Great Wolf Lodge

 For Christmas this year Johanna's mom got our family a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Luckily an ad had been running on TV for it, so when the kids opened the surprise on Christmas morning, they were already familiar with GWL. There was much excitement on the drive up and of course the standard repeat "Are we there yet?" 

We arrived and got checked in to our room, which was at the very end of the building. Long walk back and forth to the pool but it was nice being on the quite end of the building. Kids were in overload mode with all the different options of things to do, but I definitely think the water park was top of their list. We did the build-a-bear in the gift shop. We next headed to the waterpark and enjoyed the afternoon exploring all the different slides and pools. Hollis loved the kiddie area and Jackson loved the bigger slides once he nervously tried them out. 

Once we all got back to the room and ready for dinner, we realized early sign up for things is crucial at GWL. We ended up going to Wendy's for dinner and then I ran to get toothbrushes for the kids since those didn't get packed. We did some of the evening activities including the dance party and getting our MagiQuest wands. Kids were out cold once we got back to the room!

Next day, Jackson and I did morning yoga and we all had breakfast. We checked out the small bowling alley. Then we did Laser Tag and had fun with that. It was tough to get a slot to play, even though our pass allows unlimited play. We headed to the pool and had to find a table, those get gone early on we learned. Pizza for lunch, which was actually quite delicious. Spent all afternoon in the waterpark. Both kids riding the slides over and over. 

Dinner was at the resort restaurant and again was great food. We spent the evening doing MagiQuest, Arcade, and Virtual Reality. I didn't have my smart watch for an exact count but I have no doubt this was at least a 25K step day. 

The following morning, we loaded up the car and then headed to waterpark to enjoy every moment we could at GWL. We had a wonderful trip and this was a fun way to spend some time together after Christmas. We would recommend this as a great long weekend trip for families that are looking for something special to do but not spending Disney level prices. We got the Fun and Food Pass and the Kid's Club Pass. These offer great add-ons but be aware time slots are very limited for attractions, and you'll likely not be able to do unlimited play as it advertises. The MagiQuest is a great feature and keeps the kids entertained for a while. 

Summer 25, that's a wrap!

I think this summer officially kicks off the next season of life where both kids are in their prime childhood memory making time. Jackson had his first trip to Camp Old Indian at the end of April. He had a blast. It was so special to see him light up with all the adventures and eat food for once, and bond with his pack mates. 

He is also playing baseball and soccer, getting so much better at both. He wants to do golf, football, and exercise more. Hollis loves watching her brother do sports and she is starting to play herself. She seems prime for gymnastics or dance. 

Our office did a service project as part of HOG day at Jackson's school - Blythe Academy. And Johanna and I went to the Kentucky Derby First Tee Party. It was a huge success, and I know she's a big part of making that happen. 

Jackson earned his Tiger Rank and all the belt loops. He was so proud of himself. I got him ice cream afterwards. He also earned the Jesus and Me medal, which he was presented by Pastor Karen in front of the congregation. 

We then went and saw Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back with the Greenville Symphony. That was a very cool experience. 

Work has been somewhat busy all summer; we launched our new website. My "baby" the AnMed Freestanding ED and MOB in Piedmont opened. It hurts I wasn't there to see it all the way through, but that's all in the past now. Our office did a summer shooting range outing as a way to let off some steam and bond as a firm. 

Hollis' favorite book has been "Going on a Bear Hunt", she has it memorized mostly and I recorded her reading it. So precious. 

Johanna and I made some time for us and went to see the musical Back to the Future at the Peace Center. 

Our first big event of the summer was taking the kids to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.  They had a great time and lasted all day; it was amazing to see that. Jackson got fist bumps from Zander S. and Chris Kirk. He also got a ball from Viktor Hovland. It was an awesome day!

His cub scout pack did a summer hike and a tubing trip. He also went to the Summer Evening Camp for the council and won the Best Scout Spirit Award for his Den. Quite a turn around for a kid that didn't even want to go to the camp because his friends weren't there. 

Took Jackson to Skyzone a few times, the summer membership helped, but it was probably still not worth it. He only wants to go if I play with him. Need to find a friend that he can go with. 

Johanna and I have been focused on cleaning out and getting rid of stuff this summer. We have far exceeded our 40 bags. I've been listed stuff on Facebook marketplace all summer and that whole experience is always a pain but worth it if you're patient. The kids went with Grandma to the beach for a week and during that time Johanna and I tackled cleaning the bonus room closet. We trimmed down the kid's papers/art from six totes to two. We took lots of photos and scanned in many papers. 

