Thanksgiving at Wild Dunes

This year we went to Wild Dunes for Thanksgiving. We stayed at unit 12 in the Lagoon Villas, which is right above unit 11 where we'd stayed in the past. On Wednesday, we did tennis clinics in the morning and then we went to Page's Okra Grill for a late lunch. We rented bikes in the evening and then rode around the resort.

Thursday morning we got up and saw it was sprinkling outside. There was a light rain falling, but we could tell from the radar that it was going to be around for a while. We called the tennis center and they were planning to still run the clinics, but we were figuring they'd be canceling and it didn't sound fun to drag the kids out in the rain. It turned out that they actually held the 9am clinic and then canceled tennis after 10am. The rain ended up lasting all day long, and it was a cold yucky day. Most restaurants were closed and we spent a while looking online for somewhere to go. We ended up finding a French restaurant nearby that had some good reviews. We ended up going to try it out and liked everything we ordered so much that we ordered even more. The croissant breakfast sandwich was good, and the quiche and French toast were the best we've ever tried. Paige had some raspberry macaroons for dessert that were very yummy.

We'd thought about going somewhere for a turkey dinner, but decided to get pizza at the nearby restaurant instead. It was a different Thanksgiving feast, but we made sure to give thanks and we had an awesome day together.

The rest of the week had perfect weather. It was cool in the morning, and we got a lot of tennis in with a lot of different pros and with a lot of different guests. The peak performance clinic for the adults had three pros each morning and Andrea and I were challenged with the level of play. The kids enjoyed their clinics as well and the staff had great things to say about our kids. Connor was often pulled out for some one-on-one instruction since he was at a different level than most of the other kids. Paige kept up well with everyone else and when everyone was together I could hear them laughing loud from a few courts away throughout the morning.

After tennis, we'd typically go to McAlister's Deli for lunch and then we'd ride bikes and watch movies and go for walks. We all had a lot of fun family time and we loved every minute of our time together. We are thankful for all of our blessings and for the wonderful year we've had so far. Big thanks as always to Andrea for putting everything together and for making our family time so special. Happy Thanksgiving!

Friendsgiving - Thanksgiving celebration with JCP friends

On Sunday, November 19th 2017, we went to the Jordan's house for a Thanksgiving celebration they nicknamed "Friendsgiving". We enjoyed the yummy home cooking and had a fun time catching up with everyone. We brought some peach cobbler from Barbara Jean's, which went over super well.

Explorer Project - Connor

Connor was assigned a new project at school, which means that I was assigned it. Connor's getting better with understanding the process, and I had him do some of the research himself. We had to present the information as if it was a newspaper article, which made it tricky, but we came up with a design and made it work. Connor actually said he was having fun with it at one point, which made me feel better about it. I have been trying to enjoy these kinds of things with him, but I will say I'm looking forwards to when he can do his projects independently!

Wonder Movie - Connor and Andrea

On Friday, November 17th 2017, Andrea took Connor to see a movie "Wonder" with his 5th grade class. Connor has been reading the book this year for school and the students were invited to the theater, where they reserved a number of screens for a special showing. When Andrea arrived with him, the theater was filling up fast and there was a whole row of boys already sitting together. Connor's friend Harrison called to him and wanted to share a seat with Connor, so they squeezed in together for the movie.

The movie was a hit, and everyone enjoyed it. After the movie, Andrea took Connor and his buddy out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Shawn's birthday

On Saturday, I turned 38. Seems super old, older than 35, 36, or 37. Somehow it seems way too close to 40. Hard to believe! I don't feel 40, or anywhere close to it. Most days I'd say I felt like I was maybe 27 or so. Anyways, we played tennis in the morning and then relaxed in the afternoon. Before dinner, I opened some gifts that Andrea got for me and read the sweet cards that the kids made.

Grandma and Grandpa too us out to dinner at a new restaurant that opened next to Barbara Jeans called Valley Smoke BBQ. It was our first time there and we thought it was very nice and the food was great.

Thanks everyone for making my day special!

Connor's tennis match vs Marsh Landing

Connor had a tennis match with his team against Marsh Landing on Friday. The Marsh Landing team is fairly new to tennis and many of the kids are just starting to learn the game. Connor played line one singles and played line one doubles with his buddy David. He played very well and was a good sport throughout the matches and we were very proud of him.

We took a group photo of the boys and we did a normal photo and a silly one too.

Paige was very patient as always and just chilled out and played her phone and read some books.

Shawn's birthday weekend with Andrea at Sea Pines

This past weekend Andrea put together a fun weekend at Sea Pines resort in Hilton Head SC for me for my birthday. Connor and Paige went to stay with Grandma Alice and Grandpa Rick while we had our fun adult time. We went there on Friday and arrived in time to participate in a round robin before dinner. We went to dinner at Live Oak on Friday night and had a sampling of appetizers and then finished our meal with the best peach cobbler I'd ever tasted.

On Saturday morning we did a tennis clinic and then spent the afternoon riding bikes around the property and eventually even down the beach. It was a sprawling resort with all kinds of homes and villas. For the weekend, we stayed at the Inn and Club, which was perfect for the two of us and right across the street from the tennis facility.

After lunch we climbed up the lighthouse and watched as a wedding party was getting ready on the golf course.

For dinner we went to "A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant" and ate out in the "backyard". We had some delicious southern style food and finished off our meal with some yummy banana pudding.

Sunday morning we did another clinic and then we headed home, stopping at McAlister's deli for lunch. It was an awesome weekend to have some fun, relax, and spend some quality time with my favorite wife. We are already thinking about when we'll go back, it was definitely a neat place and we are excited we found it.

Chloe's lump removal

Chloe's had a little growth on her back for a while now, and it hasn't bothered her so we haven't bothered with it. Recently though, she's had a lump on her right front leg that's been annoying her. If left alone, she would lick it until it was raw and red and disgusting. We've been trying to keep it covered up with gauze, but inevitably she would get it off and would go at her leg.

Last week Paige and I took her to the veterinarian to have it looked at. The vet recommended we remove the leg lump and while we were putting her under anesthesia, we decided to remove the one on her back as well. While she was under anesthesia we also had them clean her teeth, cut her nails, and clean her ears.

Paige enjoyed going to the vet and seeing the animals there, as well as a kitty in the lobby. Chloe was completely exhausted and so anxious after the visit. She collapsed in a heap in the front seat on the way home.

Today, Chloe went in at 7:30 for surgery. She was so scared, it was hard to leave her there. I got a call around 11 that everything went well and after work I picked her up at 4:30. She was so upset and wasn't feeling good. On the way home she was whining a bit and she's definitely been tired and a little sad. The sutures look good and her teeth were also doing well considering her age. She had to have one small tooth extracted that was loose. It was definitely a tough day for her.

Hopefully she will be feeling better soon and everything will heal up nicely. We love our teddy bear!