Sleepover in Asheville

From Hilton Head we headed to the Langstaffs in Tennessee, but we made a stop in Asheville, NC.  We had a good driving day, and we got to Asheville with enough time to check in to our hotel and for Jackson and Josh to go for a swim.  Graham and I took a walk around the downtown area.  If we didn't have two little guys, I think Josh and I would have loved wandering around to check out the unique shops and restaurants.  We ate delicious BBQ for dinner at Luella's, and then we settled in for the night at the hotel.  Poor Graham has such a rough night :(  I even ended up walking him up and down the hallway in the middle of the night.  We all had an early start to the morning, and we set out for a fun activity.  We found this awesome playground!!!

A happy swinger...at least for the first five minutes.  That's about all he likes swinging...

A young pilot :)

Rock climber

This cute car would be a bit less efficient to travel in than the Prius... ;)

Check out this crazy ramp!!!  We walked up and down it to cross the bridge over the road to the playground.  

On the way to Becca and George's, we stopped at a scenic overlook, and this is one of the pictures Josh took :)  Johnson City or bust... :)

Turtle Lane and Beach

Here are three little boys enthralled by the alligators and turtles at Turtle Lane!  This was an awesome little spot that the Bashores recommended we check out.  There were two alligators in the pond, and TONS of turtles!  They all seemed so HAPPY together!

Gator!

He swam so smoothly through the water

Friends!  LOL

The second gator is in the top shadow of this picture, but I really like the shadow of all of us standing on the bridge watching!

This was our last day at the beach, and it was a phenomenal day!  The weather was perfect, the tide had already gone all the way out, so there was TONS of packed sand to play on as well as little pools created from the tide.  The boys had a blast in this one little pool near our stuff.

Teamwork

Beach happiness!

Jackson carved a trail all the way to the water

Enjoying their little pool

Jackson & Graham

After the beach, we all headed home for lunch, and then Jolene and I went to get pedicures and do a little shopping :)  We totally missed a photo op, but our toes were sure happy!  We had to wait out a storm before we left for dinner at The Sea Shack.  We didn't have to wait nearly as long this time, which was a plus!  Great dinner to have for our last night in Hilton Head.  After dinner we drove to South Beach and wandered around the Salty Dog area.  We walked out on the pier, heard a little music, browsed the t-shirt store, visited some parrots, and got our picture taken to post on the geocaching website!  

There is a certain spot on which to stand.  A camera is installed and programmed to take one picture a minute.  You can check the camera online later, find your picture, and then post it on the geocache website.  FUN!  

After we tucked the boys in bed, Josh and I went back downstairs to Harbour Town and got some ice cream, sat in the red rockers, and walked around the golf course again.  A wonderful end to a fantastic vacation!  

Bubble Gum Cruise and Pool

We were so excited to start Friday morning by going on Gregg Russell's Bubble Gum Cruise!!!  He advertised it at his concert, and he promised dolphin watching, environmental facts, and some singing.  Jackson was pumped, and we thought it would be a great opportunity to at least do some dolphin watching.  It was a BEAUTIFUL morning!  Here is the lighthouse as we sailed away!

This is a (not a very good) picture of some of the dolphins.  We even got to see baby dolphins!!!

These two are quite a pair :)

Graham was not a huge fan of the wind blowing on the top deck :(  Standing lower down made him happier!

A little performance

Photo op of Jackson and Gregg Russell

After the cruise, Josh headed off to golf with Rick and Evan.  Jackson and I stopped to pick up a souvenir--Jackson the Dolphin :)  Then a little movie time with Owen!

Jolene and I headed to the pool with the boys after they all rested.  I love this picture of Jackson all ready for swimming with his goggles, swimmies, and noodle!

A brief moment of happiness for Graham in the floaty!  He much preferred to be held...

After pool time, Jolene and Rick headed off for their date night while Josh and I stayed home with the boys and had Giuseppi's Pizza for dinner.  It was really yummy, and even more so eaten on the balcony :)

Beach and Lighthouse Photos

Back to the beach again!  A girl can get used to this routine...  Jackson really seemed to enjoy the beach a ton this trip!  He always would tell us he wanted to go to the pool if given the choice, but he had so much fun at the beach each time.  At one point, he asked if we were going to sit in the chairs and relax.  YES, my adorable son, that is exactly what we do at the beach :)

GJS!!!

Serious bucket work in action

Busy brothers

I took Jackson to the pool while Josh stayed with Graham during naptime.  We had a good time swimming with Evan and Owen :)  After dinner, we went down to watch the Greg Russell show again.  But, first, we had some photos with the lighthouse.

Cuties!

Jackson took this one--not too shabby!

Here is Greg Russell performing.  Jackson is wearing a turquoise shirt in the lower right-hand quadrant of this picture.  You can see his back...

Beach, Playground, Ice Cream, Music!

Yesterday we headed to the beach again to start the day!  

Beach boys :)

The way the tide was going out made it perfect to just relax in the super shallow water and let gentle waves wash over us.  Both boys sat with me for a while just relaxing :)

LOVE these two so much!

We came back from the beach for lunch and a nap for Graham.  Josh took Jackson to the pool before dinner.  After yet another delicious meal by Jolene, we all headed down to town for some playground time...

Jackson LOVED having this awesome playground right across the street!

Then we headed to The Cinnamon Bear Country Store for some ice cream!  Jackson loved choosing his own flavor (some blue one named Superman, I think).  He was even more excited about the free sprinkles sitting out by the register :)

After ice cream, we headed to the big oak tree to watch Greg Russell's nightly performance.  This had been recommended to us, and it was FANTASTIC!  Jackson LOVED the songs and kid entertainment.  Josh and I loved the jokes that were included to keep the parents' attention.  Graham was a TROOPER, and he went right to sleep in his stroller for most of the show that started an hour and a half past his bedtime!  LOL  SUPER fun night!

Anniversary at the Beach :)

What a way to begin celebrating our NINTH wedding anniversary!  Jolene made a delicious breakfast of french toast, bacon and berries :)

Josh and Rick headed off to golf, so Jolene and I started at the playground, and then we took the boys all to the pool!

Happy splish-splasher!

Jumping rock

We caught Graham and Owen playing so nicely together by this big window :)

Once the guys got back, Josh and I headed out for Date Night!!!  

We had SUCH a good time!  The first restaurant we tried had a crazy wait, so we walked down the road at Hudson's.  Our food was delicious, and we had such a good time hanging out by the water and having adult conversation :) 

Here is our Facebook love back and forth:

From Dana: Nine years ago today I was waking up at my parents' house on my WEDDING DAY!!! I got to walk down the aisle to my spectacularly handsome husband who still has me so in love and laughing even more today. We spent the night with some of our best friends standing up next to us and a wonderful group of family and friends at our ceremony and reception. This morning we are waking up on vacation with our little family I love so much. 

From Josh: Family and Friends witness

Marriage to love of my life

9 years, still I do.

Dana, I still wake up each morning and thank God for blessing me so deeply with our family. i love you!

I LOVE my haiku-er!  The thought Josh puts into these little messages on big days mean so much to me :)  I can't wait to see what this tenth year of marriage brings!!!