intriguing

While blog hopping tonight, I ran across this. I hope you enjoy it as I did - what a talent in putting this piece together.

did the rain bring them here?

Black and Yellow Argiope - aka garden/writing spider... they're everywhere right now!!!

As I drove through the neighborhood this morning I noticed at least 15 other Argiope webs - some were much larger then ours, it was interesting how the fog and the moisture seemed to highlight the webs for a clear view. These not so little spiders work pretty darn hard!! It was literally overnight that I had 6 webs, artistically spun by these busy critters; I'm guessing maybe all of the rain and flash flooding we've had could have driven them out of the wooded area surrounding our neighborhood.

I noticed companion webs by by the web that the female is hanging out in - which means there was possibly some spider 'naughty' going on.... so I must take action and move our spider out into the wild jungle of the 'common ground' behind our house. I won't kill her, but I will move her. There's no real reason she should move her and her large load of babies in with us... even though the bite is 'harmless' according to everything I've read - I'm still not much on one of these baby's crawling anywhere near me!

it left me speechless

Ezra's homework assignment tonight was 'leftovers' from class + 30 min of reading. He reads voluntarily for about 1-1.5 hours per day so that's something he likes. Back to the point of this post.... His 'leftovers' today from class was a sheet about himself. The sheet had many questions... but some stuck out to me.

• What's your favorite subject? answer: READING


• What's your least fav. subject? answer: MATH


• Fill in the blanks: When I grow up I want to be a race car driver because I like racing.

So I kept reading and got down to this one: If you could have 3 wishes come true, what would they be?

Keep in mind that he's a 9yo boy, who loves his toys, loves to play, and loves getting new things just like any other kid his age would. I kept that in mind, and he managed to blow me away. His paper was filled out w/o me around, w/o my knowing what he wrote. He put it away and asked me to sign his agenda to show that he'd read for 30 min and while I was signing that, and he was upstairs, I took a gander at his homework sheet (really to check out his penmanship) and this is what he answered to that last question:

1. I'd like to find a submarine and go over the entire sea ((he likes the idea of finding treasure))


2. I'd like to have the largest library ever made, for more knowledge.


3. I'd like for Sarah to have her brother back.

I'll leave you with that folks. That coming from a 9 year old. He could have said so many other things, could have wrote about wanting the most extravagant toys... And what's more, is that he wrote that - and likely thought I'd NEVER read it. He went to bed, never mentioned it - never wanted recognition for writing such a sweet thing. He'd want a library for more knowledge... how'd we get so lucky??

He'd use a wish on me - that's what makes me speechless.

unsettling

I'm a frequent reader of this blog; I stumbled upon her talent in searching for Montessori rescources, she's a Montessouri teacher as well as a talented sewing pattern designer. Her classroom inspires me to have more natural resources at home, her ability to use simplicity in photos keeps me in awe, and I'm constantly stealing book ideas as well as craft ideas from this site.

Today when I checked her blog, I was sad to read that a mass shooting claimed the life of one of her student's relatives. She often writes about her students, includes them in photos - and when you are a faithful blog reader, it almost feels as if you know them somehow, because you've been invited into their life. It was mind boggling to say the least that this can happen even AFTER the police were warned - direct quote from her blog "It appears that one of the warring drug cartels called the local police, told them to leave Creel, then came in and shot thirteen people, including a baby. No police or any officials arrived for hours after."

I felt the article was worthy of sharing. Here's the direct link to the article in English. My thoughts are summed up in saying - when will this begin to matter???.

old routine

Today was a terrific start of the new school year for big E, he loves his teachers and is excited about the 5th grade. Traffic was a little jammed up today, and I suppose it will be all week - we planned ahead with snacks,books and leaving a little early. Little J was sad to see big brother go off by himself today, they've been such buddies all summer. All I've heard all day is 'where's big E?'; his little face lit up like Christmas when he saw his brother returning to the car this afternoon!

As for little J and I, I went back and reconfigured my daily routine/schedule and so far so good!! We will have 1 class a week at a local childrens center/gym, I've found a homeschool group for pre-school/toddler outings 1 x a week locally, library 'story-time' 1 x a week, and the other two days are freebies for us to just catch up on odds and ends, appointments, grocery shopping, etc.

