Vacation!

We had a wonderful trip to Indiana and South Carolina in May. It was great to see family and friends, and in a way it felt like we'd never left. Warm weather was also a bonus, especially since Alaska has had such a blah summer. We're VERY close to breaking the record of consecutive days of rain--27 currently! It's not as exciting as it sounds. It's nice to look back at the pictures and remember a time when we could wear shorts outside. I'll let the pictures do most of the summary of the trip.

 Playing at the park

Driving Daddy's Jeep

Visiting the Indianapolis Zoo

Will didn't care for the shark petting tank.

Ethan wanted to help Aunt Katie push the stroller.

The Butterfly Garden

Great-Grandpa Burger, Grandpa Biehl, Anthony, Will & Ethan

The Children's Museum

The boys were intrigued by these funny things called Barbies.

They LOVED the Carousel.

I went in to get Will up from his nap one day and found him with a piece of the coat rack stuck in his pacifier. 

He told me he was an elephant.

Then he found an old swimsuit and decided he wanted to be a zebra.

We spent the last week of our vacation in South Carolina and Georgia, which is where Anthony and I went on our honeymoon. It was wonderful to introduce the boys to a beach and ocean where it's warm enough to go swimming. A tropical storm threatened us for a few days, but luckily it blew over and we had lots of sun and great weather. The boys loved digging in the sand, running into the waves and looking for shells. I'm sure we'll be heading back there as soon as we can.

Hilton Head Beach, South Carolina

Making holes occupied a lot of their time.

They were brave until the waves came in, and then they usually ran right back to us.

Ethan always wanted to sit in the holes.
He's our little "Fragile" Frankie Merman.

He wasn't so happy when the tide came in.

We spent one day touring downtown Savannah. I was most excited about eating lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. It was the restaurant she started before she became famous, and I'd heard so many good things about it. We had to get there first thing in the morning to make a reservation for lunch, and then we took a trolley tour around town. Since we finished a little early, we decided to go by the restaurant's gift shop, and as soon as we stepped through the door, I couldn't believe who we saw--Jamie Deen, Paula's oldest son, was signing autographs and taking pictures. Anthony's mom and I were a little hesitant, but Anthony finally convinced us to get in line, and we were able to catch him just before he left. 

Once we made it to lunch, we were very impressed with everything. Our waiter was awesome, and the food was absolutely delicious. I was so glad that I had bought a cookbook with all of the recipes from the restaurant when I was looking for something for Jamie to sign. Now I can recreate the meal anytime, as long as I stock up on butter.

 Will regaled us with his impression of a walrus while we waited for our drinks.

I love visiting the South. We always have such a good time. You've got to love Southern hospitality.

On our way home, we made a detour to see the Angel Oak, which is believed to be 1,500 years old and the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi. How often do you get to see something like that? We were a little nervous about our directions because even as we got close to our destination, we never saw any signs. I know it's just a tree, but you would think that something that historic would have at least a billboard or a road sign. We ended up at a church and it seemed like a dead end until we noticed a dirt road and a small sign on a tree in front of us.

If I was the Angel Oak, I'd be offended. We were all glad we found it because it was definitely neat to see.

 Ethan & I felt tiny next to it

 The boys had the most fun looking for acorns as a souvenir and finding a tiny frog.

 Will was trying out a new smile while showing off his frog.

Overall it was an awesome trip and hard to head back to Alaska. Thanks everyone for some great memories!