To catch up on what all has been going on the last couple of months, here is a journey through pictures.
We spent the first weekend of March in Aiken visiting with Grandma and Pops. They did a great job of coming up with fun and different things to do during our visit, including a trolley ride tour through Aiken. It was fun to drive around and see the town from a different point of view. The favorite spot for the kiddos was the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame at Hopeland Gardens, due in great part to a current fascination with Spirit on Netflix and the fantastic, horse-filled children’s play area that we found upstairs.
In the middle of March, we got to take part in an event that we have had our eye on for several years, locally headquartered Water Mission International‘s Walk For Water. This is an annual fundraising event that involves a 3 mile walk to fetch water — to help us understand the struggle that much of the world goes through each day just to get clean drinking water. Water Mission does great work and it was a joy to be a part of this event. Plus, walking 3 miles for water with friends is even better!
At the end of March, we got the opportunity to join with friends to take the kids to the fun park for the first time. We expected miniature golf to be a hit (which it mostly was), but the go carts were the real win of the evening. I think if we had been willing to invest the time and money, Lillian and Elliott may have had us riding them 6 or 8 times.
The last weekend of March was both Thomas’s birthday and Easter Sunday. Highlights of the weekend were hunting eggs dropped from a helicopter, a Grooms/Grooms/Dierker family photo shoot with Ellen Peek Photography, egg hunting on Easter Sunday at Mimi and Papa’s, a tasty Easter lunch, complete with the infamous bunny cake — and most importantly, getting to worship with family to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
Most years, we get the opportunity to watch a Charleston Riverdogs baseball game from the Blackbaud box. This year, Thomas hosted his team’s night at the game and it was Opening Night, so, of course, we were all there. We enjoyed the ball game food and when we finally tracked down the mascots, everyone was willing to at least get a high five… though, we only got two the stick around long enough for a picture.
Strawberry picking and the Strawberry Festival at Boone Hall is another fun annual event. This year, everyone got into the games and rides, especially the fake Dumbo ride. We even managed to make it home before all of the strawberries that we picked were eaten.
This year, Lillian and Elliott joined WAM (Worship Arts Ministries) and WAM Jr. on Wednesday nights at church. It’s been such a blessing for both of them featuring worshipful art of all sorts, including music, which led up to end of year musicals for each. Lillian was in a musical called Agape League, featuring a band of superheros that are each connected to a Fruit of the Spirit, and Elliott had a little Noah’s Ark based musical called Noah’s Zoo. Both had a blast!
Team Grooms 