Southern Getaway Part I

Last year I took a summer girls' trip with my friends Holley, Meredith and Karen to Palm Springs.  This year we headed to the South which we were lucky enough to have THE Southern Belle of Santa Barbara as our tour guide and hostess. I've been to some southern states before with Holley, and honestly, she is who you want to be with while there.

This trip would mark the longest I had ever been away from my kids but I knew they were in good hands with Daddy and some help from Grandma Marilyn and Papa Ward.  (Thank you!!)

We had a short layover at LAX from Santa Barbara so everyone pulled out their laptops and started working in the United Club.  I am not working.  I am screwing around on facebook and checking personal emails.  It's a good thing I have the best boss in the whole world! (Hi Holley!)

Did I say short layover in LAX?  We sat on the tarmac for 2 hours due to thunderstorms in Houston where we were connecting. Good thing I was flying with Holley which meant first class - shortest two hours of my life with all the goodies we got ;)

After a long, LONG day of travel, we arrived to Holley's parents' house in Beaufort, SC.  Holley is one of the best hostesses and I know exactly where she learned it from, Colonel Proctor and Mrs. Janelle exude Southern Hospitality!   Each of us were given a goodie bag of Southern gems as a welcome gift.

We were also greeted with Redneck wine glasses because that is how they drink in the South, right?  Keeping it classy!

Supper (do I sound Southern yet?) was a delicious seafood gumbo.  I've never had it before nor have I ever had okra.  A friend of the Colonel and Janelle named Roland is the go-to guy for gumbo in the Lowcountry which is the what the area in South Carolina is called that they live in. We felt really special getting to try some.

We stayed up late on the wrap-around porch, chatting away until we realized how late it was. 

The next morning we were eager to get out and experience downtown Beaufort.  Janelle gave us a little walking tour around the area. The oak trees were amazing - you are going to get sick of all the oak tree pictures I took but really they were stunning!

And how cute is this little guy that came down from his porch to welcome us to Beaufort?!

See how beautiful these trees are?  The streets were lined with them. 

We had a lovely southern lunch complete with crab cake po' boys from Plums .

Relaxing after lunch

Beaufort is located across several Sea Islands just north of Hilton Head and south of Charleston.  This is on Bay Street which is right along the river. I loved, LOVED the heat and humidity.  It just feels like vacation! 

The Lowcountry is known for their Tabby concrete made of  lime, sand and oyster shells which we saw all over on sidewalks as well as homes (including the Proctor's home).

This is Doc.

How fabulous is his hair?!

Doc was our tour guide around the downtown area.

We saw classic Civil War era antebellum homes while listening to our tour guide tell us the history of the area as well as some fun facts.  And of course, we saw more oak trees!

The Stairs That Lead To Nowhere

 I should have been paying more attention to our tour guide.  I even tried a google search and came up with nothing.  It had something to do with being the original steps of the home that was there.  This was one of those fun facts I mentioned we heard earlier.  I do remember they had a list of movies filmed in the area a mile long including  Forest Gump, that is a fun fact!

After our tour we headed back to Lady's Island which is where we were staying at the Proctor's home.  Since we had arrived so late the night before and were downtown most of the day, I hadn't gotten a chance to take in the property that they live on.  AMAZING!

During low tide you could hear popping noises of little sea creatures coming from the marsh below.

We had a lovely shrimp dinner on the screened porch.  Crickets chirping, the marsh popping, balmy weather, great company, just perfect!

Later we headed out to the end of the dock during high tide to catch the beautiful lighting. 

Next up, back downtown to attend the Water Festival.  The Water Festival is a celebration of the natural beauty and charm of the South Carolina Lowcountry.  Over the course of 10 days they have activities, concerts and performances celebrating their town. 

Beaufort is a huge military town and we were honored to hear the Marine Corps band.  At one point they played the songs for each of the military branches.  When the US Army song was played, Colonel Proctor stood up along with several other servicemen.  Not a dry eye in sight!

Afterwards, we saw one of the best firework shows I've ever seen.

After the festival, we parted ways with the parents and headed down to The Breakwater for a night out on the town.

We ended up at several different clubs listening to music and having a grand old time! 

There will be more y'all, so come back soon!

Happy Birthday Todd (AND OUR YARD!)

For those of you that read this blog, you have probably seen various states of our yard.  Dirt, grass, mud, half-grass, weeds, rocks, grass again.... I won’t bore you with all the details of our yard debacle but when we bought our house we ripped out the previous landscaping and as far as projects went with remodeling this place, the yard was low on the totem pole. Then one winter, grass appeared out of nowhere. Then it died.  Then Todd started to landscape the yard (slowly).  Then we hired someone.  That didn't work out and the grass that started to grow died.... And since no magic grass decided to appear on its own again, Todd was hired once more, however this time he's been working a little faster.  ;) 

On July 8th, Todd turned 30 again, (amazing, right?) and we gave him the gift of time.  The kids and I left him alone so he could complete his project.

We tried our best to stay out of his way although Thatcher could not resist playing in the bag of fertilizer.  Such a boy!

All flattened, fertilized, seeded and watered.   A rainbow appeared which I took as a good sign.

And now we wait....

And we also are being very, VERY careful not to let anyone walk on it except for Lollipop who is exempt. :)

Todd couldn't get rid of us the whole time.  Later that day we headed down to the harbor to have dinner at Brophy's.

While we waited for our table we headed next store to Endless Summer for some drinks and to listen to music.

When Samantha started making bracelets with her red onions at Brophy's, we knew it was time to go.

The birthday boy kids requested Yogurtland for our last stop.

Happy Birthday Toddy!

And look-y here, the best birthday present appeared 2 weeks later!

We've still got a few more weeks to go but so far so good!

Now on to the rest of the yard......

More Swim Lessons (Week 3)

On Sam's third lesson she added goggles to her routine.  You've got to look the part, right?

Thatcher, on the other hand, is going for a different look.

She's still got the noodle wrapped around her but a big step is that she is more than a foot away from the teacher.  That's a big deal for Sam. 

4th of July

Unfortunately this year's 4th of July was gloomy and COLD!  The days leading up to it were sunny and warm and then all of a sudden it was freezing.  Between the weather and the holiday landing on a Wednesday this year, it seemed a bit of a downer.  Oh well, it can't always be perfect....

We basically didn't get our holiday plans started until much later in the day.  At around 5 PM we decided to finally venture out and meet up with some friends who were barbecuing at the beach.  It's of course colder as you get closer to the beach and it was windy.  Todd and I were ready to go as soon as we arrived, but as per usual, the kids have built-in heaters that keep them energized and moving and shaking nonstop.   

After about an hour, the BBQ was moved to the Ziets home.  The kids and I warmed up in the car while the rest of the crew had to carry a crazy amount of stuff back to their cars. 

Much better now! 

Between the hot tub and the trampoline, the kids were happy (warm) campers and the adults sat around the fire pit, eating and drinking (also warm). 

When it got dark, we walked a block down to Shoreline drive on the Mesa and watched the fireworks.

And what were the chances that we bumped into Connor (and Chris), in the dark, with the thousands of others along Shoreline drive watching fireworks?!  Okay, Santa Barbara is a pretty small town but still we felt really lucky.  What a great way to end the evening!