Walking, Eating, Walking, Eating...

The stickers were from "Rita the Greeter", a sweet little lady who greeted everyone at their table and gave them stickers. You're supposed to wear then to advertise for them but I thought I would bring them home for all of you.

Hi kiddos!

All we did was walk and eat yesterday. There are so many restaurants it is hard to choose from, the good thing is you never get a bad meal! So here are the pictures of lunch and dinner. I took over 100 pictures yesterday! Ethan - I have tons of architecture pictures to show you. I will try and get some on the blog later tonight. I also have a special surprise to share with you that will also be a separate post.

While Daddy finished up his meetings I started walking and photographing everything! We met at lunch time and Daddy was done working! Yea! We had lunch at this neat restaurant called Hyman's Seafood. A very cool place, you guys would all love it. The pictures below say it all!

There are plates all over the walls that famous people have signed when they have eaten there. They also put a little plaques on the tables where famous people have eaten. We sat at table 62 where there were plaques saying that Mel Gibson (famous actor) Dan Janzen (Olympic Skater), and Lindsey Wagner, ( famous actress) had all eaten at that table.

Outside the window by our table was a weather stick. If it is hot and humid the stick turns up, if turns down if it is cold. Can you figure out what the weather has been like here by looking at the stick?

Boiled Peanuts were the appetizer.

Mommy had lobster bisque soup and it had huge pieces of lobster in it. This is still one of my favorite meals.

Lindy- this picture is for you! This was my lunch dessert yesterday. I know how you like to have your lunch dessert and so do I! This is a dark chocolate covered pretzel we got at this candy store. We took you all here a couple of years ago. Do you remember the huge barrels of candy and the train that runs along the top of the store? You really liked it!

Kids - This picture is for all of you but I can hear Kyle cracking up all the way here! I thought this was so funny and knew you would all get a chuckle out of it as well.

We walked and talked for blocks. We spent most of the day in the open market looking at all kinds of fun little gifty things. After a run back to our hotel we headed here to the Peninsula Grill for dinner. We ate in the outside courtyard which was very lovely and romantic.

Paige you would have loved these tomatoes! They were so yummy and had fresh basil like I make them with but had goat cheese instead of mozzarella. The goat cheese was sweet.

Because we ate outside and it became dark, the waitress gave us a flashlight to read the dessert menu.

Chocolate Extravaganza! This was sooo good, a chocolate cake with mousse and chocolate ice cream. Daddy and I thought the tiny shot of milk was especially cute.




These gas lights are all over. They are very elegant and reminiscent of years ago when the lights were all gas lamps, before electric.

Well that is the end of the pictures form yesterday. I took over 100 pictures so there will be plenty to look at when I get home. Today I know I took even more because I took tons of architecture for Ethan to look at.

Have a great day! Love you all, Mom

Our Anniversary Celebration

Francis Marion Hotel

Hi Kyle, Ethan, Lindy, Paige, & Erin,

I finally arrived in Charleston yesterday afternoon after a few delays. They had to change the tire on the airplane so it left late out of DC and then there was a major accident of the freeway so the taxi took me on all of the back roads. That was fine with me because I got to see some neat houses! I still got here on time and Daddy met me right outside the hotel. I took the picture above when we were walking back to the hotel last night. Walking quickly I might add since there was a huge thunderstorm brewing. There was lightning and thunder when we talked to you on the phone. Kyle if you click here it will take you to the hotel website and then click on the History. You can read the parts to the girls about Francis Marion and the Revolutionary War, that will cover their history for today! The picture below is of the lobby and where we were when we called you last night. The hotel has been restored and is part of the historic buildings in Charleston.

There is a baby grand piano in the lobby you could all play when we come back as a family.

On our way to dinner we stopped and I took a few pictures. This is just a random side alley/street that I thought looked really neat. And the picture below is the Charleston Library.

The pictures below are from the Unitarian Church in Charleston cemetery. I know it sounds weird to walk though a cemetery on the way to dinner but the first picture is of the entrance walkway and it looked so neat we just had to take a brief detour. Click here for history of the church. We were not able to go into the church but you can at least see the top of this church and another that I have not found out the name for yet. There were some very, very old grave markers, back in the late 1700's and many from the 1800's. Some were from the last 10 years but not too many. It was like a winding garden, with walkways everywhere and lots of trees, vines, flowers, and MOSS! The kind of moss that I love, hanging everywhere. I took a picture of just the moss for you all.

