Fun with Mags

With Andy and Caroline away, Mags and I are hanging out, having fun!  After dropping Andy off at the airport and driving home, it was time for Mags to go to swim team.  After swim team, we hung out at the outdoor pool until after 6.  We came home and got dressed for a date.  She was so excited.  All she wanted was cheese dip from the Mexican restaurant.  She was so excited.  She said "Momma, since it is just us, we can double dip!"  (Typically we only get cheese dip when we go out with Aunt Tomi Jean.)  This kid is totally different when it is just us, one on one.  We had the absolute best time, no complaints.  What a sweet gift to enjoy this time with her in the last few days of being a 6 year old...

 

Andy's first plane ride!

 This week I am leaving a huge part of my heart in different places.  Today Mags and I took Andy to Charlotte to fly to St. Louis, Missouri to attend the PCA General Assembly. Neither of us have ever flown so to say he was nervous was an under statement.  I'm thankful we grabbed a picture before arriving at the airport.  When we got to the unloading area, I felt like it was a scene from a murder movie.  We drove us, he kissed us goodbye, we kicked him out and sped away!  It all happened in about 30 seconds!   He took a few pictures for me.  The last text I got from him before landing in St. Louis was "OH MY GOD LOVE YOU!"  So I figured either he was taking off OR the plane was going down!  Thankfully 2 hours later, he called to say they landed and he was on his way to meet Stacey and Jake.  I hope he has a fantastic trip!  I can't wait to hear all about it!

Caroline goes to Camp!

Today I left a HUGE part of my heart at camp!  We had our first mother daughter road trip!  We laughed, we sang really loud and we practiced me saying goodbye without crying...the practice worked, leaving her didn't!  I did great all through registration and check in.  However, when I pulled up to her cabin, the lump formed and it was all downhill from there.  I semi helped her get her room together.  I gave her a big hug, jumped in the van, began to cry as I pulled away...I know she is ready.  She is excited!  But the car ride home was long and not near as much fun...I am praying for her time at Ridge Haven.  I am praying that she will connect with at least one girl in her cabin and that they will make wonderful memories!  I'm already counting down the days until I get to hug her again!

I love that they got this photo of me leaving for camp pictures...if they only knew the tears that were flowing in that van...I wasn't near as happy to leave as they were to wish me on my way!

A sweet sisterly moment

These two had so much fun in the Y pool today!  My heart is always extremely THANKFUL for these moments!!  Oh how I pray that they will grow up to love each other and will be there for each other, always!!
 

Oh Mr. Frog...please stay outside!

Yesterday I spent a lot of time in the yard, cutting the grass, planting flowers, etc.  I opened the back door to take something out and this guy jumpe in.  NO joke, he LOOKED HUGE when he came in.  I screamed like a little girl and called Caroline!  About the time she went to grab him, he jumped under the couch!! YIKES!  NO way was I sleeping in a house where a frog was on the loose!  We moved the couch and she was able to get him out.  He looked really small in this picture in the palm of her hand but I promise, it was HUGE!  SO very thankful for my sweet girl who came to our rescue...mine and the frogs! :-)
 

First Swim Meet of '21 Summer Swim League

We were all SO excited for the first swim meet of the 2021 Summer Swim League.  Due to COVID, we didn't have SSL last year.  With the continuation of COVID guidelines and such, we will only have 3 meets this year instead of our 5-7 meets like usual.  The facility that we are using is perfect.  It's outside with plenty of room to sit and watch. So proud of both of our girls.  They swam SO well.  Maggie wasn't scared at all...she practically cannon balled into the pool! :-)  Already looking forward to the next meet!

