Hilton Head Beach Run

  Sabrina takes off running down the beach.

 

The day after Christmas we decided to go for a drive to Hilton Head in a quest for a t-shirt.   When we left Savannah, it was raining and cold and the weather was just not really nice even if it was sort of warm.   To our surprise, after lunch a sun break came just in time for our visit to the beach (which we had not planned and did not have appropriate beach clothing as is shown by Sabrina's dress)

Once she discovered the wide open beach, she was off running and there was no catching her unless she stopped to build a sandcastle or pick up a shell.

Posing by a castle which did not make it into the photo.

Chasing birds.

 

For an hour, she ran full tilt on the beach and then napped in the car on the way home.

Puzzle Girl

When Sabrina isn't wearing her Rapunzel costume and playing with her princess dolls, she enjoys doing puzzles.   

She loves all sorts and styles of puzzles.   Some she likes to do herself and others she likes to have company!   Definitely, shape placement and finding hidden shapes are some of her strengths.   

Pears, Rapunzel and Rescue Missions

Sabrina's first opened gift was from her cousin which was a resue helicoptor that lights up and makes rescue copter noises.   She loved hovering all over the living room and even had Rapunzel and her chameleon piloting the missions to rescue others all over the living room!  

Modeling a new dress and aligator slippers while showing how strong a little girl can be!

 

The helicoptor:  the perfect gift for the entire family!   Everyone has had a chance to play with the coptor as Sabrina likes to share.

 

 

Rapunzel and Prince Charming

Rapunzel with Prince Charming(Daddy) dancing by the tree on Christmas Eve.

The spin before the dip.

Christmas morning hugging her stocking before seeing what was inside.

The giraffe was named "Daddy" after Rapunzel's hero.

Sunday Sundays

The Sunday before Christmas we decided to go to Leopolds for Sundays.   Reputed to be the best old ice cream in town, we definitely had a treat!

 

Walking off the ice cream treat we stopped by the huge fire bell named Old Duke.   This bell was used to alert the fire station across the city about local fires.  Townspeople would ring the fire bell if they spotted smoke within the town which would alert the firemen.

 

Practicing letter recognition.   Sabrina has flipped a switch with her letter recognition and is pointing out letters everywhere around her, even those on grave stones.

Pizza Cookies

Lately, Sabrina has shown an interest in cooking.   A couple of mornings she has insisted on making scrambled eggs where she cracks the eggs and mixes in the milk!   Recently we made chocolate chip/ oatmeal cookies where she mixed the batter with the big spoon.   Then she had smooshed some of the dough on to the counter and insisted they were pizza cookies.   Oh, the imagination!

Forsyth Park

Family photo near Forsyth Park.

 

Monument honoring Civil War soldiers.

In the background is the outdoor stage with fountains.

Sabrina's favorite:   the park with hours of playing opportunities.

 

 

Since moving to Pooler, Georgia, our outings have involved lots of walking and playing at parks.  Last Sunday we went to Forsyth Park in downtown Savannah.and found both a huge playground for Sabrina, but also some nice statues and fountains.    One man offered to take our picture and then afterwards tried to sell us a palmetto rose!   Now we are savy to a possible sales pitch.   Near the park was a huge outdoor amphitheater with water fountains.   It will be interesting to see how this stage transforms during the Spring and Summer months.  

A Tale of Two Trees

This year, being away from our home and belongings, we have been blessed by the generousity of friends and strangers.   One friend back home has continually been mailing little things to decorate or add to our Christmas, especially for Sabrina.    The first item sent was a paper tree with sticker ornaments.   Sabrina decorated this tree with help from Grandma Judy and Mom.   It was the first item on our walls to break up all the yellow paint.   

Paper tree sent by the Rawie Family!   Very fun!

 

Sabrina decorating the loaned tree.

To our surprise, a lady who works in the office at our apartment, loaned us her seven foot artificial tree with some ornaments as she will be out of town until New Years.   This was super fun for Sabrina to decorate and adds lots of Christmas sparkle to our apartment.    Amazing how little lights on a tree can lift spirits at the holidays.

