Charleston Pt.7/Athens

Back in Athens, we had lunch at Doc Chey's Noodle Restaurant downtown.  Yummy!  Uncle Tommy is so good with the kids!

Here is the St. John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral in Charleston.  Dane and Alexis went to mass.  Izzie made it half way through before throwing a fit because it was naptime.  I put her in the stroller and went for a walk outside and she almost immediately fell asleep.

Views from the Charleston boardwalk.  It was foggy in the morning but by lunchtime, the sun came out and it was gorgeous.  

Charleston Pt.6

Our hotel had fire pits where you could sit around the campfire and even roast smores.  It was a job keeping Izzie away from the fire pit but it did create a nice ambiance.  The girls played with a flashlight in the sand.  By bedtime, they had sand in body crevasses that I didn't know existed.
At the market, they had actual basket weavers.  It was amazing to see their art but I have to say that the little baskets were way over priced for my budget.  For instance, little baskets ranged from $155-250.  Crazy I know.  But someone must buy them or I guess they wouldn't bother making them.  It was still neat to watch.
Lots and lots of horse drawn carriages.  They give tourists tours of the city.

Charleston Pt.5

Michelle and Tommy got engaged in Marion Square Park which was across the street from their hotel.

Charleston Pt.4

The view from our hotel room was beautiful and relaxing.
Look at that rock!  Michelle's engagement ring is gorgeous and very sparkly.  

Tommy and Michelle at the antique jewelry store reenacting his proposal.  She said she felt hot and light headed because with the ring it was all the more real.  I know Michelle has been wanting this for a long time.  Heck we all have.  So it's about time, Tommy!!  Welcome to the family!

Charleston Pt.3

Another view from our hotel room.  We had a small balcony off of our hotel room.  So we could see half of the USS Yorktown battle ship.  We did not have time to tour it but will most definitely do that on our next visit.  This photo doesn't do the ship's size justice.  It is gigantic.  There is a submarine you can tour too.  That would be pretty cool.

Dane and Tommy enjoying some stoggies.


Alexis and I at a cafe enjoying some java and muffin.

Charleston Pt.2

This bridge was gigantic and very cool to go through.  Our resort was on one end of this bridge and on the other end was downtown Charleston.

The girls took advantage of being allowed to jump on the beds.  Heck we are on vacation so that means jump away.  The room was very beachy and nicely decorated.  The green walls were not as bright as the photos make them out to be.  I swear these are the most amazingly soft and comfortable beds I have ever slept on!  Hilton (who owns this resort) did very good.  


Our cute family...need I say anymore?

Charleston Vacation

Interesting Charleston fact:

These gigantic mansions were all built sideways because back in the golden days, property taxes were based on how wide your house was from the street.  So they built the houses sideways too keep the taxes lower.  Genius if you ask me.

This is the famous, historic rainbow row.  These house go really far back.  They are pretty narrow in width but are super long.  They resemble the typical row house but are all 3 or 4 stories tall.  Too think these are all single family homes...geez!


Charleston, SC is absolutely beautiful.  We loved it!!  So far, this is my favorite place to visit in the south.  We will definitely go back.  Our hotel was fabulous.  We stayed at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina.  It was right on the water and had 2 huge piers to see all the boats. The rooms were beautiful, modern and were the most comfortable beds I've ever slept on...even more comfortable than my own bed at home.  

On Sat. morning we were downstairs eating our overpriced breakfast and Dane surprised me with an in-room full body massage.  It was heaven! Massage Guy had everything with him.  He is like a mobile massage.  It was just like what you would expect at a spa but within the comforts of your own room.  Very lovely. Dane got several brownie points for that one!!  My sister, Michelle and her now fiance, Tommy flew from MN to Charleston and were staying at a posh hotel downtown.  Lots of shopping and lots of restaurants.  We didn't have time to tour the huge navel ship Yorktown so we will do that next time.  Michelle and Tommy got engaged while in Charleston.  It was very memorable. They even found her beautiful ring at an antique/estate jewelry store.  It has incredible detail and is from the turn of the century.

Bad...Bad..Blogger!

I know I've been a bad, bad blogger lady.  The past couple weeks have been very busy and fun filled with lots of guests.  Starting off my sister, Michelle and her now fiance, Tommy met us in Charleston, SC for a mini vacation.  Tommy proposed to Michelle while we were in Charleston which was so exciting!!  Then the four of us came back to Athens, GA together where they stayed for a couple more days before flying out of Atlanta back to MN.  

Last week, my sister in-law, Danita and her boyfriend, Mark came to visit.  This was the first time we met Mark and I was pleasantly surprised.  I swear Dane and Mark were separated at birth. They got along really well and seemed to have a lot in common.  We had a good time together, showing them around Athens.  I think they got their fill of horses.  They saw lots and lots of horse during their trip.  We went to Clemson, SC to see my brother in-law Daniel in a horse show.  I hope to see them later this summer to meet my new niece that is expecting to arrive into this world in July.  

Danita and Mark left this morning.  It was a nice relaxing morning for me at home.  Dane took the kids with to the airport.  I relaxed, did a little laundry but mostly relaxed and enjoyed the sound of quiet.  The kids have been in all sorts of moods lately because they are clearly off their schedules and routines.  Bedtime has been difficult the past week between staying in hotels and having varying bedtimes it has got my kids all out of wack.  I am looking forward to getting back on track with our daily routine which helps everyone.  My kids seem happier when they are on a sort of schedule/routine.  I don't know if that works for anyone else but for us it works.  