Palm trees and moss, my favorites!

We had dinner reservations that had to be changed to Saturday night because the ovens broke down (what was up yesterday!) So we walked to a restaurant that daddy passed the night before that he thought would be neat. Well, it was! Click here and read the "about us" section to learn about 82 Queen which had incredible food and quite the charming house that we ate in. We were seated in the front parlor room. They have a Sunday brunch that I think we are going back for and we are going to try to eat in the garden. The food was amazing!

Paige - this picture is just for you! Daddy ordered Fried Green Tomatoes for an appetizer. They were so yummy. They were served over grits which is a southern food. I had to "help" Daddy eat this, I didn't want him to have to do it alone! Wow, were they good.



Daddy had a Godiva (chocolate) coffee and we shared this orange chiffon mimosa cake with champagne icing.

We had our picture taken after dinner to remember our special anniversary dinner. We have one from our wedding night dinner in almost the exact same pose of me standing next to Daddy. I will show it too you when we get home.

While Daddy is finishing his meetings this morning I am going to wander around and play with my camera. Ethan - I am going to take some pictures of the amazing architecture, the buildings are old and so beautiful.

Have a great day with your Mimi, love you.

My Other Piano Man

Yes, he really can play and he's good that's why I love this picture so much. I remember the photographer setting this up thinking it was a neat picture. Then Bill sat down and started playing and she was so excited because the picture would have meaning and not just be a staged shot. It is one of our favorites.

This was such a fabulous day 15 years ago today. We were so busy then, not much has changed except Bill has less hair and mine is graying. Oh yea and we have all those kids! And we owned and sold a bunch of rental property (thank God for the selling!). We've built a house, had twins, built another house, had Erin. I'm pretty much done moving and my body is yelling at me that it is on the verge of breaking down, so I am pretty much going to have to be done with the babies too. Good thing I feel that area is complete! We are so blessed to have our health and our children. I have wanted to be a mom since I was Lindy and Paige's age so I think I am a very successful person in that area.

Degrees have been finished, careers set in motion and both have taken off, especially mine! There is nothing in the world I would have done differently, especially saying I do to Bill on July 16, 1994.

Love you Bill!

Note - I think this is so cute! We had the best day at our wedding as I am sure most couples have. But we had a great day with everyone who helped us make it possible. One was our fabulous wedding coordinator, Jo Panarello. My sister spoke with her 2 years ago when planning her own wedding about some details and was looking at her website. And there we were, 4th row down, far right! Click the picture and there are a couple of pictures from the wedding and the end of the reception. We got married before internet everything! We had so much fun working with Jo and she kept telling us what a great time she had with us and our families, how sweet to keep that old, now "out of date" wedding style I'm sure, on her website! She was a wonderfully sweet person to work with if you know anyone who needs something coordinated!

Elton, Billy, & Ethan - The Piano Men

Date night!

This is becoming the BEST summer I have ever had. Last night was one of those reasons why. Oops, one of the Best, 15 years ago was not too shabby either (Bill!) and 13 years ago was pretty good too, (Kyle!) For Ethan's birthday (which was in May) Bill and I got him tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel. We only got 2 tickets in case he didn't want to go (I know that would be just crazy!). Good thing we did though because Bill is out of town at a conference (anxiously awaiting my arrival!). Bill and I saw Billy and Elton right after our honeymoon and they were really good, but this was even better. It could be just the pure joy of seeing your little boy's eyes light up to something and enjoying it like it's the first time.

So with the help of Whitney babysitting everyone else, and Gretchen taking the girls to dance, Ethan and I were off for the date of the year. It was fabulous! Thanks to Gretchen having worked at the arena awhile back, she was able to call into her friends and request an upgrade of our seats. We were going to be a little high up but, you take what you can get. The most important thing was we were going! Well, we got upgraded to awesome seats. You can see by the pictures. I have a great zoom but really could not have achieved these pictures without the great seats to take them from.

