I have no good excuses for not blogging. So I'll try to catch you all up!
The first weekend of Grace's spring break, we went to upstate South Carolina (Lake Hartwell, which is near Clemson/Greenville) to go camping. We have caught a lot of flak for saying we were camping; we stayed in a cabin with a potty! However, we did cook all of our meals outside and had no technology to entertain us, so I felt like that was a big step! Remember, people, I didn't grow up camping. Jasen, to save face with the other men at the campground (who would randomly stop by and say "Wow, those are some great digs!") told them we were easing me into camping. I guess that is true!
We took the scenic route there and back, which was great. Sometimes, you need to take the long way! On the way there, we stopped to eat in Blackville, at a restaurant Granny and Papaw had told us about called Miller's Breadbasket. It's run by an Amish family and man, was it good! I also found an old hope chest that I am hoping to go back and purchase! We also saw an incident of what we assume was road rage. We came up behind two cars at a stoplight in a small town, with a man out of his car, screaming and yelling at the car behind him. "Birds" and expletives flew all over the place and the man spit on the other car! Jasen and I were shocked! We sat there with our mouths wide open and Jasen said he felt like he'd just witnessed the road version of Jerry Springer!
We arrived at our camp, downloaded our stuff, then went on a small hike to the dam at Lake Hartwell. It was easy and non-challenging, but we got to see great views of the lake and down on the beach there. Then we went back to our campground and had dinner and S'mores. After we put the kids to bed, Jasen and I sat on our porch and read for an hour or two. It was so relaxing!
The next day, we headed closer to the NC line and visited Issaqueena Falls, a 100 foot waterfall. We walked down to the observation point, which was the official end of the hike. We decided to try to get down to the bottom of the falls. Now, keep in mind we had two small children. Jasen carried Davis and went down first, followed by our adventurer, Grace, and me. It was so cool! The climb down and up was tricky, but the view from the bottom was amazing!
We got back in the car and drove into Clemson. What a gorgeous campus! Very hilly and old. We went to the botanical gardens there, but weren't impressed. Not much was blooming. We took the long way home, stopping to get ice cream, then back to the cabin. One of the kids favorite things on the trip was the mini-golf course at our campground. It had all the Disney characters on it, so they loved it.
The next morning, we headed home, stopping for some great pepper-vinegar barbecue at Shealys. It was amazing. When we got home, we were pooped!! Jasen went back to work the next day. That same day, Grace and I had a mother-daughter date to paint pottery and get our hair done. The next day, we didn't do much, but Jasen and I had a date night, where we did a restaurant crawl. It was fun!
On Friday evening, we had our pastor and his family, Paul, Susan, and DeeAnna Rienzo over for dinner. We love them! Jasen and I laughed at how we always end up close to our pastor and his family! The guys played XBox and the girls (including Grace) sat around and visited. Such good company.
Saturday morning was the Easter egg hunt at our church. We decorated eggs that afternoon. That evening, Jasen had an ROTC event. Sunday, was Easter, so we were at church early and then went to brunch at High Cotton in downtown Charleston. It was sooooo good!! We walked around downtown for awhile, then came home. While we were walking, Davis sang "Bare Necessities" from Jungle Book at the top of his lungs, unaware of everyone staring at him with sheer pleasure on their faces. He makes quite an impression!
We came home to find the Easter bunny had visited and put eggs all over the front and back of our house and in the front yard of the house next door. Our neighbors, Sarah and Hunter, came out to help us look and we had a great visit with them. After the hunt, we came inside, where we watched the Masters, which was a great way to end the day and Spring Break.
I'll post pictures soon!
Ready for our church's Easter egg hunt
We do love Crosstowne Christian!
Davis would stir and stir...
Easter morning
The family before brunch at High Cotton.
Grace was generous with her brother and left a few for him!
