Fort Sumter

Our next adventure took us to Fort Sumter, where the first shots were fired at the begining of the Civil War. I have never been a huge history buff, but when you can actually stand in the places where the events took place, it seems to take on a whole new meaning.

We took a ferry boat out to the island.
This is the view of downtown Charleston as we rode out to Fort Sumter.
The kids with Uncle Ben and Miss Jamie.
A view of Fort Sumter.
Uncle Ben and Isabelle took a break during the tour. They are sitting in one of the openings that the cannons used to shoot out of.
Many of the interior walls are filled with oyster shells.

A view of the new bridge that was built while we lived in VA. It is North America's longest cable stay bridge.

Here is Ian, the professor, explaining the inner workings of a cannon to Isabelle.
A view up to the top of the Fort
Everyone enjoyed the tour.
A view of the brige with the USS Yorktown, an old air craft carrier used in World War II.

A tour in Charleston

We started our time in Charleston with a classic carriage tour! The kids weren't too excited about going, but they had a fine time! This is one of the many beautiful private gardens in front of a home.
And a traditional porch. We were told that the two staircases were meant to be a welcoming sign and that traditionally, ladies went up one side and men went up the other.

Ian and Isabelle played by themselves while we listened to the tour.
It is a crooked view, but a view nonetheless of one of the many church steeples in Charleston.
This is a painting on the side of one of the buildings. It used to be a hat store and if you look closely you will see that the whole picture is made of hats. You can't change anything that is 75 years or older downtown...so the hatman stays.
This is an old cobblestone road, affectionately referred to as "labor lane." Women ready to give birth were given a shot of whiskey and a free carriage ride down one of these streets to get things going...
Rainbow row??? One of the most publicized landmarks in Charleston is Rainbow Row. I think we found the real thing...but of course we couldn't see it fully because of the giant moving truck outside. Oh well...

A visit with Uncle Ben

I am aware that I have been behind on my blogging...

We have been a little busy this week with a visit from my brother, Benjamin and his girlfriend, Jamie. The kids have had a great time with them both.

The visit started off great when Uncle Ben started handing out surprises for each of the kids...way to win them over! Isabelle was so excited about her new ponies and her pony bag, while Ian was completely engrossed in legos and a whole bag of Transformers from when Uncle Ben was a kid!

We have spent a lot of time playing and watching the Olympics!!! The kids have actually had a great time learning about the olympics and rooting for Team USA!

I will spend the next few days telling you about all of our fun adventures from the past week! Enjoy!

A comfy spot

When we were looking at buying this house, one of the things that I loved was the balcony off of the master bedroom. It just has such a warm, comfy, relaxing feel. I never dreamt that the kids would love it as much as we did!

I had sent the kids upstairs for some reading time and when I went up to check on them, I couldn't find Isabelle. This is where I found her reading quietly. She told me later that it was a "cozy spot."

Future Super Model?

While we were waiting for David to come upstairs so that we could surprise him this weekend, Isabelle decided to make the most of her time alone with the camera. She kept saying, "Now like this, Mommy!"

So here you have her posing for the camera...what a ham!

Celebration

This weekend the kids and I worked on making some posters to celebrate Daddy's promotion. We blew up some balloons and surprised him when he came in from mowing the grass! They were so proud of their creations!

Congratulations!!!

Yesterday we found out that David was selected for promotion to Chief Petty Officer! This is a huge step in his career! Only 26 Sailors were selected Navy wide from his job rate. I know that may not make sense to a lot of you, but it just means that it was a very selective group this year!

David will now go through 6 weeks of induction before he gets to change his uniform and actually be called Chief. For now, he is called Chief Selectee.

Congratulations Baby! We are so proud of you! We know you have worked really hard for this and you deserve it! We are behind you all the way! Love you!