Charleston and the Beach

Wednesday we went to Charleston for lunch. Judging by the screaming in the back of the van on our way back to the condo, we over stayed our welcome by about 15 minutes. We went to 82 Queen restaurant. That went relatively well. We are always concerned that we are bothering other people in the restaurant when we go out, but several people made a point to come over and say hi to the kids. I think they felt sorry for us. The twins ate their lunch on the water at "Waterfront park". From there we headed to the fountain in the sqaure and then back to Kiawah. Going out is a lot of work but we still think it is worth the effort.



Thursday we saw two alligators. Pretty cool. Becky texted (is that a word?) one of her friends to tell him and his reply was (and I quote) "don't get too close". Good tip.



Laura and I are beginning to think our life with twins is a really large birth control Billboard, a cautionary tale if you will. Having Becky along has re-inforced this notion. She is living the care free single life. Becky wore a different string bikini bathing suit to the beach every day with the coup d'état being the "platinum" bikini. After all, shiny metal is the best thing to wear out in the sun. I guess from a pratical standpoint, if she gets lost at sea, the US Government will be able to spot her from one of their spy satellites. Laura and I were just proud to have had the time to purchase swimming suits. Laura wore the same control top one piece every time we went out and let's be honest, most people who saw me in my suit were wishing that they made a control top for men. Becky has been very helpful and supportive, but I can't help but notice that her disposition improves exponentially every minute closer we get to her flight home.

I will post pictures when I get some time.

Kiawah with Becky

This week we are in Kiawah, SC at the beach with the kids and Laura's Sister, Becky. To date this is the longest trip we have taken with the kids (8 hours). The drive down left a mark. So much so that I don't think we are going to leave until the kids are 5 and we have installed DVD players in the car. All kidding aside, taking two 7 month old babies to the beach requires a lot of planning and work or so I'm told. Laura pretty much single handedly planned this trip and it has been a lot of fun so far. We are on our third day in and I think we are starting to find our groove. The weather has been great. We took the kids to the beach yesterday and again today. They really enjoy the birds and the people and the Ocean (at least at a distance). We let them sit in the Ocean with Laura and I yesterday and a wave splashed in their faces. K climbed me like a tree and was looking over my shoulder to make sure that she didn't get hit again. It was actually the first time I saw her afraid of anything. So for now we have decided to stay in the little puddles left when the Ocean recedes from high tide to low tide. So in summary, we drove eight hours to sit in a salty mud puddle. How the mighty have fallen. Currently, the kids are down for a nap and Becky and Laura are riding bikes on the Island. Tomorrow we plan to drive in to Charleston for lunch and at some point Becky and I are going to go looking for Gators. Bug is spending the week at the Doggy Spa in Knoxville. She's usually worthless for a couple of days after all the pampering she gets there. Enjoy the pictures.

Grandparent Labhart Visit

JZ, KZ and the Geeps


Jack's new Granpa Jack Hat (Getting Ready for the Beach)

I think I can crawl ... almost

The only way the Bug can get any camera time these days is to walk into shots of the Kids

Kaelin in the Grandpa Jack Hat

The Labhart Grandparents were here this weekend. It went really fast but it was fun nonetheless. They were a big help and the kids enjoyed having them. Grandma Labhart found Kaelin's tickle spot. Apparently K was laughing uncontrollably. If you know K, this is a significant accomplishment. On Saturday, we traded our 2 door Accord in for a 4 door Accord, bought some bigger car seats for the kids and met Aunt Julie at Lake Tellico for dinner. Sunday I got called in to work and everyone else hung at the house. Laura got a much needed nap. Today the GP's are heading home, the twins are spending a short day at day care and then we are going for a doctor's check up this afternoon. This is the twins 7 month birthday. The celebration was markedly subdued.

Next on deck is Laura's sister, Becky ... see you at the Beach on Saturday Beck!

Finally an Update

Jack & Kaelin are 8 short days from celebrating 7 months of age. Jack continues to out-weigh his little sis by a few pounds, but she was the first to roll over and cut her teeth. Both have cut their first two teeth - and with the help of a little Tylenol, they managed quite nicely. They each have their own styles - Jack is much more the talker and instantly loves everyone - except he did cry for the first minutes he spent with Grandpa Flannery this visit. Miss Kaelin is much more studious - she makes you work pretty hard for a smile and her new favorites are grabbing hair, glasses, and necklaces. Both have been eating solid foods since about 4 1/2 months and they continue to be great sleepers - bedtime promptly at 8, and they usually sleep until 7. They both love bananas, and most other fruit except peaches. Vegetables (especially green) are still a bit of a gamble and there has been more than once where they have spit it back out at me. But in order to keep ahead of Kaelin, Jack is definitely the more eager eater - he is great at opening his mouth wide for the food!

Grandma and Grandpa Flannery have been here two weeks, so the twins have enjoyed their vacation from day-care and have been able to stay home and get spoiled by the grandparents. Lucy has also enjoyed their stay - instead of being in the bathroom/linen closet for the day, she gets to roam free. We are heading to the beach at the end of August - we are praying for an uneventful 7 hour drive. As back-up, Mike has already purchased a distraction toy for the car (it is a mouse attached to a fishing pole that we can dangle in front of them - that's right, a cat toy). Auntie Becky is flying to Charleston and will be vacationing (helping) with what is sure to be an event of trekking the kids and supplies to the pool and ocean.

We are looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa Labhart visiting this weekend - as you can tell, we are now very popular with the family. We love being able to spend time with the family and enjoy more-frequent breaks with the additional help.