South Carolina

After a week in Washington DC, we spent another week visiting Matt's brother and family in South Carolina. We LOVE spending time with Nathan and Kacy, and I adore my beautiful nieces Adria and Hannah.

 And of course, this trip we got to introduce them to their newest cousin, Matthew!

We ended up riding the train from Washington DC to South Carolina!

 It was a new experience for us, and we loved it! The seats were so roomy and comfortable. We had plenty of room for Matthew to sleep between us, and lots of room to get up and walk!

After an exhausting week in DC, the 12 hour train ride was the perfect time to rest and relax together!

We met another family on the train who was traveling with grandma, mom, daughter, and grandson.

The grandma was this sweet old Southern lady from Georgia.

 There were times on the train when Matthew would fuss a little bit because he was getting tired, or just needed a change of scenery...and because he is a baby! Whenever Matthew would start to fuss, she would lean over to us and say "I think that baby needs a bottle with milk." Or she'd say "When was the last time you gave that baby a bottle with milk?" I told her that we were feeding him and he was just fine. Her granddaughter was mortified, and kept telling her "Grandma they are fine. STOP!" About the fourth time that she said that, I leaned over and very politely told her, "Mam, I'm breastfeeding him, so he doesn't take bottles." And she goes, "Oh I haven't heard of that in a long time! I didn't know people still did that!"

 We got such a good laugh about it!

 To this day, when Matthew fusses, we will joke around and say, "I think that baby needs a bottle with milk!"

We had a very special week in South Carolina, and cherished the time that we got to spend together. While we were in Washington DC, we got news that Kacy's mom, Jolene, who also lived with them, was ill and in the hospital. Unfortunately, Jolene passed away the day that we arrived in South Carolina. Matt and I felt privileged to be able to be there for the family during this time, and help with the girls in any way that we could. Although this trip was obviously different then the other trips we have had back to South Carolina, we loved just being able to be with our family during this difficult time.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

The girls were SO sweet with Matthew. They gave him his first cousin bath!

Hair by Aunt Cammie! I also learned how to french braid their hair! Aren't they absolutely gorgeous??

Getting ready to go swimming in a pool for the first time! Seriously, could this kid get any cuter?

What a stud! Styling shades, sucking on a binkie, and sporting a stylin' ride...Daddy!

Swimming with Daddy! He LOVED the pool...even though these pictures don't really show that!

Daddy showing baby that he still has hops!

Matthew would be happy swimming for about 30 minutes, and then would be exhausted! So we would bundle him up and he would crash while we finished swimming and laying out at the pool! Bliss!

The girls and Matthew

Can you tell these two are brothers? Not only do they look alike, they both have careers in education, played and coached baseball, walk, talk and run alike, and have very similar personalities. Matt is so thankful for a brother who is also one of his best friends. Nathan was Matt's best man in our wedding, and Matt always looks forward to time spent with his brother. Kacy and I joke, because when these two get together they talk non-stop about education, sports and politics. Kacy and I took this time to go shopping with the girls and leave these guys at home!

Nathan, Kacy and the girls actually had to leave for Ohio a couple days before we came home, where the memorial service for Jolene was being held.

Matt, I, and baby took this time to explore the beaches, towns, and took a day trip to Savannah!

First time at the beach!

I could kiss this sweet face all day long!

 ...oh, and that one too!

We ate ice cream, while sitting in rocking chairs at Harbour Town...good ole' Southern Charm!

We took an old passenger Ferry Boat over to old town Savannah, Ga. So fun!
We were defiantly missing the family though...

Kisses from Daddy!

Nathan and Kacy, we had a wonderful trip visiting South Carolina.

 Despite the circumstances not being ideal, we were so glad just to be there for you guys, spending time together as a family. And hopefully baby Matthew was a good distraction when you needed it!

 Kacy, we will all miss your mom, but are celebrating that she is now made whole in Heaven!

 We love you guys so much and look forward to our next visit together!