We came, we saw, we ATE!

Well, tonight we are back in Nashville after a wonderful week in South Carolina. I can't even express how nice it was to stay busy visiting with family and friends, watching movies in Granddaddy's theater room, and eating Gi Gi's yummy FUDGE SAUCE! :) Here's a recap of our week:

First things first, Ben met his Granddaddy! Mr. Richard is a guy's guy--a hunter, hiker, boater, etc. I know the boys will have so many fun adventures with their Granddaddy!

We spent Tuesday night celebrating Gi Gi and Uncle Steve's birthdays. Ben got to meet Uncle Steve (who cooked us all a yummy dinner), Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Lori, Lori's fiance Tim, and our cousins Ana, Natalie, and Ryan. Wednesday and Thursday we spent time around Anderson and just relaxing at the house. Owen really loved watching movies upstairs on the big screen. He especially loved the Chronicles of Narnia.

On Friday, Owen stayed in Anderson while Ben and I drove over to Charleston for a weekend with my sister and her husband, Will. Friday night we were both pretty exhausted, so we decided to stay home and just catch up. She and Will bought a house last fall and it is just so cute. I loved looking around at all her neat stuff. She inspired me to get to work displaying more photos...since we have moved so many times, ours have stayed boxed up. I feel a little redecoration coming soon! Saturday and Sunday we spent all day going to the Farmer's Market and all sorts of cute vintage and thrift stores.

The highlight of the weekend for me was Saturday night. We went to Folly Beach for a laid back pizza dinner with Miriam's sweet and funny friend Jordan. Then we walked down to the pier to look at the moon reflected off the ocean waves. It was so beautiful; I thought it was neat/sad that at that moment, Richie and I were literally across the continent from each other. My spirits were lifted, though, when Miriam presented Ben and me with a special award for being the first Griffins to visit the newlyweds in their new house! The trophy is currently displayed in Ben's room. It just love it!

On Monday, we headed back to Anderson for a big "Meet Ben" dinner with lots of extended family and friends. We got to see so many sweet people, and I was overwhelmed once again by how much love the Shaws express, both in their actions and their words. I am so lucky to have married a man with such an amazing family! Owen got to play again with Cousin Emma. These two are double trouble and just so cute together. He really didn't want her to go home that night and I don't think she wanted to leave either. I'm glad he's got a cousin close in age to grow up with, even if we do live far away.

And now it is Tuesday, and we are home in Nashville again. Things are going very well for the guys in L.A., which is so exciting and yet very difficult, as we all miss Richie so much. He will be home soon, though, so I am making the most of my maternity leave and so far, so GREAT!