We just said goodbye to a week-long visit with Arianna & Alyssa. I was so sad when they left. Seriously. But we did manage to have a fantastic time while she was here. We went to Fiesta Plaza to play on the slides. We went to the pool, park, lake, children's museum and downtown library. Robert was out of town for half of the trip which was pretty sad. One of those nights Ari and I got our babysitter to come and we went out dancing. I don't even want to tell you how long it has been since I've done that. It was so much fun to have a girls' night out. We also managed to find this crazy French Pastry shop where we succeeded in gorging ourselves with all sorts of delicious chocolates and pastries. I can't tell you how wonderful it tasted or how sick we felt after we shoved it all down. :)

We also managed to go on a weekend trip to Charleston which was a blast. There was a big storm coming up from Florida but we were lucky to miss most of it. We got there Sat. afternoon. For lunch we had a real southern meal, with everything deep-fried, complete with fried green tomatoes (which were fabulous.) We then went straight to Folly Beach where the water was about 84 degrees. Nice. Robert introduced the boys to body-surfing by throwing them out on incoming waves. Their life-jackets kept them from drinking too much sea water. The first thunderclap came right around dinnertime, so we were able to pack up the kids right before the rain came pouring down.

The next morning we went to Magnolia Plantation which was absolutely gorgeous. We took a tram around and it was more than a little disconcerting to find out that there was an average of 200 alligators on the property at all times. They seemed to stay over in the marsh area but we saw them hanging out on their perches sunbathing. Yikes.

The morning was pretty muggy but we were again lucky with the weather. The first rain drops came right when we were getting the kids over to the car.
After that we drove through the rainstorm and out the other side in time to drive by some of the million dollar homes in Charleston. We stopped at Battery Park and got out to walk around a bit. We wanted to walk down Meeting street where so many famous southern homes are located but as we looked down the street we saw a wall of rain headed our way. We turned and bolted towards the gazebo in the park. Before we knew it, the same rain storm that we had driven through was pounding around us. People from all over the park joined us in the gazebo where we all waited for the worst to pass. We finally sent Robert and Ethan out into the rain to bring the car around since there seemed to be no let-up in sight. Oddly enough, the moment they pulled up in the car, soaked to the bones, the rain stopped. So sad for my boys. Regardless, it was a wonderful trip and it was the first time Robert had been to Charleston too.
Alyssa and Alaina became inseparable, spending most of their time with their heads together, hatching their secret plans to take-over the earth in hushed whispers. They made a funny duo - one tall and skinny and the other short and chubby. Even though there is only one year between them, it looked as if there were at least three. Ethan fell instantly in love with Alyssa, however their two personalities are so different that they could hardly ever stay in the same room without a fight. In fact, the only place they did get along was in the back of the car because, as Ethan put it, "she can't get away from me in the car." We called it 'back-seat magic' because as soon as they were there they would chatter non-stop and giggle about the silliest things. At one point they were showing each other where they were ticklish on their arms and legs and then proceeded to tickle each other. I've never seen either one laugh so hard.
But all good things come to an end and we all sadly said our goodbyes on Thursday. Hopefully it won't be another three years until our next visit!