SC State Fair

This Friday just happened to work out that Morgan and his family could come to Columbia and Josh could get off early so we could all go to the South Carolina State Fair. It was seriously magical. I love the fair. And this fair was huge! Despite being on Whole30 and not eating a single bite of fair food (how did I do it!?!?) we had an amazing time.

Last summer we went to the Utah State Fair with Morgan and Jenn and the kids but they were all a little small to ride rides. But this year, they were able to go on about half of the kiddie rides. Elliott was so happy the entire time. I really don't think I've ever seen her so happy in her short little life. It was so much fun to watch.

We saw the animals first. I love fair animals. There's just something about those sweet things that gets me. The cows, the pigs, the goats. I love them all. And while Elliott enjoys animals, Piper is just smitten by them. She gets so excited and just watches them intently the whole time. It's really darling.

After the animals, some of the family ate some elephant ears and deep fried cookie dough (droooool) and then we hit up the rides. The girls went on the mini swings, the spinning teacups, a motorcycle ride, a construction dump truck ride, and the giant slides. Elliott's favorites were the swings and the spinning teacups. I thought the swings would scare her, but I don't think I've ever seen her smile and laugh so much! I was so proud of her. She was so brave.

After those rides, we went to the ferris wheel and we all rode. We had to split into two separate bowls because there were so many of us, but it was gorgeous at the top. An amazing view of the whole fair grounds. After that, Morgan and Josh rode the zipper while we walked through some of the buildings. Then we met back up, let the girls ride a couple more small rides to finish off our tickets and we headed home.

It really was such a fun evening! So glad everyone could come and we could all go together!

The sunset was gorgeous.

Our family was too big to fit in one car on the ferris wheel. So we waved overtime we went around. :)

A view of the fair. 

Huge cow!

Piper loves the animals.

Sweet girls.

Eating my pumpkin seeds while everyone else eats deep friend cookie dough and elephant ears.

On the ferris wheel.

About to go down the giant slides!

Such a great night!

The rains came down . . .

You know how the song goes . . . And the floods came up. Two weeks ago, Columbia, SC was hit with one of the worst rain storms in it's history. It rained for days on end and we accumulated something like 21 inches in a matter of a couple days. Every lake and river was 20 feet past flood level and the city was flooding majorly in many parts. It was scary. We woke up morning to watch the news and see that the road just down the hill from us was literally 12 feet under water. Cars were getting swept away and buildings were being destroyed.

Because of the flooding, Josh didn't work all week, which was a huge blessing from the craziness. We were pretty much home bound for the first three days. Most of the roads to get out of our neighborhood were closed due to floods or road damage. I think the highest count was at one point, 389 roads closed. We couldn't get anywhere. We were very blessed to not be in an area that flooded. We had about 4 inches in the garage and the backyard flooded, but besides that, we stayed safe and dry.

Our power flickered on and off a few times, but we never lost power consistently. Our water did go out shortly into the flooding and we didn't get it back for three days. It makes you appreciate running water so much. We washed our hair with pool water and brushed our teeth with bottled water. I'm thankful to be part of a family who has a large supply of food and water for situations like this. We had ample amounts of water. Then, once the water did come back on, it was contaminated water. So we couldn't drink it or brush teeth with it. That lasted another week and a half. But, as of two days ago, we are officially back on track with clean water!

It has been quite the couple weeks here. All the damage and suffering and loss has given many people the opportunity to serve and it has been incredible seeing people from many faiths and walks of life come together and serve their community members. Josh and I had the chance to go to a strangers house last Sunday and help gut their home. They live on one of the roads most affected and the water levels were to their roof. Their entire house is being gutted to the studs and rebuilt. There are command centers set up around the city for volunteers to go and be assigned work and help others out. They feed the volunteers and provide tools and supplies. It's really incredible. I was so thankful to get to do a small part of work to help. And I'm proud to be a part of a church that has been so hands on and involved in the cleanup and helping process. Church that first Sunday was just the first half of sacrament. We showed up to sacrament in our work clothes, partook of the sacrament and then were dismissed to the gym to be assigned groups to head out to work. We worked from 10 until 5 ripping out walls, ripping up floors and tearing out tiles of someone's home. Unbelievable.

The cleanup will probably take years as they fix and rebuild buildings and roads all over the state. But I will say, being so new to this state, I'm proud to be a part of South Carolina. It's been a beautiful site.

Our church.

Out helping Grandma deliver water to the neighbors.

The line to get into Walmart. I didn't stay. Haha. Everyone needed water. I just needed baby tylenol!! 

Preschool with Elliott

I decided over the summer that I needed to start doing some kind of structured learning/teaching with Elliott. She needed the push and we needed the time together one-on-one.

Once we got to SC and got settled, I wrote up a weekly and yearly schedule and we got started. We're just a few weeks in, but she seems to really be enjoying it! It's been a great chance to spend more quality time with her and it's shown me what things I need to be helping her with and what she already has mastered. She is a smart girl and she really enjoys a challenge.

We're doing a letter each week (M,W,F) and a number each week (T,TH). We learned the name, sound, and words that begin with it. Then we learn to write each one. She is doing amazing. She already knows all her letters and can write a few of them, but I can tell this is stretching her. And I love seeing how proud she is of herself. She tells grandma and grandpa about school everyday. So sweet.

This was our first week. Learning the letter A.