Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turned 47 years old. I can't believe I'm sooo old! I'm so old that Baylie was sobbing earlier in the week because she was certain I was going to die. I have to confess, 47 seems old to me too.

My day started out great with breakfast in bed from David. Then I headed out to teach seminary. Later in the morning, my visiting teachers and good friends - Cami and Christy - took me out. We had talked about doing breakfast, but I decided I'd rather do something active, so we went to HiWire. Together with our children, we were the only people there and it was so much fun.

The kids had fun.

The moms had fun too. I even got in on the action this time. I climbed and jumped and walked the tight rope. I surprised myself!

I knew that with my new lifestyle, I didn't want a big cake or ice cream. Baylie decided she would make my cake with her Easy Bake oven. She loves cooking with her oven and I decided that would be just the right size.

She and Jalen decorated them. I think there were more sprinkles than frosting.

We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant that serves $1 tacos on Mondays and Tuesdays.

It was okay, but not truly authentic. And my kids are used to homemade tortillas so they thought the shells tasted funny. I guess they're a little spoiled. It was a good dinner though and the price was perfect.

We came home and opened my presents - heavy on the "we."

I got the two things I really wanted: a phone charger for my iPhone and the new Hunger Games movie.

Baylie loaded up the cake with candles.

That's a lot of candles!

Earlier in the week, I bought myself a flirty apron with some birthday money from my in-laws. I love it!

I took a minute to look at my birthday post from last year just to see what I looked like. I don't even recognize that person!

This is my best present - the fact that I have added additional years to my life.

(A close second was our friend Preston getting our car fixed for just over $100 when we had been quoted $400!)

Life is good and I am happy.

P.S. Mom's day off is scheduled for Thursday!

Jungle Fever

I've mentioned before that we have the best zoo. We love it! It will be even better when the updates are completed: Children's Activity Garden, Bears & Otters, and Seals & Sea Lions. I hope we still live here to see those completed.

Wednesday was an early out day, so we took Baylie's classmate to the zoo with us.

We took the little walk from the garden to the zoo. We always park on the garden side when it's going to be crowded because we can park closer and the kids like to take the walk and ride the tram back.

The walk goes by the ruins of a confederate textile mill on the banks of the Saluda River. It's so cool!

Pony Riders

Hopping the train.

Icees and lizards.

Elephants.

Giraffes.

Natural frames.

And in keeping with the jungle theme, HERE is a video of the first grader's jungle program. They were so cute. Baylie is on the second from back row right under the jungle sign in a red t-shirt. (She's also the one stealing the show on the side of the stage later on.)

Cute Kiddos!

My kids are so much fun. I'm so grateful that I get to participate in so much of their lives.

On Friday, Baylie's class had a special reading of a book they wrote. Each child selected their favorite thing about their bodies and then wrote about it. Some chose ears, some feet, some hands, one shoulder, one boy chose his forehead because it kept his brain from falling out. Baylie chose her face, partly because her nose lets her smell Cheetos. She's a great reader, but the best part is that she reads with so much expression that it's fun to listen to her.

On Saturday, Jalen had a soccer game. He loves to play soccer. At the beginning of the game, every time I looked up, he was tangled up in the net. I finally yelled at him to stay out of the net. He responded that his coach told him to "play in the goal." I guess Jalen took him literally. Unfortunately, I missed getting a photo of his foot caught in the net at about shoulder height.

When he got into the action, he scored five goals! Three for us, two for them. He didn't score for the opponent on accident; he knew what he was doing. But when he saw nothing between him and a goal, he went for it anyway. I told him he wouldn't get paid quarters for those. I completely forgot to take pictures of his goals! After his first two goals, the coach tried to get him to pass to his teammates, but he just couldn't resist scoring, so he ended up being goalie again. There was an unfortunate incident where he called an opponent a butt face. I later learned that the kid called him that first, but even so, we had a big talk about the fact that no matter what someone else says, we don't call people names. Wonder where he gets that from??

Jalen had played with the same team for about four seasons, but this season they put him on a new team even though his old team was kept all together. We were upset about it at first, but then we found out his very best friend was also on the team, so it was okay. There are only three boys on the team and lots of girls.

Jalen and Ian are beloved buddies. They LOVE to be together and want to play every day. They are having a blast being on the same soccer team, even though having them together makes them pretty much uncoachable.

I love this little guy.

Happy Easter

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.