I'm researching and still driving toward a better education plan for our family... the answer is yet to come to me... but I've found lots of resources recently and I'm defiantly checking out many homeschool co-ops and groups to find out what will be the best fit for us. Our goal is to make any changes at the end of this school year. My heart tells me one thing, and the world tells me another. I will go w/ my heart of course, I'm not too concerned about impressing others in order to feel good about myself the opinion of others... my ultimate goal isn't to feel like I'm above anyone else because my kids are in "this" school or homeschooled, my goal is for my kids to be educated, well rounded, upstanding, moral citizens - over all "good people". Period. How we go about reaching that goal is our responsibility - so I am really digging hard to find what will be the answer...

I can't tell you how sick I am of people stereotyping homeschooled kids as 'un-social'. I'm sure there are people who SAY they homeschool and don't... but the people I know who homeschool their kids are dedicated and involved and they keep their kids active in the world. I could go on a rant about that for DAYS. I know of plenty of homeschooled kids/adults who are highly successfull and completely 'social'. That's like saying that we send our kids to school to be social, and not to learn. That people send their kids to a private Christian school because they want them to learn their religion and beliefs - isn't it our responsibility to lead the way?? Ok - rant is about to start...I'll stop now, I really posted this to say that even though I'm seriously disappointed in CMS our poorly organized public systems.. two years in a row big E landed himself a terrific teacher!! We're glad for that!

random review

I have a pretty heafty list of feed subscriptions, and I take time to read them each time they're updated. I found a meme posted on one of them recently and I just had to do it myself after reading it.... it's more of a 'review' then a quiz. My SIL had a questionnaire posted on her site a few weeks back and just knew that no-one would re-post it. IF anyone re posts this please leave a comment.

10 years ago I was:
…a smoker – I’ll admit it because now I’m a quitter! I’ve been proud to be a quitter now for a little over 5 years.
…not married, and dating someone that I thought was the person for me – I’m glad I woke up
.…my mis-spent youth was coming to a head.

5 years ago I was:
…newly married, stepmom, and in the middle of a very terrible battle for custody of my stepson (we have him – no worries there)
…wondering if I would be a good mom
…. Living in a very small apartment with my husband
…finding out that I was a candidate for cervical cancer
…quitting smoking – see the above line for why… as if I needed a reason… someone should have passed me an idiot sign

1 year ago I was:
…becoming very comfortable working from home, taking care of my 2 kids, and being mom
…mourning the loss of my brother.
....becoming a better me after some serious life changes

Yesterday I was:
…relaxed
…productive

…organizing for the new schedule during the school year

5 snacks I enjoy the most:

1. Cheerios – Multi grain – dry, I like to eat like a 2 year old.
2. Turtle Chex Mix
3. Pistachio’s
4. Grapes
5. Granny Smith Apples

5 songs I know all the words to:

1. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice (thought I’d throw that out there… I’m not proud, but I know it)
2. Imagine – John Lennon
3. Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan
4. The Space Between Us - Dave Matthews Band
5. Janice Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee
   

5 ideal places for running away to:

1. The beach
2. The lake
3. A park in the mountains
4. … if no place away from home – my refuge is sometimes the bathroom – although it’s a rarity that I go it alone… I do have a toddler.
5. Worst case scenario…and possibly the most dangerous – my mind.

5 items you will never see me wear:

1. spandex
2. Stilettos
3. Fake lashes
4. Fake nails – I was blessed with good nails J thanks mom!
5. A string bikini – oh how I’ve resigned that those days are over… I’m accepting of myself so that’s ok. It was good while it lasted!
   

5 biggest joys in life:

1. The birth of my son and the very first time he looked at me.
2. My husband and 2 boys
3. The sound of the ocean
4. The smell of rain
5. Chocolate and Carmel – together as they should be ;)

last days of summer break

Little J had an allergic reaction today, we're not sure what caused it - seems like it may have been the mulch, or something in it. We had benedryl, gave it - and it cleared up. This scared me because of my own personal history with anaphylaxis, and with my brothers death by anaphylaxis. We have intentions of allergy testing at his 3rd year check up. We keep a journal of each occurrence, and in 2 years this is #6 and one of the smaller ones. Today was hives, and swelling. Thank goodness the benedryl did the trick, and he was not at all bothered by any of it.

I've realized that the summer is coming to a close for weekly outings w/ the boys - so this week we tried to make the last week of summer - fun. It turns out that the planets didn't align and I had chaos... flat tires, toddlers with busted eyes, computer problems... anyway - Friday and Saturday were dedicated to park hopping... so that's what we did.

