(Most pictures are with my iPhone, wish I had kept the nice camera with us all the time, oh well.)
* On our drive down we stopped at the Oshkosh Outlet to do some back to school clothes shopping. It was an eventful 2 hour stop. I fed Clara in the dressing room after she finished she vomited it all up making a huge mess. Then as we were getting into the car to leave Jake closed his hand in the sliding side door of the car. Scared us all to death! Luckily nothing was broken.
*Here are some reasons we love the South:
We are Big on the Pig!
* We made a quick trip to Aiken to visit some close friends, the Ballards and McArthurs. It is so nice to have friends that we can just pick up where we left off no matter how long it has been since seeing each other. We sure do miss them!
Ainsley and Abby
Nicholas, Emma, and Jake
Abby and Amy loven'n on Clara
* Columbia Z00
The Columbia Zoo is the best zoo I've ever been to. We were super excited when Grandma said she had season passes that allowed her grandkids to get in for free AND all exclusive! We thought we might get rained out but it turned out to be perfect weather. It was muggy but not scorching hot and the zoo wasn't over crowded. The kids went on the carousel 4 times, rode the train twice, fed the animals, did a ropes course (they went clear to the top, so proud of them!) fed the birds, saw lots of animals and had a great time tiring themselves out! It was a great day!
* 10 YEAR Anniversary! That's right, Dan and I have been married TEN years. We didn't spend this anniversary like we had envisioned over the years...going on a kid free vacation will have to wait. We did go out to eat and did some shopping with only Clara.
* On our way home from church on Sunday Jake was eating a piece of candy that Grandpa Larry had given him when all the sudden his first tooth came out! The look on his face was priceless. He has waited a long time to have a visit from the Tooth Fairy!
* Dan blessed Clara Ann. This trip was planned several months ago in order to bless Clara with her cousin Alexander (Xan) who was born only 10 days before her. We joined Hollie and Cris and a lot family at Grandma Barnhurst's home in Lexington. It was a sweet time being with family. In all the craziness that 4 kids brings I didn't think to try on Clara's blessing dress before the day of. Tess and Abby were both blessed in the same adorable white dress but not Clara. I couldn't even button one button. Oh well, she still looked pretty in pink!
I wish I had take more pictures and written down more about her blessing. I do remember Dan blessing her with a strong love for the truths that this country was founded upon. Also that she would learn from the examples of Jake, Tess, and Abby. And that she would be a special friend to ME!
Earlier that morning as I was feeding Clara (before dawn) I thought about Xan and Clara's big day and my heart ached for Hollie and Dan to have their father there. Grandpa David passed away before I had a chance to meet him. Over the past 10 years I have heard many times how close Hollie was to her father. I said a prayer than and throughout the day that Grandpa David would be able to be a part of that day. He was.
* Visits with Grandma Great: golf cart driving (Jake drove all by himself this time), Uncle Herald who everyone adores (especially Abby), swinging on the front porch or relaxing in her sun room and eating lots of treats.
Sweet Grandma Great made me Rice Krispy Treats!
* Tess learned to whistle. She whistles none stop now! It's cute. Some how she coined the nick-name "whistle-pig". Not really sure how or why that came about but she is our cute whistle pig!
* Carowinds
Dan, Jake, and Tess were super excited for weeks to go to Carowinds Amusement Park! Dan asked Uncle Cris to come along and they had a blast! I got video updates throughout the day. Jake was hesitant and masked his thrill on the rides. But Tess and Dan giggled and screamed with hands flying on every ride. It was worth every penny and a great memory made! Abby and I wish we could have gone but we had fun with Grandma and Aunt Hollie. We spent the day shopping, ate at Charley's, and made a very important visit to Build-a-Bear (post to come). We ended the day in Blythewood with Grandma Great and Uncle Herald. Grandma took Abby to Uncle Heralds place where they sang, danced, and ate a southern breakfast for dinner. Hollie and I enjoyed a relaxing 2 hours with Grandma Great out in her sun room. Grandma Great worked her magic with Clara and got her to sleep so it was a peaceful 2 hours for me!!
* Day trip to Folly Beach in Charleston. We have seriously missed the beach all Summer long and our time there went way to fast!
Holli, Xan and Grandma
After feeding Clara I put her, sound asleep, in her car-seat and headed out to the water. Within minutes she had vomited all over herself. Below is a picture of her in Xan's onesie as happy as could be.
* Visits with Grandma Riley and Rhonda & Lee.
Rhonda cooked us a delicious meal and we spent the evening visiting while the kids played happily in their play room.
* Fun with Baby Xan! (Clara at 7wks, Xan at 2months)
* Apples Orchards
We knew we wouldn't be able to make another trip south for a while so we decided to do our annual apple picking early. We left South Carolina Thursday evening and drove to Henderson, NC where we stayed the night in a hotel. Friday we picked some early Gala/Fuji apples and enjoyed the playground and yummy food at Sky Top. Now Dan and I get to make lots of applesauce with all our spare time! Ha.
The obligatory traditional pictures above and below.
We made it home late Friday night. Saturday we unpacked, cleaned, and prepared for our Sunday responsibilities. Sunday Dan left on his business trip to Seattle for the week. Wish I could be there with him! Now we are gearing up for school to start in a week. Jake and Tess already have their book bags packed! Abby will be starting preschool at DCP in two weeks as well. The Summer is coming to a crazy, tiring, end. Hallelujah!
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