The Preschool Version

I'll finish our Charleston trip tomorrow. For today though, in honor of the first BCS rankings in which GT is #12 (and which is subject to change, either way), here's Andrew's rendition of the fight song. Brent cleaned up the lyrics a bit before he taught it to him. You can find the words easily online if you don't know them. Andrew's version goes like this:

I'm a ramblin wreck from Georgia Tech and a very good engineer.

A very good, very good, very good engineer.

Like all my jolly good fellows, I drink my milk clear.

I'm a ramblin wreck from Georgia Tech and a very good engineer.

Charleston - Part 2

Monday morning, the rains came. It rained all day long. Fortunately, we had an inside activity planned. We drove across the Cooper River bridge, which is a beautiful bridge by the way, to the U.S.S. Yorktown. The picture really doesn't do the bridge justice, but it was just a crummy day for outside pictures.



The only other time I had been to Charleston was when my girl scout troup stayed on the Yorktown overnight. I think I was 9 or 10. I much preferred our accomodations this trip, but it was a neat experience back then. I know three little boys who will love getting to do stuff like that.

The Yorktown has several self-guided tours that you can take. There is also a theatre where you can see a 20 minute intro to the ship. The Medal of Honor museum is located on board the ship too. It was incredible to see and hear the stories of some of the recipients of the medal. I think it should be required viewing for every citizen. It would surely give many people a whole new appreciation for our military and our freedom.

The Yorktown is the carrier that picked up the Apollo 8 astronauts. This exhibit was a replica of their splash-down capsule.

To take the tours, you had better bring your walking shoes. Also, be prepared to climb many narrow, steep ladders. I was pretty proud of myself for doing every tour at 30 weeks. However, I did take a nap when we got back to the Mills House that afternoon.

Here are some of the bunks the sailors slept in. I'm sure it was more crowded when the ship was actually in use.

the galley that fed 3500 men five times a day

Can you guess what this is a picture of? If you said, "The ingredients needed to make chocolate chip cookies for the entire ship", you're right. I can't remember the actual number of cookies that the recipe yields, but I do remember that you needed 165 pounds of flour and 500 eggs!

one of the doctors' examining rooms

Brent in one of the planes. I was afraid if I got in, I might not get out!

upstairs on the very wet flight deck

looking at the bridge from the flight deck

Brent in the captain's chair

After we dried out, we had dinner that night with Brian, Joy, Abby Grace, and Caleb Brunson. However, we forgot to get a picture! It was so good to spend time with special friends from Birmingham.

More to come. . .

Babymoon #3

Four years ago we did a really smart thing. We took a trip a few months before Andrew was born, a babymoon. It was a weekend trip to Dahlonegah, GA. Just one last getaway before life changed forever. We had a fun and relaxing time before all the crazy wonderfulness of parenthood began. Two and a half years ago, we went to Asheville, NC for our babymoon before Coleman. My parents kept the Andrew so we were able to go by ourselves. At the beginning of October, we set out again for babymoon number three. This time, we chose Charleston, SC for our getaway. I'll share our pictures over the next few days.


On the way up, we stopped at Presbyterian College. Brent had only been once since I graduated, and I hadn't been back in about nine years. It was so fun to walk around the places we spent so many college weekends. It's still a beautiful campus, but it has changed a lot. There were several buildings that weren't even in the plans when I was there.



Clinton Hall, where I lived for three years.



When we got out of the car, we heard the tell-tale screams of bid day on a small campus. It was fun to watch a few girls run down the steps of Neville and remember all those years of rush and Panhellenic fun. So glad that's over now. It was fun while it lasted, but I don't think I could pull those late hours decorating for the parties again.




We got to Charleston Sunday around 4 and checked into our hotel. I found the Mills House on Southern Living's website, and we highly recommend it. It was beautiful inside and out.