I have been playing w/ photoshop recently. Big J uses it all day long, every day - that and Illustrator, but I wanted to learn some basics, so I checked out a very informative book, found some terrific tutorials and am officially screwing up pictures by the dozen with my new found love for photoshop! The red leaf picture in the slideshow is my favorite so far... I removed the color, and added back in the red leaf. I found this amazing strand of red leaves hanging in a perfectly green tree at the park today; one of the leaves had fell to the ground and was so glossy and shiny that I had to take a picture. I wish I'd have taken a photo of the woman who thought I must be insane to take a photo of the ground.... HA.

Thursday's Stuff

Big E had orientation today; his teacher is super nice! He's excited about going to the 5th grade this year and several of his teachers from last year popped by the class while we were their and they said hi. Little J is going to be sooooo sad when school starts.

to the gym!

Jesse's class has been a blast this summer... he really enjoys going and knows when we're on our way there that certain landmarks mean we're close. When we arrive he goes straight for the gymnastic equipment... future Olympian??? I'm kidding...

by invitation only....

Welcome to my pity party - it's come as you are, and we'll have whine and cheese :).

When it rains it pours right? I'm going to be self-centered a bit... It's been a crazy week so far at our house and it seems like it all happens at once... dad told me tonight on the phone that maybe I'm getting my 'run of bad luck' all at once so there's sure to be sunny days ahead.

Monday night little J fell, brow bone first, into the corner of the open drawer on our wood coffee table. He was getting down and tripped and fell. I just knew that it was going to be a geyser of blood - but it wasn't. He's a pretty tough cookie, but this one was a biggie. We put ice on it, and because it was so close to the temple we called the Ped's office for safe measure. Ironically, she said we were the 6th call in 1.5 hours about a toddler falling and injuring the face/head... she admitted it was the craziest night of her nursing career. We were given advice, and we followed it, I'm glad I called. We don't generally call the triage line, but head bumps and as hard as he fell - it was worth keeping peace of mind. He's just fine - and his war wound looked alot better with even 15 minutes of ice on it!

(Above - it looks alot better here then in person.. kindof looks like a 3rd eye stickign out on his head the way it's swollen...)

Tuesday morning I had a LONG drama w/ one of big E's doctors about a medication - it's Jerry Springer worthy so I will not post that - it's just stressful even thinking about it - we will end up changing doctors soon... Anyway, Tuesday night Jonathon came home from work, we were getting dinner ready and had a tight schedule for TaiKwon Do for big E, after a day of scheduled events already with the boys. I went in the garage for something and heard a hissing sound - it was Jonathon's tire... going flat. This would be the 2nd flat tire on his car in 3 weeks! At this point I wondered - are we being punk'd?????

Tomorrow is a different day - and it's destined to be a better one already!! I realize that there are PLENTY of things that are worse, and that we totally are fortunate. But in those given instances - it sucked. Honestly, I'm not going to candy coat it - those moments sucked... but I step outside of my own world for a moment and realize that a flat tire isn't so bad because we can afford another.... a kid with a bruise on his head isn't so bad because he was just fine.... and the ignorant nurse that I talked to today was probably having a bad day and took it out on me... I guess we all have those days...?? right?

Weekend stuff

I'm almost caught up from the week off - I'm spending most all of the freetime I have working and I'm mentally exhausted! I've even been working at nights when we're hanging out watching a movie together after the kids go to bed... I told big J last night that I felt like the mental exhaustion was catching up to me and I was feeling physically stressed and sick. I didn't eat hardly a bite at dinner last night from a headache and feeling worn out!

This week has been about getting all school supplies, clothes; getting LOTS of work done w/ the companies I work for from home; getting check ups and appointments made on my 'to do' list; getting ideas of whether I plan to enroll little J in a Montessori style preschool for 6 hours a week (2 days - 3 hours each day); deciding whether the schedule of driving from one end of town to the other (no getting around that - it's where big E goes to school) then back to the University Area 2 x's a week for drop off for little J then back to pick little J up at noon then home for nap then back out to into another city in the afternoon is REALLY worth 6 hours a week of Montessori style learning exposure. We're still back and forth on our 2 year plan of decision making for schooling. We have alot of options - and thankfully, we have a great placement for big E this year and last year to make those decisions well thought out...

Exciting news - (for little J anyway)..... our big boy has started asking to go potty. I've been quite laid back on this because I've seen where other parents get into a power struggle over a very natural body function... yesterday and today he's came to me and asked to go potty. So we're slowly going in the right direction, and we're (me and daddy) 100% letting him go at his own pace all the while encouraging and praising him even when he gives it a 'dry run' try!

