St. Patrick's Day

The family took advantage of a long weekend break to go see our oldest in college.  It was St. Patrick's Day, and the town was in full party mode.  

Field Trip, Day 2

Our 2nd day took us to a plantation and the aquarium.

The beautiful gardens of the plantation were amazing!  We saw it at the perfect time when the azaleas were in full bloom.  

We then took an open-air train ride through the 500 acres of swamp land and saw native aligators 7-8 feet long!  Very thankful to have seen them from afar and not stumbled upon them while walking.

The aquarium was probably my favorite!  They had so many things to see and educational opportunities for the students.

We went down into their basement where they had a sea turtle hospital.  All of these sea turtles had been rescued from the ocean.  They either had swallowed a plastic bag and showed signs of malutrition, had boat motor injuries, or were stunned from an unusually cold water temperature a while ago.  This one below named Luke Skywalker took a keen interest in our little one.

She then got to feed pieces of shrimp to the sting rays.  

An unexpected highlight was seeing a bald eagle.  This one was rescued from Florida with a broken wing.  Although healed, it won't fly anymore.  This is about half the size of most bald eagles in that state, and those are about half the size of the ones in Alaska.  So this one we saw is only 25% of how large they can get!

So much fun, and I'm glad I was invited to go along.  :)

Field Trip, Day 1

I had the privilege of accompaning our little one on the 4th grade field trip to Charleston.  

The bus trip was fun.  All the students gathered at the back of the bus to play card games.

Day 1 included Fort Sumter.  This national monument is a fort off the harbor where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

The ferry ride out there was relaxing.

Here you can see the fort from a distance.  Originally 3 stories high, this fort was pounded to rubble.  Over the war's history, it was first in union hands, then confederate, then union, then conferate again.  It was a key entrypoint into the state's largest city, so occupying the fort was contentious.

Inside the fort we saw the original walls and cannons.  Many of my pictures got deleted accidentally, but this one survived of the wall.

Visiting with friends while waiting for lunch.

 Later that night, we took a ghost tour of the city, which included stories inside a graveyard.

Promposal

Our son is a junior in high school, and had his first Promposal - where it's a big deal to ask someone to the prom.

She said yes!  More pictures to come in late-April.

USC Spring Break

Back to the Virgin Islands for a father-daughter adventure during college spring break. Lots of swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, relaxing, and enjoying local cuisine.

Grandma's Visit

With Eric and I going out of town for different trips, we needed the best babysitter ever to come stay with the kids.  Grandma flew in the weekend prior, and really spoiled us by keeping the folding the laundry, cooking pancakes, and playing games.

Each day was an adventure, whether it was a walk, a bike ride, or a drive through the mountains.  I was proud of Grandma for getting on a bike.  She rode most of the 3 mile journey.

Our bike ride destination was a local brewrey.  She didn't care too much for the beer, so she and the little one walked across the street to an ice cream shop.

Ashlyn took Grandma up for a drive in the mountains to look for retirement options.  The scenery was gorgeous, but the homes and homeowner expectations were a bit too expensive for our family's livestyle.  

They later dined for a wonderful lunch at a mediterranean restaurant.  With lots of laughter, great conversation, and so many hugs, we really enjoyed her visit!

President's Day Weekend

The family decided to spend the 3-day weekend with split trips.  Girls would visit Ashlyn at USC.  Boys would go snow skiing in Vermont.

We didn't see the usual crowds on campus, at least not on the upper deck of the Student Union Center (Russell House).  Ashlyn bought us ice cream at Marble Slab.

We enjoyed the stay in her cute apartment right on campus.  After bringing her a few items from home, washing her sheets, and mopping her floors, I threw out her expired milk in the fridge.  Although these things were not necessary in her eyes, it helped me to sleep better.

The next morning, I decided to show her a few murals around Columbia that we saw driving in.  This one would make a cute backdrop for her cross country team photo.

Across the street was another mural that reminded us of our farm in Texas.  

Then, we saw a giant fire hydrant.  Not sure if it's a stand-alone sculpture or part of something to be finished later, but it was still cool.

The weather was just gorgeous, so we walked to the state house.  Our little one found a statue of George Washington and wanted her picture.

On the way back to her apartment, we stopped by her community garden to water her herbs and vegetables.

 Once we got back, I noticed my phone I left charging had 4 missed calls from Vermont.  That couldn't be good.

My son took a bad fall snowboarding down a mountain and they couldn't find Eric or get a hold of me to authorize treatment.  He was in pain for almost 2 hrs.  Feeling like the worst mom ever, I got a hold of Eric and had him flag down a rescue team member to find where they were treating him.  Results:  broken collar bone (clavicle).  Best part, he's okay and is coming home soon.  Worst part:  There goes the best goal keeper for his varsity soccer team.  Eight weeks minimum to heal.

We ended the girls' weekend with Mass at St. Thomas More where Ashlyn was scheduled to be lector.  I gave thanks that everyone was okay because it could have been so much worse.