The Mills House is right on Meeting Street. We were able to walk to the market, the battery, rainbow row, and the historical and shopping districts. Sunday night we decided to try Hyman's Seafood Company. It was great! It is in a building that the same family has owned since the 1800s. (I think. We heard so much history and so many dates that I could be misremembering.)

Each table had these little plaques all around the sides. They named the famous person/people who had eaten at that particular table. Our table had hosted Neil Armstrong, Jodi Foster, Lindsay Graham, and some other Hollywood big name that we can't remember. Must have been a very impressive individual.

Our food was great. Brent ordered fried flounder and I had fried shrimp. We were both very excited about our sides, though. I got grits and he got collards. Definite low country fare. AND, before the meal, we had another yummy treat. We were kind of expecting hush puppies (so good) or onion rings or something like most other seafood places bring you. They brought out BOILED PEANUTS!!! I thought Brent was going to want to go back every night just to get the boiled peanuts. So if you're ever in Charleston, you must go to Hyman's! We will certainly be back.


We picked a great time to visit the city. It was in the low 70s the days we were there. It was perfect weather for us to walk most everywhere we went. After supper, we walked around and made some pictures of the city. Here's Meeting Street.

More to come. . .

Wordless Wednesday

Special Visitors

Sunday we had some special visitors. Uncle Hugh flew to Georgia from Memphis on Friday. He stayed with Gigi and Papack and they all came to our house for a visit yesterday. The last time we saw Uncle Hugh, Andrew was six months old. Both of the boys had a fun time playing with him.

We also celebrated Papack's birthday while they were here. Here are the boys helping him open his cards at lunch.

When Uncle Hugh comes, he always brings special surprises! He brought the boys a sand table! Andrew was especially excited. Papack is going to build a little platform with wheels so we can play with it on our driveway easily.

Sunday evening, we invited Aunt Niti, Uncle Grady and Aunt Judy to come for supper and visit with Uncle Hugh. Aunt Niti and Uncle Hugh are first cousins. I think everyone had a nice time. Brent and I did. This was one of the big factors in our decision to move back to GA. It's great being able to spend time with family without having to drive seven hours to do so.

puzzles with Uncle Grady

meeting Aunt Judy and cousin Gracie

So here's the funniest story from the weekend. Andrew and Coleman were very taken with baby Gracie. She's the smallest baby they've seen in quite a while. They were very cute talking to her and playing with her little feet. They did a good job being gentle with her. At one point, Gracie got very excited and screamed "Aaaaah!" Andrew looked at her, got close to her face, and said, "Speak English!"

Spelling Lessons

From time to time, Brent and I find it necessary to spell out a word when talking in front of the boys. This is nothing new, as we each remember our own parents using the same trick. I am aware that this strategy will not work forever, and we will have to develop a new code. Yesterday, we had spelled several things throughout the day, and Andrew thought he'd give the trick a try. He said, "W-F-H-B-D-A-G-E-K. What did I spell?" We looked at each other and said, "Spell it again." He said, "K-O-W-X-F-J-A-E. What word is that?" If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Field Trip

This morning, our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group visited a local fire station. Andrew got to miss preschool and join us. Right now, he is all about firefighting, firetrucks, and firemen. He was in absolute heaven. He asked a million and two questions, and the guys were very nice to answer them all. Has anyone ever met a mean fireman? I don't think there's any such thing. Every firefighter I have ever met has been an exceptionally kind man, and these were just the same.

Here's Andrew heading into the station to see where they live while on duty. I felt a little strange making pictures inside (and Coleman was wanting me to hold him), so I didn't take any of the living areas.


inside the truck


One of the guys put on his fire suit and mask so the kids could see what he would look like if they ever saw him in a fire. They did a really good job of emphasizing that he's there to help you, don't be scared of him, and don't run and hide from him!

Coleman wasn't too sure about getting in the fire trucks, but he loved this little ATV!

He was also excited about driving the ambulance.

a few more random pics from the trip