While we were in SC...Amanda turned 13!!!

We officially have a teen-ager! YIKES!

Actually, Amanda is a great kid and we love her to pieces!

Mike & I got home from Charleston on Sunday night late.  We had a fun lunch with Spencer and Tyra and great discussion about modesty. They have 3 darling girls and 2 cute boys.  They have been very adamant about modesty in their home.  We have traveled with them to Lake Powell and it is a no bikini  zone. Now that their boys are married, both their spouses are bikini wearing gals and they have to tell them they are not allowed to wear them on vacations with the family.  We got great advice from them about raising our girls.

ANYWAY, Amanda's cute friends came and decorated her room! A lot of the streamers are still up, including the door fringe....

 Brandon and Sydney did her candy poster.

 Mike & I left the 'Taylor Swift perfume and cute bag' for her.

My Mom made her a cake and had my Dad come up for dinner. 

My Mom is nice enough to make chicken pillows which are Amanda's favorites!

My Mom after going to church with the kids and Amanda was in charge until we got home.  I had my Mom wash our sheets, but not make our bed because it's hard to make.  Being the great, thoughtful kids they are, the kids surprised us by making our bed! That was awesome, kiddos!

On Tuesday (because Mrs. Backer's isn't open on Monday), we picked up her cake and celebrated as a family.

Here are 13 things about this cute girl!
1.  She is fun-loving and likes to tease.
2.  She loves soccer and all the girls on her team.
3.  She loves dance.  She's taking both ballet and hip hop.
4.  She 'texts' over 3,000 texts per month.
5.  She is a major Utah fan.
6.  She likes a boy just moved to Brazil with his family.
7.  Brazil boy is not the only boy she likes.
8.  She is loving jr. high and refuses to miss school.
9.  She got all A's first term.
10. Amanda gets along with everybody.  She is a loyal friend.
11.  She has a great smile!
12.  Amanda is thoughtful and has a big heart and she loves babies!
13.  She is the best 13 year old daughter! We love you, cute girl!!!

Charleston

I forgot to put this first picture on the other post. This was in one of the gardens at Magnolia. We thought this was so cool...wonder how long that 'bench' had been there that the trees grew around it....

 Our friend, Scott Lalli texted us when he found out we were in SC and told us we had to find a boiled peanut stand along the side of the road and try them out....and we could thank him later.

 So, on our way into the 'city' part of Charleston, we saw Timbos Hot Boiled Peanut stand.  We stopped and told Timbo we were from Utah and our friend told us to stop and try these.  Mr. Timbo with only 2 teeth in his mouth and his cute wife, let us sample the peanuts and we were sold! We bought the Cajun peanuts and the Ham peanuts and a diet coke for the road.  If you've never tried boiled peanuts before, they have the texture of a kidney bean and they are a great snack.  We got to sign Timbo's trailer, so Mike put Mike & Jill Arveseth, Kaysville, Utah GO UTES!

 Loved Charleston! The houses were awesome. I love that 'look' the two-story wrapped porches.  These two pictures were across the bay.

 Picture of the park at the Battery.

 One of the Forts.  The first shot in the Civil War was shot from Fort Johnson....

 Yep...this is what I'm talking about.....

 Here is famous Rainbow Row. A bunch of row houses that were 'salvaged' and painted bright colors.

 I  always love the window boxes full of beautiful plants that you see in warm, humid climates.  Not many look like this in Utah.

 Real gas lanterns....so quaint!

 Courtyard...hope this family didn't mind me snapping a picture. I loved it!

 We loved Charleston and wished we had more time.  We ate at a sushi place we found along the way. There's quite a happening night life here.....fun area!

 On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at this giant ferris wheel they had in Myrtle Beach.

 We rode in a similar one in Chicago and didn't take pictures of us in the ferris wheel, so I made sure I did here.  It was fun to see the town at night. Great lights and we were right on the beach and could watch the waves roll in as we went around and around!

As we were leaving, there was a fireworks show, so we stopped and oohh'd and aaahhh'd....Great day!

Caledonia and Magnolia Plantation

Mike and I were able to 'borrow the car' (we shared a rental with his boss) and head out on our own Saturday.  Mike really wanted to show me his favorite golf course in Myrtle Beach. Caledonia!

These pictures are from the drive in up to the clubhouse.  These trees with the spanish moss hanging from them are gorgeous!

 Mike said every hole on this course is like this and even more beautiful.  You feel like you are in a forest of these type of trees.  On Mike's first trip to this course several years ago, he bought a t-shirt.  This has been his favorite t-shirt as evidenced by how worn it is. He calls it Golden Boy now.  I hid it before the trip because I don't want him to wear it in public anymore.  I suggested he buy a new Golden Boy since the other is so worn and then I would return the original GB.  He bought two, but since being home, he still loves the original.  :)  I was glad we took the side trip to see some of this course.

 This was the coolest bridge! We had to cross it to get to Charleston.

 We stopped at Magnolia Plantation. This plantation has been owned by the same family since the late 1600's.  That almost never happens our tour guide told us.  Most plantation owners did not live in their country houses during the summer because they would get sick....the problem was the mosquito bites that carried malaria, although the people didn't know this at the time.  They had city houses (in Charleston).  This home was occupied by the family until about 1976 and then they decided to open it to the public for tours/weddings, etc.

 The house is not the original built on the site.  The first home was three stories and quite grand, but was hit by lightening and burned to the ground.  If I remember right, there was another house built, but it also burned during the Civil War. They are not sure how it caught fire.  This current house was the 3rd and last house to be built.  The tower used to have a bell or something in it, but one of the family members had it taken out and the stairs don't even go all the way up there anymore.

 The family member that occupied it the longest had a fascination with gardens and quite a few acres of this plantation are covered with gardens.  We walked through some of it and it is quite impressive.  Gardens of all styes, bridges all over and everything is beautiful.  Of course, we were not there at the time of year that everything is in bloom.  There are a type of magnolia that grows here that blooms throughout the winter (when the family would be here) and they say it is breathtaking.  Enjoy a few of the photos I took along the way:

We wished we had more time to stroll throughout this plantation, but there is a lot in Charleston to see in just a few hours! Up next: Charleston