charming charleston
Well, I'm too tired to write a novel so I'm going to attempt to keep this short! Attempt being the key word.... Last weekend, it was the 2nd annual girls' trip with some dear friends. Our destination was Charleston, South Carolina. It did not disappoint! What a beautiful city. I visited here at the ripe old age of 13. But, when you're 13 you only remember so much! I really enjoyed just aimlessly wandering the streets. So many little nooks and crannies to discover. Secret gardens galore. So much character! And the food! I'm going to have to go back just to try the 100's of restaurants. It was a nice little get away with good company.
Highlights of our trip:
We rented a car one day to venture out. Our first stop was Boone Hall Plantation. It was so beautiful there. The avenue of old, old oaks was breathtaking. (planted in 1743!) The moss hanging everywhere and the vines growing on those big branches....i was in awe. If you've seen Gone with the Wind, this would be those old oak trees. Interesting fact, they are the oaks in the movie--but a picture was taken of them, not filmed. Oh and The Notebook was filmed here. And if you really care, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were married here. Ha. More importantly, it is a place rich in history.
Our next stop was paddle-boarding Shem Creek. It ended up being a beautiful day (which I was concerned about considering tropical storm Julia was supposed to be taking over the area-but she never did!) We spent hours paddling in the harbor and the creek. A couple of dolphins popped up to say hello as well as a manatee. Amazing in my book!
Last stop was to take in a beach sunset at Sullivan's Island Beach. Breathtaking. I will never tire of the ocean views.
The rest of our days were spent playing tourist. Just walking around and taking it all in. I'll let the pictures do the talking.....
So nice to get a little break. Thanks to my dear hubby for taking care of our boys for a few days! Thanks to my friends for a wonderful time!
Looking forward to our next adventure!
along the bridge
about a week ago....i had the honor, once again, in capturing this sweet family...
so fun to see this family year after year....
to watch them grow....
it was a beautiful eve.....
my friend requested we go explore near the stone arch bridge...
as they had some of their wedding photos taken along that bridge years ago....
i was happy to oblige...
so, we had lots of fun walking and exploring....
we even checked out the yellow room at the guthrie...
the boys concluded that it was their favorite spot...
they always manage to make me laugh with their silly ways...
their laughter is contagious...
and results in some pretty cute photos of their smiles...
lots of love & happiness....
what a fun eve by the river....
thanks again, friends, for letting me capture a little bit of you....
1st day of school
this guy started the big 4th grade on august 29th....
and I'm finally getting around to posting....
hard to believe he's already in 4th grade....
my how time flies....
he was so elated to be starting school again....
he was mostly just so excited to see his friends....
but also happy to go back to school for gym and recess... and maybe some learning :)
so, here are a few photos for the memory book....
to see how he changes throughout the years....
here's to hoping for another great school year!
and on september 6th, these two munchkins started preschool....
gus is going one, half day a week....
max is going two....
right now, gus has fun once he gets there but does not like the idea of going....
on the other hand, max is completely and utterly in love with his school....
he has gained a new found confidence in just these few short weeks.....
he is thriving....
i love his enthusiasm....
let's hope it continues....:)
max is five
little man max turned the big five years old on august 28th....
he was so excited for his big day...
he had a countdown going the whole week....
it was pretty low key....
but he was thrilled it was his day....
to celebrate him.....
a day full of special breakfasts, cake & ice cream, presents, lots of play time, and a visit from auntie....
he said his favorite part was the part where he got to eat cake... (a cake that he requested with superman colors and blue frosting.....)
he doesn't get that from me....not at all.... ;)
it was so fun watching him get so excited about his big day....
happy 5th birthday, sweet max!
you have a true zest for life....
you experience joy in the simple things...
may you never lose that...
you are kind....
you are bright....
you are goofy.....
you make our hearts smile....
every single day....
love you lots, little man....
xo
and, now, snippets on the day max turned five...
liester family road trip
i don't want to write a novel here because, well, i have about 150 photos to share......
yikes....
so, in summary, we decided to brave a trial road trip this year in hopes we can make it further next summer....
it actually went really well....
we were pleasantly surprised.... :)
of course, there's the million potty breaks and the "are we there yets" about every 20 minutes.... but that was expected....
we traveled through the UP of Michigan, along the shores of lake Michigan, and all the way to Lake Huron....
we made a side trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore....
i highly recommend it....
the boys had such a blast running and climbing the dunes....
and the view of the lake was spectacular.....
definitely one of the highlights of our trip....
we then made our way to Mackinac Island, Michigan for a few days.....
we had lots of fun going for a ferry ride, wandering the island, watching the horses, letting the boys run wild without the worry of cars, checking out Fort Mackinac, tasting the fudge, and biking around the whole island..... making many stops (err, breaks...gus freaked out on the tag along so i got to pull a burley--somewhat exhausting...ha!) along Lake Huron to play in the water and look for "sea" glass and cool rocks....
Lake Huron was absolutely stunning with it's crystal clear, blue and teal waters.....
all in all....a lovely little trip.....
hoping it is something the boys will always remember....
if not, I have it documented with plenty of photos..... :)
now, on to the photos of the liester family road trip 2016......
