South Carolina

We had a wonderful time in South Carolina visiting with family and seeing where Brad's parents will eventually relocate (in 2009 after Brad's dad finishes mentoring Brad through his residency- South Carolina is great, but he just couldn't pass up the priceless opportunity to teach his son as one of his attendings at the hospital... so they put off the "full" retirement for a few years from when they might otherwise have gone down there sooner). It's a beautiful home and a lovely place and we know that they will be very happy there and we will enjoy going down to visit often, no matter where we land ourselves when this crazy residency thing is over. :) This weekend together was a great reminder of the intangible things that make life so precious, and we are so blessed to have a loving, intact, wonderful family on both sides- getting together is always such a treat! It was really nice, actually, NOT to have access to the "outside" world (they don't have internet in the new house yet and their tv only gets NBC)- we spent a lot of time playing cards, talking, and walking around outside with the kids. It was a great time! Here are some pictures of our fun time together- it took awhile to pare down my 200+ pictures- hope you think it's worth the wait! Enjoy! :)

Here is the view from the many Southern-exposure windows in the house- it's a saltwater marsh that comes and goes with the tides; it's beautiful and ever-changing with lots of plant and animal life. It was maybe my favorite thing about their new house. :)

There's a dock off the neighbor's property and we took many little trips out to look at the water.
The hands-down favorite thing for the girls was this big box that Nana set up as their "Fort."
There was much hiding inside and shutting of the doors.
Plenty of hugs between the girls inside the box.
And lots of joyful popping out- it was Peekaboo at its best! :)
We think Carolyn may grow up to have a career as an incarcerated person. :) Just kidding... we hope! But she sure did love the dog's crates! We just couldn't keep her out! She just kept going in and shutting the door. :) Maybe we should get her a cage for Christmas.
All the cabinets are empty because they don't really live there yet and the girls (especially Carolyn) so enjoyed crawling inside.
Carolyn has a growing interest in hiding... which means that we have to keep an extra close watch on her- or she'll just disappear! One day we had a little scare- we all thought someone else was watching her and we looked up and saw she was gone! We quickly ensured that all the exits were sealed and the stairs were blocked and then we scattered to search for her, and finally discovered her here, sitting in a corner of Nana's room on the dog's bed, munching her Cheerios (doo-doos) in peace. :) Crisis averted!The rocking chairs on the back porch were a big hit, too- both with the boys, who enjoyed sitting in them while shooting Kath's BB gun at pop cans, and with the little girls. Carolyn kept asking to "Ock! Ock!" and became quite agitated when circumstances necessitated her removal from the chair. :)
This isn't really the greatest picture (when you have toddlers, you settle for just having them look at the camera- there's no point in trying to get them to smile at the same time :)), but it shows how much more alike Emily and Carolyn are beginning to look. Their hair is nearly the same length and color now, and they really look related now- as babies they looked nothing alike!
Another major highlight of the new house is the outlet mall right across the street from their subdivision! We got some great deals, and the girls had a fun time playing in the little machines- they don't know that they move if you put money in them yet. :)
But of course the best part of our weekend was spending time with family. There were lots of hugs all around, with Uncle Doug (Gug)
And Aunt Katy (with whom Carolyn really seemed to bond- when she'd wake up, "Tatie" was asked for, right after Papa). :)
We had an early Thanksgiving meal together, so Carolyn got to enjoy sweet potatoes, turkey, dressing, and cranberries for the first time. It was a hit!
One of my favorite parts of the whole thing was introducing Carolyn to the ocean! I've never lived anywhere very close to the sea, so I've only ever been to the beach a few times in my life, and every time I'm there, I feel like a child again and love to go running over the sand, watch the waves, and put my feet in the water. It was fun to see Carolyn absorb the beauty of this unique place for the first time.
The girls were immediately and irresistibly drawn to the water; they'd have wandered right in over their little heads if we'd let them! Carolyn loved to "follow" the wave as it went out and in.
She also had a ball chasing down the seagulls (Bir! Bir! Bir!)
We went back a second time, this time with Da Boys also. Here's our little family at the beach (never mind Brad's silly wave :))
I really love this picture of me with Carolyn; the colors are so beautiful and you can't even see anybody else. Great job Brad the photographer!
And I love Carolyn's facial expression here- she really just had a wonderful time; it was fun to see her enjoying the experience so much.
Again, the waves hold a mysterious pulling power for little girls...
Emily cracks me up when she gets excited! She makes this silly face whenever she gets really happy about something. :)
And here's my last picture... we ended our beach experience with a Nana Group Hug. There's no doubt about it, this grandma loves her little granddaughters! We really couldn't be more blessed.