The South Carolina Aquarium

Wednesday was a little overcast in Charleston, and while Greg was working, the girls and I went shopping at the outlet mall and to visit the South Carolina. Mary Alison has become quite the navigator in the car. Of course we enjoyed taking photos outside with the critters on the patio at the water. PHOTOS

Isle of Palms

On Tuesday while Greg was working in Charleston, the girls and I drove to the Ilse of Palms for a relaxing day at the beach. We rented an umbrella where I stayed and read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Mary Alison dug a huge hole and Molly and Emma played in the water. We had lunch at a really neat restaurant on the beach called Coconut Joe's. PHOTOS

Charleston--Summer's Last Fling

The week I had to start back to school (on a Friday--how stupid!) we headed to Charleston for a quick break. Greg had to go for business and was busy during the days, but the girls and I had tons of fun and then we met back up with him at night after work. When we arrived on Monday, we got settled in and headed downtown for dinner. Of course, we ate at Hyman's one of our favorite places. Besides the great food, one of the things we love about Hyman's is seeing which table we will get, because they put markers on the table engraved with the names of famous people who have eaten at each table. This time we got Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Danny Glover and Rick Flair--I'm quite sure they weren't all there together, except probably Sarah and Matthew. The last time I was there I sat were Hootie and the Blowfish had sat. When we left, we walked down Market Street which was closing down then headed for our car. We drove to the battery and strolled around in the park taking pictures and walked down some of the side streets looking at the beautiful houses. PHOTOS

Greg in Chicago

Greg has been traveling to Chicago for one week each month in April, May, June and July for training to be a Six Sigma Black Belt. He's done some new and interesting things. In June his group went to a Chicago White Sox baseball game. In July, Motorola planned a night in Chicago for their final dinner of the course at the John Hancock Building on the 95th floor. Greg finished the course in July, has to take his online test and complete two projects for his complete certification. PHOTOS

July 4th

Amber and Spencer came over for dinner with Greg, Molly, Emma & me. Jimbo was sick, and Mary Alison was in Townsend. We grilled chicken to have with potatoes, okra, and a salad. For desert we had watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple. The girls lit some sparklers and we watched the neighbors' great fireworks show. It's almost as good as going to a professional show--actually, it's better because when we are tired, we just step into the house from the deck--no driving, no crowds! PHOTOS