BaBa & PaPa in Charleston

Now this post is entirely out of order due to the upheaval of my trip earlier this week.  Prior to all of the wedding excitement, we had a fabulous visit from BaBa and PaPa!

They arrived Thursday evening and stayed until Monday evening, and we all had so much fun!  Charlie was on his best behavior at various meals on the town, as we introduced BaBa and PaPa to some new places and revisited some favorites. 

He did fairly well at his first trip to the South Carolina Aquarium, but apparently Mommy mis-judged the attention span of a one year old for fish.  He really liked them, for about 30 seconds per display.  His favorite parts were the touch tank, the shrimping boat and the benches!

The weekend highlights for Charlie were playtime with BaBa and PaPa and the Outlet Mall -- he got to ride the rides for the first time (and loved them!) and he picked out his own pair of shorts.  He was adamant about some plaid shorts in OshKosh, even returning to the rack a second time.  He'll have to grow into them, though -- the smallest size they had was a 2T!

The weekend was truly 4 days of jam-packed fun, but it definitely went by too fast.  The bright side is that we're headed to KC in less than a month to see everyone again!

Welcome to Charleston, BaBa!

Fun with PaPa

Splash, Splash, Splash!

Ready for Shrimping

First Wish

First Ride

First Crayons

I like Red Best

We did it!

Charlie and I survived our first extended period apart  -- and it was trauma-free.  Actually, the anticipation was much worse than the actual separation.  My flights on Tuesday morning were incredibly relaxing with only myself to worry about, no luggage to speak of, and a good book.  Plus, Charlie had a great morning with Daddy and got to see Donna again (she had been out of town all weekend).

Then the actual wedding prep, ceremony and aftermath were fabulous.  I have never seen Angie, my sister, so happy -- and the simple event was just her style.  I am so grateful that I was able to be there to help her get ready and the ceremony, itself, was wonderful.  Other than a tad bit too much champagne at the reception (nothing crazy -- just a bit tipsy -- I never even fell out of my 3 inch heels!), everything was perfect.  As an added bonus, Uncle Sam and Aunt Jan came back to Mom & Dad's house to chat for a couple hours.  It was so much fun.

Meanwhile back in SC, Charlie spent the morning and early afternoon at Donna's -- squeezing in two good naps.  Then he, Jason and Otis played and walked and had a great time.  Wednesday was much the same, but rather than playing and walking, they ran man errands -- Charleston Angler and Lowe's. 

On Wednesday, I was blessed again with perfect flights and then with very little traffic at the 526 merge at 4:30 in the afternoon, so I made good time getting back to Summerville, where I met up with my boys and we had dinner on the patio at Five Guys Burgers. 

The entire experience was great.  I proved that I can handle 45 hours away from Charlie, Charlie had a wonderful time with Daddy, Donna and Otis, I got to celebrate my sister's wedding day with her and I made it home safely to my boys. 

The official wedding pictures aren't in, but here are a few snapshots, along with some picture texts Jason sent to get me through...

Uncle Bill & the Officiant decorating for the reception

Aunt Angie beaming

Aunt Angie trusting me to do her hair

Crusing the 'hood

Hamming it up for Mommy