Sunday, June 28, 2009

More Charleston

We took a Spiritline tour to Fort Sumter. The weather was beautiful and the sky was so clear and blue. There was a wonderful breeze which made the boat ride even more enjoyable. Here is a picture of the United States Customs Office from our boat. Photo of the Battery from the boat.
Fort Sumter is located in the mouth of the Charleston Harbor to protect the shipping industry. However, decades of growing strife between the North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort. Fort Sumter surrendered 34 hours later.

Fort Sumter was originally 50' tall, after the war the highest point was/is 15' high.
For the second day in a row co-workers had to call Jim for help. I was kidding Todd about us being on vacation and him not being able to stand a day without talking to Jim.

The cannons that were used during the Civil War battle.
SC Flag that was flown at Ft. Sumter.
The United States flag that was flown over Ft. Sumter.


On our way back I thought it was amazing how much can be loaded onto a cargo ship. Wonder how many train cars it took to fill this ship?
After we returned to Charleston we ate at Stickey Fingers BBQ - it was so good! To try and work off more of the calories we had accumulated during our trip, we took another stroll through town. We came upon yet another beautiful alley full of flowers and greenery.

The alley led to a pathway which was completely overgrown - it was a graveyard!!! When we looked up, we saw the tops of two churches. Some believe that a graveyard should be left natural, peaceful and untouched. We were so surpised that the pretty path led to an overgrown graveyard which was behind a beautiful church.

The ironwoark was so beautiful and massive! The guy that created most of the ironwork in Charleston had passed away the previous week. A lot of the iron gates and fences had white ribbons tied to them in memory/honor of him.
As we were walking we did a little more shopping at the Market and then strolled down to Waterfront park to swing on the large swings overlooking the bay. I had swung too high and fast for Jim - he had to get off. This little girl looked over at me and I asked her if she wanted to swing. She jumped right on with her friend and we pushed and kicked our feet to see how high we could go. She was just precious!
View from our swing. I'm telling you - this place has beautiful views and things to look at in every corner and direction!
After some Italian ice and a slow, sweet walk back to our room we showered and relaxed during our last night in beautiful Charleston. Here I am relaxing in my soft hotel robe and eating chocolates that are left on our pillow each night.
We had a fantastic time!!! I love Charleston!

Fun Times with Fun Friends

Our good friends Marsha, Tim, their son Jordan and his friend Wes came over for a cookout and pool time. We had so much fun eating and swimming! Tim taking it easy in the pool.
Marsha and I doing a little water aerobics ;) One of the boys liked standing on their head better.
More aerobics.
Jordan is such a cutie and looks just like his mom.
Marsha relaxing and trying to stay dry from all the water splashing.
Sean and Malisha - poor guys get so tired of my camera being pointed in their direction!
Jim watching the kids play.
Tim had played so hard with the boys in the pool - he had to take a break. We have a fan that a water hose hooks up to which blows a nice, cool mist. I turned it on and pointed it toward him and in just a few minutes he was sound asleep. Trying to keep up with two 13-year olds was more than he could take! :)
Having fun in the pool. We are trying to see how big of a whirlpool we can make.
(Click on arrow to view the next two videos)

Mattie loves playing catch. She would play all day if she could find someone to throw a ball all day.
We had such a fun time! Can't wait to get together and play again. Love you guys!

Father's Day

Jim has been a wonderful stepdad to my kids. They love him as much as their own dad. He looked like he was going to cry when he was reading the card from the kids. Having a good relationship with both their dad and stepdad is very important to me and it was easy to do with such a wonderful man. Thank you Honey for being a loving, caring, generous and wonderful role model. We love you! Happy Father's Day! Everytime we buy him a gift he can always guess what it is before he opens it. He will shake, listen, turn it over etc. This time he didn't have a clue. His guess was a brick! He has started target shooting with his friends, so we bought him things to go with that.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Fantastic Friday

It took me about 2 seconds to talk Jim into taking Friday off. Of course - he is a worker and the thoughts of just lying by our pool didn't appeal to him as much as it did Malisha and I. We have been wanting/needing to refinish our wooden front door. We actually hired a guy to come do it for us - but he didn't show up - twice! Jim and I decided to do it ourselves. Here Jim is stripping the first layer off. While Jim was using chemicals on the door - which he wouldn't let me help, I was weeding and admiring my new flowers that are popping up. Anyone that knows me, know I love flowers. I get the love for flowers from my grandmothers. When I look at their blooms and all the wonderful colors, shapes and designs it amazes me at how God created so many beautiful things. I feel close to him and thank him for my life. These daylillies came from Jim's mother.
Some beauties in my friendship garden.
Ice plant - I have had to thin this out several times. It is a sun lover and blooms all summer.
While I was watering my hanging baskets a bird flew out, scaring me to death. I looked inside and saw this little nest - another one of God's miracles and beautiful creations. One of my joys in life is waking up on the weekends, fixing a pot of coffee and sitting on the porch listening to the birds. I must be careful not to drown the babies but keep my plant watered.
What a lovely Friday. We got a lot done around the house, layed by the pool and I fixed Jim a wonderful dinner of crab cakes, corn on the cob and angel lush cake - yummy!
Crab Cakes2 cans (6 oz. each) crab meat in water, drained, flaked - the actual recipe calls for Tuna, but I like crab meat better.
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate 10 minutes. Flatten into patties and cook 6 minutes or until golden brown.
Angel Lush

1 can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple in Juice, undrained
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
1 pkg. (10 oz.) round angel food cake, cut into 3 layers
10 small fresh strawberries
Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix. Gently stir in Cool Whip.
Stack cake layers on plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers and on top of cake.
Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with berries and enjoy!

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

KASC Annual Picnic

Once a year the safety council has a picnic and for the past two years we have had it at Golfers Edge on Stone Drive - thanks to Junior & Whitney Carr.
Gene and Phyllis - they always put 110% into everything they do for the council. Everything was free to the council members and family. Sean came home for the weekend, so we all went. I love it when we get to do things as a family.
Sean in the batting cage.
Malisha waiting for her turn up at the plate.
Phyllis is our photographer - thought I would get a picture of how we normally see her.
Debbie, Jean and their kids and grandkids.
Gene hard at work - putting out all the great food he grilled - love the hat Gene!
Malisha always finds a baby to play with - this time it was a puppy.
I have no idea what was said - but we both sure got tickled.
Cute little Pearl and Tom - it was so wonderful to sit and catch up.
Tom and his two cute grandkids - they had just came back from a week at the beach.
Playing Miniture Golf - Whitney let everyone know it is not Putt Putt ;)
Everyone gives Jean a hard time - so here I go. "Get off the phone Jean"!
"Jean, are you still talking"?
Jean & Dana watching the kids play "miniture golf"
Looks like Jean finally hung up! :)
Sean trying out his macho pose
Acting goofy - oops, I mean cool.
Gene in his funny hat - did you notice the bird is eating a chip?
I don't think Malisha was happy with Jim's hole-in-one. How many did you make 3 or 4?
We had such a fun time. The weather was wonderful with just a slight breeze.
That's my boy.