Wilbur

No!  Wilbur is not a pig!   He is a very, very fat duck who lives under Oglethorpe dock on a lake behind our apartment.   We think everyone feeds him and we are included in the "everyone" as it has become an afternoon ritual.   First we walk down to the end of the path and then work our way down the lake path to Wilbur's dock.   He loves bread crust which delights Sabrina!   In fact, she declared yesterday that Wilbur was her duck.   Now this should not be a surprise because along with Wilbur, Papa's dog, Annie, is also her dock....and the little kitty in the parking lot and any other animal she can declare is hers!  

Case of mistaken identity

Since we have been here, several boxes have been delivered.   Some have been sent to us with items from home and others have been gifts sent for Christmas.   So when when the loud four knocks came yesterday and I looked through the peephole and saw a man in a brown uniform, I just assumed he was a UPS driver as was the case the day before.   To my surrprise, once I opened the door I discovered a state policeman with an arrest warrent!   He was looking for a gal named Bonnie.   Thank goodness my name is not even close to Bonnie.   So, I went to get my driver's license to proove my identity.   Once I handed him my identification, the second officer who was in hiding off to the side appeared.   Just like on tv shows.   The entire scene looked like a clip from NCIS!  

Tale of Three Parks

The climbing wall!

This weekend the theme was "parks".   Fridy we went to Forsythe Park in Savannah and not only saw the great monuments but also found the best climbing wall, slide and swing park in the downtown area.   Sabrina litterally climbed the wall-went down the slide for hours!   Occaisionally, a swing would take place just for variety.   Saturday, we found a nice park about a mile down from us which has a climbing wall and slide.   Sunday, we walked to the neighboring apartment and found a very small play structure with a slide and bars to climb.   Life is good now that we have parks steaked out!

Got Ants in My Pants and I Need to Dance!

Saturday, in the tradition of exploring we started when we lived in Charleston we decided to drive up to Old Sheldon Church ruins.   These actually are not in Georgia but are in the lower section of South Carolina.  The history and architecture of some of the buildings around this part of the country are amazing!   The Old Sheldon Church was originally burned during the Revolutionary War and then rebuilt.   It stood and was used for about forty years until it was burned again by Sherman during the Civil War.    This time it would not be rebuilt and has been kept as a ruin.   Its fame now is that is the most photographed ruin in the area where wedding photos and family pictures are taken on the grounds.    Even film makers use the beautiful ruins in their films.   The Patriot is rumored to have used the church in its film but I will have to rent it to verify this rumor.
While we walked around the church, Sabrina did her favorite thing: climbed trees.   The first one was a small tree like the one in our front yard in Oregon.   She really enjoyed the limb she perched herself on for a long time.   Unfortunately, we moved to the back of the church and she had to relocate.   The new branch looked perfect but had a crack in the branch.   As she sat down on the branch she disturbed a nest of fire ants which did not like her on their home and proceeded to go up her skort and shirt and bite.   Immediately, she sprung off the branch screaming and trying to get the ants off of her.   The solution was a strip down clothing shake out to make sure that all the ants were off of her.   A painful lesson for sure but now I think she understands when we tell her to give wildlife some space.
On the way home from Sheldon Church we watched a Civil War battle reinactment.   The soldiers and their wives were dressed in period costumes and even camped on site.   The only issue we had with the reinactment was the loudness of the firing of the guns and cannons.  Sabrina plugged her ears with her hands and put a blanket over her head.    Overall, it was interesting to see the period costumes and get a visual at how the soldiers lined up to go to battle. 

The Sun Woke Up!

Last Thursday's flight went remarkably well considering we had three connecting flights and had to manage in Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.!   When we left Corvallis it was 3:45am and Sabrina noted it was dark outside and was not sure she wanted to go anywhere!  We encouraged her along with the enticing words, "Daddy will be picking us up in Savannah!"   This usually brought a spring in her step and she would cooperate.   On the plane she slept as we were all exhausted from the early morning.   During the leg between Portland and DC she looked out the window and proclaimed ," The sun woke up!"   Later, during the flight from DC to Savannah I expected to hear, "The sun went to bed!" but I didn't as she was fast asleep.