Spring Break 2017 Charleston

 This year marks our second annual spring break road trip to Charleston, South Carolina.  Four days of driving with five days of vacation.
 With all our stops we added a lovely 2-3 hours each day.  I hate packing and loading the kids for the trip, but once we are going, it is fun to have all the kids locked and loaded full of movies and high quality gas station snacks.

It was surprising just how beautiful Alabama's rolling hills and spring flowers are.  The entire trip is beautiful should you ever make the trip.  Leaving 80 degree weather to go to the beach that never got out of the 50s was a shock.  Good thing we brought our winter clothes to the beach.

This was our first venture with the free wheel attachment for the wheelchair.  It worked great on the hard sand but not so great on soft sand.  I guess we put too much pressure on it and it would bend the footplate.  I figure, beach wheelchairs with fat tires are still the best if you can rent them at your beach.  Since it wasn't available at most beaches, this gives us some option as it lifts the front casters if you look closely.  

Low tide at Kiawa island with lots of jelly fish and buried treasure (like Scott's wedding ring that he lost and I found)

Hanna racing to pick up sand dollars and shells

The beautiful Ravenel bridge connecting Charleston to Mt. Pleasant

Plenty of things to do even in the cold in Charleston.  The kids loved the aquarium.

Hanna loved touching the star fish.

Garrett loved the lego exhibits the most.

Mom always knows how to make new friends

This time Hayden wasn't so sure he wanted to be brave.  Garrett sure did.

So we had never seen a turtle sit like this in the sun?

The plantations are amazing to visit in Charleston.  They are sacred places and have been preserved and beautified.  The kids learned a lot about slavery, Black, English, French and Native American history. 

It took us touring the plantation and the zoo all day before were finally made it to the "pirate ship" that the kids had been looking forward to.

Garrett became obsessed with the canons and how they protected the plantation and the forts in the area.

Hanna and I became obsessed with the flowers and selfies with them.

The gardens at the plantations are amazing.

It was raining outside and the ship really isn't wheelchair accessible so we sand karaoke from the car as loud as we could, Highway to the Danger Zone!

Another trip to a national park and seeing a lighthouse on Sullivan's Island.

We have a lifetime America the Beautiful Pass  pass for the disabled and we plan on going to see as many national parks as possible.  They are better prices than any amusement park for sure.

The rain and lack of accessibility wouldn't stop us.  Scott carried Hayden all the way to the top of the lookout.

The underground Fort Moultrie. 

Not exactly what I expected to see from a national park, but this fort was very kid friendly and I am so glad we went to see where the early pioneers battled (actually Fort Sumter is where the Civil War began but it is only accessible by boat and it was just too cold)

Gaga and Hanna made cookies and hot chocolate since it was a cold spring break.

It was a great Sunday at church with Gaga taking a day of "rest".

CC4C and lots of Lake Travis Love

One of the most unusual things about our family and our life is our opportunity to meet extraordinary people in our community.  The love and goodness of the individuals in our community has flooded our family and overwhelmed us.

Anytime there is a valentine's party for my little ones, that means I get to be busy making them for those that have a hard time cutting and coloring.  Hayden is considered tetraplegic, so thank goodness for the digital age.  The one above was the best I could do this year.  It had many technical difficulties and  for someone who used to do yearbooks for schools for years, this was not the product I was hoping for but settled due to time.  Little did I know, that the few hours I put into making the valentines would be reciprocated 10 fold.  

CC4C paid a visit to Hayden and delivered by the Www.kindsnacks.com an amazing amount of goodies to his class with his champion buddy, CB Hudson.  The ladies seem to nudge CB out of the way.

This kid loves his class, teachers and school.  I give complete credit to the educators that make his classroom inclusion.  This picture is worth a thousand words on why it works.  Education, self esteem, service, community and most of all love.

Below is the result of reading and going through valentines for 3 hours and hanging them to celebrate all the way through the next few weeks including Hayden's 8th birthday.  The kids had a blast but mom did most of the work;).  I just couldn't begin to hang the entire basket of little valentines the kids got, so they made it on the stander on the right.

We had a great valentines day.  Hayden upgraded his box this year to be in line with all his life or urology and GI battles but not quite yet appropriate 2nd grade potty humor.

Be sure to read the french with the french accent.

Garrett's 1st Valentine box.

Flowers from my sweet Valentine!

My cutest little sunday school Sunbeam, Garret,t and his buddy for life Charlie.  Aren't they the cutest!

Garrett started making these at our family respite vacation camp John Marc near Dallas.

My pretty Valentine, Hanna.

The only time she will let me do heart hair.

Thank you Pi Beta Phi at UT, The Lake Travis Swim Team, the Lake Travis Athletic Department thanks to coach Hank Carter, Lake Travis Pals, Lake Travis Football Team & Lakeway Elementary.