More from South Carolina

As promised, here are some pictures from our trip to the plantation Sunday. Only Todd and his dad went on the house tour, but there was lots of other stuff that we got to see. The first thing we did was go on a boat tour - it was pretty neat. We saw lots of gators, but were kind of disappointed that we only saw small ones, I don't think any of them were bigger than 5 ft. We also saw all kinds of birds, including a blue herring.

After the boat ride and a quick walk through some of the gardens (which Jacob quickly pointed out is boring!), we took the kids through the petting zoo. I know, your thinking "YUCK" - 'cause I was. I hate petting zoos and dirty animals trying to lick my hands and my kids touching them. However, I dare say that this particular petting zoo has been the highlight of my trip so far. Furthermore, it is possible that everyone else who has participated in this experience would agree with me. What was so special about this petting zoo you ask? Nothing. It was far from exceptional. It contained a bunch of deer, some "ugly ducks", a peacock or two, some goats (this one was sitting on a bench - is that exceptional?)and some pigs. There was also a little reptile room that had snakes and lizards, which of course the boys loved. But wait, lets go back to the pigs for a minuet.

As we were meandering about, one of the piggies had to empty its bladder. We giggled about the fact that we got to see the pig go pee. But the pig wasn't done - bowels also needed to be moved. "Oh gross, he is pooping" we said laughingly. Enter pig number 2, very curious about the pile pig #1 has left on the ground. Yes, that piggie ate his friend's poopie. But that wasn't enough, oh no! He then chased his friend around sniffing at his butt (he must have still been hungry). Then they starting fighting over the poop! In the midst of it all, I kept thinking "Do I take a picture of this or not?" I know my kids will talk about this moment for years to come, should it be preserved forever in a photograph? Well, fortunately for you none of us could quite bring ourselves to take a picture of the poop eating fiasco. If we had, you would be looking at it right now.

I'm not sure why we were all so amused by that little ordeal, maybe I've been bringing up boys without much contact with the outside world for too long...or maybe it really was that funny. You decide.

Sunday concluded with a mother's day dinner cooked by Todd and his dad (with almost no help from the women) which included his sister and her family. I didn't get anything for mother's day yet - not sure I'm going to...I guess expecting Todd to plan ahead and have gifts for me would be unreasonable. Oh well, he is the best darn man I know so I guess I can live without a mother's day present once. After all, I have forgotten our anniversary twice in six years. (If anyone would like to send me a friendly reminder - year seven is coming up July 1)

Today Todd's sister took the day off of work so that she could spend some time with us. We all (10 of us) went to Fort Sumter. I must say, I was a little disappointed. Being history buffs, we have been to our share of forts, and Fort Sumter - one of the most significant in our countries history has got to be one of the lamest. We did skip the official guided tour and opted instead for the Dr. Young version. (Todd's dad is a U.S. history prof.) But I don't think the 15 min. tour would have added a whole lot to the experience. The view and the boat ride are beautiful, and now I can say "I've been to Fort Sumter." Here is the gang of kids next to one of the cannons

After the fort, Todd's family headed home and we headed more fun...almost. Both Gabriel and Cadence have been battling allergies for the last several weeks, and right before we left for vacation it moved in on their lungs - both kids are wheezing like crazy. They started Singular the middle of last week and we are supposed to be using the nebulizer every 4 hours on 2 kids. Every 4 hours wasn't happening (more like once or twice a day) because I thought they were clearing up, but they're not. So the last couple of days I have been trying to be more consistent, which is pretty tough when you're on vacation. We brought the nebulizer with us, hoping that we could find a place to plug it in and sit for 30 or 40 minuets while both little ones got treatments. Thankfully, there were outlets near our van in the parking garage. So we ate our lunch and then sat on the ground in a parking garage for what felt like forever. I couldn't help but wonder what people were thinking as they passed us. Gabe decided he would look better if he put his sunglasses on with his mask.

Finally, we went to the aquarium (which the kids LOVED) and a carriage tour of Charleston. Unfortunately, most of the aquarium pictures didn't come out well, and there wasn't much to take pictures of on the tour. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring - maybe the children's museum.