Stricklin Visit

Gay and Don, our dear friends from Houston, came to Columbia to visit again this year.  This time, though, they brought the children with them.  It was FUN FOR ALL!!  

The girls started squealing the second they saw each other.

The boys may have taken a minute longer to get excited about seeing each other but they settled right in and started talking Harry Potter and DSi games.

We left the children under the watchful eye of one of our favorite baby sitters so that we could go to dinner at Mr. Friendly's just like we did last year.  It should have surprised us that we were able to get a parking spot right out front ... but it didn't.  Instead, we had to walk up to see this sign ... CLOSED! We missed it by ONE DAY ... total bummer!

So, we went to Pawleys Front Porch for a chance to just take a breath, catch up a bit and decide where to go.  It had rained most of the afternoon, so the porch was actually quite comfortable.  Definitely not as hot as it would have been in Houston!

We decided to go to Rosso's for dinner and everyone decided it was a good second choice.

Happy 4th of July!!

Getting ready to go to Uncle Sammy's house for our first 4th of July party of the day.  Olivia was a big help with Amelia and sweet little Eliza.

McIver was armed (with a water gun) and dangerous waiting for the boat parade to cruise by the dock.

Sammy and Paige hosted about 100 people for another great July 4th celebration.  Everyone lines up on the docks all along the creek to watch the boat parade.

One of the many boats decorated for the parade.  Some of the boats have water guns and balloons that they throw at the crowd.  We got SOAKED by the dock builder boat that had a SUPER powerful hose on board.

Olivia was sweet enough to try to wrangle Eliza into the group picture of all the kids at the party.  

McIver followed the big kids jumping off the rail into the creek.  About five minutes before this, he asked if he could jump off the I-beam they use to raise the boat out of the creek.  Thankfully, someone had already told the 15 year olds to stop doing that because it wasn't safe.  Somehow, jumping from the deck rail seemed like the lesser of two evils.  Of course, he had a ball...

... two thumbs up!

After the party, we went back to Myrtle Beach for some R&R before the second party of the day.  I sat outside to read and snapped a picture of Daddy Blue Bird.

Waiting for the golf cart parade to come by GranGran's house.

Spin Art at the Dunes Club party

Mac scaled the rock wall in record time, then rappelled down to oohs and ahhs from the worried mamas waiting at the bottom.

Olivia ran off with Catherine as soon as they saw each other so McIver and I watched the fireworks together.  It really was SPECtacular!  Another great celebration of America and our freedom!

Murrells Inlet

After we took Catherine home from sleeping over at our house, Olivia and I loaded up and headed down to the Creek House to meet up with GranGran, GranDaddy, Robert, Kelli and their girls.  Robert and Kelli took Olivia to the beach so that I could stay at the house and watch Wimbledon.  Nadal's loss was heart-breaking, but I'm impressed at how humble and well-spoken he was when he was interviewed right after the championship match.  Even in his second (or third) language, he was respectful of his opponent, didn't make or accept any excuses for his loss, and was easier to understand than most college football players. (I'll get off my soap box now!)

Everyone came back from the beach just long enough to grab a bite to eat and then headed back out.  Olivia loved being with her cousin Amelia.

On the boat ride to The Point.

Hunting for shells (and wearing Amelia's itty-bitty sunglasses).  The Point is pretty awesome - people just cruise up in their boats and anchor them right on the beach.  

McIver swimming in the inlet.

Amelia and Olivia collected tons of shells.  Olivia turned her "O" into a peace sign, of course.

GranDaddy and McIver before our after-dinner cruise.  Check out that view of the marsh ... beautiful and so peaceful!

More Beach and SOB Night Out

We hit the beach first thing Saturday morning.  First we found Will's brother Jay and his family.  JuliAnna stopped just long enough for a picture.  

Olivia has been waiting an entire year to see Catherine again.  They ran around together last year at the Dunes Club party.  Catherine is Olivia's Godmother's niece and lives in Florida so it's not really easy to coordinate our trips to Myrtle Beach together.  Anyway, they were so excited to see each other and immediately hit it off again this year.

Hunting for minnows and crabs is very serious work.

Olivia and Catherine with Aunt Jane

We had a ful day on the beach, then GranDaddy took McIver to the Creek House for the night.  Will's brother Robert and his family were there so McIver was able to go crabbing with them and cruise around the inlet in the boat.  Olivia and Catherine played together, climbed trees and ate popsicles while I read my book and enjoyed doing absolutely nothing.

The Myrtle Beach crowd got together at the Dunes Club for a good visit.  No SOB (sons - and daughters  - of the beach) gathering could happen without at least five cameras coming out.  We were like the paparazzi on the patio.   Just pretend like that finger in the top of the picture is the sun setting over the ocean!

Jane's sweet family invited me to eat dinner with them since Ginny & Jimmy were at the Creek House.  Even though the service was almost painfully slow, we had a great time and laughed a ton.  Afterwards, Jane and I joined the other folks who were still there eating.  The cameras came out again...

Chase lives in Virginia now with her family.  Her son Michael turns 9 today.  They usually spend July 4th with her husband's family at Cape Cod, so it's a treat to have them here this year.

