South Carolina

We got to spend a whole week in South Carolina for our Thanksgiving, and we made the most of it!  The drive down was smooth, considering how many people (and their bladders!) we had to accommodate-- I was impressed with how quickly and painlessly we made it there!

A little napping certainly helped speed the trip along

As did some iPad time (while wearing Mommy's sunglasses)

More of wearing Mommy's sunglasses

Once we got there, we quickly settled in to the house Craig's parents had rented for us-- a spacious  home right on the water!  The kids loved the extra space to run around, and it served as a perfect gathering place for the rest of Craig's family.  We could put the kids down for much needed naps and not miss out on any of the games and baking that were always going on!

Riding bikes and scooters in the driveway

Colton was a big fan of the dock by our house.  He was not such a fan of the fact that we insisted on carrying him because I was so scared he would fall in the water!

Now if only we had a boat...

Ryder and Eli together

We had a LOT of rain the first few days, so we decided to visit the Kazoobie Kazoo Factory and Museum.  It was small and utterly charming.  Who would have guessed a kazoo museum could be so much fun?!  We had a great time, and everybody got to assemble their own kazoo at the end of the tour.  This made for a VERY noisy trip home, but I'm sure Ray Charles would have approved of our rendition of "Hit the Road, Jack" as we all kazooed along!

Colton was VERY insistent that he get his own kazoo, too, despite the fact that he was occasionally afraid of the noise they made

Ready to form a band

Cousin Kazoo Time

On the first sunny day, we headed out to play miniature golf:

Zoom in so you can compare Bentley (being annoyed about having his picture taken) with Kendra (posing like a model who specializes in wearing huge tennis shoes)

Action shot of Colton and Ryder, partners for the afternoon with Craig and I

Jason gamely keeping score for the kids (and probably being grateful for the 6 stroke limit!)

They had these fake chickens that would occasionally make clucking noises.  Colton was in love with them and couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to try and pick them up

Kamryn is always nice about giving piggy back rides

Lindsy is, too.  My kids are lucky to have such good cousins!

Also while we were there, Ryder turned four!  Can you believe it???

Ryder, opening an early birthday present

Craig and I pretending to be at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade like two years ago

Colton LOVED the fireplace at Lynda and Greg's

And I love Colton in suspenders!

Apparently we didn't really take any pictures of the actual feast.  But trust me, there was a LOT of food, and it was all delicious.  And I was kind of relieved, because even though my little guys didn't take naps that day and were fighting colds, they managed to be *fairly* well behaved through-out.  Phew!

The view from the house we stayed in-- so lovely!

Our awesome tub and the view.  Some day I need a tub like this.  (I think the master bathroom here was bigger than my actual bedroom.  Yowza.)

On the day after Thanksgiving, Craig, his brother and sister-in-law, and uncle all went golfing.  I would have liked to have tried playing a few holes, but I thought 9 would be more than my big tummy could handle-- way too much twisting going on there.  So I stayed home and made sure my little guys finally got their naps while Bentley and Kendra were off with their cousins, grandparents, and great aunt, playing croquet and riding their scooters.  And I think everyone was pretty happy that way!

Jason teeing off

Our last few days were very pleasant, although chilly.  It was nice to hang out and finish off leftovers before we had to make the drive home again.

The view from our house-- so gorgeous!  I love being able to see water.

And looking back to our house!

And of course, we celebrated Ryder's birthday the day after Thanksgiving-- my little Ryder is four years old now!

Ryder was all excited to open his presents until he realized that everyone was going to watch him do it.  Then he suddenly got up and left.  We found him hiding in his room-- I had no idea that Ryder had stage fright!  It took a few minutes of coaxing to get him to come back and start unwrapping...!

But once he started, he was just fine!

Playing with one of his favorite new toys: Lightning McQueen, of course. 

No one was in the mood for more baking, so he just got store-bought cupcakes.  He didn't mind that one bit, though!

And neither did Colton, actually...

Making s'mores outside Lynda and Greg's

We had a lovely time.  Really, the worst part of the entire trip was getting stuck in traffic outside Fredericksburg (of all places!!!!  Why is there so much traffic in Fredericksburg?!?!?) for an hour and a half on the way home.  Other than that, it was a lovely vacation and wonderful to spend so much time with family-- what better way to spend a Thanksgiving holiday?!