Nothing's Fina' than S. Carolina!

Directly after our cruise through the Panama Canal, on March 23, 2017, we flew to Myrtle Beach to visit Libbie and Jeff's family in their new home.  We arrived late that night so we didn't see the kids until the next day.  Benson was off to school, Sadie was home still under the weather from having a fever and flu for a couple of days.  Xander was in his prime and so happy to see his Papa!

Steve and Jeff immediately set to work on projects.  I believe the first was to assemble and install a storm door on their back door.  It allows a lot of extra light into the room and with the soft close feature will keep the door from banging. So first we went shopping at the nearby Lowe's to purchase the door.

It wasn't all that easy, but Jeff and Steve with a lot of help from Xander managed to finish it off perfectly.
We always hope for warm, pleasant weather in South Carolina but for some reason we usually arrive along with a cold snap.  This visit was no exception.  However, it was still warmer than back home and we had rain instead of snow.  Mostly it was just cloudy and chilly.
Below Steve and his vigilant helper, Xander prepare the wall of the garage for painting--a little mud and a bit of sanding.  Libbie wants a home gym and she has her plan ready.

That afternoon, Steve and I, bundle up and go to a local high school to watch Benson compete with the high school tennis team.  Since he is in the 8th grade, that is pretty impressive.  He had a brand new partner for this set of doubles so they didn't pull off a win but Benson did a great job and we enjoyed watching.

Saturday morning, I went with Liberty to the boot camp class she teaches with Char.  They make the class a lot of fun.  I wish that I could participate all the time.  I would be in good shape if I did.
Meanwhile Steve had painted the wall and was ready to begin installing the gym equipment.

The weather was warm enough and it didn't rain, so the kids had a ball playing with their new neighbor across the street.  She furnished a lot of fun toy options and was so happy to have playmates.  Their mother played too.

Libbie's friend, Char, gave Steve some gourmet cupcakes since we were trying to eat so healthy with Libbie.  She thought our sugar withdrawal after the cruise might be difficult and it was.  Steve generously shared them with our birthday boys, Benson on March 18 and Jeff on April 6.  Of course the rest of us joined in except for Libbie.  She was so good.

Monday night we went to a Japanese restaurant, Miyabi's, to celebrate Benson and Jeff's birthdays.  It is a fast food version of  the fancy Japanese teppanyaki style food.  It was delicious and we all enjoyed it very much.

Sunday was probably the highlight of our visit as we were able to observe Benson being ordained to the office of a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood.  It as great that Steve was able to assist in the ordination.  After church, Benson, Libery and Jeff drove 2 1/2 hours to the stake patriarch's so Benson could get his patriarchal blessing.  Xander and Sadie were so happy we were there to take care of them so they wouldn't have to go along for that ride.

Between all the projects, Libbie, Xander and I slipped over to the beach.  Steve was intent on finishing up some details so he missed the beach entirely on this trip.  He is "dadicated."

Both Steve and I went to Brookgreen Gardens with Libbie and Xander.  Many of the flowers got frozen in the cold snap but it was still beautiful with lots of daffodils and some tulips.

There were lots of blooming azaelas in the area which we enjoyed too.

 Below are a few pictures of Libbie and Jeff's new home.  It is very pretty and functional.  We think that they will really enjoy having a home of their own again.  The location is perfect near the club house, tennis courts and swimming pool and overlooking a lovely pond.

 Below are my cold blue toes in the ocean.  I always have to get my "feet wet."

Thanks to Liberty for squeezing in a foot zone just before we left.  I love to have my feet zoned.

We loved walking around their neighborhood.  It is a pretty place.  Of course we checked out the bigger new homes being built right across from her back pond.

In this photo of Xander and Steve, you can see the back of Libbie's house--the green one on the right. To the left of Xander is the big pond.

Xander loves Brookgreen gardens and below he was busy vacuuming Sadie's bedroom.  Just as we were winding up our last day, Libbie discovered that her friend and son had lice.  She suspected that Sadie would have it too since she plays with Ryder all the time.  Libbie started washing bedding, clothes, etc. immediately.  She texted us from the airport that Sadie indeed was infested.  Of course after lots of hugs, etc., I was concerned that I might have it too.   I itched a lot the next couple of days.  However, I was spared.  It became a nightmare for Libbie though as Sadie went through two rounds and the washing machine broke in the middle of the whole mess.  Jeff to the rescue.  Jeff is becoming quite handy.

We loved our five day South Carolina visit.  I surely wish that there't weren't so many miles in between us.  Xander surely loves his Papa.  He said he wanted us to live nearby.  It was a sad moment when they hugged goodbye at the airport.