Family Vacation 2014

We left Charlotte on Saturday morning and drove down to Isle of Palms.  I am the self-appointed family vacation planner.  I pride myself on choosing the best vacation houses.  I have some high standards, friends.  When we arrived I was thrilled to see that the house was just as lovely as the photos online.  

My little crew was the first to arrive, since the rest of the fam had stopped to tour the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  I do love that place, but I've already been there twice.  Two bouts of extreme jealousy are about all I can take.  That place is amazing.

As soon as we arrived, we spend some time in our pool.  

Trinity's pal Josh lives in Mount Pleasant, which is only about 20 minutes from where we were staying.  He and his wife Heather delivered Mexican food to us on our first evening.  We had a great time catching up and introducing our children to one another.  

The girls were fast friends and engaged in some Monkeys Jumping on the Bed playtime.  Peyton is 3 1/2, and Lorelei was born 3 days after Genevieve.  

The rest of the family arrived around 8:00 on Saturday.  We drove into Charleston on Sunday to do the touristy carriage ride.  My family had done this years ago when Kate and I were in college and Robby was still in high school.  We stayed on Kiawah Island and Mom and Dad let Katie and I take our college boyfriends.  Now they shared a room, so Jane and Bob weren't that liberal, but still!

It makes me chuckle now that I'm a parent myself.

We fueled up for the carriage with some fudge and pralines.

This candy guy was just enamored with my daughter.

It was so cute.

Maybe he was just trying to sell more pralines.

Yes, well his plan was a success.

I filled my bag with those brown sugary slabs of heaven.  

We had to wait for our ride.  Genevieve busied herself by eating Cheezits whilst sitting on the sidewalk.

Such a southern belle.

I will toot my kid's horn now.  She was great on the hour tour.  She listened to the guide and would randomly scream "yee-haw" and point to the horse.  It was pretty cute.  She was just so excited.

Mom snapped this picture as she turned to the rest of the family to scream "yee-haw."  

For some reason this picture makes me think of my favorite scene in What about Bob? when Bill Murray keeps screaming, "I'm sailing!   I'm sailing!"  Then the camera pans out and he's tethered to the mast of the sailboat. Or maybe the starboard.  I don't know my boat parts.  I just find that scene hysterical.  

We spent some time on the beach and this year G got along better with the sand.  Less screaming and more slinging.  

This may be my new favorite family picture.  

YaYa and Bob took the girls to the aquarium in Charleston one morning.  Katie and I decided to dress them as twinsies, because we're like that.

I called them Arnold and Danny, since they are about the same size difference as those two stellar actors in Twins.  

I'll cease with the 80s/90s movies references.

Those pants made them like chameleons at the aquarium.  They blended right in with the water.  

That's a river otter.

One evening YaYa and I hung around while the rest of the family went to a baseball game in Charleston.  

The Charleston Riverdogs played the Savannah Sand Gnats in a stellar minor league baseball game.  They had fun but said they were about as good as watching a high school baseball game.

Trinity and I went to WholeFoods (my happy place) and bought Caroline a cake.  She was so helpful and attentive to Lady G.  

This stair step selfie was Sista Katie's idea.

She's always whining about the size of her forehead, which I totally understand.  I have a fivehead too.

When she sent this I nearly fell over.  

This didn't exactly help her cause.

Snarf.

Mom and Dad took their grandchildren to the beach to fly kites one evening.  

We had such a wonderful time, as we do every year together!

In case you were worried about the geriatric feline, your concerns are unfounded.  

She spent the week with our darling Ashleigh!

 A single attentive adult must have been like Club Med for our curmudgeon of a cat!

Traveling to the Isle of Palms

I have been missing in action due to our recent family vacation to the Isle of Palms.  

Our little trio left last Thursday and drove to Papi and Abby's house in Lexington.  

That evening G presented Papi with a new iPad for his birthday.  We have to maintain our FaceTime antics on state of the art technology.  

I took this picture during the 5-6 minutes that my child napped on the way down there.  

In typical Trinity style, we stopped in Corbin, Kentucky at the original Sanders Cafe.  This would later be known as KFC, or Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Our visit was life changing.  It not only served fried chicken, but it also had a small museum.  Part of the exhibit was an actual motel room from when it also housed a motel.  

G was so impressed that she tried to shut the door.

T&G met the Colonel.  

I highly recommend this roadside attraction.  

We stopped in Charlotte on Friday night to stay with Trinity's bestie and his family.  

Genevieve was greeted at the door by Warren.  

Warren is 10 months old.

Will is 3 1/2 years old, and was quite the host.  

I nearly stroked as these two climbed all over that fabulous Eames chair.  

Rusty and Mary Fran know how to decorate and furnish an abode.  

Our darlings played all evening and Saturday morning too.  We loved catching up with Rusty and Mary Fran.  On Saturday morning we left for our week vacation in Isle of Palms.  

My 35th Birthday Weekend

Oh, Mylanta, I'm getting old.  On Friday the 13th I turned 35.  It was not quite as scary as the movie.

Thanks to my parents, Trinity and I were able to enjoy a child-free weekend.  On my birthday morning I went to my free yoga class at Invoke.  I think I've gotten to go to a class on my birthday for the past several years.  It's such a great way to start the day. 

I took a nap and showered without G banging on the glass shower doors screaming, "Momma!"  

I imagine it's similar to a car jacking when someone bangs on your windshield.  

Anyway, the day started out swimmingly.

I was able to rock my new shades from my husband, which I love, but my family is not sold.   

My mother thinks I look like the Green Hornet.  Whatevs.  

