We went to South Carolina in the middle of June with Grandma and Grandpa to see Aaron's oldest brother and his family in South Carolina.
We left around 3:00 a.m. on a Monday morning, and all I can say is my kids were awesome. They did so good the whole trip. They were the best flyers. They colored, looked at books, ate snacks, and played the Ipad. (We will forever be thankful for Grandma's two Ipads). Daisy was so excited to fly. I was curious to see her reaction, but she seemed to know what flying was all about and was feeling pretty special to be flying.
Since Aaron's parents have been to Charleston many times they offered to watch out kids the first day we were there so Aaron and I could go exploring, just the two of us.
The first place we went to was Boone Plantation. It was in the Notebook. It was beautiful.
Out in front of the main house were all of the slave houses. Each one was filled with information about slavery and the plantation. It really was a very different world.
I wish these cars weren't in this picture, and that I was a good photographer with a real camera ;). These trees were amazing and planted in the mid-1700's.
After we toured the plantation, we went into town to see the museum and get lunch.
I snapped this of Aaron while we were waiting for lunch. I know people say that phone use at restaurants is rude to the other people around you and the person your with, but I have found that our phones are usually good conversation starters. For instance, I believe Aaron was laughing at a meme about that poor lady who pretended she was black, but was in reality white, and some how she became a leader in the NAACP. I thought his laugh was funny, so I took a picture.
After lunch I bought some real French macaroons made by a real French lady. They were colorful and yummy, but not 15 dollars for six yummy.
After the museum, we went and tour the house that George Washington stayed in after he was elected president and was making is rounds throughout the country. It fascinating to see how people lived in eras gone by. I loved their attention to detail and quality. The homes in Charlestons historic district are amazing.
My idea of a garden and their idea of a garden are very different.
The street view of the house.
In the middle of the week we had an all kid adventure kind of day. We went to the aquarium in Charleston. It was big!
This is our niece Addison. :)
And Kamden. :)
After the aquarium we went to the beach. This was our kids first time seeing the ocean and playing on the beach. It was perfect. The spot Brooke (my sister-in-law) took us to, was super kid friendly. The sand was wet and not hot, the water was warm, and the waves were kids sized. They had soooo much fun. Daisy said more than once, "This is the best day ever!"
(For some reason, I can't get some of these pictures to rotate. Sorry, if you have to turn your head.)
The next day we went into Charleston again to do some more exploring. It was incredibly humid. Very fun, but we were melting.
See melting...
We took a carriage tour around the city and even though it was hot, I loved learning about how the town once was. The architecture of almost every building was amazing.
By Friday, we decided that since Savannah was only about a two hour drive away that we would go and see as much of the South as we could.
Our kids were being troopers, but Rocky finally fell asleep in the car. That three hour time difference will get you.
We stayed in a hotel the night we drove into Georgia, and some how or another Rocky and I ended in the same bed. He was the cutest little bed buddy.
We took a trolly tour through out Savannah (if you only have a few hours to see as much as possible, tours are awesome). The kids liked the trolly for the most part. I think the excitement wore off a bit after a while.
My trolly buddy.
I really liked Charleston, but if I am being honest, I loved Savannah. It was gorgeous. I would have lived in every house. Its set up in a square system, so through out the whole historical district there are about 20 squares with big trees and fountains.
The was the Catholic Church in town.
It was beautiful.
We had to get off the trolley and see it. It was to neat to drive by. You have to walk through it to get the big picture. I bet if I ever go to Europe I will probably think this was nothing, but to me it was very interesting to see such and ornate and beautiful building.
She is the cutest and loved her adventure.
Benton, Kamden, Daisy, Addison, Rockwell, and Grant
(from left to right)
The shopping part of town was pretty fun too. Daisy was jumping with excitement when she saw this wall. I was a little bit too. :)
But I was more excited to see the good stuff.
Since we were in Savannah, we had to eat at Paula Deen's. It was good, I just had to not think about all of the butter that my food had to be swimming. Made it yummy!
The main reason we came to South Carolina though, was to go to Addison's baptism. It was a sweet little baptism, and she was so sweet.
Sadly, this was the only picture I snapped of the day and I can't seem to copy and paste any of the ones off of facebook...But this one was cute.
Brandon's girls were so good to play with Daisy. They played all week!
After a week of vacation fun it was time to come home. We loved South Carolina and spending time with our family.
Once again our kids were awesome. Even when we were stuck on the tarmac longer than expected, when a little girl two seats away from us puked about 20 minutes before take off. Rocky was done though. As soon as we hit the ground in Phoenix he was out.
They were done.
This was in the baggage claim area. He decided it was his new bed. :)
I am so glad that we got to go. I have never been to the South and want to go back again someday. After years of watching Gone With the Wind, I have always wanted to go. Our kids were the best little travelers, we got to see new things, visit family, and eat lots of yummy food.
