Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Middleton Place vacation wrap up

so just a few more tidbits from our north carolina, south carolina, georgia and florida trip. i really felt it went off without a hitch and i am thinking back to how lovely all that green was. california is so brown, especially in the summer and i miss that daily rain shower we got in florida, so refreshing!



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this is a favorite shot from Middleton Place (man, it was beyond gorgeous!) the kids are looking for gators and off in the distance other family members shout they saw one: lizzie is darting around to go see for herself (action shots like this are my absolute favorite kind of photo)

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a house on the property that has been restored to it's original condition

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we squeezed every inch of daylight out of this sunset


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and a tree to swoon over

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i really loved this photo, we are waiting for a table at the restaurant in the resort we stayed in at disneyworld. it was such a sweet moment of kids and adults chatting about their day

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i love this shot of liz, waiting for the monorail

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we had two extra days in orlando and picked this hotel last minute because it had the number one best pool, yep it did! we swam and floated on that lazy river for hours, beating the heat and enjoyed afternoon naps. such a luxury. that's it for now! coming up, a trip to scotland!!



Thursday, August 22, 2013

Disney world 2013

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even though i grew up near disneyland, i somehow missed the "collecting pins on a lanyard" tradition. i have seen people with them around their necks, but really didnt know what all the hype was about. let's just say collecting and trading pins was one of the highlights of the whole disneyworld experience for my kids and their cousins. i am so glad chris jumped in day one and bought everyone a lanyard and a starter "kit" of pins because it kept the kids happy and excited for the remaining week as they searched for new pins and picked up a few here and there each day. for the little kids it became a great way to motivate them to go on some of the scarier rides, they would earn a pin if they were willing to try. funny how some kids are scared to death of certain rides but not others, i am sure there could be a major discussion on the parenting styles of getting your kid on a ride they dont want to go on (to force or not to force?). how many times did a kid cry on a ride only to exclaim, " let's do it again!!" at the end? hmmmm.....
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more photos coming soon...

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Summer 2013

first up North Carolina: Topsail Island! i have been trying to plan an OBX beach house rental trip for years, i was pleasantly surprised by Topsail Island (we stayed with family and daytripped to the beach but i could imagine first hand how a future trip will play out). our family lives in Sneads Ferry, just a mile or so away from the beach, so jealous!


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middleton place, south carolina: big thumbs up!!
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i'll post some more pictures soon.