Ethan was excited for days to go and he had a wonderful time. He loves Billy and Elton, knows all their songs and history and facts. He has read books on them, studied them on-line, listened to every sample of their songs on i-tunes and downloaded many. Since starting piano last fall he has really zipped along in his lessons and it was great for him to see these guys pound out song after song. He even has a Billy Joel beginning piano book!

I insisted he have a program book, everyone needs one of those! He turned me down on a t-shirt so I made him help me pick one and told him we would share, that it would make a good shirt to sleep in. Hopefully he'll change his mind on that and be glad we have one.

I have to admit that I had tears in my eyes with the last song, Piano Man, the line "to forget about life for awhile". We needed a night to forget about life for awhile and we did!


Ethan can give more picture detail when he wakes up. We were so keyed up when we got home he did not go to bed until 1:30. They started playing at 7:45 and stopped a little after 11 with no breaks! We didn't get home until 12:15, good thing he is a night owl! I will add more detail later.



The pianos rose up from under the stage and we knew we were in for a great night!



Elton and Billy greet and the night gets started.

This is from my old camera's zoom, thank you thank you Gretchen and your arena buddies!

We love you Elton. Crocodile Rock was awesome!

Not only did we have great seats but we sat right under the big screens so we didn't miss a thing!

Goodby Yellow Brick Road

There is nothing like Elton John and his fab wardrobe.

Pianos, guitars, harmonicas - oh my!

The microphone stand tricks during It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, put a huge smile on Ethan's face. He loved this song!



Both Billy and Elton did some piano standing this was when Billy jumped over to Elton's, it was pretty cool.

Face to Face 2009, literally




Thank you Ethan for a wonderful night together, you will always be my Piano Man.

My Young Man

These pictures just blow me away every time I look at them. I have so much to post and share but I have been telling everyone about these pictures and I need to share these first.

I took these of Kyle when we were at Whitney and BJ's for the 4th. It helped to have a nice backyard as the backdrop. But personally I think the subject matter is exceptional! He looks so mature and sweet, both of which are very true to life.

Kyle is truly an incredible kid growing into a very fine young man. And I am not just saying this because I am his mom. I am going to have to share some of the comments we have received about Kyle over the last couple of years and I am really just trying to convey how uniquely special he is and not to be braggy. But I can't put into words myself how to really describe him, sometimes it comes from others better. My best description is that he has a very deep soul, one that has its own presence.

From his Sunday School teacher last year, "he is a delightful young man with a deep spiritual soul."

From his basketball coach, "your son is an amazing boy. I have never met a boy his age who is such a joy to be around."

From the assistant coach, "we discuss our scripture lesson and Kyle asks questions that are very deep that even I as an adult have to step back and think about them. He is a fine young man. You should be very proud." I am.

From his basketball coach 2 years ago (a couple) "you can tell that God already has a plan for him. These is something very special about him. He is genuinely supportive and friendly. When we think about having kids we want children like Kyle." The ultimate compliment in my opinion.

From his scout leaders, "Kyle is so happy and helpful."

From everyone who meets him - he is so happy and cheerful. His nickname at Karate is "Smiley"

He makes me so proud to be a mom. He makes me want to be a better mom and give him every opportunity under the sun. He is everything I could ask for in a son and more. What a wonderful brother he is to all of his siblings.

To Ethan he is a best friend, buddy, confident. They spend almost all of their time together. To Lindy he is a true match in pleasing others and being laid back, they click. They are two peas in a pod. To Paige, he is the fun playful big brother, one who always helps her out. To Erin, he is everything. She idolizes him and for good reason. He would do anything for all of them especially this little girl.

He is the most empathetic person I know, anywhere. I think he truly feels others pain whether it be emotional or physical. He is confident, caring, honest, genuine, thoughtful, intelligent, enthusiastic, thankful, and so lovable. One thing comes to mind to explain him. When he is sick with a cold, fever etc. I do my mom duty and try to make him feel better. A little Motrin, juice, pillows, TV remote etc. Over and over he thanks me, thank you for taking care of me mom. Once he is feeling better he will come find me, give me a big hug and tell me thank you for taking care of him. Like I have done him a big favor! Little does he know how much joy it brings me to take care of such a special boy.

I can't believe in a few weeks he will be 13 years old! It is a pleasure everyday to teach him and hang out with him.

