Staycation Days 5 and 6

On the fifth day of our staycation, we drove to Statesboro, GA to Splash in the Boro, a family water park. It was our first time, but definitely not our last time there. I don't have pictures to share with you because I took them with a waterproof film camera. But maybe one day I'll scan them and post (but don't hold your breath). To see the park, click on the link and check them out. We had a wonderful time, once we got there. I would not recommend their driving directions from their website. We took a wrong turn and it cost us at least an extra hour of time we could have had at the park. But it was worth it. The best part? It was only ten dollars per person. We were famished on the way home, so we stopped at Dairy Queen in Burke County. After supper, we each got an ice cream. What a fun summer trip!

On the sixth day, we did something else we had never done. We drove to Monetta to see our first movie at a drive-in movie. We saw a double feature, Despicable Me and Toy Story 3. Although a strong thunderstorm rolled through while we were there and delayed the start of the movies, and we didn't get in bed until after 2 AM, I'd still do it all over again. It was a lot of fun!

Staycation: Day 4

On the fourth day of our staycation, we headed two and a half to three hours southeast to Hunting Island Beach. We got there about lunch time, ate subs, and then headed to the sand! We swam, soaked up (too much) sun, and collected shells. The boys got stung by jellyfish for the second summer in a row, but they sucked it up and got back into the water. When we got ready to leave, there was a little afternoon shower (around five or so), and as we were leaving St. Helena's Island, we had to stop to let a gator cross the road! Can you believe it? We asked the park ranger to recommend a good seafood place and then headed to Steamers Crab and Steakhouse. I don't usually do seafood, but I wanted Ed and Jonathan to be able to eat it. So I ordered grouper (it was recommended as a nice white fish without the fishy taste). It was excellent. The food was good, but the service was a little slow. I would still highly recommend this place if you are ever on Lady Island in SC. Below are some of the highlights in photos.

We love that the beach at Hunting Island is seldom crowded. And this was the week after July Fourth! We nearly had the place to ourselves.

At Steamers, Ed enjoyed Frogmore Stew (no frogs in it)! Jonathan enjoyed an appetizer of grilled shrimp.

We plan to do this at least once more before the summer ends.

Staycation: Day 3

On day 3 of our staycation, we drove to a place called Graystone Ranch. They have a petting zoo, and lots of other animals to see, including 2 tigers. They also have a spring fed pond/lake. Our plan was to fish a little and let the kids swim a little. The problem was that we didn't get started early enough, and baby was it hot! And of course the fish weren't biting, and poor Ed spent more time untangling our lines than fishing. The swimming went better. I enjoyed reclining in the shade while watching the guys swim. Ya see, I don't do lake or pond water. I don't swim in stuff I can't see through! But the guys enjoyed it, and I was totally amazed at Matthew's bravery. It was his FIRST time swimming out of a pool. He did great!





Overall, it was a great day! I think the boys will always remember it. I know I will.

Staycation: Day 2

Although it was two weeks ago, I wanted to continue telling you about our week long "staycation!" The second day of our staycation happened to be the Fourth of July. So we stayed home for the most part, but we didn't sit around and do nothing. We had a cookout with yummy burgers and potato salad. We played baseball in the backyard, and then we enjoyed the pool all afternoon. I so love having a pool! Did I ever tell you that Ed built the pool himself? Okay, that's another topic completely, and I digress.

Finally, we went to Augusta's Riverwalk that evening for the annual fireworks show. It was good, but not as good as usual. They used to play patriotic music in the background, but this year someone else was in charge, and it was kind of dull. But it was still a good way to end the day, celebrating our country's freedom. GO USA!

Our Staycation: Day 1

Ed and I decided not to wander far from home this summer. We had just been on a cruise in December and took a trip to Dollywood in April. So this summer, Ed took the week off from work, beginning with the Fourth of July. That allowed us to do several things we had been wanting to do together, but hadn't had the time.

Our first mini trip was on the 3rd of July. We drove a little over an hour to McCormick, SC to visit an actual gold mine. It isn't active anymore, but we got the tour and actually panned for gold in a sluice. It was hard work! Matthew got bored with the gold panning, but he loved "mining" for gem stones to add to his rock collection.

This is the tunnel you go in to see where they actually mined in the 1850's.

Here's Matthew "mining" for his gem stones.

It was a whole lot of work for just 6 teeny pieces of gold. It was fun though!

My reward for the hard work? No cooking!

Father's Day Weekend

Okay, I am almost a week late, but I still wanted to post about Father's Day weekend. We really enjoyed it. I had taken Ed to the mall and got him clothes for work (yes, a tad boring, but that's what he wanted). Matthew got him a Free (except for S&H) 8x10 Canvas from The Canvas People that pictured Ed and the two boys in the pool, and a Family Handyman magazine (with subscription on its way). Jonathan got him a t-shirt that said, "Dad Rocks" and some good smelling man soap. Ed liked all of his gifts. What dad wouldn't?

On Saturday, Matthew went to a free baseball clinic at Lake Olmstead stadium with the Augusta Greenjackets. When it was over, we drove our rental car (a whole other story) to my mom and dads' house. We ate out Saturday night at one of our favorite places, Pizza Inn. Then on Sunday, Granny and Papa (my mom's parents) came over for lunch. Afterward, we had homemade banana ice cream! Double YUM! Below are some of the other highlights of our trip.

We picked blueberries in Papa's backyard! YUM!

Ed and the kids rode Papa's four wheeler!

Sleeping on the air mattress at Papa and Grandmas.

Parting shots on Sunday of my dad and the kids.

Oh...and check out this rental car! Wowza!

Dog Days

Look at this face! She is such a sweetheart! Her name is Faye, and she's a Pit Bull who is between one and a half and two years old...still has a lot of that puppy energy. (When you see the dog houses below, you'll see where she has chewed them.) She came to our house February 2009 as a puppy with a second dog, a West Highland Terrier. We assume that someone couldn't take care of them and set them out. Cruel, huh? I guess they knew there are still suckers out here who'll take care of them. We found another home for the Westie, and my husband talked me into keeping the Pit Bull. I wasn't sure about it at first, but she has turned out to be such a submissive, sweetheart of a dog!

This is my sweet OLD girl, Sally. She's a 12 year old Lab Mix. She has arthritis and lies around a lot...not nearly as active as she used to be. Just let her out though and watch her go. She amazes me. We've had her since she was a puppy too. We found her as a stray on the side of the rode. She had tons of fleas and was licking a chocolate bar wrapper. We took her home, fed and cleaned her, and she has been the most loyal, lovable dog we've ever had.

We love both of our dogs, but because of their size and the fact that they both shed, we have to keep them outside. They have a nice fenced kennel with a concrete floor. Every week, we give both girls time to run around in the back yard.

This week our weather has been unseasonably HOT. Though the official start of summer is nearly a week away, by today's end, we'll have seen three days in a row of 100+ temperatures (yesterday was a record-breaking 103 in Augusta). So you might feel sorry for my dogs. But really, they are well taken care of...some might say spoiled. They get plenty of water twice a day, sometimes with ice, and then Ed added this to their kennel.

Yes, that is an old ceiling fan, and it works! At first, Sally was scared of it, but both have come to appreciate it in these temperatures!

They aren't too keen on our swimming pool though. They just don't know what they're missing! :)