Not so exciting news - the little video below is a fire ant mound that we figured out existed... we just had the entire yard treated for fire ants. I'm not a fan of the fire ant - specifically because of the loss of my brother. So imagine my immediate inward panic when big J tells me that little J was standing on the ant mound (unknowingly of course) and came back with his entire foot and ankle covered in them. He has several bites, thankfully he had no reactions. I poked a couple of holes in the mound w/ a stick and wasn't surprised that thousands of ants surfaced angry at me. According to the company who treats our yard, what we see on top isn't even an eighth of what is below surface.

what's been said and done

recent random statements by our oldest son...


...on being 'green'


"I wonder why the world just now realized that things may run out, like oil. I also wonder why all of the sudden everyone wants to recycle - didn't they know that recycling should be done all along?"


I'm guilty as charged - so I replied with "I guess everyone figures, it's never too late to make a change for the good of things."


... on hopes


"I hope one-day I can put a whole chick-fil-a waffle fry in my mouth w/o choking on it - like you do."


my thoughts on that ~HA~ (I rarely do that, and when I do it just in our house to amuse him)


.... on school


"I can't wait to go back to school. I'm actually looking forward to having work to do during the day."


my thoughts on that ~ I'll put that one in my pocket for later this school year... and for when he has a job.... actually - it makes me happy that he's eager, 3 years ago he would have never said or even thought that way.


So this week has been a little hectic - trying to catch up on lots of work that fell behind, making appointments for much needed check ups, and trying to get all supplies together for school. I haven't really had much to blog about this week, outside of our normal routine. Little J will see a gastro-intestinal specialist soon (the same one he saw as and infant for GER) because of some recent symptoms that his reflux may still be present.


Both boys had haircuts yesterday - Big E had a little green tinted gel put in his hair; he loves that! Little J always looks so much older to me after... but he wouldn't stay still for a good picture. He's on the go all day, every day! I do not have a 'lap-baby' any longer... he used to be so content to sit and be by my side... but now he's in discovery mode 24/7. Big E had TaiKwon Do last night and I took a few pictures during sparring time.

a random meme, humor me

Today was absolutely mundane, and normal, and all of what I needed. Weird, but I actually like my life structured. I enjoy the occasional frivolity... but in the end, I suppose I'm a prude. So there's nothing spectacular to blog about today, no major changes in our life. What we did in a nutshell was a few errands, a nice relaxing visit to the local library for some new reads, a much needed grocery store visit (after vacation - whew) and then back home to work. Tonight we watched Intervention after the kids were in bed, and it was quite interesting - I learned alot about 'dusters' and inhalants.

This one's for my SIL - because on the last ? she answered 'probably no-one' and I bet she knew deep down I had a burning desire to fill out a survey..... HA. I agree, blogging is self-indulgent and that's exactly why I'm doing this "meme"... a meme is a new term I've learned in reading blogs - I generally don't read blogs that do alot of them... but I will take interest in the occasional list of random facts about someone. So here's mine (I tag Jennifer on this Meme):

1. Where is your cell phone? on the bar
2. Your significant other? on his way to the store... long story
3. Your hair? short stacked bob, and all natural color
4. Your mother? stubborn, irreplaceable, and absolutely wonderful - all at the same time
5. Your father? remarkably strong, and has become a even more of a strong hold in my life - I'm grateful
6. Your favorite thing? anything w/ my family
7. Your dream last night? didn't dream
8. Your favorite drink? glass bottle coke - full fat. it's a rare thing if I get one.
9. Your dream/goal? that my kids get as much joy out of life and living, as they give me each day
10. The room you’re in? my bedroom right now...
11. Your church? we visit Hickory Grove North
12. Your fear? nothing really - I don't like standing on top of tall structures and looking down... does that count?
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? not in Mecklenburg County
14. Where were you last night? at home, after a week of vacation - resting.
15. What you’re not? co-dependant
16. Muffins? yes please, and I like pumpkin raisin
17. One of your wish list items? my car paid off... it's drawing very near...
18. Where you grew up? Rocky Mount, NC
19. The last thing you did? a bowl of cereal as a snack
20. What are you wearing? PJ's
21. Your TV? it's on - and I'm watching my nightly ritual of re-runs of Seinfeld and Fraiser. LOVE IT.
22. Your pets? one, and she's very pestering. Phoebe, the cat.
23. Your computer? laptop - nothing spectacular
24. Your life? interesting, to me anyway...
25. Your mood? pretty humble
26. Missing someone? yes.
27. Your car? Honda Element
28. Something you’re not wearing? socks
29. Favorite store? right now I'm finding myself loving to look at old history, antiques, and such... I like books too :)
30. Your summer? well spent - with my family
31. Like(love) someone? absolutely
32. Your favorite color? brown
33. Last time you laughed? about 10 min ago, when my husband called me.
34. Last time you cried? earlier today. briefly.
35. Who will repost this? not sure, but I'm interested in reading more about others... so please leave a message for me if you repost this on your blog... (because I know I have thousands of regular readers. HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA)