 

Water Park fun with Friends

Our local waterpark offered free admission with an all A or A's and B's report card for the month of June.  I checked with a few friends to see if we could schedule a date.  (I knew the girls would have way more fun with friends than with just me...)  Caroline's friend Kylie was available.  Maggie's friend Miriam had camp and couldn't come.  She asked me to call Taylor's mom but I didn't know Taylor's mom...so she wasn't thrilled and of course said "this isn't fair" that she was my partner.  Well the morning of, I got a text from Kylie's mom that they were also bringing a friend...guess who...TAYLOR!  Y'all Mags was SO excited!!! After lunch, my friend Lia and her girls joined us.  We had an awesome day.  Due to our tire repair we were a little late getting there...we arrived at 10:40 and didn't leave until 4:00.  We could have totally stayed until closing had we not had to come home for PUC and youth group. 

It was a good day...I'm learning not every day is gonna be a good day but today was and I'm thankful!!!   

 

Low tire pressure...

 

So I've had a slow leak in my rear passenger side tire for about 2 weeks.  Andy has filled it twice and it was slow to need filling again.  I honestly didn't think much about it until my tire light came on.  I called my awesome car/tire guy to see if I could bring it in later this week.  They were so sweet, they said to bring it now...well that wasn't really what I wanted to do because we had plans to meet our friends at the waterpark.  The girls and I quickly got our stuff together and headed out the door  The girls brought their workbooks and books to help pass the time. Thankfully it was just a nail and they were able to replace it instead of needing a new tire.  I am so thankful for these guys.  They are honest, Christian guys who offer amazing customer service.  It was a good lesson for the girls to learn.  When someone is rearranging their schedule to help you, you don't complain!

Lunch with Granny and Mr. Archie

 Mr. Archie had a doctors appointment this morning.  When they got out, they offered to take us to lunch.  I had a meeting but the girls were THRILLED to go to lunch vs. my meeting or staying at home.   Granny and Mr. Archie treated them to Cracker Barrel.  The girls loved it and couldn't wait to tell me all about it!  Thankful for fun days with grandparents!

Atalaya's Castle

Park of the State Park Pass that I received for my birthday allows us 4 free tickets to tour Atalaya's Castle.  I've always seen the castle but never known the history.  It was SO neat!!!!!!!  I love their story.  Archie and Anna Hyatt Huntington bought the property to build a winter home.  She had tuberculous and it was a place for her recovery and healing.  It took 2 years to build Atalaya. Atalaya means watchtower. Archie wanted to include as much of his Spanish history as possible.  No plans were used, it was built based on what he created in his mind.  He employed 2 skilled workers and then hired folks from the area to build the home.  He paid them $1 per day.  Anna Hyatt was a very successful sculptor.  She created on the grounds during beautiful days.  However, she also had an indoor studio for when the weather didn't cooperate.  After only staying 9 winters, the castle was left vacant.   The Huntington's didn't return often.  When they did, it wasn't for long periods of time.

They decided to make the property available to the public.  The property on one side of Hwy 17 became Brookgreen Gardens.  The beach front property became Huntington Beach State Park.  The state doesn't owe the property...it leases the property from the foundation for $1 per year.

This picture was taken from their front door.  If you look look straight down this path, you will see in the distance, the entrance to Brookgreen Gardens.  Behind me is a bell.  When folks saw someone coming down the path, they rang the bell to alert the "help" that a visitor was close.  Caroline and I biked the path.  So neat! 

The mortar used between the bricks was left 'exposed.'  While it looks like the brick masons did a sloppy job, they didn't.  The purpose of this was to allow the greenery to grow along the walls.  

Here is the note from Anna Hyatt Huntington discussing the name of the new state park.

Pool day with Jill and kids

Jill and I are missing our pool days together!  Although with our crazy summer, we wouldn't have our typical summer pool days together anyway.  So we found a day that would work to get together and that was today.  We had a blast!  The kids enjoyed being together.  Our big kids even had fun playing with their siblings and each other.  Jill and I got to catch up with each other which was nice.  So very thankful for the days of summer!

 

Happy 18 to us!