I still remember the exact second he was born and we found out he was a boy. I was so excited! A little boy, I had no idea what to do with a boy as I had only grown up with girls and only babysat girls. I did not care if I had a boy or a girl but always thought it would be so nice to have an older brother for other children. He is truly a dream come true.

I love you Kyle.

My question to all of you is which picture do you like better. I can't decide which one to enlarge and frame! Help! I love them both.

Kyle's Camp Week

This is just an awesome picture of the scouts saluting the flag at flag down. Kyle is in the middle 3rd row.

While the girls were at Girl Scout camp Kyle and Bill were at Boy Scout camp. Bill did the week long training for leadership and next year when Ethan's Webelos group crosses over, Bill will be able to be an assistant leader for the boys Boy Scout troop. To say that Kyle and Bill had fun would be an understatement! I have heard so many stories and this year with an extra camera I got to have some pictures too.

Kyle worked on his merit badges. He still has to finish riflery from last year as he was so busy this year he never got around to finishing it up. This year he worked on Archery, Motor Boating, and Astronomy. He has a hilarious story of crashing his motor boat, but yes he still gets his merit badge! He bunked with his best friend Nick and they had a ball. They spent their last afternoon canoeing by themselves and hanging out around the camp. What wonderful memories these two will have from their camping years together.

I noticed a huge change in Kyle after he returned home from camp last year. He really grew up a lot. He was already mature and very responsible for his age but he gained so much confidence. This year was no different. I keep thinking he can't possibly be more grown up and he is. I forget that he is just turning 13 in 8 weeks. He acts like he is 18!

Camp is formal in many ways and the pictures Bill took of the flag ceremony show this. It is almost run military like and Kyle thrives on it. Obviously many other boys do as well. There must be complete silence when entering the dining hall otherwise the boys must exit and line up and try again. It only takes one time in the week to learn this lesson as these boys are hungry from their busy days. Still not an easy feat for over 800 boys attending camp. Impressive to say the least.

So here are some pictures from Bill...

Kyle and his best buddy Nicholas. I am proud to say that his room at home is as clean as his tent, and I don't do inspections like they do at camp!

This is not Kyle's troop but it is so neat to show how the scouts march in for the flag ceremony.

Enjoying dessert in the dining hall. Meals are really organized as well. Boys have positions each night. Kyle's favorite is waiter.

A bat the boys found and wanted pictures of. The camp site is beautiful with a huge lake, hiking trails, and woods.

Camp Continued...

Flag Up

FINALLY! It has taken me a week to get this one post done! I have fallen asleep everywhere in the house trying to get it done, the porch, my bedroom, watching a movie with Bill etc. The last two weeks have been so much fun for the entire family but I am tired.

So here are the end of the Girl Scout Camp pictures. Lindy, Paige, and I had a fabulous time and in talking with other girls they also had a very memorable week. Our unit was responsible for the flag up ceremony one morning and they did a great job. Some of the parts of this flag ceremony are different from the one we do as a troop at meetings. The girls learned it quickly and took it very seriously.

Wednesday was cooking day for the entire camp. Each unit was assigned a method of cooking. We were foil cooking. We did pita pizzas and each girl had to make about 8 mini pizzas and then we delivered them to the campfire. We had quite a feast that day. Everything was so yummy. The desserts were the best, especially the apple dessert made in the Dutch Oven.

Our last full day was spent creeking and having a water fight do to the extreme heat and humidity. The heat really wore all of us out. Thankfully we kept all our girls well hydrated and no one had to report to first aid!

The last morning was filled with fun skits and awards. Lindy and Paige are still singing camp songs and talking about camp. I am so glad that I was able to share the week with them and meet some other leader moms. We all had a great time getting to know each other and exchanging ideas. The girls and I are all excited to return next year!

Lindy and Paige in their touching post positions. Once you touch their hand to enter the flag raising area you are not permitted to talk. Respect for the flag was an important lesson learned this week.

Sponges soaked with water felt so good. I became the target one afternoon!

I had such a great time with my girls. They made new friends, so did I, and we spent the week with Laura and Claire from our troop which really made it fun.

Quite the spread! The wagon is filled with all of our pizzas.

This weaving craft was Lindy's favorite. She worked on it most of the week.

My troop girls that attended, Paige, Claire, Laura, and Lindy. We have brought many things back to our troop to share!