But Mommy...I wasTHIRSTY!

that was his defiant answer to me telling him

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER OUT OF THE TOILET!!!

that is just sick!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

Today I am especially grateful for soap and antibacterial whatever!

Enjoy this layout of said toilet water drinker

(this was another one for the competition)

Fort Sumter

Took a ferry out to Fort Sumter. It was really amazing to see this place and to think about how FAR they shot these cannons. Amazing! The fort is nothing like what it used to be. Originally had 3 stories to it's walls with cannons on 2 levels, there used to be officer quarters and, well LOTS of stuff. Obviously it's been through a war and a few hundred years. Now there is just the first level left and lots of rubble. But it was really neat.

I loved all this old brick. Do you like our little photo shoot we took????? We were in the back portion of the fort by ourselves for quite sometime. The rest of the boat was on a tour with the guide, but being the rebels that we are, we explored the place on our own. Which, I'm glad we did cause we saw more of the fort than the tour got to cause they talked to much apparently!

Rainbow Row

I lOVED this place. Rainbow row was SO pretty and quaint and picturesque and blah blah blah.....how cool to live in a place like this. As long as you don't need a car! Parking is at a premium around here.

Anyway...every house was painted a different color, like pink, purple, blue, green, aqua, yellow. They were all so pretty and it was fun to walk.

There were also lots of really cool doors all over the city. Wish we'd had a few more days to wander around so I could take like 200 MORE pictures of everything!!!

MOre VaCa....

This is the bed and breakfast we stayed in, the Battery Carriage House I think. It ran along the Charleston Bay. The courtyard is where our room was. The second black entry was our door. Wish I had taken more pictures of this place! It was so cool. We ate breakfast

at this little table outside our room.

Speaking of food, we had dinner at a pretty famous restaurant (i guess). All the tables had markings on them of the famous people who sat at them. I think AC/DC was on our table, amongst others. Like Dougs BIG fish?????

Anybody watch the A&E show Flip this House? With Trademark Properties?????

Well, here is there Charleston office, they actually did an episode about remodeling this place. It was never open while we were there...too bad dude, maybe i could of met Ginger or something ;)

Part 1 of trip...

We had SO much fun in South Carolina. It was beautiful. Though my sister-in-laws parents asked me where it was that I was from that I thought this was beautiful. Las Vegas was all i had to say. She was referring to Columbia which is where my brother lives, but we did spend 2 days in Charleston, which was 'freakin' awesome'!!! The first place we went was the Magnolia Plantation.


It was not quite what I was expecting for a plantation, but that's because the original home was burned in the 1800's and replaced by this smaller home which was later added on to. It was still cool none the less and it is really famous for it's gardens. Seriously, the gardens were AMAZING! Even though it was a bit off season for blooming, still, lakes, bridges, long winding pathways and canopies...everywhere. We had a lot of fun wandering through and my mother and I took lots of ridiculous pictures of each other. But I'm sparing you most of those!

Oh, i probably failed to mention that my mom and step dad met us in S.C. for the baby blessing and we spent most of the week with them and my brother.

the house (duh!)

the lake with bridge

one of the paths we walked down

I know you can't see us, but my mom and I are hiding in the bamboo forest.

a spontaneous stroll down a wandering path. obviously my photographer didn't see the same thing through the lens as I did...oh well. will never recreate that "spontaneous" moment again! :)

the "tourist" bathroom they built had these super cool faucets. just had to take a picture of it.



one of the slave houses they had for you to walk through. I think this is bigger than most of the others on the plantation but this is the only one you could walk through. They said that the slaves at this plantation were treated better than any others in the area at that time. Apparently they lived "the good life"!

the inside. I wonder if this is what it was really like or if they've added to it to make it not seem so bad...

First and foremost.....THE BAAYBEEY

Ok...so blogger is not letting me rearrange the photos...how rude!

Anyway, this is Ripley Marith (after grandma)

she is as sweet as apple pie!

i melted all over her for days.

she has a little fascination with her tongue and likes to stick it out all the time

she has the exact same hairline that my brother had when he was born

my brother is obsessively doting on her...he is whipped big time!

I am by far her favorite aunt!

i hated to say goodbye, knowing it would most likely be a year before I see her again ;(

This little piece of SUGAR turns SIX!

...yesterday.
How did she get so big?????
For breakfast, she wanted...BROWNIES...so brownies we had.
With candles and a song.
What a great way to start the day...brownies and presents.

Later it was Red Robyn for lunch
They sang to her there too.
Surprised she wanted that...she doesn't like having a lot of attention drawn to herself.
But she loved it, I could tell.

Dinner was per her request
followed up by a new movie
churo's........AND popcorn!

Why do I love this girl....cause she is ONE OF A KIND!
She is my little helper, a little mother and all around caretaker of the family.
She loves to learn new tricks and works hard till she masters them.
I love her desire to know how to do "stuff"
She has a very specific style and is extremely picky.
But, also realizes she doesn't need a lot of stuff.
She is very generous and thoughtful of others,
she will easily give things away and tells me she doesn't need much.

She has been working hard to learn to ride her big two-wheeler
and finally last month....SHE GOT IT!

How proud is SHE!




A few months ago she was begging to have her hair cut just like her sisters.
I tried to ignore that request and held her off as long as I could.
But she was determined that it was what she wanted.
Soooooooooo...i cut it.
then
her
face
fell.................

and as hard as she tried
she couldn't stop
the tears from rolling.

then, I joined in.
I never wanted to cut it in the first place.
and she regretted it.

so we sat there
and I held her till she stopped
and then told her how cute it could be
so we styled it
and she said she would get used to it.
And, with a sigh said "it will grow".


(obviously, this is before)


This little one is mature beyond her years.
I love her so.
and look forward to everyday with her.

by-the-way...she has gotten used to her hair and doesn't mind it so much.
me...can't wait for it to be long again...it just suits her.

vacation details to come!