2010 Summer Vacation

This year our family summer vacation was a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. We had so much fun and got to see and visit so many states. As Brian puts it, we toured the entire SEC. We drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. The trip began with a long, rainy drive to Montgomery, AL where we stayed overnight in an super awesome hotel - Candlewood Suites. The next day we got up early so we could visit the Georgia Aquarium. It was the best aquarium we've been to and we've been to quite a few. We got to see whale sharks and manta rays along with several other animals like penguins and beluga whales. After that, we made our way to the Prince Resort at Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach. Our resort was fantastic. We got a three bed, three bath condo which had lots of room for the boys to run around. The beach was right across the street and the pool area had a lazy river. We spent two days at the beach and lots of time at the pool. Brian took the boys to visit Wilmington, NC and the USS North Carolina battleship. The following day, we visited Patriot's Point in Charleston which is home to the Yorktown aircraft carrier and a sub. From there we took the ferry over to Fort Sumter which is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Brian took James and John around the fort while Jude and I stayed in the shade and listened to the history talk given by the park ranger. It was super hot and humid that day so instead of heading into downtown, we drove back to the resort and hit the pool to cool off. Our last day there, we did a little bit of fishing from the pier. I didn't catch anything but my dad caught a baby shark. Unfortunately, James and John had gotten bored and my mom took them back to the room for lunch not 10 minutes earlier. Oh well. The people next to us caught a much larger shark shortly after we first arrived so they got to see that one. Our final afternoon was spent in the lazy river before cleaning up and heading to Medieval Times for dinner and the show. I had actually never been before so it was a first for the boys and I. We ate with our hands and watched several jousting matches and sword fights. It got a bit cheesy for me towards the end but the boys loved every minute of it. We went to bed as soon as we could because we had two long days of driving ahead of us. Brian changed our route home so we could hit a few more states and see the Smokey Mountains on our way home. While it was a far drive, we all had a wonderful time. A super big thanks to my sister for taking care of Whinnie while we were gone. Here are the photos from our trip.

James is 6 Years Old!!

Really truly, I have no idea where this last year went. I remember so well being pregnant with James and those last few days leading up to his birth. I tried everything to get him to come - spicy foods, long walks, etc. - but he had to be evicted 10 days after his due date. James has grown into such a wonderful little boy. He's so curious about everything and how it works and is constantly asking questions. I went to his Kindergarten graduation last week and his teacher said his favorite subject was science because it makes your brain smarter. I honestly think his favorite subject will be math as he's always asking me math questions. Right now it's just addition and subtraction but I better brush up on my multiplication and division tables. I really can't believe he's going to be in first grade next year. Thankfully his teacher has instilled a love of learning in him and I know he's well prepared and will do wonderfully.

James had quite the eventful birthday this year. He got so spend some alone time with Brian getting donuts and having my car washed. Then it was off to Toys R Us with Gammie and Poppa to pick a new bike. Afterwards we all headed to Times Square for bowling and laser tag. We bowled a game and ate pizza for lunch. Then Gammie and I brought Jude home for a nap while everyone else stayed for a game of laser tag. All was going well until the last few minutes of the game when an adult accidentally got James in the mouth with his gun. James bit the inside of his lip really badly and had to get four stitches at Katy Urgent Care. His poor lips were so swollen the rest of the weekend. Even now (Tuesday) his top lip is still a bit puffy. We had to cancel his photos on Sunday because the swelling hadn't gone down.

All in all James is growing into a fine little boy who is kind, caring and very loving. We can't wait to see what the next year has in store for him.