Spirit Wars

Our church had a kid's crusade this week. The theme was Spirit Wars and modeled after Star Wars. Tyler was so excited. The boys got to bring their life savers to church each night. The last night the children's pastor allowed them to pose with the characters. Ethan was too excited to play at the carnival outside so he passed on the photos. Tyler was in awe of Darth Vader (who our pastor called Darkend Vader and Yoda was No-da.) Our church did a nice job and the boys loved it!

Family

We had the opportunity to spend time with Chris' family in South Carolina. The boys love going to their papa's and mama's house with the horses. The boys rode horses, 4 wheelers, and the motorcycle. Papa took turns taking them on the cool Harley. Tyler could only ride around the house, so he was crushed when Ethan got to take several longer trips. It stinks being the youngest!

Chris' mom organized a family shoot. This was no small task with 8 grandchildren. Tyler had a meltdown half way through the photo shoot and I'm embarrassed to admit that I lost my cool. Note to others: Yelling at your kids to smile does not make them smile, nor does it make them stop crying. You would think after two children I would know this. If you are interested in seeing some of the great photos of the Caldwell group, check out the photographer's blog: http://lchaimphoto.blogspot.com/2009/07/caldwell-family.html. There is an extra cute picture of Tyler's meltdown.

We had a great time with all of the cousins. Thanks Caldwell's for a great time! We love you!

The Beach

We spent our last full day of vacation at the Isle of Palms Beach. It is in Charleston. I loved it! It was not busy and not a tourist trap. When we first arrived, Chris attempted to dig a hole and set up our umbrella. After a strong wind knocked it over, we realized it wasn't deep enough. He tried to force it in the ground and it snapped in two. He insisted I could tough it out without the umbrella, but I refused. Thankfully, they rented umbrellas for $10 and came and dug the hole for us. The lifeguard also said they would have dug the hole for our umbrella if we had only asked her. Oh well!

Ethan loved the big waves. He would stand in the water and taunt them shouting "Bring it on!" (He is kind of a dork, but so cute!) Tyler loved the water but wanted to be with daddy the whole time. I spent my afternoon reading under the umbrella. It was fantastic! There was a great breeze.

We spent five hours on the beach and left with sunburns. Chris' shoulders were so red and blistered the next day. He forgot to put on sunscreen! Tyler's face burned in spite of the sunscreen and his red nose is now peeling. The boys are already asking to go back to the beach. I think Florida would be nice next time!

Charleston and Fort Sumter

On day two of our vacation we took a ferry out to Fort Sumter. Chris was in history heaven. He read every plaque! The boys loved the cannons and we had to stop at every gun and sword to admire it. We spent some time at swinging on the wharf and watching the large ships go by. My favorite part of downtown Charleston was hunting down two letterboxes hidden in the city. (Thanks Julie for the idea.) Letterboxes are hidden all over the country. There are hints posted online to find them. We found two of them and stamped the enclosed books and used their stamps to mark our own letterbox album. The boys were so excited that they actually existed. It was like a treasure hunt.

We stayed all day downtown and went on a Ghost Tour of the dungeon at night. The boys loved hearing the ghost stories and walking by the graveyards. Ethan even captured a picture of a ghost in the dungeon. (The guide told him they appear as orbs on your picture. I'm sure I have hundred pictures of ghosts in my pictures, I just thought it was bad lighting!) I had to take a picture of the sign below that we found in one of the graveyards.

We ended our day at the Pirates restaurant. The boys were exhausted, but we had the beach to look forward to the next day!

Vacation in the Swamp
(Do you hear banjo music?)

We went to Charleston, South Carolina for our summer vacation. Our first official vacation day was spent at Cyprus Gardens. This is where the swamp scene for the movie The Patriot was filmed. We took a canoe out into the swamp with the boys. Ethan was terrified at first. I have to admit I was a little nervous when a large alligator swam along side the canoe about ten yards from us. We saw two large alligators and a baby sunning itself on a log. It was beautiful! The water was black and the weather was not as hot or as humid as I expected it to be there.

After spending the afternoon at Cypress Gardens, we drove into to Charleston to our Cabin. It was rustic but perfect for the boys. We stayed on an intercoastal waterway about fifteen feet from the bank. The water would rise with the tides. It was amazing. The boys watched the fiddler crabs play on the banks during the low tied and caught a couple large crabs during high tides. We also took a canoe out and let the boys fish. I was not too happy with all the bugs around, but the boys were happy. The boys also loved the old, iron bathtub. (There was a shower also or I would have gone crazy!)

Half Way to 70...

Chris turned 35 yesterday (or as he said, half way to 70). Since we are going on vacation on Friday we kept the celebration low key. We went to Sir Goony's Golf and drove the go carts. Tyler loved it! Chris and Ty got the fast go cart while Ethan and I had the slow car.

After Sir Goony's, we ate dinner at Big River Grille. I love the fish tacos! The waiter promised not to sing to Chris (he hates that). After dinner we saw Star Trek on the IMAX screen. This is the third time Chris and I have seen the new star trek and the second time for the boys. It was amazing on the large screen. It was a great day!

Walker Valley Football Camp

Ethan attended the Walker Valley High School football camp this week. (This is the school I teach at.) He has been begging to play football for the last couple months. I decided to let him play this year. I decided he would either get crushed and never ask to play again or it would toughen him up. I was surprised that he did very well.

On the last day of camp, they had several contests and gave the boys a chance to win a medal. Ethan won the throwing contest (he threw the football the farthest) and the obstacle course. He could only win one medal to make it fair, which was fine with him. I may have a little quarterback on my hands.

I need to thank Coach Lockerby for giving Tyler and me camp t-shirts also. Thanks Ted!

A Downtown 4th

We went to downtown Chattanooga for the 4th of July. (Ok, actually it was the third.) I want to buy a condo downtown and retire there. It is so amazing! The boys spent some time sliding down the big hill on cardboard. We walked to the aquarium and looked at the sharks and penguins. We ate at the Big River Grill for dinner. We ended the night by meeting my brother and his family at the Chattanooga Lookouts game for baseball and fireworks. The kids had a great time. They got to go sit on the field and watch the fireworks after the game.
Tommy Lasorda at the Game

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

Tyler squirting Papa

My parents came to Tennessee to spend park of their summer vacation with us. We hung out at my brother's pool. Tyler is vicious when it comes to water war. He thinks it is funny to shoot people with the water cannon. Ethan continues to improve his swimming ability, but will never be a fish. It was nice to see the boys spending time with their cousins.

Cousin Joy and Ethan

We also went to the Knoxville Zoo. It was such a beautiful day! I kept telling my parents it isn't always hot in Tennessee. Thankfully, they had a chance to enjoy the nice day for themselves. It was in the 80's and there was a nice breeze. The zoo had so much shade and the animals were pretty active.

Papa with the Grandkids (Papa is the one not dressed like a lion)

Me, Jenny, Joy, Justin, Chris (my brother), Ethan, Papa, Mama, and Tyler