This is a crowd that knows how to have a good time!!

The Beach ... finally!

I can't believe it has taken almost half of the summer break to get us back down to the beach.  Not that I'm complaining, we've been to the mountains with the YaYas, the kids have been to camp and we've been to the pool and the lake, but there's just something about being able to put my toes in the sand.

We got to Myrtle Beach on Thursday afternoon.  As soon as we unloaded the car, we immediately loaded up the golf cart with the pool bag, boogie boards, beach toys and towels.  Olivia and McIver went straight into the surf with their boogie boards.  Unfortunately, I didn't even think to grab my camera on Thursday.  But, never fear!  Friday was pretty much a replay of Thursday, so I do have plenty of pictures...

Will's parents are down at the Creek House in Murrell's Inlet and asked that we feed the bluebirds.  It's so cool to watch Mama Bird swoop out of the bird box and fetch worms for her babies.  Ginny told me they hatched about five days ago.  Mama Bird didn't even wait for me to back up before she flew to the bowl.

Then I made a move to get my camera situated and she gave me the evil eye.

Olivia with her boogie board.  She didn't miss a beat as she headed for the surf.

It didn't take long to find just the right wave to ride in.

Waiting for the perfect wave.

Mac found one, too.

Check out my cute little guy!  He LOVED boogie boarding and kept telling me the blow-by-blow of every wave he rode.

After the beach, we hit the pool for a little while and ran into some of the SOBs ("Sons - and daughters - Of the Beach").  Once again I didn't have my camera handy.  It's always fun to visit with everyone who grew up here.  Monday night is the big, big, big Dunes Club July 4th party.  I heard that there are 1500 reservations which means that it will be a ZOO and nearly impossible to have any sort of conversation with anyone.  But, it will be a good time - band, food, hula hoop contests, bounce houses and a nice ocean breeze (my fingers are crossed for that last one!).  

We had dinner at home and then an evening golf cart ride.  McIver was thrilled to have his turn first.

Olivia is getting to be a pretty good driver.

Mad Platter

I 'won' a gift certificate to the Mad Platter at our school auction last fall.  We need some decent-sized coffee cups at the lake so I thought they might let me just bring the kids in to paint six mugs (the party was for six children).   What I didn't realize was that the party was a Tie Dye Party for six children.  So, even though they wouldn't let me trade in our party, I had gotten the kids' hopes up so I took them in to paint a mug each.  Looks like McIver will be having a tie-dye party for his birthday (unless he changes his mind ... again).

Olivia chose her mug and got to work with serious concentration.

 Tiger Paw on one side, "Clemson Girls love their Tigers" on the other side.

McIver chose a mug with a little peace sign on it and selected lots of pain colors.

I'm not sure he ended up using all seven of the colors he chose, but he had a great time painting.

College World Series

McIver was the only one who was interested in staying up with me to watch the Gamecocks play in the College World Series.  He ran to get his hat and sunglasses so he could join the USC players when they started their rally dances during the first game.

The red hat didn't sit well, so we ended up with every baseball hat in the house by the time he got to his First Citizens hat.  Worked like a charm!

Lake Murray

We rode out to Bomb Island to watch the purple martins roost on Saturday night.

Olivia feeding Tex a few boiled peanuts.  I'm surprised she was willing to share!

Once we anchored at Bomb Island, McIver said he was going to 'captain and look out for the purple martins.'

This was the first time in a while that Olivia hasn't had a friend go to the lake with her.  It was nice to see the kids getting along, entertaining each other and having fun together.

In the water with Dad.

Tex just couldn't stand it... he ran all around the boat following Will and the kids until Will finally agreed to let him get in the water.  The only hard part, which really isn't that hard anymore, is getting Tex back in the boat.  He's getting used to being pulled up by the scruff of his neck.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunset as we watched the purple martins come to the island.

It is amazing to watch all these birds fly to the island.  We wondered if the first ones to arrive get there early to get their favorite spot in the trees.

Olivia drove home while Mac relaxed with Dad.

Trip Down Memory Lane & New Neighbor

I started babysitting for the Ruffin boys way back when I was about 13 years old.  Actually, when I met them, they had just one little boy, Chase.  It wasn't long before they had two more sons, William and Ben.  I remember taking William to the hospital 18 years ago to meet his little brother, Ben.  Ben's 18th birthday was Saturday and that made me feel OLD!  Patti and the boys were in Columbia for her nephew's wedding and we were able to have a quick visit.  Chase and William handed out the Order of Service at our wedding.  They were old enough to wear tuxedos - and even had toy guns because they felt like James Bond.  (This was most definitely pre-9/11!)  Little Ben was the ring bearer and was m-a-d that he was forced to wear 'pretty clothes' - he was 5 years old.  He said he still remembers being embarrassed by his outfit that day!

After my visit with the Ruffins, I packed up to meet Will and the kids at the lake.  Saw this cute little bunny as I was backing out of the driveway.  He was a being a good little neighbor because he wasn't snacking on our vincas and black-eyed susans!