Stupendous Spring Break

We have had the funnest Spring Break. It has basically been a staycation, but we have done so much and it has been a blast.

We started on Monday by going to HiWire, a local trampoline park. The kids have been wanting to go there, but we didn't tell them we were going and surprised them. I didn't jump, but David did. That night he told me that he knew he was sore when he squoze the toothpaste and said, "Ow, my tricep!"

There is a huge room of trampolines...

...an obstacle course area...

...a basketball court...

...and more. It's a fun place.

At night they turn off the lights and there are neon lights and glow in the dark pain. We were lucky because they turned them off for the first 15 minutes we were there. They don't usually do that during the day.

Baylie was head over heels.

Tight rope walker.

Jalen has a different approach.

American Ninja Warriors in the making.

Taking the plunge.

HiWired out!

While David was sleeping, I made plans to go roller skating. He was a good sport and we all had fun. I have to admit that I only went around one time. Then I traded my skates back in. I can't believe I used to be a good roller skater.

On Tuesday, we met our good friends the Locklears at Edventure, the children's museum. (We found out that if you're on Medicaid, you get in for $1! I wish I had known about that sooner.)

With Eddie.

In the vet lab.

Artic blast tube.

As always, the kids loved the grocery store section.

African experience.

Design lab.

Jalen is at the top of this. (You can just barely see his hand.)

Water features.

Tuesday night we went to see Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb at the dollar theater.

Wednesday we went to the zoo. We decided to park on the garden side and walk the forest trail to the zoo.

Hiking is a lot easier for me than it used to be.

The trail goes by the ruins of a Civil War era textile mill. It was destroyed by Sherman.

The ruins are fascinating.

In some places, you can still see the evidence of drilling. (Notice the piece of metal that was left in the rock.)

Notice the drilling marks.

Riding the carousel.

The kids have become big fans of the rock wall. 

Jalen was excited to show his daddy that he can make it all the way to the top.

David took the kids on the Sky High Safari. Jalen was very excited that he was big enough to do it, although he did get scared and cried a little at the top. I don't blame him. I refuse to go on it.

We even saw some animals. (Sometimes I feel like all we do are the activities and forget to see the animals.)

The Galapagos turtle got a neck massage.

Jalen took a little break on the back of a komodo dragon.

Flamingos.

I have fallen in love with this flowering vine that grows on trees around here. It smells amazing and I need to find out what it is.

Back in the gardens.

Swinging in the garden. 

On Thursday, we stayed home to get ready for our camping trip and to decorate eggs.

Baylie always gets as much dye on her hands as on the eggs.

Love the final product, but I'm not sure what we'll do with four dozen eggs! (Especially since Jalen doesn't like them and I have trouble eating them now.)

After the decorating, we did our vinegar and baking soda art. This has become a favorite tradition.

Baylie was very excited about helping her daddy get ready for the camping trip. Jalen, not so much.

Friday morning we had a surprise visit from the former Elder Billeter that served here on his mission. He was a great missionary and one of our favorites.

After that, we headed to Charleston. I love the trees in the Charleston area. The old oaks reach out over the road and they drip with Spanish moss. It's so beautiful. We ended up on this road by mistake.

Good thing we got back on the right path.

We found the Old Sheldon Church. I had heard about this place from some friends. It did not disappoint. The Sheldon Church was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. It was rebuilt, but after the Civil War, it was ransacked to rebuild local homes. People used to think it was destroyed by Sherman, but it turns out that wasn't the case.

The churchyard is full of interesting headstones (and this old fence).

Confederate soldier.

Daughter of Revolutionary War soldier.

One brother drowned, the other died in battle during the Civil War.

Family that built the church.

Before I got married, my mom, my sister and I went on a girls' trip to Charleston and Savannah. While there, we found this cool little store that sold cider and jams. I was very excited to rediscover this place. I never thought I'd be there again. (Of course, I never thought I'd end up living in this part of the country.)

Sweet grass baskets.

Cotton.

Next we headed to James Island County Park for camping. We had reserved a primitive tent site, but it wasn't really primitive camping. It was actually pretty comfy. We pitched our tent on a grassy field not far from the bathroom complete with running water. 

David and the kids pitched the tent.

