Charleston- No kids allowed!

Lance and I just got back from a much needed kid free trip to Charleston, SC.  Lance was there for business and I've been dying to visit the city so I decided to tag along with him.  My parents were gracious enough to watch the kids for a week.  Honestly, I don't think the kids even missed us... they had so much fun with Grandma and Papa!  

We took a couple of extra days to sight see.  It was heaven!  Charleston is such a cute little city.  Lance had to work the mornings, so most of our afternoons were spent walking around downtown, looking at all the beautiful scenery, shopping at the fun little shops and eating at the many delicious restaurants.

We spent the first 2 nights at the Double Tree hotel near the airport.  It was such a cute, trendy little hotel!  And only 10 minutes from downtown.  Perfect!

There is a waterfront park we checked out with a little walking path by the water.  There were also big hanging swings lining the pier.  So romantic!

We stayed at the Belmond Charleston Place Hotel for the majority of the week.  It is a swanky, absolutely gorgeous hotel smack in the middle of downtown Charleston.  It is full of old southern charm.  It is also very pricey, which is why we did not spend our extra nights there.  We can only afford it when Boeing foots the bill!  =)  While Lance worked during the day I slept in, went to the gym, laid by the pool and wandered around town for breakfast and coffee.  I also was lucky enough to visit the spa one day.  Very, very relaxing.

There was a fun little open air market that was open during the day in the middle of town.  Vendors sold lots of hand made crafts, jewelery and other goodies.

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This street is called Rainbow Row. 

On one of Lance's days off we visited Folly beach.  It was fun to watch all the people fishing off the expansive pier.  We also walked (what felt like) miles down the beautiful beach, looking at all the old (and new) beach houses lining the beach.  After checking out the beach we explored the little beach town, stopping to eat and drink at a couple of cute little beachy themed restaurants.

We had date night every night.  It was wonderful!!!  We filled our bellies with wonderful steaks and seafood and drank delicious wine and sweet tea.  We found a sweet little wine bar that we visited a few times, and we went to many different rooftop bars.  It was so nice to be able to spend this time together, just the two of us.  Cheers to Charleston!

1st day of KINDERGARTEN!

Well, Rylee's first week did not go exactly as planned.  Her first day was actually the 3rd day of school, and then that ended up being her only day that week.  She got some sort of stomach bug on the Sunday before school and was hit so hard.  She was super sick and hardly got off the couch that entire week.  The only reason she made it through Wednesday was because it was a partial day.  Poor, poor baby!  I at least got some pictures of (her) first day.

She was such a big girl and rode the bus all by herself!  I was a nervous wreck and followed the bus to school, but she seemed just fine!!  She was excited when she got off the bus and told us that she sat with a new friend on the way home.

After school we went to Dairy Queen so we could hear about her day over ice cream.  I can't believe I have a kindergartner now!!!  She already seems older and more mature.  Ahhhhh!

Fun at the fair!

 We braved the crowds and hot weather and "did the Puyallup" today.  The kids loved every second of it.  We started the day with pony rides.  Rylee rode Lilly and Carson rode Amigo.

 Next up was riding pretty much every kid ride there was.  Carson said his favorite was the roller coaster and Rylee's was the spinning bears.

The rest of the day was spent eating fried foods, playing games (Carson won 3 prizes and Rylee won 2), watching a horse show, petting the animals, and my favorite... people watching!

San Diego

 We just got back from a fun long weekend away in San Diego.  Our friends Elisabeth and Sherman recently moved down there for 6 months so we decided to take full advantage and make a vacation out of it.  We had some adventures getting there (Lance had just been diagnosed with strep throat the day before, and then the poor guy forgot his wallet and missed the flight there).  Once we eventually all made it there and sat outside on the patio in the sun with a Pacifico, all of the stress just melted away.

We spent the first day just hanging outside and exploring the pool.  The kids had a blast swimming together.  After the kids passed out that night Elisabeth and I had a much needed girls night out.  So much fun!

Rylee lost tooth #2 while we were there.  Luckily the tooth fairy knew where to find us!

 We checked out a couple different beaches while we were there.  The first beach we were able to walk to from their place.  The kids had fun making an island out of the kelp on the beach.

The second beach we visited was Mission beach.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We loved playing in the warm water and later walking the boardwalk to find a fun place for lunch.  The kids took turns burying each other in the sand.

We also spent some time exploring Coronado.  What a fun little city. 

Our last day was spent riding this fun family bike.  I've gotta say, it's way harder than it looks.  We had high hopes of riding around town and seeing the sights.  Reality kicked in and we made it 30 minutes before we were tired and hungry.  Ended up ditching the bikes and walking to a restaurant for burgers and brews!  =)

 Such a fun trip.  Hopefully we can make it back again before they move back to WA in December!