Charleston

This past week, I decided to hang out in Charleston. Matthew had his Spring Break so it was a good time to just get out of the house and be gone. Also, as God would work out things perfectly, my dear friend Nancy needed assistance bringing her son to her, as she'd gone to help her best friend and it was my joy to repay some of the kindness and goodness she's shown me over the past months. In Charleston, it was nice to just relax at Grandma and Papa's house. We took in the beach one day. And the next day we toured the USS Yorktown (aircraft carrier) and the USS Clamagore (submarine). We also were able to take in a game of Kimby pitching! The cousins all had a great time hanging out. Matthew is ALMOST old enough to tag with the big boys without being too much in the way. Mark of course isn't yet. But that's okay. We enjoyed the time with family and the "vacation" feeling of the trip. We missed Daddy who had to stay at home and make the money, but we'll do a real vacation with him later on in the summer we hope! Enjoy the picture recap!

Jonathan and Matthew in the car:

got gas and put in a movie for the kiddos on our trip down

At the beach:

Matthew was very brave.
I was so proud of him going into the water with no fear!

Look at how far he went without me!

Jonathan and Matthew having fun!

After the water got too cold, we started digging in the sand

Mark eventually tired out. (He didn't like the sand anyhow)

At Papa's house:

Papa got home from work and took the boys out to play.

Matthew loved getting to walk Missy.

Grandma found an old bike in the garage and Matthew loved that!

The next day the cousins got there!
This is Matthew "helping" (watching) Bryton play his video game.


At Yorktown:

In front of the model outside.

Down in the depths of the sub.

Mark enjoyed the stroller when he wasn't in Uncle Rick's arms.

Matthew in the cockpit of a F9F plane (tied down of course)

I teared up more than once at this moment,
and how much my dad would have loved it.

Matthew thought he was the king of the world.
He asked to go back in there three more times.

On the flight deck...

Matthew on a gun, thinking he was hot stuff!

At the ball field:

Mark wasn't a fan of the stroller here, but he liked the Mark-size chair!

Besides Matthew in the cockpit of the F9F, I think this is the best picture I took all week. ... Grandma and Papa with all four of their grandkids. In age order, youngest to oldest: Mark, Matthew, Bryton, Shelton.