Once the tent was pitched, we headed to the beach. The campground was very close to Folly Beach, but beach traffic is awful and the rip tides are bad this time of year. Instead, we headed to Kiawah Beachwalker Park. It took about 30 minutes to get there and we only had a couple of hours before the park closed, but it was great. We will definitely go back there.

We headed back to camp to barbecue hamburgers and eat Cheetos - the real reason Jalen was excited to camp.

I want to check you for ticks.

This girl loves camping.

Hiding from the smoke.

The next morning (Saturday) we headed to Daniel Island for the Family Circle Cup, a WTA tournament and the main reason we headed to Charleston. The first two days of the tournament, kids can get in for free. There are all kinds of activities for kids during those days.

Official photo booth (photo from their facebook page).

Bounce houses.

Face painting - Baylie requested an Olaf. (Another official photo from the facebook page.)

Jalen also ade the facebook page.

We were able to watch some qualifying matches. CiCi Bellis was a #1 junior player. She lost her match and we were disappointed with her attitude. I was actually pulling for her opponent.

Her opponent was Kateryna Bondarenko, someone I've seen play on television before. She is one of three Bondarenko sisters that play professional tennis.

Jalen's favorite part of the entire Charleston trip was the fact that he got to ride a school bus between the parking lot and the tennis grounds. He couldn't get over his excitement about that.

My favorite part was actually watching some of the better pros practice. It was exciting to see players that I've watched on t.v. even though they were just playing practice matches.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Sam Stosur (one of my favorite players to watch - check out her muscles!)

Jelena Jankovic (another one of my favorite players and a former world #1)

The kids were completely worn out by the time we headed home. It was great to shower, do laundry and sleep in our own beds. 

Sunday was Easter and a subject for another blog post. Fortunately, Monday is also a school holiday, so we have a full day to recover from this amazing week. 

Baylie Bug's Birthday

I'm way behind on this blog post, but I've had trouble with uploading photos. (Net Nanny is a great monitoring tool, but it screws up everything else.)

Baylie's birthday was Thursday, March 19. I ended seminary a little early so I could come home in time for her to open one present. She wanted to open more, but we told her she'd need to wait. She chose to open the present that Lauryn and Clara had sent her. It was an Easy Bake Oven cupcake decorating kit. She was very excited about it.

David, Jalen and I went to school to have lunch with her and to help her pass out Oreo Cookies to her classmates. I forgot to take pictures! We decided to surprise her and check her out a little bit early from school so she could come home and open her presents. 

She got several new outfits. (She has so much sass and personality.)

We did the old box in a box in a box trick for her final present. It was the movie Annie.

We didn't do a cake on her birthday because we had ordered one for her party. We were going to buy fancy cupcakes for her actual birthday, but once she got the decorating kit, she just wanted to decorate her own cupcakes. She got an Easy Bake Oven for her birthday, so she decided to make little cakes for each of us so we could frost them ourselves.

The decorator is battery operated and pretty cool to use. (Slow, but cool.)

She loved it.

Jalen loved it too.

We don't buy ice cream often, but when we do, we buy Blue Bell.

After all, our daddy's a Texan.

For her birthday dinner, Baylie chose popcorn (she's my daughter all right!). We finished the day by watching Annie and eating popcorn.

That Saturday we had Baylie's birthday party at Lake Murray Gymnastics. (We had won a free party there. Otherwise, Baylie wouldn't have had a party this year.) She invited everyone from her school and church class, plus a couple more friends. Everyone had fun and it was super easy for me.

Jalen kept doing a backwards free fall from the vault into the ball pit. It scared the heck out of me.

Even Daddy had fun playing around.

He was a great attraction.

Every year I have taken a picture of Baylie with her cake. This year her cake was beautiful and yummy and I completely forgot to get a picture. I also forgot to get a picture of everyone around the table. I can't believe I did that. She chose the plates, tablecloths, etc. They were zebra striped with pink. The party favors were water bottles filled with goodies.

Baylie's birthday always causes me a great deal of reflection because after nearly 40 years of waiting, her birth finally made me a mother. It is still the greatest gift God has given me. I am so grateful for this beautiful girl and the kind, sweet person she is becoming. She is truly special.