Edisto Island, SC

Every year since Ryan and I have been married, we have gone to Charleston, South Carolina. For my Fall Break this past week, we went to Edisto Island (which is about an hour outside of Charleston). It was so much fun and such a relaxing getaway! We went with our friends Josh and Sarah for the week, and our friends Ben, Elizabeth, and their 6-month-old Braden came until Thursday morning. It was such a fun group!

The weather was beautiful, but way too cold for us to get in the water. Our husbands, on the other hand, braved the cold to play frisbee in the waves.

Sarah and I are about 3 weeks apart. It's so fun being pregnant with so many of my friends!

I just love this little guy! We tried to keep him out of the sun as much as we could.

Carriage ride through downtown Charleston. My favorite thing to do in Charleston!

Eating dinner at the Crab Shack (I think that's the name) on the rooftop!

Dessert at Kamynski's (Elizabeth's favorite!)
I can't tell you how full we are right here, but maybe you can tell by the picture...

My husband the crabber. He's tried the last couple Charleston trips to get one, and he finally did! Hooray! But...one wasn't enough to cook, so he threw him back.

On Thursday, Sarah and I went along for a ride while Josh and Ryan played golf. The course was beautiful. Look at the huge oak trees.

Fritillary Butterflies were everywhere! I really like how this picture turned out.

On Friday, it rained and rained...and rained some more. We wanted to get out of the condo, so we went back to Charleston and ate at The Wreck--a restaurant built at the site of a ship wreck.

This is what we drove through to get there. Wow. A local told Josh that it rained 11 inches--more than they have seen in a looooong time. And we got to drive through it! Thank goodness we borrowed Ryan's dad's F250 for the trip. So many cars were getting towed.

Bike riding to the beach.

Riding off into the sunset through Edisto's State Park & Campground.

This was my favorite part of the trip. On my list of top 100 goals that my Mom made me write when I turned 18 (yes, it took a long time, but it really made me think about what I wanted to do in my life!), the TOP of the list was to swim with dolphins. I just LOVE them! Well, we didn't get to swim with them, but we did kayak with them with a two-man kayak we rented. Here's a video to show you. This is about the 4th video I shot. I couldn't post the 1st because I was so excited you couldn't hear anything that was happening (shocking, I know). ***Be sure you listen for them breathing out of their blowholes. This may not be interesting to anybody but me and my hubby, but we had the best time!

A lot of what we did was EAT! Here's some of our scrumptious meals. Biscuits and gravy (sorry for the morning picture, guys)...

and a Low Country Boil with freshly caught shrimp!
Sunday at sunrise right before we headed off the island.
This may be our last vacation with just 2 Hughes family members! We had such a great time and made such great memories with our friends!

A Day of Firsts

This past Tuesday early in the morning (3:25 a.m. to be exact), Ryan got to feel his son for the first time! Gavin woke me up kicking and it was much harder than normal. So, I woke Ryan up, he felt him kicking, and he fell right back asleep...while I was up for another hour with ninja kicks. :)

Another first for Tuesday--the grandmothers saw their grandson in action for the first time! I had a 45 minute ultrasound and it just so happened to be Mom and Julie's Fall Break! So they came up and got to watch the little guy moving around instead of still in a picture like they have only seen him up until now. Here are some of my favorites...

Look at my shy boy (how is that possible?)!

I could feel him kick when I saw him kicking on the screen this time!
Here is his weapon of choice. Hopefully you can make out the leg--knee at top and foot at bottom.

Do you think he looks like me or Ryan? Vote on the right if you get a chance--we've already heard different opinions! :)

We just love him so much already!

If you know me well, you know that I can be tempted to worry over...well...anything, really! It is something I am constantly fighting and the Lord is constantly showing me that HE is in control--not me. At the ultrasound, I was made freshly aware of this. The Lord has taken care of our little guy so far and He will continue to do so. This was a big ultrasound where they measured everything and checked for anything out of the ordinary. The ultrasound tech checked everything off as "normal" and I could not be more in awe of God's goodness to Ryan and me. When I see Gavin growing, healthy and unharmed, I know that I have nothing to do with this! Thank you, Lord, for constantly taking care of our little guy!

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."
~Psalm 139:13-14

Camping

I LOVE to go camping in the Fall! Anytime, really, but especially the Fall when the leaves are gorgeous like they are in the Smokies right now! We put together a last minute camping trip to Look Rock campground off of Foothill's Parkway. Cade's Cove was booked--thank goodness, because this was a new campground for us and we LOVED it! The views were so different than what we're used to going inside the Smokies. We were right outside the Smokies and had incredible views from our campsite. I wish the battery on the camera had held up to get some more pictures, but here are a few...

Here we are with Scott, Ashley, Mike, and Claire on our Saturday Drive through "Tail of the Dragon." We were one of just a few cars driving through US 129, an 11 mile road with 318 curves--it apparently is a motorcyclist's dream! They were everywhere and going sooo fast!

Here is our newest purchase: a '98 Ford F150. The guys are trying to fix the suicide door that won't open. Notice the nice dings that let us get a great deal on this truck for my Mr. Fix-It husband!

The girls sitting back as our husbands fix the truck.

Enjoying homemade Chicken 'N Dumplings. Mmmm! My husband is a wonderful cook!

At sunset, we hiked up to Look Rock. You could see the Smokies on one side and Maryville/Knoxville on the other side. It was gorgeous!!

Just as the sun was setting...

I think one of my favorite things about camping is being forced to sit back, relax, and enjoy God's beautiful creation. Here is a video Ryan took of the sun just as it was setting. In the busyness of life, we rarely get to experience this. I hope this reminds you that we have an incredible Creator!

We can't wait to take Gavin camping with us next year! :)

5 Months

I cannot tell you how great I feel! I was telling Ryan on the front porch this morning--I have had the easiest pregnancy!! I just love being pregnant! Gavin has been waking me up about 4:00 or 4:30 each morning kicking me--enough that I can feel it with my hand on the outside of my belly. I love it!! My mom says he's getting me ready for a feeding about that time. Whew!

Next step: registering!! :) I'm so excited! My wonderful friend Elizabeth volunteered to help me (since I have NO clue what I'm doing!). Thanks, friend! :)