Took Jackson fishing with a new rod and unfortunately it slipped out of his hand on the dock at Lake Robinson. He was so sad, he sat there and cried. Luckily there was a bait shop, and we got him a new rod and salvaged the day with some more fishing. He will catch his first fish soon enough!!

On the AIA front, it was a busy summer. I attended the National Convention in Boston. It was great time. Got to see the Bushert's. Brad sadly lost his election for Treasurer. Made new connections and got to see old friends.  Back in SC, we finally got the Center for Architecture opened. I had to wrangle all the Past Presidents to get something pulled together for Tracey, but she was very grateful for the art and check. 

Jackson went to the YMCA day camp for the summer. He was much more excited about it this year. He always came home dirty and exhausted. They played a lot of soccer and games. Speaking of which, he finished his soccer season and did fantastic.  We also spent a ton of time going to the pool in June, it is great having that amenity in our neighborhood now. The kids also went to vacation Bible school and had a blast doing all those activities in the evening for a week. 

Johanna and I had another date seeing Band of Horses in concert at the Peace Center. This is our third time seeing them and it's always a great concert. We celebrated Hollis' half birthday. This was a huge success with many of her friends coming and playing on the inflatable water slide. I don't think we could have similar success if we tried to hold a party on Christmas Eve!

Ok so the BIG event of Summer 2025 was our trip to Disney. I'll try to write up a separate summary of the trip. But needless to say, it was an amazing time. The kids felt the Disney magic the whole trip. We did Blizzard Beach Waterpark, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. My sister and Clayton were able to join us for two days and that was really special having them. After Disney we visited William and Sheri before heading home. 

We got to see fireworks at the Greenville Drive game at the beginning of August. Then just like that the summer was over, and we had our first day of school. The kids were both super excited to go back. Two last events closed out our Summer 2025. First was Jackson's 7th birthday party at Bricks and Minifigs. All of his friends were able to come, and they kids had a blast building "racecars" and racing them down the track. And lastly, Hollis had her Baptism. She did very good being solemn and most of our family came. 

{Still need to add pictures}

Hey Boo Boo they forgot the pic-a-nic basket

For this year's 4th of July trip, we headed to Camp Jellystone Golden Valley in North Carolina. The resort had been recommended to us and glancing through the booking website we could see it was going to be an action packed week. 

Our tiny house cabin was pretty cool, we have always wanted to stay in one and this was the perfect opportunity. Surprisingly it was quite accommodating for four adults and two kids. We arrived late afternoon on Sunday the 3rd and had some slight rain showers. 

On July 4th, Jackson and I went to do the pledge with Boo Boo bear. We then went fishing with Pops. Jackson loves fishing, for about 10 minutes. Then if we haven't caught anything, he decides the fish are sleeping and we need to go do something else. We did the arts and craft activity of the day - tie-dye shirt making. Jackson's shirt came out pretty cool, unfortunately the kids small is still huge on him. We then did the 4th of July Golf Cart Parade and went to the waterpark. This alone is worth the trip. We had tons of fun. 

All day Tuesday the 6th, we hung out at the waterpark. Jackson had a blast going down the two big slides over and over. We were exhausted!

Wednesday was the activity day. We did mini-golf, gem mining, scavenger hunt, arts & crafts, glow stick party with Boo Boo, and Hey Hey ride. After the evening shower (3 for 3 at this point) ended we grilled steaks.

Thursday we tried our luck and fishing again. When this failed, Jackson and I decided to go on the hiking trail. There were no warning signs this was going to be a strenuous hike and I ended up carrying Jackson for large portions up and down slippery, steep mountain sides. But we made it and he was so excited that we had accomplished our goal. We did some more activities and then hit the waterpark up again later that afternoon. We decided the lake activities might be a bit much for Jackson right now. 

day 10

Early shuttle to airport, too early! Airport counter wasn't even opened yet. We had to wait for an hour, guess we could have slept some more. Florence airport is the size of Myrtle Beach airport. 

Hung out at the gate, we both did some work emails. Shortest bus ride ever to the plane. Flight to Munich. Brief layover. I got extra screening. 

Flight back wasn't too bad. We had a whole row. 

Got some sleep and a couple movies in.

Mom picked us up and we went back to her place. Amanda was there, hung out for a bit then headed to Greenville. Jackson was so excited to see us. 

day 9

Last day in Florence we visited all the major churches. Starting with St. Croce. Loved all the famous tombs and the beautiful chapels.

Next we got in line at the Duomo. Took about 45 minutes to get inside. Such a serene, beautiful place. Felt empty with it all roped off and barely any pews. Then we headed to San Lorenzo. I love the interior of this church and the beautiful choisters.

