Ice storm

We had a big ice storm at the end of January. We got a little bit of snow but mostly just ice. Ice storms are pretty scary since they can do a lot of damage to trees (we lost a LOT of branches) and the roads are pretty bad but they're also really cool. Every branch and twig and berry and blade of grass was encased in ice. We enjoyed a few snow days at home and the kids had fun sledding and playing outside. We lost power a few times but thankfully not for long each time. Snow day baking is my favorite.

Charleston: Biscuits, Donuts and the Aquarium

I took the kids to the aquarium on our last day in Charleston. We stopped at Glazed Gourmet donuts AND Callie's Hot Little Biscuit on our way. I couldn't pass up either. The donuts were delicious and the biscuits were so melt-in-your-mouth amazing. The cinnamon butter filled one was my favorite.

We had been to the aquarium when Amelia was two but I didn't remember much and they had added quite a bit. There was a really cool touch tank outside that overlooked the bay. We saw dolphins swimming out in the bay and got to touch sharks and rays in the tank. There were lots of fun exhibits inside. We met Ben for lunch and got to try one more fantastic Charleston restaurant. We had the most delicious Japanese cabbage pancake with egg from Xiao Bao Biscuit. Ben headed back to work at the hospital and I made the 4 1/2 hour drive home with all the kids, munching on donuts to stay awake.

A fun comparison shot. 2007 and 2016.

Charleston: Children's Museum + hotel fun

I was exhausted after our morning at Magnolia Plantation but knew I couldn't survive an entire afternoon in a hotel room with all the kids so we headed back to downtown Charleston and decided to check out the children's museum. Since it was a holiday, the museum was super crowded which is not my favorite, but the kids had a great time. It eventually emptied out a bit and the kids had fun making art in the big art room and dressing up as firefighters in the outdoor play area. They spent most of their time in the pretend grocery store, which had very realistic long checkout lines. A highlight of my day was finding the best banh mi I've ever had at Bon Banh Mi. So delicious. The kids were dying to go swimming at the hotel so I took them swimming when we got back and thankfully Ben was able to join our little pool party and help me entertain the kids. It was also a highlight of my day to see all 4 kids hanging off of Ben in the pool, laughing and having such a fun time. We ended the night with Mellow Mushroom pizza in the hotel room and lots of tired kids. And parents.