A Fun (?) Visit

One of Lexi's best friends from high school got married May 13th, so I went up to St. George for the wedding reception, since Lexi was a bridesmaid. Jeff was busy at a track meet, so we had talked about getting a motel room up there and spending the night in St. George, but in the end we decieded to come home and do some fun things here. Not that washing your car is fun, but both our cars needed it so bad, and Lexi actually wanted to! Plus it IS more fun when you do it together.

We washed both our cars, and then even though we were pretty tired and hot, the fun didn't stop there. Next we exercised! We really know how to have fun, right? Well, it actually was kinda fun. While Lexi did a cardio workout on the elliptical...........

I lifted weights, did push ups and ab work, then we swtiched. Again, it was fun to have someone to work out with.

Next we did manis and pedis. Here we are dipping our hands in the hot wax treatment. It really feels wonderful and makes your skin feel so soft.

My hand looks gi-normous, and kind of creepy, but believe me, this treatment is awesome.

After the nail painting extravaganza, Jeff got home and we all went to Sugar's for dinner. Always a treat the kids love when they come home to visit. Brings back lots of fun memories of going out to dinner there when they were kids. It was a very short visit, since Lexi had to go back the next day, but we really did have lots of fun together. Next time Lexi comes home maybe we can even vacuum out the cars and really detail them, maybe mop some floors............

Branding Day

Yup, it's branding time again. Or at least it was, on May 7th (I'm a little behind as usual). Head 'em up, move 'em out! It's always a fun time when everyone who can, shows up at "The Ranch" for the day. It's like a big ol family reunion.

This year, Jeff even got to come for it, which he usually doesn't get to do. It might even be the first one he has gone to. Jake and Liz and their boys were also able to come down, as well as Lexi. Jeff couldn't dig in and help though, on account of his broken toes with the pins sticking out of them. But if I were him, I would be glad I had a good excuse NOT to get slobbered on, pooped on, or kicked, etc.

Josh showed up with his homemade sheild and sword. He is so creative and cute. Jake was the very same way, always making something out of a cardboard box and some duct tape. I guess you could say he was recycling or repurposing long before it was "cool".

My sweet Mom is always the shortest person in every photo. But when you're only 5' 1", I guess that's bound to happen. Liz and Josh stopped for a quick photo. The boys were pretty busy running around and stepping in fresh cow pies. Good times........

Lexi and Charlie.

More random pictures of the day.

Then it was back to the house for lunch. (the best part of the day!) Mom's potato salad is to die for.

Lindsay and Liz sharing stories.

Lexi and her Grandpa. Love this picture.

One tired Mama. Mom works hard to make sure all the food is just right, and it is a little stressful for her, but she still loves the day and has fun.

I love being with my family and going back to my hometown. Branding day is the best! I hope there are many more of these to come.



Spring Break In Georgia (and South Carolina!)

For spring break again this year we went to Georgia to visit this cute kid (and his parents, of course.)

He has grown so much and changed a lot since we saw him at Christmas time. He has a new hair cut, which makes him look lots older. He is still only two, but seems older because he talks so much and so plainly. We flew in to Atlanta and took a shuttle to Holli and John's place. We immediately loaded up their car and took off for Charleston, South Carolina. We decided to spend a few days there seeing the sights. The first thing Holli did was buy a hat. I decided a while back that I would never sunburn my head again, so she decided she didn't want to either.

We had such a great time there. Charleston is a fun place to visit. There's lots to see and do. Rhys loved this water pad at Charleston Harbor.

This bridge was absolutely beautiful.

We went on a fun carriage ride through Charleston and saw all these wonderful, grand old southern homes. It was totally fun, and we had a good tour guide who told us lots of tidbits about each one.

Here are just a few of my favorites. There were lots more!

Okay, I'll stop now, though I could show you much more. I love these beautiful old homes! We wanted to do a ghost tour while we were there, but Rhys was too young for some of them. We decided to do the tour of the old city jail. It was pretty awesome, but at the same time a little gruesome..........none of us enjoyed the tales of brutality to the prisoners. It was a very old jail dating back to the civil war, so prisoners were not treated well there. Still, it was kind of fun when the lady doing the tour (who, by the way, was PERFECT for the job with her gravelly voice and scary demeanor) told some of the ghost stories of the place. Rhys seemed to enjoy himself and even laughed right in the middle of one of her stories! Here we are in front of the jail.

It really was a spooky old place!

All in all, a pretty weird tour, but I'm glad we did it. One has to do a ghost tour in Charleston!

The next day we went to Patriot's Point to tour the Yorktown Aircraft Carrier. Jeff loves this stuff, so he was in hog heaven.

Lots of steep, narrow stair ways.

Rhys sitting in the on board dentist chair. It was a pretty interesting tour, to see how the sailors lived on board a ship.

We only got half way through the tour of the Yorktown, when it was time to take the ferry over to Fort Sumter. Disaster struck here, and Rhys decided he had had enough of tours, and he threw a major tantrum (or several) at Fort Sumter. Hence, there are almost no pictures of Rhys at the fort.

After Fort Sumter, Holli and John decided to take Rhys back to the motel for some much needed down time (and maybe even a nap, if they were lucky) while Jeff and I finished touring the Yorktown. Out of all of us, I'm sure Jeff enjoyed this day the most.

Next day it was on to Boone Plantation, and this gorgeous and famous live oak lined drive. I loved it! This lane has been in many movies, including The Notebook and Last Song most recently.

This is the original slave quarters. Pretty small and grim. As many as 16 people lived in these appalling single rooms.

Rhys pretty much wallowed in the fireplace and got covered with cobwebs and moss.

We toured the plantation home and gardens. This isn't the original home, but was built in the 1930's, I believe.

The gardens were really beautiful.

Then it was off to Isle of Palms Beach. Had we known how much Rhys was going to love the beach, we would have saved more time for it, and we would have put our suits on. We all thought the ocean would be cold like it is in California, or even colder, since it was a cloudy day. But it wasn't. It was actually quite pleasant.

Rhys was so cute at the beach and loved it so much.

A fun day for Rhys, but sadly he fell asleep after the beach and didn't get his promised ice cream!

The next day we headed back to Georgia for a few days. Rhys is sporting his Handy Manny/Movie Star look.

I don't remember which morning it was, but one day Jeff accidentally slid down the stairs in a funky way and broke two toes, so we spent the morning in urgent care. He was a trouper for the rest of the vacation and hobbled along wherever we went, even though he was in pain and his foot was bruised and swelling. (After we got home he ended up having to have surgery on the toes, and pins inserted to hold them in place. Major mess.)

Went to this cute little town called Washington for an Easter picnic. It was such a fun day, and such a picturesque place. Holli and I in front of the town courthouse.

Out in front of the Robert Toombs home, which we toured. These old homes are quite interesting to tour. And since I LOVE old things, I always enjoy seeing how they lived and the things they used in their lives.

A cute little church we saw on our walking tour of the town. It was such a quaint little place. Holl and I both wanted to move there.

We had a picnic in the park and then headed for home.

I should apologize for such a long post, but we just had such a great time and saw so many things and places that I couldn't leave anything out. This will be our last trip to Georgia, since Holli and John will be moving to Chicago soon. We have loved the trips we have made there to visit them, and are excited to visit them Chicago in the future. We had so much fun, even with Jeff breaking his toes. Obviously that wasn't a fun part of the trip, but in spite of it, we had a great time. My most favorite moment of the trip was when I put Rhys to bed one night and as I lay next to him he grabbed me around the neck and snuggled up to me and fell asleep. So sweet. Thanks Holli, John and Rhys for having us, and making it so fun!