Our Visit to Historic Charleston

Tristan, Dale, and Grace had a blast on our carriage tour of the city.
This is the cobblestone road made from English stones.
Southern Bell Grace with Tristan & Dale by the bay
Look! They named it after me!

Well, it was a fun but very quick visit to historic Charleston, SC. It was suppose to be a 4 day family getaway but ended up being just an overnighter. Let me begin.

Dale's job. His work schedule changes often and this week was no different. After already booking our hotel for the week, we found out that he had to be in Virginia on Wed. and Thur. Dale still had a demo scheduled about an hour outside Charleston, so we decided to join him anyways.

We drove into Charleston around 4pm and went to the carriage company first thing. We were able to take a tour via horse carriage through the historic area of Charleston. I personally LOVE history and archeticture so I was having a great time, the kids, not so much. I kept hearing "MOM! When can we go to the hotel to swim?!" It was somewhat enjoyable. Afterwards we got some icecream from Maggie Moo's (Best Dark Chocolate icecream EVER) and walked about 8 blocks down to the ocean. Grace had the blue Cotton Candy icecream...she had permenantly blue teeth afterwards. (Check out the pics)

We walked through the residential area and it was amazing. Money, money, money. Nothing was under $2 mil. and those that were for sale were $9 mil + Yowzers! One of the fascinating things about the houses was that most of the structures were original from the civil war period and they were wood. Cypress to be exact. I learned that cypress not only repels termites but also water which makes it perfect for an oceanside home. That explains how these homes are still standing too after so many years.

One of the streets was fit with thousands of cobblestones...very large ones. The tour guide said that all of the rocks came from England. All of the ships had to load their cargo holds with rocks to keep the top level during their journey to America. On arrival , they would unload and the locals would use the rocks on the road. The story is that the king of England found out what the settlers were doing and began taxing them for the rocks they took from the ship. Crazy, huh?

We ate dinner after our long walk to the bay and came back to browse through the downtown market. Lots of vendors were selling everything from hand woven baskets to "I love Charleston" t-shirts. Grace bought a southern bell fan (pink of course) and Tristan found a laser light that had over 42 different light forms...he was happy. We ate dinner at an awesome little place called Tommy Cordons. I had the BEST shrimp and grits ever...and I don't even like grits. I always try to eat what an area is known for. I'm glad I did.

The kids were ready to swim so off to the hotel we went. Tristan was a little anxious when we got down to the pool as Dale was determined to get him to jump from the deep end. We were the only people in the pool until one lone guy from the gym can in to swim laps. Tristan is literally kicking and screaming as Dale is trying to get him to jump in the deep end. After about 10 minutes, he decides to jump...onto the guy swimming laps. LOL I was shocked and mortified but I have to admit I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Tristan took him right down to the bottom of the pool (9 ft) and the guy resurfaced with Tristan death gripping the guy around the neck. I can't tell you the last time I laughed so hard. The good thing is the guy was very understanding about the whole thing and very sweet. Thank goodness! We laughed and laughed about it afterwards. Whew...good times.

Flowers Galore

Flowers from my honey, Dale

Flowers from my in-laws: Sandy & Leon

I was very blessed this year for my birthday. I felt special in many ways but nothing says "I love you" like flowers....delivered! I've been trying to convince Dale for the last decade (yes...10 years) that flowers from Costco that he sticks in a vase from home aren't quite the same as professionally arranged and delivered. He's finally caught on and really wowed me this year.

My in-laws also did not disappoint with their own special delivery. I thought it was incredibly sweet of both Dale and my in-laws since I know they hand picked almost every flower in the bouquets sent. Yes...I felt very loved this year!

Last Day of School

Grace received a Super Terrific Kid Award
Grace & her buddy Grayson at their end of year luau
Tristan receiving his award for participation in Special Olympics
My luau princess

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad. Ok...probably both. Good for the kids...bad for Mom's everywhere. Last day of school. Tristan and Grace's vacation break has begun and mine has ended until the end of August when they return to school.

The kids had a great school year and ended on a good note here in SC. A lot of changes happened this year with the move from Florida and new schools, but they did awesome. I'm really proud of them both.

Memorial Day Celebration

Tristan loved the trampoline
Tasty fresh cut carny fries for Tristan
Grace and Tristan building their bird houses
Riding the train
We rode with them for free...thanks to the super nice train conductor!

