Making wine out of sour grapes.

Title is a little lame, but when handed a raw deal, don't be discouraged.  Anything can be positive with the right attitude and alot of flexibility. 

Family Fourth of July

We Cathcarts made our annual trip to Charleston over the Fourth of July weekend.  Obviously we make this trek because the weather is guaranteed to be perfect and my dad has a big (and FREE to us) boat.  We had a really fantastic visit... well, for the most part.

As we were down there, I experienced horrible tonsil pain, so much so that I had to go to the emergency room twice.  On the second trip, they finally figured out that I had Mono.  Ugh.  The kissing disease, otherwise known as AIDS, since folks avoided contact with me, wrongfully thinking it was easily transferred.  It was horribly painful and I was fortunate enough to have Jimmy and my mom insist that I stay down south until I recovered, so my family could help me with the kids.  Staying provided for quality time together with my parents and sister chipping in with babysitting and entertaining, even after long days at the office.

It was particularly entertaining to watch my mom and Ashton  develop a real friendship.  PHEW!  Before we started the 13 1/2 hour trip to MD, Ashton held my mom's hand for an extended period of time begging her to let him stay with her.  They played lion and doctor and had an exorcism for the "Meany Guy." They had more fun crawling and falling on  the floor.  Ashton loved the attention, and naturally, so did my mom.   I'm sure that this was due in large part to my mom's former attempts to win his favor.  There is no doubt that she's a pro with kids, and finally her master plan came to fruition.     

As I started feeling better, we made good use of our extra long visit:

Palled around the house:

We went on the boat:

 

 We went to the beach:

We went to the Children's Museum:  Reagan did an art project and loved playing in the toddler room.  Ashton learned about gravity while playing with golf balls and about water properties by playing with a mini, simulated river.  Afterward, Papa shows off his super skills by making a walking-baby-tower.

We walked the Cooper River Bridge:
It was so much fun to walk the bridge!  I think this was my favorite activity.  Ashton is enthralled with bridges (thank you, Dora), and both kids wanted to run the entire thing.  The views were amazing and it was a great end to the work week for my parents.

Just for the heck of it, we rode a trolley around Charleston:

Something about buses makes kids go nutso.  Not so sure why, but I've been meaning to take Ashton on a bus, because every bus, no matter its 'cool factor,' gets a loud welcome it enters his sight. "BUS!!!"  He's a sniper.  No bus can get by him.  Anyway, a trolley looked like the most enjoyable bus to us adults, so my mom and I took the kids on a spin around town.  It was hilarious to see both kids so mesmerized.

It took me until I was 24 to realize that thing actually do happen for a reason.  I am confident that the reason I got my STD (as Jimmy refers to it) was to spend time with my family.  Maybe this trip was intended to help my sister, Lauren, and I repair our relationship. Our strained relationship didn't come from a big blowout;  I attribute it to our 5 year age difference.  Short visits have been tolerable, but we eventually find something to bicker about.  Lauren, otherwise known as Nanny McPhee, was by my side, willing to do anything to help the Clan.  From beginning to end, she kept a smile and we hung out like the old days.  After 3+ weeks of diapers, crying, playgrounds, and Dora marathons, she was a real trooper. I can't even think of a time when I had to bite my tongue-- that's real progress, baby!   Since pleasantries wear off quickly, it was clear that our time together was authentic and what a blessing that was. 

Nanny McPhee with the kids.  She played dress up with the and they were so sad when she left.