vacation is over now...

Here's a few photos from Saturday and Sunday - our last 2 official vacation days. Ezra had several items on his summer wish list (not literally - no list) and we've managed to take care of most of them... he's pretty reasonable... he wanted to go to Old Salem (below, pictures, and on smug) and wanted to go to the beach (done), of course Texas is at the top of his list but he understands that will be in the fall.... there's one more totally reasonable request he has so we'll try our best to get that in before the first day of school.

Below are a few pics from our visit to Old Salem. Ezra's request after visiting there last year in 4th grade. He was quite the knowledgable tourguide and we learned alot in the short time we were there.

Lastly, a few pictures below from our trip to the park.

Tomorrow - back to the normal routine!

tigers... they're greeeaaaat!

We're still on 'vacation' I guess you'd say... big J took his first whole week off this year; he hasn't done that in 3 years... I went into labor w/ little J on a weekend, so he only took 3 days off that week....we went to Texas last year, but planned it as a 4 day weekend so he only took 3 days off then... so I guess the last actual week off he took (outside of heart surgery, which doesn't at all count as a vacation) is when we last went to the beach 3 years ago!

We had a few activities planned for the remainder of our vacation week, and today we visited Tiger World. We all had so much fun looking at all of the species of Tigers, Lions, and other animals and reptiles they had. We were able to talk to many of the care givers of these huge beasts, and at one point happened to walk up right after one of the care givers was 'sprayed' in the face with a bath of urine from one of the largest Tigers... it was funny to hear about - but not at all funny for her.

Here's a few pictures from our little field trip today.

Above: This was our tour guide, this goose followed us everywhere the entire time... and Jesse was quite disappointed that he couldn't hug it. He loves to hug everything these days...

Ezra had a blast - his favorites were the macaw's and the bears.

Above: White Siberian Tiger - I didn't know this, but the stripes on tigers are like our fingerprints... no two are the same!

These macaw's (there were 4) were saying 'hello' so clearly, that at first I thought a child was talking somewhere near by!

Below: This was my favorite - this peacock (Indian Peafowl) flirted with us for a while, but would never let me in front to get a picture of the full spread of beautiful feathers. He hopped right up on the fence beside me where I was propped to take pictures of him.. I have a few closeups of his neck and beautiful blue color in the smugmug files.

Below: the Emu is not the most attractive of animals, but sure is friendly. I didn't realize that they can grow up to 6.5 feet in height, and can actually sprint up to 50mph if necessary!! These were really lazy, hanging out and socializing with the human guests that were visiting them...
Below: this Bengal Tiger was sleeping... (see the sleeping pics in smugmug) until Jesse tossed a rock at it.... at which time I'm pretty sure the Tiger saw Jesse as a potential snack. The Tiger never got mad, or growled; he never really showed any aggression - but the look in his eye read "little red shirted snack, don't toss another rock at me". (we encouraged Jesse to toss rocks at grass, and other objects that don't have sharp teeth)
Below: Mama bear, there's also a baby bear (in smug pics)
Below: this is the Tiger that pee'd on his keeper :) - when it happened, she screamed, which made me quiver inside thinking "oh no, something got loose" HA!
I took lots of pictures, and there's one or two of the largest White Siberian Tiger in at the facility.

