An October Get-Away to South Carolina -- Part One

It's been quiet here for awhile because life's been busy and we took an almost week-long getaway trip to visit my Dad and Mary in South Carolina. The trip was a fun family visit AND a learning adventure. We spent some time at Myrtle Beach (where Dad and Mary live) and also took a weekend side trip to Charleston to tour the historical sites. When they found out we would be studying the 13 colonies, Dad and Mary INSISTED we come down and explore one of them. We are very thankful for their help in flying us down so we could spend as much time as possible there. We learned a lot and had a great time. And the weather down there was sunny and so much warmer than here in Ohio! I've been sorting through lots and lots of pictures. Here are some highlights from the Charleston portion of our trip....


First Stop.... Boone Hall Plantation
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring this gorgeous plantation! The driveway is lined with amazing live oak trees that make a canopy over the road. The movies North and South and The Notebook were filmed here.

Picking Cotton

Holding butterflies

Exploring some of the original slave cabins that still stand on this plantation, which was home of a brickyard.

Heading for a tour of "the big house."

Hanging out with Pappy

This smokehouse is the oldest structure on the property.

Touring the fields on a fun tram ride

This woman performed a fantastic show teaching us about Gullah culture.

SOMEONE had arranged ahead of time for Jon and I to be called up to demonstrate "jumping the broom" since we were celebrating our anniversary the next day.

 

After our time at Boone Hall Plantation, we headed the rest of the way into Charleston and explored the downtown area, including the awesome Old City Market. We had a yummy dinner at Bubba Gump's!

 Next Stop.... The Battery / White Point Gardens
The next morning we checked out Rainbow Row and a lovely park that was at the center of lots of Civil War action!

We stood on this very historic site and tried to imagine what it would have been like to be there during the dates listed.

Who can pass by a beautiful gazebo and not have a little "I am 16 Going on 17" Sound of Music moment? Not me!

Spending time with Dad.... awesome.

Next Stop.... Fort Sumter
As we explored the city and learned so many things, I was trying hard to help the boys understand the timeline of events that unfolded here. Although we were primarily interested in learning about Charleston colonial life, we couldn't miss the Civil War sites! We were so glad the government shutdown had ended in time for us to visit Fort Sumter.

The boys loved the boat ride that took us out to the fort.

We saw lots of dolphins. 

I like this cool picture taken from the top of the fort and showing the city of Charleston across the water.

There is quite a nice little museum inside the fort.

 

 

And then..... a horse and carriage tour of historic Charleston.
I think this was my favorite part of the trip. I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful old houses and hearing so many stories about the city.

 

 

Before heading out of town on Sunday we attended a beautiful Mass at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

 



 

We especially loved the beautiful stained glass Last Supper.

 And finally.... we went to see a rusty submarine. ;) Actually, we got to learn about and see the Hunley, which was the first submarine to sink a warship.... in the CIVIL WAR! I never knew there was a submarine that long ago. We toured an interesting museum and learned all about this Confederate submarine and the men who died fighting in it.

 

"The guys" getting a feel for the cramped quarters and the process of powering the submarine by turning a crank.

 So now you can appreciate why I haven't blogged in a while, right? So much travelling and learning going on! And you haven't even seen it all yet. Stay tuned for more... coming soon.

The Saga of the Armpit Stitches - Part Two

It's been two weeks since Adam slipped in our tree and ended up getting stitches in his armpit. You can read all about that fun day here.

Yesterday we headed to the doctor's office to have the stitches removed. I assured Adam that it would be easy and not painful.

I was wrong.

One of the stitches had a knot that was embedded under his skin. Three doctors tried to get that stitch out. Two nurses had to hold Adam down. He screamed and screamed. It was really horrible and I felt so bad for him.

They couldn't get that last stitch out so we had to go to the emergency room again.

This was so crazy. He had more pain and trauma getting the stitches removed than he did when he had the accident and got the stitches. AND we waited A LOT longer at the ER and had medical staff who were a lot less friendly and helpful.

In the end they gave him a (painful) shot to numb the area and then with one quick snip it was done. It was literally less than a two minute procedure..... but the whole saga ended up taking SEVEN hours!

Adam was very patient (a patient patient - ha ha). I was less patient (big surprise). He is happy to be cleared for climbing again, he loves his new cool scar, AND he got another can of orange Gatorade (which made him VERY happy). Ever since his first trip to the ER he's had me looking for canned Gatorade. He says it tastes better. Let me know if you know where to find it other than the hospital. ;)

And of course this all happened on a TUESDAY!!! Tuesdays are yucky cursed days.

Anyway, I'm very thankful to Jon for rushing down to the doctor's office to help and support our screaming boy. And many thanks also to my friend Becky for watching Ray all afternoon. And thanks mostly to God.... for a healthy boy with a healed armpit.

Halloween Campout 2013

We had lots of fun with my family at our 2nd annual Halloween campout at Buckeye Lake. Even though it was cold and it rained on Saturday, it was great to be together. The kids had an absolute blast!

 

Adam ate every bit of caramel and sprinkles off this apple without eating one bite of the actual apple.

We're having a Star Wars themed Halloween this year.
Ray is Luke Skywalker.
Adam is Han Solo.

... and Jon is Darth Vader!
The boys begged me to dress as Princess Leia.
I got an awesome "bun headband" and they were happy.

 

I didn't get to keep those buns for long!
Mike is the real princess of our family! ;)

Dancing at the "Monster Ball."

 Big time fun.... followed by hundreds of loads of laundry. Still trying to get the campfire smell out of my car. But the memories are worth it.

Big Money!!!

 
 
We had a fun adventure at 7:30am last Thursday morning. The boys were invited to be part of a check presentation during a board meeting at AEP. They represented our Pack in receiving and expressing thanks for money donated to the Boy Scout Council.

 

It was literally a ten minute gig.... and we're up early anyway!

 

Here they are posing for a picture for the paper.....

 

 ...and telling the newspaper man how to spell their last name (which isn't easy). We're waiting for the neighborhood paper to come out on Thursday. Hopefully we'll be in it!

 

 

The folks at AEP gave each of the boys a tin of Boy Scout popcorn as well. It was funny to hear the boys say, "We get to eat it? We don't have to sell it?"

 

They ARE still selling popcorn though.... let us know if you want to order any!