The Rest of the Story...

 Grandpa & I got along famously with little Xander.  That was my biggest concern of the trip so I was very happy that we bonded to well.  He is such a cutie and I will miss him.  He loves his "ba ba" and balls.  He also loves pushing anything from stroller to boxes to chairs.

 With Steve around, we took a few more opportunities to walk on the beach and explore new horizons.

 This particular evening, we saw several people flying amazing kites.  It was fascinating to watch.  I didn't even think to take photos of the kites.  One was like a helicopter--seemed very sophisticated.  The evening breezes were perfect for kite flying.

 We also made several more trips to the playground and library.  On Wednesday, we tended two neighbor kids that are friends with Benson and Sadie so we went early to the playground before it got too hot.  Then we went to the library which is next door.  After lunch we spent two hours at the pool while Xander and Grandpa napped.

 On Thursday, we packed our lunch and snacks and headed south to the Charleston area.  We visited Charles Towne Landing an historic site where the first English settlers to the area landed in 1670 and started a colony.  Here is Sadie in the museum wearing part of a costume of the era.

 We did a lot of walking so we were grateful for the huge old oak shade trees with moss hanging down from them.

 Here Benson and Sadie pose with one of the costumed folks telling us about the history of the Common House where people temporarily stayed until they could build something for themselves.

 Benson and Sadie helped this sailor swab the deck of this merchant vessel.  It is a replica of one use to transport goods from Barbados to the new world.

 Here are four men working to raise the anchor so they can set sail.

 On Friday we decided to check our Brookgreen Gardens which is a little closer to home, only about 40-50 minutes.  The kids enjoyed playing in this area with replica houses, castles, etc from storybook adventures.

 Xander really loved this train and loved the ringing bell.

 There was also an interactive children's area where the kids were able to enjoy creating and exploring in the wonderful AIR CONDITIONED room.  We did not get used to the humidity. Both of the parks had zoo areas with a few animals originally in the area.  We all enjoyed that aspect of the parks.

 Steve picked up Jeff late on Friday night.  He willingly got up on Saturday morning for breakfast with the kids.  Here he is helping the kids with the tiniest lego-like projects from Thailand.  I think he fully intended to stay up but we were glad we were still there so he could go back to bed for a few hours.  Traveling from Asia is grueling.

 While Jeff slept, we had one more walk on the beach.  It wass cloudy and not crowded and the water was very warm.  I loved the sound of the waves and the sand on my feet.

 The sand is so fine that even Steve took off his shoes. Amazing!

 He took a couple of photos of Case and New Holland tractors grooming the beach.

 This section of the beach was very busy.  There was a group carrying around sand bags and running back and forth doing some kind of exercise routine.  There was a fisherman--you can see his three poles.  He would cast way out into the water and then place his poles in holders on the beach.  Then he would go out with his net to bring in his catch.  There is also at least one surfer out there.

 After the beach, we took the kids swimming one last time.  Their pool was closed due to broken glass so we went to another one in the complex which was empty but apparently restricted to the condo only residents.  Steve charmed the condo watchman into letting us stay about 30 minutes.  Way to go, Steve.

 Here is one last photo of each of the kids in the car on the way to the airport.  Sadie seemed sad to see us go, but I think everyone is super happy to have their Dad back.

 Benson and his friend, Jake, both age 11.

Sadie and her friend Sophie.  Sophie is 10 and Sadie is 7 but they get along pretty well.

One of the things I enjoyed most during our visit were the evening devotionals.  I loved listening to Sadie and Benson, both excellent readers, read from the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful their parents are teaching them the gospel and the value of scripture study and family prayer.   I hope that our entire family continues to do these things with their children so we won't tarnish or nullify the sacrifices made by our ancestors to follow the Savior and His teachings.

We enjoyed our visit in SC and the opportunity to become more involved with our grandkids.  Goodbye for now!

A Quiet Moment?

After being in SC for a wk I am having a quiet moment and I still have enough energy to post this blog.  Jeff picked me up last Sunday afternoon.  This allowed a bit of time for Xander to get used to having me around and for Jeff to give me instructions on various things including how to run the scanner and tips on Xander's preferences, before we took him to the airport on Monday morning.

The kids and I were on our own so the activities began.  Intermingled between activities were trips to each of the local grocery stores.  I like to check out all of them.  We are focusing on meals at home rather than eating out.  Each day we had a major activity like a trip to the library, the playground, bowling, summer movies, and time at their neighborhood pool.  We did that each day except Sunday.  We have been to the library twice and I'm sure we will go at least one more time.

The kids bowled two games and took turns bowling for Xander as he just didn't get into it.  Sadie said, "It seemed like we always bowled out best when we were bowling for Xander." He won both games as Baby Bowler.

 Steve arrived late on Friday evening after a long day of flight segments.  So Saturday morning we made our first trip to the beach.  I didn't tackle that on my own due to all of the equipment I would have to drag out there to make it a pleasant visit.  With Steve, there were more people to carry stuff and we still didn't bring the umbrella.

 It was cloudy and windy but the water was warm and the kids loved playing in the waves.  It cut down a bit on the crowds though so that was nice.  After the beach, we stopped by Costco for some supplies, tasters and treats.

One of Xander's beloved bottles, BaBa's was ruined in the dishwasher, and another one has disappeared so we were down to one precious BaBa.  I had him help me choose a special sippy cup with a soft nipple hoping that we could transition him off the bottle altogether.  He still prefers his one BaBa but he has taken to carrying this around and taking a few drinks.  I guess that is progress.

Xander loves to be outside so frequent walks with Grandpa are high on his list.  He is making progress with Grandpa.  He was very cautious at first of this new man who showed up suddenly.

The other day at the library, I bought a country cook book from the sale rack for $1.  There were a handful of raspberries in the fridge that I didn't want to waste so I made a raspberry Tasty Cake dessert from the book.  It was delish.  However, the Tasty Cakes are not the same.  The quality and size have really gone downhill.  I will probably try the Hostess next time.  As a long time Tasty Cake fan, I'm soooo disappointed.  Gone are the good old days.

 Here are the kids in the Costco cart.  Xander is still keeping a sharp eye on Steve at this point.

 There is a new playground next to the library so we go there first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.  We are still adjusting to the humidity.  Sweating is really not my style.

Church went pretty well today.  We didn't have to take any of the kids out for misbehaving but Benson put a folded up program made into a puppet inside Steve's iPad case.  That pushed against the Pandora icon and started the music playing.  Steve left to try to get the device under control.  That did not make him too happy.  Xander went with us to gospel doctrine rather than stay in the nursery.  He grabbed for Grandpa rather than stay there.  The third hour, I took him back to nursery and stayed with him.  It helped that we arrived just in time for snacks.  We made it through the hour together without further incident but he sat on my lap most of the time.  I figure it's time for bed so I am going to head that way.  We plan to have another wonderful week in SC.