Next we walked around and to the market central. Got some sandwiches and ate in the piazza outside Santa Maria Novella. Beautiful church and we enjoyed exploring it's amazing art and cloisters. Next we did the museo novecento - modern art. It was some weird stuff.

Walked through the shopping district. Pineider store. Visconti store, Johanna let me pick out a pen. The sales lady was too much lol. Wonderful experience though. 

Went to a place called Volume for happy hour. Great beer, country music (Hayes, sturgill).

Then to 4 Leoni for dinner. Was an amazing meal. Great way to end the trip. 

Packed up our bags for our early departure.

day 8

Got up and had breakfast at hotel. Beautiful morning, looks like the weather will cooperate today!

Meet the tour group and loaded our awesome bus for the vineyard tours. 

First stop was the villa Le Corti, which is a famous old Chianti producer. Nice tour here with lots of beautiful old world winery operations. They had some great wines there.

Next we went to La Continetta Di Rignana. This place was incredibly beautiful and perched on a hillside overlooking gorgeous Tuscan countryside. Had a wonderful lunch if local food and some wine. third stop was the Poggio Torselli srl Cantina. This historic villa now owned by a Canadian billionaire (ordinary brand) was impeccable. Best wines of the day and such beautiful scenery. We got a small thing of olive oil.  

Made it back to Florence around 5:30. Then we walked around looking for dinner. Ate at La Osteria, it was pretty good. And gelato for desert.

Crashed at hotel.

day 7

Breakfast at hotel and then we walked over to Baptistry for our tour time. Definitely the nicest of the three buildings. Heard guy singing, perfect acoustics. Toured Duomo. It's very lovely, but some weird craftsmanship issues. Then we wandered around Pisa. Checked out and got a sandwich before heading to train station, took cab this time. Short train ride to Florence. Private driver met us there. Got to hotel. Very nice accommodations right on the river Arno. We got settled in and then ventured out to explore. Hiked over to pizzale Michelangelo. Hiked up to Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte. Even more amazing views. Then we did a super long walk to up past fort belvedere and into the boboli gardens. Incredible hike through gardens. Then we came out palazzo pitti and into the Basilica di Santo Spirito by Brunelleschi. Tried to get gelato, very long line. Came back to hotel and freshened up for dinner. Pretty good dinner, nice steak. 

Walked around the Duomo. Went to the Irish pub, gelato and finally to hotel. Long exhausting day but so amazing too.

day 6

Got up and packed for our train. I tried to find an ATM. Breakfast at hotel, walked to Genova brignola. Train ride to Pisa was beautiful along the coast. Switched trains on Pisa, stored our bags, and headed to Lucca. Walked into city, got some pizza slices. Climbed the st. Martin cathedral bell tower. Amazing views. Walked the city, hitting up all the points of interest and just enjoying the stroll. Such a beautiful place. Walked along wall back to train station. 

In Pisa we walked to hotel, checking out spina church along the way. checked into hotel, cool mid century vibe. Ate dinner at cantina vasari. Amazing food and feel.

Walked around Duomo and leaning tower after dinner.

day 5

Breakfast at hotel. Then we walk around Genova. San Lorenzo cathedral. Love the stripped facade. Continued down main drag with all the palazzos. Got a book and Jackson a shirt. Began our walk up the salitas. My legs have gotten older haha. Especially San Nicola the last 157 steps. Villa looked amazing. Had a great time seeing everyone at the open house. Made our way down and walked around a while longer. Could not get to the water, which I remember being a problem last time. Got ready and tried to take a bus. No ticket and we were going the wrong way. Took cab instead. Reception was awesome, so many people there. Kelly, Stephen, Cleve, . Terry Buchman. Had dinner at maniman. Fantastic time, the we went down to city for a drink at brittannia. They were doing last call. Tried to find other Clemson peeps, ended up calling it a night. So glad we decided to come do this trip. Put in some plugs for CAF board.

Italy day 3

Got up and enjoyed the most amazing breakfast spread at the Hilton. It was huge and all kinds of food, including honey comb and meats, cheeses. Private transfer to Milan in a range Rover. Checked bags at hotel and walked through Milan. Did the castle sforsecono museum tour. It was quite impressive the collection. School group of kids dressed up in 16th century with wood swords. Walked around Milan. Found a great local place to eat. Fasting working Italians we have seen. We to tour meeting spot. Walking tour of Milan. Went inside la Scala. It was amazingly beautiful. The Duomo. Always impressive. And then we caught a bus to the last supper. It is really quite gorgeous, and considering everything that it has been through that it still exist at all. 

