South Carolina

Last week we were able to make the trek back to Devin's roots in South Carolina. It was an amazing trip filled with history, family, and fun ( and creepy spiders). It was great to get to know Devin's aunts and grandparents better. It was also exciting to see where Devin gets a lot of his fun personality and good looks. :) We hope to make it out again soon! This picture was taken in front of one of the houses that Devin's dad grew up in. It's pretty old and absolutely charming after all of the work the family has put into it. It seems like everything out there was labeled as over 150 years old. There's even an old plow still stuck under the house .

Tyson was extremely excited to be walking around after the long flights. Lets just say they didn't go very well... The flight home was a little better and Tyson surprised us with some full sentences. On the flight from New York to Salt Lake he was turned around playing with the guy behind him and laughing. He turns to Dev and says, "ticka tske.. I made a friend dad! tsd," then turns back to play some more. I can't believe he's learning to communicate so well! Time goes by so quickly!

Denika and Tyson looking at birds at the County Fair. She was so sweet to help out with Tyson. She taught him a lot of fabulous new dance moves during some of our long drives. Notice he's pointing to his teeth. The only way we could get him to smile was to ask him to show his teeth. Close enough...

This swamp is called Swan Lake. We literally left Tyson to the birds here. He took so long to wind up with a piece of bread, the geese ended up eating him instead.

Tyson, Devin, and Dev's Grandpa Spann looking at the birds. Grandpa was charming and had a lot of great stories to tell about his time in World War II. I loved watching him play trucks with Tyson.

"So many birds, so little time. What's a boy to do?"

"Oh yeah! I think I'll run!!!"

Most of the trip was a big genealogy and history lesson. We enjoyed a lot of family history sites, and cemeteries. If you look closely Tyson is pointing at the name "Spann". Here's my bragging moment... He actually read it!! I think we were dodging fire ant pits of more than looking at the headstones, though. I've never been in a place with so many bugs.

Devin's cousin Patricia and her little boy were so nice to let us ride on her horses. I've officially deemed her the horse whisperer of the family. Tyson loved riding on the horse. He kept saying, "I'm on a horse!" and making horse sounds.

Fort Sumter!! Such a cool place. I was singing the Glory soundtrack in my head the whole time, because that battle from the movie took place just around the corner from here. And, yes, that is Devin sticking Tyson's head in a cannon...

Not the most flattering picture... I've discovered that there are far less pictures of me with Tyson because I'm always the one with the camera!!

This is in Charleston. I'm probably a horrible mother for posting this, but I just couldn't resist...

Grandpa, Dev and Tyson on a joggling board in front of Nathanial Russel's house in Charleston. It's just a really long board you sit and bounce on for fun...It's kind of the South's form of a hammock or a rocking chair or something. They had one that was over 80 years old at grandpa's house. Nathanial Russel was in the Import Export business during the slave trade, so he was a very wealthy man with a very big house. We paid for a tour, but Tyson was completely out of control from the very beginning so a little man/tour guide with a nasally voice came up from behind us and said, "May I offer you a private tour for you and your child..." How embarrassing! Dev thought they were going to kick us out! SO we walked through the house with Devin performing a circus act in the background trying to keep Tyson in his arms. It was actually pretty funny. We have a feeling our tour was a lot shorter than it should have been.

We were so excited Tyson fell asleep for a little while. He was so tired. Besides that, Charleston was such a cool place, filled with stories of ghost, pirates and battles. I was so bummed we were only there for half a day! I made a promise to myself that I would come back and stay there for atleast three days. The whole town felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. The food was fantastic too!

Tyson is sitting in the same chair that his great grandma sat in when she was a baby. The house we stayed in was filled with things from the past. It was so fun. Thanks to the South Carolina family for being such fabulous hosts and giving us the true southern experience! We love you!