Tomorrow, on to our last little outing...

tears of joy and sorrow

"Photos may give insight into our lives, but memories of those times is what keeps them alive." ~Unknown Author

Mike w/Nicholas and Haleigh holding our Jesse at 6 days old... Feb 2006

Today is 1 year since my brother passed away. Today began as a somber day, a day of realization that 1 entire year has passed without Mike in my life... I miss him more each day, and it's really hard to believe that a year has passed. In many ways it feels like a lifetime has passed without hearing his voice, and in so many other ways his death is still so fresh to me. I did my normal routine today, stayed busy... around 1pm my dad called me with a crackling voice. He wanted to let me know something good had happened. My cousin was due to have her first son on July 31, but had not had him yet... her birthday was August 4, mine August 5 and yesterday when dad called me to tell me happy birthday I asked him had he heard from Aunt Melody about whether Jen had the baby... and she had not had him yet.... I selfishly told him that I wanted him to be born on August 6 - even though we don't live close, and we have really lost touch with each other's lives... it would be so uplifting to hear great news on such a sad day for our family. My Aunt called my dad to announce that Jackson Everett Currin was born this morning .... and I'm miles away from seeing him, not even sure when I'll get to meet that little angel - but he made his debut on a quite a special day. Just one year ago we lost a treasure, and today the world gained one. I'm so proud for Jennifer and her husband - what a special adventure they have ahead of them...

time to rest our weary heads...

We had a great trip; made it home mid-afternoon. This trip was my birthday trip, and tonight we had a great birthday dinner at home. I'm posting the last few photos (very few), we gave the camera a break on the way home...

After a brief trip back through Charleston and North Charleston a stop at Olive Garden (for my birthday), we hit the highway for home... the boys were pooped! I'm glad to be home to sleep in my own bed tonight, I think Jesse was glad to be back in his too :). Above: One last photo of a work of art... St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Charleston SC Out of all of the buildings in Charleston downtown area, the churches stick out because of their steeples and arches and stained glass. Absolutely beautiful architecture.

Below: The Shipyard where the Hunley Submarine is located - we went for a look today before leaving, only to find that they only offer guided tours on Saturday and Sunday. I should have researched that better!

Above and Below: two tired boys.....

warm sun on our faces...

We woke up, had breakfast and quickly made our way to a perfect little spot on the beach. The heat index and general humidity was up quite a bit so we wanted to go out early to avoid overdoing it with the boys. We spent the morning out at the beach, doing the usual...

Above: We brought a truck from home...and today - it came to the beach - I dug lots of trenches for the truck to roam....

Below: Jonathon and big E didn't provide too many photo ops... they splashed in the ocean the entire morning again!

Above: Jesse doesn't mind the sand - he loves it..so content!

Below: I love what this means... it means we're out to play barefoot in the sand and water!

Below: We finally managed to get our umbrella planted... and it never blew away this time!!

We returned to eat a quick lunch and let Jesse take a nap... I ended up napping too! Jonathon and Ezra went out again to let Ezra spend the rest of his saved money on souvenirs... he bought the oddest trinkets - but ok! After the nap we decided to drive around and then figure out what we'd do for dinner. Site see a bit while we decide... Above and Below: The Citadel Square Baptist Church - absolutely gorgeous architecture - and another beautiful steeple of Charleston. This church has a long history - and was founded in the mid 1800's.
Below: Gibbes Museum of Art - a true landmark of Charleston. Below: A beautiful home overlooking Battery Park & White Park Gardens. The park overlooks Fort Sumter the Charleston Harbor.
Below: The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist - I couldn't get nearly 1/3 of this beautiful building in the photo frame. We were driving right by it and the etched glass is just gorgeous. As you can see in the photo, passers by stop to look at the architecture and beauty. Here's a link to a full photo of the building I found on the internet.

Eventually we ended up being super silly - and eating at a different Charleston Crab House. Ezra loved it, and we decided to let him pick.... so we went to another one and it was just as yummy to me!

After stuffing our faces, we drove back to the beach villa, changed into sandals and went out to the Folly Beach Pier for a walk, then onto the beach for one last romp in the water. The boys enjoyed it alot, and it was just the best weather for a walk! Above: Another photo of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge - it's just an amazing site. It was designed to withstand wind gusts of 300 miles per hour, and earthquakes at 7.4 on the Richter scale. It cost over $700 million to construct, and was designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff. Each diamond tower stands over 575 feet high. It's the largest single cable stay bridge in the Americas! Above: the handmade flowers I bought yesterday outside of the SC Aquarium... made by some young boys, sold for 2.00 each.
Below: our last stroll on the beach for this trip
My "8" looks ridiculous.... but this is what I do everytime we visit the beach.... make a scrapbook page like this.

Tomorrow we're leaving, but we've decided to make a couple of stops in Charleston before heading home... possibly The Old Exchange or Market Street at the Daughters of Confederacy Building to buy some local goods...I'm still planning to grab a handmade basket or two for bread!

All of our photos from today are uploaded.