In August, we unexpectedly went back to Beaufort. I'd assumed I'd start my job back a week earlier than I actually did, so we had another whole week to kill, and my mom needed us to help out with things around the house while Nana was recovering from surgery, so we drove over. Honestly, we didn't do much - made a few meals, ran errands, vacuumed the house, made sure the dogs were fed and exercised. The rest of the time it was basically pretty relaxing.
We got there on Monday afternoon and Carson had a rapt audience as he enjoyed his food.
Tuesday was a nice day and we hung out at the pool. Nana's surgery happened this day, so Mom was gone the entire day but we didn't have too much to do. It was very hot, so Oscar climbed into the pool a few times so as not to overheat, and we also put him in there a few times for the same reason. The other dogs wisely stayed inside in the shade.
We locked these two in the sunroom while we went to the grocery store. Pepper can open the handle, hence the chair. Oscar gets to stay out of the room or else he will revenge-poop on the floor.
I made one pot zucchini mushroom pasta for dinner. I realize that it looks like I've cooked pickles with pasta in this picture but I can assure you that I did not. My brother Scott had a very busy week at work and was super hungry, so this was his portion - he got home so late that he ate after we did every night.
Wednesday was Dad's day off, and he and Carson went for a bike ride. The dogs wished they could have gone too, but then quickly settled in for naps.
Carson's rafting helmet came in the mail that day.
We visited Nana at the hospital, ate at Alvin Ords for lunch, and then picked up the beach pass from Grandmama and Granddaddy and headed to Hunting Island. This is the beach I grew up going to, and it's changed so much since I was a kid. Storms haven't been kind to it, and most recently, Hurricane Matthew really took its toll on the Island in the fall. We went to the North Beach by the lighthouse and walked all the way to the lagoon at the South Beach. It does look way different!
We watched Jeopardy and ate burgers that night. And Pepper climbed up on the couch which she doesn't really do. Every night, we would also go outside and sit in the pool with our heads craned all the way back to look at stars. I saw one shooting star the whole time, and we saw tons of satellites making their way across the night sky.
On Thursday, we went to Bluffton and picked up mom's vacuum from its cleaning at the Oreck store, then decided to drive by our old house on Cat Island. They've raised the house a few feet and are currently adding a porch. The neighborhood is so different too! We were the second house in our area, so it's crazy to see how it's grown!
We returned and gave the dogs a little exercise before bathing them, which was a "fun" time.
Pepper was the best, which was a surprise since she hates water. She went first, and then Carson took Oscar and I took Mini. Oscar wanted me, and Mini kept kicking and trying to swim when she heard the running water, so I got a huge scratch from her tiny feet. They didn't seem to hold it against us, but they did have tons of energy afterward and zipped around the house.
On Friday, we went to Granddaddy and Grandmama's for lunch. We meant to be there just an hour or so, but we got caught up talking and before we knew it, a long time had passed. We didn't mind!
After we left there, we stopped by the hospital one more time to see Nana, who made remarkable progress and looked great (but no pictures of her because who wants people to take pictures of them in the hospital after surgery???). Here are her very well coordinated flowers.
