Mom's Visit - VA & Charleston

We had the best visit from my mom! She ended her summer with a week and a half in both VA and SC! We started the trip up in VA. We picked my mom up in Raleigh on the way up to my sisters house. We got to her house really, really late, so we took it pretty easy the next day.

On Friday we hit up the Lazy Daisy (adorable shop with furniture and decor), had dinner, grabbed some donuts from Sugar Shack (yum, but just you wait...) and walked around Costco for a bit.

Giant bear at Costco! It was so heavy!

On Saturday, we headed to the local Farmer's Market in the morning. We walked around, saw tons of great stuff and had more delicious donuts. These far surpasses Sugar Shack! They were melt in your mouth amazing! That night, we left the kids home with Jamie's kiddos and went to a little British pub near them! My mom was in heaven. Who am I kidding? We all were! I had shepherds pie, my mom had fish n' chips! It was so delicious!

On Monday, we went to Pocahontas water park! It's in the middle of a huge national park and it's the perfect little water park! I wish it was closer to us! I could see every pool from the seats and the kids loved it! We had a blast! And Elliott was so brave and did the slides over and over!

Wednesday was Cafe Rio (a must while in VA) and the big mall right by it! We love that mall! That night we hit up yet another donut shop, Country Style Donuts. Don't judge! We had to! Another delicious one! I think a very close second to the farmer's market ones! Man, what I wouldn't do for a donut right now!

On Thursday we headed down to SC for the remainder of my mom's trip! When we got in, the kids all went swimming! Jamie's kids love the pool and my kids do too so it is perfect for summer!

Friday and Saturday were spent in the beautiful Charleston, SC. My mom has been dying to visit every since she found out I was going to marry a SC boy. I can't believe it took us 8 years to get her there! We love Charleston and I'm so glad we got to take my mom with us finally! Hopefully it's not her last time there!

In Charleston we did a bunch! When we got there we drove straight to the beach! We hit up Isle of Palms. I accidentally took them to the wrong part which didn't have the park and nice changing areas and showers, so we wandered around a bit trying to find a place to change. Where was Josh when I needed him?! But we figured something out and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach! It was a gorgeous day! Tons of sun and pretty good waves too! The kids loved jumping in the waves!

Spencer, haha!

We headed back to the hotel around dinner time. We got there, settled in and then grabbed Panera to-go for dinner. Then, Mark showed up! He had texted me that morning letting me know that he had decided to surprise Jamie and the kids and meet us in Charleston! Jamie was so surprised! I love being in on fun surprises like that! Josh got there just a bit after that! It was so great having everyone there! 

On Saturday we headed to downtown Charleston in the morning. We parked and then headed to find a carriage ride tour. I'd done one personal one on our first anniversary, but we did a big one, and I'm so glad we did! They are pricey, but I thought it was worth it! Our guide knew his stuff and we had a great time. It was the quickest, coolest way to see parts of the city which was perfect for our big group! After that, we headed towards our car to get our lunches. We ate our lunches at Waterfront Park. Beautiful! After lunch, we headed to the City Market. This is one of my favorites part of downtown! I love the market. We wandered around the market for a couple hours! It was such a hot day, so we were beaten down by the time we finished. We found some Ben & Jerry's close by and stopped for a quick break! After ice cream, we hopped on the trolley and took it over to the restaurant we had planned on eating dinner at. Jim n' Nicks! Morgan and Jenn actually introduced us to this place back in February (after the cruise) and we've been 4 times since! We love it! After dinner, we walked back to the car and headed back to Columbia! It was such a great couple days in Charleston! 

Sunday was definitely a day of relaxation after a crazy 10 days! Then on Monday, we said goodbye and my sister drove my mom to the airport on her way back up to VA. It was such a fun trip and I hate saying goodbye to everyone! But we had the best time and I'm so glad my mom got to come out for a visit!!

On a walk one evening!

Josh and I's 8th anniversary happened while I was in VA. He totally spoiled me! He sent me these beautiful flowers, posted on FB, Instagram and even did a blog post on our blog about me! Totally spoke my love language!