Today we celebrate 18 years of marriage!  Our wedding was everything that I dreamed it would be!  We were young and in love!!  Never realized how hard it would be to live out our wedding vows to each other and to the Lord. We've had our share of heartache and we've overcome many obstacles!  The Lord has richly blessed us and we've built a beautiful life together!  I'm thankful for my husband and I'm thankful for another year to walk this journey together!

Huntington Beach State Park

Our first camping trip to Huntington Beach State Park didn't disappoint.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture of the campsite.  We loved it!  It was our second time backing into a site.  The site was much more spacious but still interesting to back into because it was at an odd angle.  Thankfully we had a really nice neighbor who helped Andy from the front while I helped from the back.  Once parked, it was great!  The site was beautiful!  Totally shaded on all sides.  It made for a very relaxing visit!  We spent a lot of time outside at the campsite and at the beach.  

Satan tried to steal my joy several times but I am thankful to say I won the battle.  Within 5 minutes of getting out of the truck, Caroline says "Hey Mom, can you I have your cell phone?  I need to look something up."  Moments later, she said "Leaves of three let them be...I am pretty sure I touched poison ivy getting out the truck.  Look at this rash and look at the leaves on your phone...they look exactly like the leaves right here."  Sure enough she was correct.  I called my doc on call, AKA cousin Richard to see what I needed to do.  Thankfully I had everything I needed in our first aid kit that I made earlier this year thanks to one of my school families Target gift card.  

We got the camper set up.  Got Caroline taken care of.  After sitting for a minute, Caroline wanted to go explore.  She and I hopped on our bikes only to discover they needed air.  Of course, we didn't have the tire pump.  (miscommunication on our part)  So we loaded the bikes up, in search of an air station at the park.  Guess what...they don't have one.  So we decided to venture out a little ways find a gas station with an air station.  We didn't find one but did find an Auto Zone and bought a foot pump.  We unload the bikes and begin trying to fill the tires.  ONLY the pump doesn't work!  It's a dud!  We move the bikes over and decide we will regroup tomorrow.  As we move the bikes, we discover that somehow Caroline's chain came off her bike.  Grant it, it was fine when we first took the bikes out before we realized they needed air in the tires.  She said "I might have done that trying to get the bike out...it was hung up on something on your bike."  While that was frustrating, I didn't want to get upset because she was trying to help.  So we had a discussion about not forcing something that appears to be stuck. The next morning, she said, I think I can fix this.  Y'all SURE ENOUGH, she did!!  Later that day, we returned the original foot pump and bought another one.  This one works great and will stay in the camper.  

I am so THANKFUL that I didn't allow my sinful heart to explode and ruin our time!!!  As you can see from our pictures, we had a fabulous time!!  We will certainly be back!

Sunset walk on the beach with my girl!

Thanks Peep for the craft kit!  The girls had fun!

We spent several hours on the beach each day.  Some during the day and then again in the evening.

We visited our favorite place...the Hammock Shops.  Maggie thought it was funny to act like she was sleeping in the hammock.  I thought it was a cute picture!

Caroline and I were the first ones up.  She and I enjoyed playing games and drinking coffee while Maggie and Andy slept.  I love this kid.  She is such a gentle spirit with a kind heart.  She doesn't get angry easily.  She loves big.  She's easy to spend time with!

We decided to go on a bike ride.  She wanted to take the trail from Atalaya's castle to the end.  It was beautiful!  I will post more about this in the Atalaya post.  

Once the rest of our crew woke up, we ventured over to the nature center.  It was an easy walk through the woods so we didn't have to get in the truck.  The girls really enjoyed this.  Andy and I enjoyed sitting in the AC!

Back to the beach we went!

Our last evening on the beach was fantastic.  The girls were wet from playing in the water so we told them they could ride in the back of the truck in their beach chairs.  Riding in the back of the truck is one of their FAVORITE things to do inside the campground.  

 A major highlight of the trip was the lightening bugs!  I haven't seen lightening bugs in several years!  It was Maggie's first experience and she loved it!  All in all, it was a fabulous trip!  We can't wait to return!