The Cliffs

Our last big event was a trip to South Carolina to The Cliffs. We met Gran and Poppy and David, Candice, Anna Kathryn, Isabelle and Carrigan. We stayed in a great house that was set up perfectly for our family. There was plenty of room for the kiddos to play inside, outside or in the garage if it was rainig.

The first day was absolutely beautiful. Poppy, David and Ben played golf while the rest of us enjoyed the weather. We made a trip the the "equestrian center" to see the horses. Hampton loved seeing the horses, throwing rocks and running free with his cousins. He is absolutely crazy about his cousins. Hampton went to pet one of the horses who thought he was going to feed him. The horse caught Hampton's hand in his lips. It scared us both! Now whenever we talk about horses, which is often, he says horse, mouf (mouth). The scare didn't slow him down...2 days later all he wanted to do was feed the horses hay from the barn (we talk about that daily too).

Anna Kathryn and Isabelle petting the donkey who tried to eat AK's crocs.

Carrigan

David, Candice, Ben and I spent the 2nd day visiting the Biltmore Estate. We enjoyed some adult time and were very thankful that Gran and Poppy were willing to watch all 4 kids. We took the Roof Top Tour which was fantastic. The weather was less than desireable, but we still enjoyed stepping out on some of the risky balconies to see spectacular views of the house and property. Unfortunately, the yucky weather meant that Gran, Poppy and the kids were stuck inside all day. Thankfully, they all took great naps and were ready to play when we got home.

On our third day, Gran and I went to a yoga class and then we all went back to the barn for the kids to ride a pony. The skies were clear, but it was cold. Most of our ride time was spent walking up and down the alley inside the barn. H convinced them to take him outside though...the boy loves to be outside no matter the weather. All of the girls enjoyed the pony ride as well. Such a big boy!!!
Anna Kathryn riding SugarIsabelle

H was not a big fan of the helmet and kept saying, "Hat, off, mease."
Feeding the horse hayFeeding Sugar treats

Someone told us about some waterfalls not far from us that were a very light hike from the road. After our pony rides, Gran, Poppy, Candice and I set out to find them. With very little direction from our informant, it was amazing that we found them. The four of us decided to check them out before we drug everyone. It was an easy walk up to these beautiful "Twin Falls." We never made it back with the whole crew, but the four of us enjoyed it.

As usual, when you travel with Johnny and Rosie, you dine far more than sufficiently. This getaway was no exception. We enjoyed some fantastic meals at the Clubhouse and , if I do say so myself, a pretty great one at home too.Dinner at the clubhouse

Love from Gran and Poppy


The whole crew (those of us in SC)

Our flight back to Dallas was in the evening on Sunday, so we had some time to kill. We walked around downtown Greenville and had lunch, but still had plenty of time at the airport. We passed the time by running on the grassy lawn, throwing sticks in the fountain and of course, riding the escelator over and over and over.

Thanks for the great trip Gran and Poppy!!!

I am daily amazed at what a little sponge Hampton is. He says words that I haven't taught him, asks for things I didn't even know he could understand and has started to carry on 21 month old style conversations. For example, today H went to childcare a 24 hour fitness...a place he has never been, but gladly entered. I must admit, it did look fun with the new and exciting toys, big tv and great play equipment like a Chick-fil-a or McDonald's. The workers had to come get me about an hour into our workout because he "kept crying." When we went in he was crying at he base of the big play "thing" (I'm not sure what to call it). On the way to lunch we had the following conversation:

H - Cry...cry-een

Me - Cry? Did you cry at the play place?

H -uh huh! (shaking his head yes)

Me - Why did you cry at the gym?

H - Up, mease.

Me - Up?

H - Help... Mommy... mease

Me - Oh, did you need Mommy to help you climb up high in the play place?

H - Shakes his head with raised eye brows and kicks his feet with excitement.

What a bummer that the childcare people couldn't figure out that he was crying because he was frustrated that he couldn't climb up into the play "thing."

Man, I love that kid!!!

Here are some pics...just for fun!

Playing Hide-n-Seek

Wearing the cool shades Daddy brought him from one of his work trips!!!