Who is Andy?

Shelby has an invisible friend named Andy........we think he lives inside John's banjo.

When we were living with John and Barbara last summer, Shelby's favorite place in their house was on the glider on their porch. The motion of swinging, rocking, or gliding is really calming for her. John spends a lot of time on the porch playing his banjo, so this porch banjo gliding time became something that Shelby and John did together.

Now that we live in our own house further up the mountain, Shelby still loves to hang with her Bop while he plays the banjo. At some point, she started requesting to hear the banjo when visiting John and Barb. And then at some point they noticed that Shelby would say "Want to talk to Andy" when the banjo was nearby. She leans into the banjo head and will whisper "Annndyyyy.....hey Andy". I'm not sure what is up with this. Shelby has a wicked sense of humor and loves to entertain others, so it really could be a big joke. However, she doesn't really giggle when the banjo is around, so who knows.

Bottom line: I love it that Shelby and John share banjo time together. John plays for Shelby while she listens, he very patiently lets her strum it while he plays, and he even stops playing so she can converse with Andy.....

Spring Break Edisto Camping

I love Edisto Island and the many childhood memories I have there--I spent two weeks there each summer with my dad's side of the family during my formative years. For spring break, our family experienced Edisto in a completely different, but equally great way. Growing up, I never even tapped the surface of what Edisto had to offer because I was too busy playing in the ocean. The state park is great--tons of handicap accessible biking and hiking trails through the forest, across the marshes, and to the ocean. Spanish Moss dangles from the branches of Live Oaks which provide shade and privacy for the camping spots on the marsh at the Live Oak Campground. I lucked out in getting a four-night camping reservation for Spring Break and the trip was wonderful---the temperature was perfect, the biking was great, we had a little bit of beach time, and it was fun being with my parents and using their "new" Shasta trailer. Now Trip and I really want a pop-up camper so we can do more trips like this.

No trip to Edisto is complete without some cousin time. Edson lives in Charleston and came to hang out with us on his day off. Here he is helping H fly a kite. 

Did I mention that Harding took this dragon kite over from another kid on the beach? Oops....

Speaking of cousins--Harding and Shelby got some cousin time in too because Riley came with us. She collected tons of oyster shells, but she also found her first fossilized shark's tooth by herself and an intact conch shell (which she and Harding reluctantly returned to the ocean). 

Drip castle fun. The water was COLD but that did not stop the kiddos. 

One of the many bike trails we explored.

Mommy Son bike trip to the water. 

Our friend Graham brought baby Clarkson over to Edisto to visit us on Good Friday when daycare was closed. What a treat to get to snuggle this sweet angel!

We were full of visitors--the Easter Bunny came early and brought the kids treats on paper plates. Classy, huh? 

Camper Cuteness

I woke up early one morning and went to see the sunrise by myself. The sun really puts on a show in the morning at Edisto.