Then in a couple weeks we have more family visiting which I am looking forward to.  It's always fun to have guests and do touristy activities.

Nebulizer

Izzie has had a cough for over a week and each day it gets worse and worse.  Her cough started sounding like a bark today so I took her to Dr. Setia assuming she had croup.  I was hoping to deal with this now since we are leaving on vacation tomorrow.  Luckily, the Dr got us right in.  She had to do a nebulizer treatment.  She was not excited about it but managed to keep the thing over her nose and mouth for about 7 minutes.  Poor thing has croup, bronchitis and a double ear infection.  Now I am really glad I took her to the Dr.  She must have felt absolutely horrible.

From Snow to 84 degrees

To think a week ago we had about 5 inches of snow and today it got up to 84 degrees in Athens.  I took these pictures of Isabelle this morning playing with the toy windmill.  Alexis has been in her room resting for most of the day...aka quarantine.  He has a bad cold with a bad cough.  We are going on vacation on friday to Charleston and I am doing everything in my power to prevent the rest of us from getting sick.  I feel so bad for her because I know how horrible she feels and I know there is not much I can do.  I called the Dr office today and they said it's good she has a productive cough.  Unfortunately, it's a virus so we just have to wait it out.  The cough was hurting her stomach muscles it was such a violent cough so they recommended Delsum.  We shall see but I really hope it helps reduce her cough so she can rest.  I am blaming it on the drastic weather changes or I guess it could've been the Chik-fil-a play area.  Oh well...what can ya do?

Izzie Exploring

Isabelle wore a hole in her Robeez shoes that she loved so much so I put these hard sole tennis shoes on her.  That is why she is walking goofy.  She is not used to wearing hard soles.  I think she felt like a big girl though.  Everytime I put her new shoes on, she got all excited.

YMCA Slide...Wee

We coaxed Alexis down the almost vertical slide at the YMCA playground.  It is really tall and really steep.  

Kindermarket & Playtime

This morning, I went over to the bi-annual Kindermarket consignment sale at the YMCA.  I get the best deals on slightly used kid clothing and toys.  I found Alexis a bunch of clothes for this summer and next summer.  I have been buying the next size up to maximize the wear time.  I even found myself a new pair of jeans.  I didn't buy any clothes for Izzie because I have plenty of hand-me-downs from Alexis that she wears.  With this warm weather, I am having to get some of our summer clothes out of storage.

After Kindermarket, we went over to the playground and met up with Rachel, Isaac, Melissa, Ella and Nora.  I had to take a picture of Melissa on the slide.  She is such a big kid.  The girls had a good time but it was a quick playdate because Alexis said she was hungry which rarely happens.

I was good today and remembered to not eat meat today since it's Lent and it's a friday.  Last week, I totally forgot and was a bad Catholic.  Opps.  I am sure God will forgive me.  I am trying to be better at fasting and giving up meat on fridays for Lent.  I also gave up Starbucks for the entire 40 days and 40 nights.

Izzie Playing

While we were waiting for Alexis at dance, I took Isabelle to the park and then she played outside of the dance studio for a while.  The metal thing that you lock bikes to kept her quite entertained.  It was a nice day out and we really enjoyed the beautiful weather.  I am ready for spring to be here!

Happy Birthday To Who?

Very cute...the kids singing Happy Birthday at Melissa's baby shower.

MNO-Shokitini's

Tonight, we had Mom's Night Out at Shokitini's. We had a surprising turn out considering the icy/snow covered streets. I guess we were all desperate to get out and have some "me" time. The food was delicious. This is one of my favorite restaurants. They specialize in sushi and martinis. How great is that? I had California Rolls, a side salad, a Snickers Martini (which was amazingly good) and split dessert with Shannon. We had deep fried Oreo cookies with whipped topping. It looked kind of goofy but it was state fair food delicious. It was the dessert special and the server had me at Oreo so several of us all ordered that. It was a fun night and thankfully the roads were not bad when I drove home.

It's Snowing!

My Quilted Table Runner

I finished sewing my reversable quilted table runner a couple weeks ago but forgot to post pictures. Now I am working on Izzie's quilt.

It's A Blizzard In Georgia!

Well not really a blizzard but it was the most snow I've seen in years. The news said GA has not had this much snow in the last 9 years. It was beautiful and a friendly reminder to Dane and I how we do not miss MN winter. As expected, the south pretty much shut down for the next day. People cleared the milk and bread from the grocery shelves. The lines were so long that Dane had to get milk at the gas station. We actually needed milk, we were not stocking up. It is just funny to me how the south in general reacts to snow fall or even the mention of possible snow fall. This would be just another winter day in MN. I enjoy this rare commodity of snow because I actually appreciate it now and enjoy it.

I played in the snow with Lexie and Izzie. We built a snowman, made snow angels and threw snow balls at a tree. Izzie couldn't seem to get enough licks in. She was licking the snow on the ground and catching the giant falling snowflakes in her mouth. It's pretty amazing to think they are predicting the temperature to be in the 70s by this friday! Snow and 70s all in one week.