When Trinity arrived home we hopped in the car and drove to Chicago.

My teeniest bestie was waiting with her new husband, Scott.  Remember they got married in November, when we had another child-free weekend.

Kate and Scott enjoy the big city life, with a beautiful condo in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area.

We were greeted with some wine and cheese.  Kate wrote out the names on the cheeseboard-

The happy couple.  Scott accentuates Kate's smallness since he is about 14 inches taller than her.

Of course, so am I.

Snarf.

This is the only picture of us from the whole weekend.  

They took us to some great Italian restaurant.  It's so fun to have friends in the city, since we can spend a night like the locals.  We walked there.  I pretended to be fancy.  

I'm 35!

The waiter brought me this cream puff thingy.  I don't do those.  I'm all for cake.

Kate proved her forever bestie status by bringing out Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes in honor of my special day.

God I love her.

And those cupcakes.

They are a Chicago institution.  

On Saturday morning we got our Starbucks (free on my birfday) and went to the DryBar in Lincoln Park.  I do love me a good blowout.  That was a gift to myself.  

Here's the before.

Gosh, we're pretty.

We also look about the same size.

I love sitting poses.

And boom!

Brienne of Tarth and Aria Stark.

We could be stunt doubles for Game of Thrones with our size difference.

Oh, I jest.

I just find it to be so stinking hilarious.  

I also got that new purse for being halfway to 70.

We left our locals after a stellar brunch prepared for us by the newlyweds.  I ate some bacon.

Bacon, y'all.

I'm fine with swine if it comes from Whole Foods and costs like $20 a strip.

It was great.

We checked into our hotel, MileNorth, which was right off of Michigan Avenue.  We then did the touristy thing and window shopped and walked.  We got Sprinkles and stuffed our faces on the sidewalk outside like homeless people.

We make beautiful memories.

After about 4 hours of walking we sidled up to the sidewalk cafe/bar outside of our hotel and got tipsy off of Wildcats, a drink made of tequila, mango juice and lemon juice.

They were divine.

Then we walked 3 steps to the Gino's East for Chicago deep dish pizza.  Trinity had never had any, and we did it up.  

Tequila and thick ass pizza crust=asleep by 7:30.

I'm not even kidding.

We had big plans for the rooftop bar, but then we remembered that we are old farts and fell asleep.  

It was wonderful.

Meanwhile, Miss Sassafrass was having the time of her life with her YaYa and Bob, who pretty much do anything she says.

I was thrilled to see my child likes a Face-in-a-Hole as much as I do.

She thinks she is Dennis Rodman with that tongue.

We were excited to get her back on Sunday and celebrate Father's Day.

For my birthday gift, my parents bought plane tickets for Genevieve and me.  We are all going to San Diego in the fall for a 4 day/night adventure.  I plan on pretending this is international travel so we can use her passport.

Happy birthday to me!

Week 2 of Summer

This is picture overload, and they're all of my darling girl.  This second week of summer we were very busy.

I took Genevieve to the Children's Museum for a couple of hours on Friday, and then we came home and napped. 

We nap a lot.

Daily for about 2 -3 hours.

Don't judge.

I only sleep for 2 to 2 1/2 of those hours. 

There is a new China exhibit, and this was a sleeping mat.  She thought a nap sounded good right then.  This is G's sleeping position each night-

She also tended to the baby pandas.  

On Saturday we attended a graduation party for Miss Emily.  She is heading to Purdue in the fall, but we still love her. 

It was at this particular soiree that my daughter discovered the after dinner mint.

Ah, the chalky goodness that melts on your tongue.  

I love those things.

I don't love the stomach ache that follows after I eat about 5 handfuls.  

Genevieve had about 5 or 6 mints and was most satisfied.

Let it be noted that she sidled up and sat in the chair by the food table.  The one that was set up with food, not for dining.

Easier access to dem mints!

On Monday we met Jamie, Charlotte and Liam at Nordstrom.

Because that's a reasonable place for a playdate.

J and I have been meeting there for eons, so why change with kids?

We patiently awaited their arrival by reading about kittens.

Duh.

Then it was lunchtime!

Jamie is my parenting model.

These two are amazing sleepers and behave so well.

Genevieve practiced her baby owl swivel head as Charlotte and Liam fed her from opposite sides of the table.

It was quite cute.  

Nordstrom brings out little boxes of raisins for the kids when we eat there.  They go gaga for them.  

Cheers to regularity!

On Tuesday it was shot day.

Sadly they were not of the vodka variety.

Genevieve had 2 immunizations and I got my round 2 of allergy shots.

Peach milkshakes are really the only cure after such torture.

On Wednesday we drove home to spend the night with my parents.  That is always fun.

Our activities included, but were not limited to:

mulch squatting and touching,

bike riding ( I'm using bike in the loosest sense of the word),

and trying on clothes.

On Thursday morning we went to the annual Strawberry Festival, which is one of my favorite days of the year.

It's such a happy memory from my childhood.

We shared "The Works," which is shortcake, strawberries, ice cream and whipped cream.

My child and my forehead really loved it.

My dear sister is pondering cutting bangs because she is tired of looking at her forehead, or fivehead, as we like to call it.

I'm discouraging this.

I can't be the only person walking around on this planet with a fore melon like that.  

G went nanners when she saw her Bob.

She was a tad frightened of the "yee-haw," which is her word for a horse.

I flared my giant nostrils and whinnied "neigh" at her.

She immediately saw the similarities between her mother and that noble steed and was instantly reassured.

That closes out week 2 of summer 2014!