Ate a Mexican/Asian fusion place. Italians eat so late, we were the first ones there.  Cab ride back to hotel.

day 4

Walked through Milan to the modern art museum.  Good exhibits, too impression for me. Saw some cool ad prints of Toulouse-Lautrec. Walked through Milan's fashion district. Mont Blanc, aleesi, pinedier. Towards hotel. Found amazing local restaurant. Private transfer to train station. Train to Genova. First class, was very nice. Arrived in Genova. Hotel is nice. German brew house for drinks, dinner at local place, it was pretty awesome. Bar on winding old streets afterwards. 

Italy day 1

Flight was uneventful, nice entertainment options now. Hard to sleep on plane. Munich airport was nice. Shuttle out to plane. 

Driver took us to como, very nice Mercedes. Checked into hotel and ate lunch on room. Interesting assortment of people.

Walked around Como. Loved seeing the evening stroll, all the town out. Went into duomo. Beautiful Romanesque cathedral. Dinner back at hotel restaurant, was quite lovely. Again great people watching.

Italy day 2

We got up bright and early, headed to water ferry terminal. Took rapid boat over to Bellagio. Coffee and breakfast. Walked these amazing beautiful salitas that wind up the hill side. Took local ferry to other side of lake, walked into the hillside saw small local church. Small lane down the main street. Villa corlatta. Amazing gardens and beautiful palace. Took ferry back over to Bellagio for lunch. Had lunch at a ln amazing outdoor cafe on a side street. Missed ferry because it did not say como. Walked some more and had A beer. Able to slip onto next ferry. Dinner down como at platea. Wonderful experience, amazing steak. No cabs so we hiked back to hotel. Exhausted. Had 31,000 steps!  Weather was perfect, not too hot.

One Big Holiday

The past year and a half since our last post have certainly brought about much change. We hope you will forgive our gap in posts, but a brief summary of the time will perhaps explain some of our negligence. Ben's firm closed their Pawley's office at the end of July due to COVID slow down with projects. After a search around the region, he secured a position with McMillan Pazdan Smith in Greenville, SC. Johanna's firm has an office there, so she was able to transfer. 

The need to sell our house in Pawleys set off a mad dash to finish our lingering renovation project. In the span of just a few months, we were able to finish the exterior of the house, finish the kitchen addition, completely gut and remodel the master bathroom, replace the upstairs flooring, and build the second floor deck. By November we were ready to list the house and as expected it sold within the first week. We were quite proud of the final result and really hated leaving our modern Pawleys house. 

After a few visits to Greenville, we were able to find a wonderful house in a neighborhood that is super kid friendly. This was one of our main requirements, along with 4 bedrooms (spoiler alert for later in this post). As soon as Christmas was over, the final push for packing began. We ended up closing our Pawleys house in the morning and drove to Greenville to close on our new house that afternoon. 

In our first month in Greenville, Jackson was able to experience his first snow. He thought it was tons of fun, until some snow got down his jacket. Then it was too cold and time to head inside for hot chocolate! 

We made a trip to Kentucky in February to pick up Ben's Maker's Mark bottles from his bachelor party trip in 2013. The rest of the spring was spent unpacking, exploring Greenville, and watching Jackson grow into an amazing little toddler. Both of our jobs have been extremely busy all year. Clients are catching up from the pause in 2020. In May, we went to the PGA Championship in Kiawah with Tony, Brian, and Katie. 

Phil!

In July we took our first big family vacation to Gatlinburg. We had an action packed week and Jackson still talks about our trip. 

In August, Jackson turned three with an awesome pool party. He is growing up so fast and his personality is full of laughter and empathy. For Halloween he was Cat Boy from PJ Mask and Ben was the villain, Romeo. We also took Jackson to his first Clemson game, or as he calls it the "Go Tigers game."  He had a ton of fun and still talks about it all the time. Looks like we have a future Tiger on our hands!  

Even with all the fun, the biggest event this fall was preparing for the arrival of baby #2. We converted the fourth bedroom into a beautiful nursery and mentally prepared Jackson for having a little sister. He was incredibly sweet during the whole pregnancy and would always ask how baby Hollis was doing inside mommy. 

Hollis arrived promptly on schedule on Dec 24th, which made Christmas quite special and different this year. We even had Santa delay coming for a day, so we could all be home with Jackson for "Christmas" morning. She has been a very chill baby and Jackson has been a gentle big brother. It was quite special closing out what has been an incredibly busy, stressful, chaotic year by completing our sweet family of four. 

Stay tune for hopefully more frequent post of our adventures in 2022!

Brookgreen Bruce Munro Installation

Outside Night of a Thousand Candles, visitors to Brookgreen experience the gardens during the daylight hours. This installation from internationally known artist Bruce Munro allows visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves into the nighttime environment of the gardens. The exhibit is arranged in different areas of the garden creating a series of interconnected "rooms." Each space is illuminated with fiber optic lighting.

