Reed Gold Mine

Today we spent the day at the Reed Gold Mine in Midland, about an hour from us. It is the site of the first gold found in the US. We toured the mine (a nice, cool 60 degrees) and museum then had a snow cone. Afterward we stopped by a nice winery and come home past Concord Mills Mall where Grace got a new Ariel bathing suit.

Bible School

Grace went to bible school with her friend Lily this week. Her she is sporting her pony for the hot weather.

Lake Day

We finally got to the lake today, and it wasn't even refreshing. It has been a record number of days in the 90's. Even the lake was very warm. Grace didn't mind. Dan got to go tubing to cool off on the way to the dock. Grace wanted to stay in the boat.

Our Last Day

We had to check out of our hotel early, so afterward we visited a Christmas store. The we went for a round of golf. The first time Grace played she was very uninterested. So this time, we went to play in an "active volcano". She really got into it...sometimes a little too much.

We then walked along the new boardwalk, then went for a bite at Crackle Barrel. On the drive home, we drove through lots of storms. Grace fell asleep just as we got past Charlottee... 30 minutes from home.

Amusement Day

So hot! But so much to do. The park opens at 4 pm, and we stayed until around 11pm. The grandparents left for dinner and never came back, just too humid.

Grace even rode the Scrambler and the Tilt a Whirl. But her favorites were the little swings and the little roller coaster.

Broadway at the Beach

Monday night we went to a large complex of restaurants, shops and amusement areas called Broadway at the Beach. The kids went right for the amusement rides.

Grace has always wanted to bounce on these rides they have at all carnival events, but usually the minimum weight was 30 lbs. This time you only had to weigh 20, so we let her jump. She loved it. She didn't go very high or do any flips, but she was very proud of herself.

She only got to ride a few rides because we paid extra for her to jump. She was ok with that. We also were going to an amusement park the next day, so there was plenty more time for rides.

Beach Bums

We went to Myrtle Beach with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Donna, Parker, Ramie and Ray. Our hotel complex was near the beach with a lazy river, kiddie pools, beach side pool and cabana bar. It was a large resort with so much to do that we didn't do it all, like play tennis, basketball or playground.

We spent a lot of time on the beach, where Grandma rented an umbrella and chairs for the week. Grace loved to dig in the sand, jump waves and Parker.

Our Rainy Party

We didn't have any luck keeping the rain away from our Memorial Day party. Everyone did still get to swim for a little while after the rain.

Our shortcake strawberry

It was a beautiful day to pick strawberries, so we visited Patterson Farms. We found lots of nice juicy berries, played on the playground and ate ice cream

Afterward we visited an old mill built in the 1700's. Then went home for a dip in the pool.