Last Trip Post

I know, I've done a million trip posts, but this is the last one. After our day trip to Charleston, Ken and I spent the next day just hanging out in the little town of Edisto. We walked the beach, searched for shells, visited the only grocery store in town: Piggly Wiggly, played cards, and just enjoyed relaxing and spending time together. The next day we packed up and drove home. One very odd thing about this town was the fact that it had only one road to get in and out. On that road you found the oddest assortment of houses. You'd see a gorgeous house next door to a really run down house. It was so bizarre. We really enjoyed looking at all the random houses. There were also a lot of churches and cemeteries. We stopped at one on Friday the 13th, just to get us sufficiently spooked.

Mommy, Wow! I'm a Big Boy Now!

This morning, Abe was adamant that he wanted to feed himself his yogurt. I'm kind of wierd about letting him feed himself things that are messy, but I thought, "What the heck, he's gotta learn sometime". I was delighted with how well he did. I hurried and grabbed the camera so we could show everyone.
After I took the video I sat and watched it a couple of times, thinking about how big my little boy has become. I then turned around and found this.

and this...

and this... and this...

Once the mess is made, you might as well let the kid have some fun. Like I said earlier, "What the heck, he's gotta learn sometime!"

And he ended up with an extra bath, it was probably his evil plan all along!

Charleston

After we arrived home from Utah, I had one day to unpack and do laundry and one day to re-pack and clean the house, then Ken and I dropped Abe off with my sister Tami and headed for a little getaway. I'd been saving some money I'd earned from babysitting and surveys and surprised Ken with this trip as his Valentine's Day present. We stayed in Edisto Beach, but spent Friday the 13th in Charleston, SC. There are a lot of pictures, (I know, I know, I'm pregnant in ALL of these pictures ... please ignore that fact) so I'm going to do some slide shows, then you can watch if you want to.

Our first stop was Patriot's Point. You can tour an aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, and also a submarine there. We really enjoyed walking through the ships and learning more about the history of our country.



While in the submarine we ran into a tour guide who'd served on several submarines throughout the war. It was so interesting to hear him talk about his actual experiences. He once served 76 straight days on a submarine and lost 26 lbs because they ran out of food. He talked about how they didn't shower and would only wash out of a basin because they filled the shower to the top with potatoes. How they would fill every nook and cranny they could with food.



Our second stop was the South Carolina aquarium. I really like touring aquariums, so I was excited for this. It had some fun things, but I was actually pretty disappointed with it. We've been to Atlanta and Baltimore aquariums and they are hard to beat.





After the aquarium we walked around Charleston and the market areas. We ate a delicious dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then returned to downtown for our Ghost Tour! We thought it was most appropriate to end our Friday the 13th with a tour of the Old Haunted City Jail. It was such a cool old building and the tour was fun.



Our only supernatural experience was at the end of the tour. Apparantly there is a spirit that will often make contact with the tour groups. Our tour guide was attempting to get him to contact us and asked him to do several different things. He didn't do any of them. Finally she asked him to make a loud noise so his presence would be known. Immediately this big brass instrument fell off its shelf onto the floor. The tour guide was standing no where close.



We had a great time in Charleston and there were so many things that we didn't get to do! Maybe someday we can make a return trip.

Utah Trip - Discovery Museum

Our last couple of days in Utah, Abraham was able to get to know his Carlile cousins a little better. On Saturday we went to the Discovery Children's Museum at Gateway and had a great time. On Sunday we met at Aunt Carie's house for dinner and fun. It was so nice to see everyone. Abe loved the ball pit, which is the first thing when you come in. I had to convince him there was more to do and that he wouldn't be disappointed if he left this area.

Abe really enjoyed playing in the water (getting ready for summer!) and of course, It's a Car!

At the end they had a helicopter the kids could climb into. Abe loved it and wouldn't leave it. He wedged himself back into and corner. Aunt Carie had to climb in and pull him out!

Abe and his cousin Cooper.

If anything rivals Abraham's love of cars, it is dogs. He was thrilled to get up close and personal with Maurice.

Uncle Kale looks a lot like Ken, so Abe was slightly confused by his presence. He was right in his element though when the wrestling began. He wanted to be in the thick of it all.

Utah Trip - The Tucker Edition

It was really nice to see my parents and my siblings while we were in Utah. Some of them I hadn't seen in over a year. We went bowling one night and had a great time. Everyone was waiting for my fall on my face, but I was able to keep on my feet, although I did gutter ball more often than I should have! We then took everyone to Carl's Jr. so the kids could play on the playground. Abraham loved being with his cousins and kept hugging Ashton (we never got a good picture of it though). Kaylee and Trevor were so good to him and he loved "kicking" them and going down the slide with them. Abe really loves his Grandpa Tucker, so it was nice that they could reconnect a little. Abe and his cousin Ashton are 2 days apart!

Utah - Impromptu Style

I was lucky to be able to fly out to Utah with Abraham to attend the funeral services for my Grandmother. It was unfortunate circumstances, but we were able to spend some time with my family and also with Ken's family. Abraham really enjoyed the time he spent with his grandparents and cousins. I'm going to break this up into a couple of posts so you aren't overwhelmed with pictures! Grandpa Carlile took a lot of these, so you might actually see some baby belly! I don't have a single picture of my pregnant belly with Abe (intentionally) and I was tempted to just get rid of these ones, but the memories are worth it, I guess.

Our flight was long (Raleigh to Phoenix to SLC) and Abe decided he wanted to puke everywhere while waiting to get on our plane in Phoenix. Lovely. Otherwise, he actually flew really well and I was proud of him.

Grandma and Grandpa Carlile took us to Cabella's one night. Abraham loved all the animals and I tried a bison burger for dinner.

Abe absolutely loved this swing. He didn't want to get off. I finally had to drag him away, kicking and screaming.

Aunt Kristy used this snake to distract Abe from his disappointment of having to leave the swing.

It was really fun to watch Abe get excited about all the animals. The polar bear was one of his favorites, but he was roaring and barking and making all sorts of animals sounds at all the animals we saw.