Family reunion at WSP

We had the best time with Gill and Jonathan at Widespread Panic last weekend! WSP and The Allman Brothers played in Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday. The Allmans were not our favorite that night -- they were a little rusty -- but WSP was great. We also had so much fun catching up with two of our favorite people. Hard to believe that it's almost been 9 years since Rose first met those boys....We miss you guys and we need to do it again soon!

Pryor, Katie and Josie visit!

We were happy to have Katie, Josie, and Pryor in Greenville for two days. I showed them all the Greenville sights, including Falls Park, before they went on to Lake Greenwood. We appreciate their trip down from Williamsburg!

Coykendall Beach 2009

After 7 hours and a pit stop at Maurice's BBQ in Columbia SC we made it to Florida! We had a wonderful trip with the whole Coykendall/Ballard crew at Crescent Beach! Dave was excited to see Aunt Janet and Uncle Butch with his cousins Stephanie, Jesse and Sarah since our wedding, 5 years ago! We also loved seeing the Miars crew and baby Emma, about to turn 1 year old. She loves to clap and smile, she's so adorable! We had three days at the beach and the traditional dinner at Saltwater Cowboys -- the gator tail and fried shrimp did not disappoint. The only sad thing was Sarah and Steph beating Ginny multiple times at Dutch Blitz, haha!! It was so great to see the whole family and we only had one rain storm. Hard to believe summer is over....

Time with our niece, Josie

This summer I have been lucky enough to have two great trips with my sister and Josie, great girl time! In June we went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte, NC. I highly recommend a trip if you haven't been, it was too much fun! The inside is modeled like a lodge and there is a large indoor waterpark right in the hotel! Last week I went to Holly Springs to visit Katie and Josie and meet the newest addition to the family, Eula Mae! She is the cutest little dog ever and loves to cuddle. Josie, who is a great swimmer, also showed off some skills at the neighborhood pool!

The garden!

In May 2008 we had our old shed torn down and decided to make a garden there. This spring we decided to plant our first crops: green tomatoes, roma tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and red bell peppers. So far we have had some great green tomatoes, fried green tomatoes from your own garden are the best! Here are some pics of when it was first planted and the latest results. We are awaiting eating our first eggplants and romas. Can't wait! Still nothing from the zucchinis or the bell peppers...anyone have tips for us? ;)

Viva South America Camp!

I taught a Spanish camp for rising 2nd through 5th graders in mid-July! It was only from 9-12pm for five days but sometimes time passed very slowly! Haha! It was fun, it's just that little kiddos have SUCH short attention spans...we had to change activities every five minutes! Above you will see pics of the "pinata" that we made, it was going to be a frog but turned out more like a green beehive. I do love my Christ Church Episcopal School so much that I was happy to help them out by teaching a camp...although they did suggest me teaching a nature survival camp next summer! Um, no!

Europe with Middle Schoolers!

I traveled with two other teachers to Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, and Paris this summer as a chaperon. We had 14 wonderful kiddos with us that were rising 8th and 9th graders. I was quite nervous when the plane took off but it turned out to be a great adventure. The kids did very well and the biggest problem was a constant request for chicken fingers and fries! Barcelona was warm and the people were so friendly. We saw Guell Park and La Sagrada Familia, not to mention shopping along Las Ramblas. We then had a relaxing time in the south of France before heading to Paris. It was cold and rainy there but it's still Paris, so exciting and beautiful! Seeing the Eiffel Tower will never be the same as when my dad first took me though! I actually had so much fun with the kids that I am considering offering a student trip to Chile in the fall.