room.


Vacationing with 3, one year olds is not exactly what you would call relaxing. It was a lot of fun though. For the most part, we hung around Jennifer’s house.
We did spend some time at the pool, and all of the babies really enjoyed that. Jennifer has a great park near her house, so we spent some time there as well.

We also went to the beach. Our reason was to get pictures of the babies and after about an hour, we were all ready to head back to the house.

The rest of the days was spent coordinating naps and meals. After the babies went to bed each night, we got out the games and had a great time. We laughed so hard!

I love these girls so much, and I am so blessed to have them in my life. I especially love that we are all doing the “Momma” thing together.