South has risen Again!!!

After spending a week with my grandparents, visiting the DC sites, my parents made their way through the Blue Ridge Mountains to see us.  I was so excited; I had not seen them since February, when I flew with Ellie to California.  Ellie has changed so much since then.  For the last couple of weeks she has been sitting up all by herself.  She only falls over when she gets upset and throws herself backward.  I keep a pillow behind her back, just in case a tantrum arises.  Lately she has been going through a phase where the world seems to end if Jim or I walk out of site while she is in the living room.  One of us can be sitting right next to her, but it doesn’t seem to help if she sees the other person disappear from her view.  I hope this is just a phase!

Getting back to my parents, we planned two trips.  The first was a brief day trip to the Outer Banks.  Initially, this was supposed to be an overnight trip, but my grandpa assured us that it is a quick trip.  As the day grew closer, Jim grew concerned about all the time Ellie would have to spend in the car driving to, from, and all around.  It’s about 3 ½ to 4 hours one way.  The night before the trip Ellie was up every 40-50 minutes.  She had a really bad night, which translated into two exhausted parents.  We ended up sending my parents with directions while we stayed home with Ellie to sleep.

Our next trip was to Charleston, SC.  We left Wednesday morning and returned Friday night.  After we unloaded all our stuff in the hotel, we ventured out to the downtown to see the sites.  Janet recommended taking a carriage ride around the city, which was fabulous.  The horses were HUGE, mostly Clydesdales and Belgians.  While we trotted around the city, the guide gave a brief history on some of the historic buildings and folklore.  There were some beautiful Victorian homes, right on the harbor with a view of the Fort Sumter.  The only thing that kept us down was the serious HEAT and humidity.  It was hard keeping Ellie cool.  My mom, thinking ahead, bought little hand held fans.

By far the most breath-taking view of the trip was of Magnolia Plantation.  The grounds are so extensive that we toured by tram the gardens, wetlands, and slave quarters.  The mansion was beautiful, however, I didn’t see much since Ellie was tired and wanting a nap.  Jim and my mom gave me a play-by-play of the house after they finished the tour.  Later on the guys took a tour of Fort Sumter while the ladies shopped the open-air market downtown.  We bought a child’s apron that we will use as a prototype for sewing Kate & McKenzie’s Christmas gifts. 

The trip was a total success.  We did hit a little snag on the drive home.  One of the brackets on the car top carrier broke.  The carrier was rocking pretty hard and looked like at any moment it was going to tumble off.  At least that is what the other drivers on the road thought as they flagged us down and swerved around us.  We had to stop every 30-45 minutes to re-tie the rope we bought to secure it.  The 4½-hour ride home quickly turned into 6 plus hours.  This, still not so bad, until you add in Ellie screaming for the last 3 hours.  She was done with being in the car and we were all feeling the same way. 

My dad flew home the following day while my mom is out here for the week.  We have been using the time to get started on a few sewing projects.  I have never sewn before, so don’t expect anything elaborate anytime soon.  I am learning how to use the sewing machine she is giving me (Janome – Gem Platinum 760 model) since she is going to be purchasing a really fancy sewing machine that also quilts.  Our first project was a bib for Ellie.  I need to work on keeping a consistent amount of distance between the edge of the fabric and where I am stitching.  Very beginner stuff.  Next we will be working on simple curtains for Ellie’s room and then aprons for the girls. 

We forgot to bring the camera on our adventures.  Plus we were all pretty sweaty for a photo op.  I’ll post some pictures of our projects when we finish.