Charleston, SC

After leaving Myrtle Beach, we drove two hours south to the historic town of Charleston, SC.  It was a beautiful drive and it is a beautiful city.  I wish I had taken pictures of some of the buildings and houses.  They were so cool!  But I was busy keeping two tired little girls occupied and happy until we found a place to stay for the night.

On our way into town, we toured a home that belonged to Charles Pinckney, who was a principal author and a signer of the United States Constitution (as well as SC Governor, Senator and member of the House).  We then just walked around downtown for a bit and stopped outside the Powder Magazine Building/Museum, which is the oldest surviving public building in South Carolina..  The next day we toured Fort Moultrie, located on Sullivan's Island which was built in 1776.  It was used during the Revolutionary and Civil wars (it was between Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter where the Civil war began) and had to be rebuilt twice.  It was updated over time and even used during WWII.

 

Charles Pinckney's property.

 

Ellie running around.  Aren't the trees (and their hanging moss) there cool?

 

Channing and Kylie rocking on the porch (which didn't last long because of the mosquitos). 

 

Charleston

 

Fort Moultrie

 

Fort Sumter across the channel.

 

One of the powder magazines

 

Ellie exploring

Unfortunately we didn't have more time in Charleston.  I would love to go back someday.  And when I do, I will be taking a tour of the city by horse-drawn carriage, a tour of one of the plantations and a ghost tour!

Next post: Ohio: the final leg of our trip.

Jensen Family Reunion at Myrtle Beach

The Jensen Family reunion this year was a blast.  Myrtle beach was super nice and we had it all....good weather, warm ocean water, fun games (along with some healthy competition), and of course lots of aunts, uncles and cousins to play with!

The whole gang

Each day we were at Myrtle Beach was pretty much the same, but definitely not boring!  We would eat breakfast as a whole family and then go swim and play on the beach.  Every once in a while we would hit the pools or lazy river.  Then we would all gather for a late lunch and then go swim and play on the beach again.  (My little girls would squeeze in a nap.)  And then we would hang out together at night, grab something to eat or play games.  

Kylie and Ellie loved playing with my younger cousins.  Kylie would even go out into the ocean with them and "bob" in the water for up to an hour.  She loved the waves and didn't even mind the saltwater or being tossed about.  She would just cry, "More!"  In the pools, Kylie would swim from one cousin or aunt to another.  Ellie really enjoyed it all too, even when she would eat sand along with her snacks. :)  I loved being around and playing with my extended family.  It was fun to play paddle ball on the beach and volley tennis at the park (when Ellie would let me).

 

Our first full day on the beach....the girls didn't want to take a picture though.

 

Ellie loved digging in the sand and sitting in holes others made.  

 

Channing and a living sand dollar.

  

Tahryn, and Alanna, Ashley, Lauren and Paige, 

 

This is where Ellie slept...yep a closet.  (She likes it dark.)  Kylie slept with me in a real bed.

Tuesday was my Dad's birthday.  Kylie wanted him to open presents right away that morning.  We had cake and ice cream at lunch time with the whole fam and then went out for pizza at this delicious brick oven place with the Grovers and Buths.

 

Grandpa and Ellie fetching pails of water.  

 

Ellie enjoyed lying down and having the waves come up on her. 

 

Grandpa and Grandma J

Wednesday morning was a little chilly in the water and it even sprinkled for a little while, so many of us played in the sand.  But the day turned out to be beautiful and the waves were awesome.  I even got to go out for a while while Mom took Ellie up for lunch and a nap. 

 

Ayla, Paige and Ellie

 

Claire, Ashley, Lauren and Tahryn

 

Aunt Andrea showing Ellie how to made dribble castles.

 

Brady, Hunter and Treyson

 

Ellie wanted some boogie board action too!  She enjoyed lying on it while I pulled her along in the shallow water.

 

Riding the waves on Jensen's big tube was fun!

  

Kylie loved swimming and floating in the deep end of the pool....all by herself of course.