The first room, Water-Towers, consist of mason jars stacked into pillars that slowly change colors. 

The second room, Time and Again, occupies the lawn in front of Pegasus and features radial disc 

After Pegasus you enter the main part of the gardens and are able to wander around, discovering the various installations within the walls. 

Lights illuminating the gardens

Room 3, Hive, in the old Kitchen Bell Tower, complete with the sound of buzzing bees. 

The frogs, Okonjima Choral Society, (sorry we'll get a better picture next time). This was really cool, and possibly Jackson's favorite. The eyes blinked randomly and the sounds of the real frogs in the marsh croaking creative an immersive experience of light and sound. Johanna and I were able to help assemble these frogs and laid out the grouping in the front of the photo as volunteers back in March. 

Room 5, Fireflies, consisted of fiber optic points of light at ground level. This was the weakest part of the exhibit, especially if you have seen the Oak Allee at Christmas time. 

Room 6, Field of Lights, was by far the most impressive exhibit. Over 11,000 individually placed orbs illuminate the Arboretum in an field of colors that slowly change with time. 

Another view of the lights and some fancy camera work by Johanna. 

Ben and Jackson enjoying the lights. 

Spring reopening

We had another couple over for drinks this past Friday. For us it was the ceremonially breaking of the ice if you will. They are from a bigger out-of-state city and were in town visiting her parents. The invitation was extended, followed by the long pause of hesitation. Was this a safe idea? As it turns out some social interaction, with appropriate distancing, is just what we needed. We chatted away on the patio while Jackson ran around the yard playing. What a beautiful Spring we are having this year.

It is said the air has become drastically cleaner over some of the largest cities in the world. People in the Indian city of Jalandhar can see the Himalayan mountains in the distance for the first time in 30 years. While we might not notice cleaner air here, I have noticed the quietness. It is almost jarring to hear a commercial airliner pass over now. That is not to say it has been all quiet, but rather different noises have filled the air. Noises I would rather hear, like neighbors saying hello as they pass on the street or the sound of my son’s laughter as he explores our yard. I am also hearing neighbors working in their yards and tackling those dusty to-do list. The birds have been talking a lot more lately. Without us drowning them out maybe they are catching up with friends as well. 

None of this is to say that real suffering doesn’t exist right now. There is much financial and political uncertainty out there. If we allow ourselves to be sucked into the news, we can believe this is the worst of times. I’ve seen too much grace over these past many weeks to believe that. As things begin returning to the “new normal” as it is being called, we have many decisions to make as a community.  Some are practical changes, slight changes in behaviors, but others I feel will take much longer to work out. As our friends left in proper Southern style, invitations were extended to come try this storied barbeque joint near their house in Memphis. 

We accepted without hesitation.

Hurricane Dorian

Well here we go again. Just about this time last year we were evacuating to Florida to escape hurricane Florence with our newborn son. Florence scared us both because of the intensity, scale of the storm, and the fact we were new parents. Dorian is a different storm. even as it ravaged the Bahamas, I never felt we were in eminent danger. This storm is tracking close to Matthew, which downed a few trees at our house but did not leave much damage.
This past weekend we had all our families in town for Jackson's first birthday. The whole time though we had this lingering feeling of preparation in the back of our minds. As soon as the families were on the road, we hit the ground running with preparations. I secured everything in the yard and we stocked up on groceries. By Wednesday afternoon I felt confident that we could weather the storm and handle anything that happens. Still it gives you pause having a one year old that is totally depending on you and doesn't understand the situation. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we ride this storm out. Also please consider donating to the Red Cross for relief efforts in the Bahamas.

Kitchen Addition Part 8 - Appraisal Day

Today seemed like an excellent time for an update. The house was appraised for a home equity loan. This past week knowing the appraisal was coming has been an all out blitz. Special thanks to my dad, Meliza, Jeff, Deb, and Dana's landscape crew for all of their helping making this possible. Johanna at full term pregnancy was up till midnight last night caulking and painting trim. We still have a few more weeks worth of finish out to do, but the house looks great right now. So without rambling on too much here are some photos from today:

From entry 

Nusery

Our bedroom

Ben's Loft Office (with new bathroom vanity)

Wet Bar

Guest Room (come visit!)

New Kitchen!!

Kitchen from Keeping room (doors and drywall to be hung in foreground)

View down hallway

Coffee Bar

Kitchen

Mudroom

Goose leading the tour

View through pocket door

Living room

Wet bar

Dining Room