Balch Family Blog

That is where Mark and I spent the Memorial Day weekend. This trip was planned and mostly paid for by Mark’s work. There was a continuing education course for Physical Therapists down there. Mark and I arrived Sat evening. Our flights went smoothly. The first thing we did was to go for a walk on the beach. It was so nice. The sand and the water. We began to notice Jellyfish washed up on the shore. They were interesting to see up close. I also grabbed a big shell from the ocean and I was surprised to find a creature living inside. That shell stayed there, but several others (without creatures) came home for the boys. We had a nice dinner and went to bed after a quick visit to the hot tub.

Sunday morning we went to see the sights! After grabbing a quick bite to eat we headed to Harbour Town. There is a lighthouse there and some interesting history about the civil war and the local people. We did some shopping at the stores and had lunch at The Crazy Crab. While on top of the lighthouse, we called the boys so they could see us on the web cam. I think they liked it! After we grabbed an ice cream we headed back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a while. We had dinner in the lounge overlooking the beach. There was a wedding going on, so we watched that as well.

Monday morning was Mark’s first day of golf. He met the boys in lobby and headed out to play 36 holes. Since I was awake, I decided to go watch the sun rise over the ocean. It was so nice, but dark clouds loomed above. I was to rent an umbrella and chair and hang out on the beach before my spa services in the afternoon. As I was eating breakfast on the terrace it began to rain. It rained steady for about 90 min. After it cleared, I went for a walk on the beach. It seemed silly to pay so much for 2 hours on the beach under an umbrella. So I collected shells for the boys and marveled at the dead jellyfish and even had a close encounter with a small crab. I decided to spend an hour by the pool, and then went for my spa treatments. All were fabulous! When Mark and the boys returned we grabbed dinner at a local fish restaurant.

Tuesday morning I got ready and headed back home. Mark went out to play another 36 holes. My flights were good, and I was very happy to see the boys!

Mark returns today after playing another 18 holes. He is having a great time and said he played his favorite course yesterday at Bloody Point on Daufuskie Island.

It was a wonderful trip! We will post pictures later. Mark still has the camera with him.

Camden graduated from Preschool today. He was such a great boy during the program. It is so hard to believe he will be going on to Kindergarten this fall. How can it be? The kids were all so well behaved! They sang a couple songs and performed using rhythm sticks to one song. They read a story aloud with their teacher and then got their certificates. It was such a JOY to watch him today.

Congratulations Camden! We love you!

You can find pictures from today here.

When Dad and Betty were here over Christmas we went to Goldfield Ghost Town. It was a nice cold day and the train broke down on us. We watched a gun fight, visited a reptile exhibit, and ate lunch there.

Mark got a call on Friday morning from Jeff (the other PT in his office) saying that he would work on Saturday and Mark could have it off. We were so excited that we started planning how to spend the day. Goldfield came to mind. Mark had to work when we visited with my dad, so it was all new for him.

We had a great day! It was a little warm at times, but nice when a breeze blew by. We went on the train ride and successfully made all the way! We explored around the back side of the town (D&B we did not go down the back side with you guys). Camden even wanted to go on the mine tour. We were so proud of the boys! They did so well. They handled the cramped (fake) elevator and even when the guide blew out the candle to show how dark it was in there only Carsten made a little fuss. We were a little bummed that the gunfighters were done for the season. The stage coach rides were also closed. It is understandable with the heat of the summer right around the corner!

After Goldfield, we decided to drive the 10 miles up the road to Canyon Lake. It was quite a curvy road. The lake was beautiful! We will definitely plan a day trip to swim and have a picnic out there soon. On the way home Camden was reading a brochure and the combination of the sun, heat, curvy road and reading he got a little car sick. Poor guy. Both boys slept the whole way home and for 2 1/2 hours at home. We were all wiped out but had a great family day!

Here are some more pictures from our adventuresome day!

The day that doesn’t always go as smoothly as it should according to Hallmark cards. Don’t get me wrong, my day has been fine so far. My sweet husband and boys gave me a card this morning and Mark has been helping get things ready for tonight’s dinner. Camden has told me numerous times Happy Mother’s Day and I love you, but he is still being quite a brat! He is in this echo phase and not listening phase and questioning phase…oh yeah, it’s called being 4!

Anyway, to all the mom’s out there, may you have a great Mother’s Day and enjoy the moments you can!

I love you mom and wish we could be together today. Thank you for all you have done for me!