good ole greenville

I absolutely LOVE where I live.  You can drive as little as 45 minutes and be in the middle of the mountains and 3 hours and be on a beautiful beach!  South Carolina is AWESOME!  I just had to say that.  I took the boys downtown to play in the sprinklers this afternoon.  Preston was hilarious...it was his first time going.  At first, he wasn't too certain about it, but he warmed up very quickly with JP there to help (drown him!).  Afterwards, we ate snack/dinner at the O-Cha Tea Bar.  The scenery is peaceful and relaxing and the food/drinks are great.  It was just the afternoon I needed. 

More specifically, however, I love living in Greenville.  I can remember downtown being a literal sidewalk.  And now, there is SO much to do.  It amazes me.  I have spent so much time in Charleston and it's incredible, but aside from the Battery and the ocean, it's downtown hasn't got much at all on downtown Greenville.  I will do a post soon for all of my mommy followers with a detailed list of our summer activities.  But here is a very brief bulleted list of a few things in the area I am super excited about to share with my boys this summer:

• Jones Gap State Park - always HIGH on our list.
• Long Shoals Wayside Park - one of our favorites from last summer.
• Paris Mountain - really cool picnic/swimming area, paddle boats and a playground.
• Falls Park - everything down there.
• Free movies at Cherrydale Cinemas

Again, that is just the MINI list.  The most expensive thing mentioned above is Paris Mountain...it is a whopping $5.00! 

We already have several beach trips planned and of course we'll be in Charleston on MORE THAN one (or two or three) occasions. 

It's gonna be a great summer!

My baby had his 1st grade awards program this morning.  He got an award for Outstanding Poetry.  SO PROUD!

 

Have a great Friday everyone!!! 

part of the reason i smile

 All the "flowers" the boys picked for me!  Hey...I haven't received flowers in over twelve years!  I'll take what I can get! LOL )

 Fascinated with the RED aunt hill.  Eeek!

 Mr. Stubborn ignoring my warnings to get a closer look!

These boys love each other so much...

 

 

Often times, when I am feeling a little "blue,"  I make lists in my journal of all the things (and people) that I have to be thankful for.  It really works.  I've been blue for the past few weeks.  There are lots of reasons why.  I have six full days of school left, and while I am super excited for the summer to get here, the reality that I am actually quitting my job is beginning to hit home.  I have worked since I was fifteen years old and have NEVER left a job without another one lined up.  Not to mention I have been in the SAME field for fifteen years.  Don't get me wrong, I am completely at peace with the decision to leave and go to school again.  But, it is still a scary thought.  Especially when I know I have a son to care for.  Add that to all the other stresses in my life at the moment and most days I find myself extremely overwhelmed. 

 

 

This afternoon was one of those times.  By the time I got home from work, all I wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep on the couch.  I actually have done that several times this week. When I got home, however, JP asked me to go outside with him.  Of course, I couldn't resist.  We grabbed Preston and out the door we went...

 

In addition to the cool air and sunshine, these two handsome boys made my heart feel good.  Even though it's broken.

 

 

So thank You, God, for these blessings in my life.  Even when life is not so great, You are SO GOOD.

 

 



*sigh*

What a weekend.  To say that it was perfect would be quite the understatement.  Before I share my weekend with you, allow me to tell you just how ridiculously AWFUL my week was.  Work was really hectic.  I think it has more to do with the fact that we have so few days left in the classroom.  We are more than ready for summer.  By the end of the week, I had, HAD it. I even left work early Friday for personal reasons.  I was done.  So, if I ever needed a great weekend, this was it!  And it did not fail me.

Friday night JP and I hung out around the house.  It seems like such a long time ago, I cannot even remember exactly what we did.  Saturday morning we woke up (early, thanks to JP) and packed up for a day at the lake. 

 Since he was a baby, the boat has ALWAYS put JP to sleep...

 

 We do tend to get just a LITTLE bit crazy!  But, I can promise you we know how to have a good time!!

 

 

 JP loves to ride the tubes.

 And of course they were thrown off!  The waters were pretty rough.  It didn't phase my boy...he wanted more!

Sunday we went to church.  It was a great service, as always.  Sunday afternoon, we headed over to our friend's house so JP could play with the dogs while we hung out.  Another GREAT time!

 Gotta love Cash!

 

 JP and his favorite buddy, Hal

 

 I would rather not explain this picture... again, no one will EVER accuse my friends and I of not knowing how to have a good time!!

 

 JP loves him some Megan  (as we all do!)

 

 Patsy gets jealous of all of the Cash pics...I couldn't leave her out.

 

Me and my girl!

 

 

We didn't wrap up our party until very late, so we ended up spending the night with Megan and Hal.  Adult slumber parties...gotta love 'em!  Today we woke up and headed back home to spend the day at the pool with our family.  We had to spend Memorial Day with our hero soldier...

 

 

I hope everyone had a great Memorial weekend!  At least this will be a four day week....THANK GOODNESS!!!!

 







Will update again next Monday...

laughter truly is the best medicine

It is late, but I just HAD to say hello and share a couple of pictures from the weekend.  I have lots, so I will share the rest another time.  I hope that everyone had a great weekend.  I SURE did!  I have to say, last week was very tough for me.  I was looking forward to spending the weekend in Tennessee, but by the time Friday afternoon rolled around,  I was filled with so much anxiety over going.  It was weird and it caught me off guard.  I'm guessing that, in light of my situation, most of the "firsts" are going to be hard.  And going to Gatlinburg without JP was a first.  Having said that, God REALLY took care of me!

This weekend will definitely go down in history as one of the BEST ever!!  I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I spent OVER 90% of the time laughing.  Seriously.  Friday afternoon, we checked into our "Inn", (that's another story), and headed to downtown Gatlinburg to see what kind of trouble we could get into.  From the time we parked the car until the time we cranked it back up, we laughed so hard.  At everything.  We met some really nice people and had an AMAZING time! 

After a couple hours of mischief in the shops and up and down the streets, we ended up at the Hard Rock Café.   They had live music going and we finally closed down the place at midnight.  FUN TIMES!!

Saturday, we skipped the "continental breakfast" (again, another story) at the "Inn,"  and wound up eating breakfast from Chick Fil A in the restaurant parking lot.  But, you know me....breakfast from anywhere at anytime is GOOD!  We then headed to DOLLYWOOD! 

(I have no idea who the people in the front were...)

What made this trip nice is that Kathi had never been.  It was so much fun to show her around and watch her experience everything for the first time.

Saturday night, we went back to Gatlinburg to pick up our new hats we had monogrammed and shopped a little more.  We scooted back to our car when the heavy rain came in.  From there, we went back to the "Inn" and chilled out until we fell asleep...  This morning we slept in, (which was awesome), and ate a big meal at the Apple Barn before getting on the road to come home.  YUMMY! 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I cannot stand driving/riding on the road.  I wish I could just snap my fingers and be at my destination.  Today, however, was different.  Once again, we laughed all the way home.  My stomach is still sore.  So I would like to thank you, Kathi, for the most wonderful weekend.  I needed it badly.  I'm so thankful that God is so "attentive to our needs...."  (And my PTSD, haha!)  I'll see YOU on the boat this weekend for more laughs!

Well that's all for tonight.  HAPPY MONDAY, friends!