  

Cousin time in the hot tub

Thursday morning we had to check out, but still hung around to swim for a couple of hours.  Before breakfast, the girls and I went to the beach with Grandma to find some seashells.  It was hard to keep Ellie out of the water!

 

Kylie collecting some seashells for Daddy. 

  

A crab

 

Ellie picked up anything and everything 

 

Matching suits!

The Abe family.  We missed you Chris, Devin and Lori!

Next post: the historic town of Charleston!

We Fly to Wisconsin So We Can Drive to South Carolina

Yes, that is right; we flew to Wisconsin in order to drive to South Carolina with my family for the big Jensen family reunion.  It was cheaper this way (and we wouldn't have to take a red-eye) and plus, we got to spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa Abe.  The girls did great on the plane ride, but were pretty tired once we got to Wisconsin.  But they perked up once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It has been two years since Kylie and I have been Gma and Gpa's and this was Ellie's first time in Wisconsin.  The two girls took off exploring the house....opening every door and cupboard, going through/admiring my sisters' stuff and trying to find toys they could play with.  It was kind of funny.  We ran around the yard a little and picked raspberries (and ate them right off the vine of course).  And that night we had dinner at Culvers!

 

At the Milwaukee airport

 

Hitchin' a ride on the front of the stroller

 

This NEVER happens.  Guess she was pretty tired.

 

Ellie loving her frozen custard!

We stayed in Wisconsin for less than two days before we loaded up my parents' cruiser van and headed towards the East Coast.  Sleeping the whole night in the car was a little rough for my girls, well mostly just Ellie.  Kylie feel asleep great (I think we have her trained now that she can "start her bedtime" in the car from all our late night trips to Vegas).  But Ellie struggled, especially with all of the car and street lights.  She in one that needs to be in her own bed with it pitch black.  I was pretty ingenious though and strung up some blankets in the back to act as curtains for her.  It worked for a couple of hours.  She ended up sleeping (really, tossing and turning) on my chest most of the night.  And then as soon as the sun was up, which was 5am WI time, both my girls were up too.  Needless to say, I didn't get much (any) sleep.  But I felt surprisingly good the next day....probably because we were headed to the beach!

It was Sunday morning and Father's Day when we arrived in South Carolina.  We stopped by the temple in Columbia for breakfast and a little spiritual thought. 
 

Then a couple hours later, we were digging on the beach! 

 

 Next post:  Jensen family reunion and Myrtle Beach bliss!

A week in Vegas

Well, the little girls and I just got back from our 3 week long vacation.  Yes, it was a lot of traveling.... by both plane and car (driving through 12 states).  Yes, it was a long time to be away from home and a very long time to be away from Chris/Daddy.  But we got to visit lots of grandparents and spend time with lots of family.

We all left on our journey (including Chris) in the beginning of June to head down to Vegas for Benson's High School graduation.  (Yea!  Congrats Ben!  You are awesome!)  It was a blast having the whole family together.  Chris left Sunday night while we stayed until Thursday when we flew to Wisconsin.  Kylie loved going swimming and to the splash park.  Ellie got her first hair cut at Brooke's salon.  And we all enjoyed the shark reef at Mandalay Bay.

 

Kylie watching Mr. Crocodile 

 

The fish is bigger than Ellie!

 

Grandpa Bunker helping Kylie pet the stingray.

 

They were cool and slimy.
 

 

Ellie's first official haircut.  (Juice boxes help distract!)

 

Thanks Aunt Brookie! 

(We forgot to take a picture after her haircut, but you will see plenty of her in upcoming posts.)

 

Snuggling with Uncle Ben while watching Snow White.  I took this at the wrong time though....right after Snow White had bitten the apple.  You can tell that Kylie was worried, even though she was trying to smile for the camera. :)

 

Ellie chillin' on Ben's lap while riding around.

 Next blog post:  Wisconsin, our next travel stop.