Charleston, SC Vacation ~ Day 4

The house we stayed at was just amazing. The kids each had their own rooms and Benjamin and I had the master suite with a bathroom. There was a screened in porch where the kids could play around outside while we were being lazy and then there was a heated pool and hot tub for times when we just didn't want to get out to go anywhere. It was very nice to be able to put the kids to bed and then Benjamin and I could spend some time together outside in the hot tub and still feel like we were getting away, too.

Off the end of the dock is a water way that leads into Charleston. Last time we were here we road the boat into town so that we didn't have to drive. Nice. : )

On Tuesday morning Daddy had a morning meeting with the pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston so after Emma Claire and I put Camp down for a nap we headed out to the pool!

I just love the way she is striking a pose there. I believe I have several pictures of myself standing that exact way in high school. She turned and yelled at me, "hey, momma, take a picture of ME!".

 The hot tub side of the pool is just perfect for little ones. Serves as a great kiddie pool.

After Daddy got back we loaded up the van and headed out for one last treat before we left for home.

The Splash Zone Water Park...

It is one of 3 county owned water parks and has lots of great features:

*200-foot tube slide

*200-foot open slide
*Caribbean play structure with slides, wheels, and sprays
*500-foot lazy river with an adventure channel featuring sprays and a waterfall
*Leisure pool
*Concessions

It is also very reasonable. If you go after 3pm it is only $6 per person and 2 & under are free. I felt like we scored big when we found this place! So much fun stuff to do!

Emma Claire's first time down a water slide...

Camp loved that he could get in and out of the water all he wanted. It was just perfect for him.

For anyone who knows Emma Claire then you know that she hates to get water in her face. Check out this next picture of her coming out of this water slide. She didn't realize that there was going to be water spraying out the end of it! She was a wonderful sport though. When she came out she just laughed and said she wouldn't be doing that one again!

Camp thought it was his job to move all of the inner tubes...

And..... Daddy decided to go down one of the slides and it didn't end so well... : )

Needless to say, Mommy stuck to the lazy river. ; 0

Click Here to watch vidoes of them playing in the water...

Video 1, Video 2

No, mom, he isn't sunburned. His face just turns red when he gets hot. Thankfully, neither of them got burned while we were on our trip. : )

Here Emma Claire is getting ready to go down the big water slide. She was scared to do it at first because it sprays water in your face the whole time, but when I found her googles she was ready to go!

 Look how proud she is of herself that she did it!

Charleston Day 4 = A wonderful way to end our vacation. The kids had a blast and then were ready to pass out on the way home. : )

I am so thankful for the Scholes family and what a treasure they are to open their home up to us. We feel rested, revived, and enjoyed spending time with each other. I can't wait til we get to go again! : )

Charleston, SC Vacation ~ Day 3

Since we had spent most of the day Sunday at the beach we decided to lay low on Monday and just let the kids play around the house. Not to mention the fact that Mommy and Daddy had gotten completely burnt at the beach. ; (

It was great for all of us to just rest and enjoy some time being lazy. That was great for a while, but then we decided we were ready to get back out of the house. So, that afternoon we decided to go eat at Charleston Crab House again and then head to Kilwin's for another treat!

This time Emma Claire decided to go for Superman ice cream while Mommy & Daddy just stuck with plain ole chocolate. (I am not even stepping on the scale when we get back because it has to be bad! We have eaten gooooood on this trip. ; ) For Camp we get this pretzel sticks that are covered in white chocolate and colorful sprinkles. His are always gone before I can get a picture. : )

Charleston Day 3 = Wonderful day of rest and relaxation with the ones I love!

Charleston, SC Vacation ~ Day 2

On Sunday morning, we got up and went to Folly Beach around 10am before it got too hot and too crowded. It was the perfect time to go! There were only a couple of people on the part of the beach we were on and the kids could run around freely and play.

Did I mention we like cheap things to do!?! We took lunch with us and it only cost $3 to park. Sweet.

These were memories that will last a lifetime!

Camp didn't decide he liked the water until towards the end of our day. Every time we tried to put his feet in he would pull them up just like this...

It's hard having FUN at the beach! Camp was exhausted.

He was so proud of himself! Once he realized he liked running with the waves we couldn't get him away from the water. Click Here to watch him playing in the waves.

I am so glad that we had gotten up and gotten to the beach early because on our way out of town traffic was backed up a solid 3 miles outside of town! I'm not sure if it was because it was memorial day weekend or if it is like that all the time, but I'm just glad we weren't stuck in it.

Day 2 in Charleston = Great Family Fun!!

Charleston, SC Vacation ~ Day 1

Last August one of Benjamin's friends, Robby Scholes, offered his parents second home in Charleston, SC for us to go enjoy a vacation. I did not realize just how much I was going to enjoy Charleston! We were more than thrilled when he told us that it was open this weekend for us to go again. We loaded up Friday afternoon and hit the road for a 4 1/2 hour trip to Charleston.

It didn't take us long to to decide to head to our favorite restaurant on Saturday to enjoy our favorite meal of 'She Crab Soup'! Since coming here in the fall we could not wait to get back here and eat it again. Actually we went twice while we were there. : )

They have a wonderful outdoor eating area that over looks the waterway. It's also right next to a large bridge that Emma Claire likes to watch open up as the big boats come by.

This, my friends, is coconut shrimp that is to die for! Get in my belly!! So, so good.

Like Benjamin, when Emma Claire gets excited about something she talks and asks questions NON-STOP. We quickly had to start having talk breaks before we all lost our minds. When Benjamin asked Emma Claire to keep her finger over her mouth, we turned to look at Camp and he held his finger up but it kept ending up somewhere else. ; 0 

One thing we really like about Charleston is that we can do lots of fun things and not spend a lot of money. That's always a good thing, huh!?! After we ate a late lunch we headed over downtown to walk around the market and shops.  This is one of my most favorite things to do! It is such a beautiful and relaxing place.

After we walked through the markets we came to Emma Claire's most favorite place to play.... the water fountain! Just look at the look of pure joy and excitement on her face!

This is definitely a highlight of the trip for her!

Watch a Video Here.

Another place we like to go downtown is Kilwin's Handmade Chocolates & Ice Cream! We can't go downtown without stopping by for a treat. Do you think Emma Claire liked hers?

My little man was so good on our trip! He was so patient and enjoyed riding around in his stroller watching for the horse and buggy carriages. I was so proud of him!

Mommy & Daddy needed some quiet time again! Camp can't quite figure out where his fingers are suppose to go...

 Day 1 in Charleston = Success!

We had such a wonderful day as a family. There were lots of laughs, smiles, & love. I love this family of mine!