Charleston South Carolina

We spent last week in Charleston SC. It was a wonderful vacation! Our dear friends graduation from College of Charleston and the Haacks/Wilkinsons decided our families would take a vacation together in city they fell in love in. Steve and I both really loved Charleston's vibe. We hit up the Saturday morning farmers market, ate fresh crepes and bought local peaches. I was in heaven! It was my perfect idea for a Saturday morning. I know Jacksonville has a farmers market but it's really only a few sellers and I love farmer's markets that are more like Eastern Market in DC with food and artisan vendors as well as local produce. 

Josiah running around Marion Square

We were blessed to be able to stay in a very nice home in West Ashley. Kristen and Tyler had family friends who were out of town and offered us their home for the week. It was amazing! It was by far the nicest home Steve and I have every been in. It was almost to smart for us with all it's electronic light panels and remote controlled curtains. It was a mansion. Thankfully it was kinda kid friendly but we still ended up corralling the babies in the kitchen/living room.  

Out on a walk in the nieghborhood. 

Love this family! Beautiful Spanish Moss everywhere.  

Steve, Josiah and I were able to have an early dinner with old family friends Tom and Eko. It was great to catch up and have them get to meet both Josiah and Steve for the first time. We ate at a fun little tapas bar close to the house. Charleston as an unending supply of fun places to eat! 

Monday we packed and braved the rain to go downtown for bike rides. The rain stopped and we had a great bike ride around the city. We stopped in Waterfront Park to let the babies play in the fountain before lunch. 

Little smirk. Stripped down to his diaper so his outfit was dry for lunch. 

We also had down time at the house. Steve became a great jungle gym for the babies. Josiah has some adjusting to do once little sister is here. He is not used to sharing or not being the youngest baby. It was interesting with his "cousin" Zoë. They had some very sweet moments and some very rough ones. 

Tuesday night we had a babysitter. It was the first time someone else put Josiah to sleep, he handled it great, it was a bittersweet moment for this momma. I was thrilled he fell asleep with no problem but sad that he was growing up. We hit the town for a cooking class at Charleston Cooks! I've never done a cooking class and it was so much fun. There were five sections, lobster rolls, tri tip steak, succotash, potatoes pomme anna and desert. We took the steak section and cooked for the whole class.   

Prepping the marinate. 

It was delicious! I will be making this again.  

Steve and I celebrated four years of marriage on July 3rd! Kristen and Tyler took care of Josiah most of the afternoon so we slipped away and visited Fort Sumter and wandered around downtown. We got poured on! The rain was a constant during our visit, it poured or sprinkled everyday we were there. But each day also had great blue skies and sunshine so it evened out. 

We found a "winery" to visit! It's a tradition for our anniversary but with being 22 weeks pregnant we didn't want to do a full winery. We stumbled upon this store front with local wine and tastings. Yes, I sampled some wine. We bought a bottle of red from a local winery and I can't wait to really enjoy it later this fall. Next stop was Kaminsky's Baker, oh my gosh! Amazing place! It is a bakery/cafe/bar on Market St. It was so good, we each had a piece of scrumptious cake and I had a great latte. I highly recommend anyone able to stop by! 

We had dinner reservations at Magnolia's on East Bay. They have amazing shrimp and girts! I'm exited to try and recreate it with grits I bought in the city market. Our waiter brought out champagne and it was fun to toast to us :)  Steve got to enjoy two glasses and I got a fun non alcoholic drink to enjoy with dinner. I've got to say I miss being able to have a drink every once in a while! 

It's crazy it's been four years already. It seems like not a very long time but so much has happened. Two moves and almost two babies later we are so blessed. This last year has been rough with our transition to parenthood and figuring out life with babies. We've struggled and reconciled, it has made us stronger together. I can't image doing life with anyone else.  

4th of July brought sunshine! We got Josiah in the pool after nap time. After Zoë woke up from her nap we walked over to Kristen and Tyler's friends from InterVarsity for a BBQ. Josiah and I hung out in the house (which was baby proofed because the friends had a 10 month old) it was like a mini vacation being in a room I knew was completely baby proof! I sat on the floor in the AC and had amazing ribs while Josiah played with all the new toys. Steve and Tyler schooled everyone in bocce ball. 

Smiling boy, so happy with his daddy. 

Happy 4th! 

Wilkinson's & Haack's 2013 family vacation. 

We loved spending more time with this awesome family. It's sad living so far away but such a blessing that we have made the effort to stay connected and apart of each other's lives.