Keep dreaming Dale!
Grace is all smiles
Look how high Mom!
Dale using his own daughter for target practice
My Patriotic Princess

We got to enjoy a local festival here in Simpsonville on Memorial Day. It's called the "Freedom Aloft" Festival and it's got a ton of hot air balloons that take off every evening from the venue..probably close to 100 ballons. We saw some over our house Sunday night and it was pretty fun to see. Over at the fair grounds we were able to sample a bunch of the local foods and ate some traditional goodies like cotton candy. We watched some of the frisbee dog trials which were amazing. The kids both tried out the suspended trampoline. I tried to persuade them to flip but I think both were a little overwhelmed at how high they were jumping. We also ran into a funny clown that put these weird coned helmets on the kids heads (yes, that includes Dale) and they played ring around the head. The pictures explain it better. Jason and Libby (and Addison) were able to meet up with us at the festival too. We ended our day with building wooden bird houses (free activity..too cool) and riding the train at the park. Exhausting but fun day!

Sleepover with Addison

Aren't I too cute?!
Tuckered out!

We had a fun weekend here in Greenville, SC. We didn't go out of town like most with it being a 3 day weekend as we had the opportunity to watch my baby niece Addison overnight...FIRST TIME EVER. Her parents (my baby brother Jason and wife Libby) have never left her with anyone overnight before and this was our trial run. Keep in mind that this is only an overnight visit...one night...24 hours. They dropped her off at about 3pm and picked her up by 4pm the next day. They brought over 4 huge bags, her pack n play crib, outlet plugs for the entire first floor, dated all food with what time it was to be given even and a baby gate for the stairs. Wow is right. I was seriously impressed. We wanted to have the chance for Addison to get use to us as we're getting her for 3 days next weekend when Jason and Libby go to Hilton Head for a wedding. She's an awesome baby and didn't cry once...ok..besides when we woke her up from her nap when her parents came to pick her up. Like I said, excellent baby. Too cute!

Personality Test

I just took this personality test and I have to say it was pretty dang close...it actually made me laugh outloud...it was THAT close. I've included the link below so you can take the test yourself. It's definitely an eye opener...enjoy!

You Are An ESTJ

The Guardian You're a natural leader and quick, logical decision maker. Goals are important in your life, and you take many steps to acheive them. You enjoy interacting with others, mostly through work related activities. Your high energy level means you are great at getting things done! In love, you tend to bring stability to relationships. You feel comfortable being in charge, and you enjoy being a provider. At work, you take charge. You thrive in structured environments and don't mind enforcing the rules. You would make a great teacher, judge, or police detective. How you see yourself: Realistic, stable, and pragmatic When other people don't get you, they see you as: Rigid, bound to rules, and a bad listener

What's Your Personality Type?

Mother's Day with Mom

My brother Jason with his wife Libby and my sweet niece Addison
Mimi (my Mom) and my niece Addison
Dale and my Mom

This was an extra special Mother's Day for me as I was able to spend it with my own Mom as well as my brother Jason and his new wife. We typically don't have the opportunity to spend many of the less recognized holidays with family since we've always lived a great distance away. I'm able to see my brother Jason often(we go to lunch together every week) now that we live in Greenville and with my Mom now RVing full-time, she's able to travel to us.



On Sunday, we were all able to go out to dinner together at a nice restaurant and then came back to my house for Cheesecake Factory cheesecake...yum! I do need to mention a quick story about the day. My brother and wife enjoy drinking wine and so on their way back to my house, they decided to take a detour and stop for a bottle of wine. After they've bought the wine, they stop at a gas station to fill up. A little lightbulb goes off in Jason's head as he's standing silently pumping his gas and he walks over to the window of his SUV and says "What's the chance that Dawna will have a cork screw?"Ding, ding, ding. You are correct...I don't drink, hence I don't have a cork screw. To make a long story short, I am now the proud owner of a new cork screw, a gift from my brother. Jason said to not be surprised when I get wine glasses for Christmas so he has something to drink from when he comes over. I'm starting to feel like the wife that gets the new bowling ball with her husband's name engraved on it.



After chatting and spending some time together, my Mom and step-dad Lonnie went back to their trusty RV to feed their dogs and Dale and I were able to challenge Jason and my sister-in-law Libby to a game of Catch Phrase. If any of you know my brother, you can understand how competitive he is, especially when it comes to competing against his big sister. Let's just say it wasn't a good evening for Jason...hee hee hee. Dale and I smoked them bad...maybe next time Jason! LOL