More from Isle of Palms, SC

Daddy's Girl

Family shot- only one we got the whole trip!

So tired after a long day of fun. This was the day we saw the turtles at dinner, but apparently we only took pictures with our phones, so I'll have to upload those later.

Can tell she's tired when she's zoned out and has her hands crossed so sweetly.

Chris (and Ella Kate) surprised me with a wonderful Mother's Day gift! Triple strand pearl necklace and matching bracelet. I felt so dressed up! A nice distraction from the belly :)

Such a big girl eating cereal with milk all by herself at the counter. She did a GREAT job and didn't spill or make a mess. Such a sweet angel!

'Taking a picture.' She likes to have a picture already on the screen so that when she "takes" it she can see her creation.

Mid spin

Dancing at dinner. She's loving all the local restaurants with live music and open dance floors! Wish we had more of this back home. She loved it (and all the attention she got didn't hurt her ego a bit!).

Ella Kate quickly introduced herself to Max the 10yr old 'puppy' and his owner Jake. Jake, probably about 4 or 5 seemed a little too bashful to dance with her, although his mom encouraged him. It actually gave me a brief glimpse of what middle school could be like! He looked at Ella Kate (spinning and 'dancing' to the music) and almost blushed as he looked back at his mom. SO CUTE!

Oh, how we love the local seafood joints! Red's was certainly not small, but it was great. Shrimp caught right there on the Shem creek. Live music- they even played Rocky Top (can we NEVER escape that song?!). Great food and atmosphere!

Waiting on dinner & enjoying the view.

Sweet little love bug!

Ella Kate's first golf (ok, putt-putt) outing

I believe Chris has been waiting for this day his whole life: teaching one of his kids to play golf. He tried to get her to do the right stance and hold the club properly. She was excited about putt-putt all day and really did well- until she saw the turtle shaped sand boxes around hole 14-- it was all downhill from there!

Got the stance down!

Ella Kate the golfer, not the pitcher! (That's what he always tells me when I'm playing, which isn't often.)

Now, if only I could get this ball to stay on the tee!

Umm... how do I hold this thing again, Daddy?

Listening attentively as Daddy gives some pointers.

Good drive, Daddy.

Gotta line it up just right for my putt.

Gettin' close!

Sometimes we just have to make that little ball go where we want it!

One more lesson from Daddy.

Ooooh, I'm getting good at this! (notice the grip!)

I even look like a pro!

Silly Mommy! Let me give you some pointers!

Do I need to be your caddy, too?

At the end of the day, I am still just a 2 1/2 year old, and playing in the water is just too much fun to pass up!

Back to the ocean. Ella Kate loves the waves, as long as she's being held!

Jumping over the tiny waves-- we have to start somewhere!

IOP 2010 (IOP means Isle of Palms)

Jumping some slightly bigger waves

Building sand castles

"Look! A tiny baby alligator!"

More wave jumping

Running through the tidal pool (also known as the little ocean vs the big ocean).

The pier used in the movie Dear John

Beach Trip to Charleston

Day 1: We arrived in Charleston- well actually Isle of Palms since Charleston isn't on the water- yesterday morning. The trip down went well; Ella Kate slept about half way and the rest wasn't too unbearable (just tried not to fall asleep!). When she woke up she immediately said "I go to the beach! Starfish, sea shells, dolphins, octopus!" When we arrived we went straight to the pool and then after a nap out to the beach. She had a great time exploring every new sight and sound. At some friend's (Shay's sister-in-law) suggestion we went to a great hole-in-the-wall called 'See Wee's Restaurant' and had some great seafood. Ella Kate danced with some other little girls to live down home low country music. Isn't it amazing how little kids can make friends with anyone?!

Chili Cook Off at St. Marks

Chili cook-off at St. Marks as a fundraiser for the youth group's mission trip. There were 11 teams and we managed to raise $1210!!! That was way more than I thought was possible! Each team had to have a youth member on the team and a theme.

Derby Day Chili

We had on our Derby attire (Chris' blue seersucker suit matched Ella Kate's pink seersucker dress). Ella Kate and I had on matching aprons courtesy of Aunt Amy-Chris! I'm so excited that we got to wear these out for everyone to admire!

Our youth member was Daniel Linebaugh. He was a great addition to our team, maybe the nicest 8th grader I've ever met!

Our spread included the chili (Dad's recipe) and rice (b/c Dad always serves his chili with rice b/c in the cajun world you need something to cut the hot & spicy flavors!). We also had sour cream, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, Fritos, and faux mint juleps.

The Linebaughs contributed a horse saddle set up to be "ridden" by the little ones. Ella Kate was hesitant at first, but LOVED it once she was on and "riding."

This is Wesley Graybeal (minister's youngest son) and Steve Linebaugh.

Here are some shots of the other competitors.

Hillbilly Chili

Hillbilly Godfather Chili

Kiffin's Killers

Hot Chili Volun'tears'

There wasn't a single spoonful left at the end of the evening. We actually should've made more (we doubled the regular recipe and we could've tripled it!). We actually only got a tiny sample bowl between the two of us! The evening was so fun and was a frenzy of chili feeding. It went by so fast that at the end of the night we realized Ella Kate hadn't even eaten anything and had to fix her a quick sandwich when we got home!

We won the "Best Dressed" award, but we think we should've won the overall award. The winner was decided by "votes" in dollars. The winning team was sneaking $100 bills in the box-- but we weren't upset b/c all the money went to the youth. We had LOTS of compliments and many people told us ours was the best. Of course, we thought it tasted best, too!