The Boys Meet a Real-Life Movie Star!!!

Liam and Ben with Josh Hutcherson, currently starring in "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Since Kevin is a film critic, he gets to see most movies before they are released in theaters. When a kids' movie is screened, Liam and Ben will often get to go along and see the movies with Daddy. This week, they trekked over to Indianapolis for the screening of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Brendan Fraser and teenager Josh Hutcherson. Such a long trip (Indianapolis is a little over 3 hours away) is not typical, most films are screened in Columbus, but they screening here conflicted with another movie. But, traveling to Indy had a bonus, Kevin was granted an in-person interview with Josh Hutcherson (the 15-year-old was also in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura", two of the boys' favorites.) So, Liam and Ben were thrilled when they also got to meet Josh in person. Oh, and Liam gives "Journey to the Center of the Earth" 5 stars. Click on the title above to read Kevin's interview.

Josh signs a poster for Liam and Ben

Liam and Ben let Josh know that they also saw him in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura"

Vacation 2008

The Carr Family on the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC.

As those of you who know us (or at least those who have read my previous blogs) know, we have been taking family trips since Ben was 6 weeks old. Previous trips have included a week in Las Vegas, multiple weeks spent traveling out west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, visiting friends in California, family in Washington, driving to and camping in Alaska, even last summer's trip of a cruise. All told, Liam and Ben have visited 41 states and 4 countries in the five years we've been on the go. Well, this year we decided to make it a little less involved because of the addition of little Nicholas to our family.

Our shiny new minivan, ready to take on the challenges of a road trip.

I was able to rent a week's stay in a timeshare on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Much like our summer trips to Las Vegas, it was a lot like being at home, only someplace different, for a week. We bought groceries, packed up our newly purchased minivan and headed for a week of relaxation at the beach. On the way, we stopped and visited our good friends the Watsons (including their new addition, Miss Clara who is only 1 month and 6 days older than our Nicholas, as well as "little Ben") in North Carolina.

This is probably as close as I'll get to knowing what it's like to have twins.
Here I am holding Clara and Nicholas, who are only a month apart.

Liam takes some time to read to "Little Ben."

Once we got to Hilton Head, the big boys spent a lot of time every day at the pool, mostly with Daddy as Mommy was enjoying some time catching up on pleasure reading and keeping busy with Nicholas. The resort we stayed at even had planned activities for the kids, including "Pirate Camp" which the boys enjoyed. We only went to the beach once to play and once to collect shells, but that's okay. The time we spent together as a family was priceless, and that was our whole purpose in going.

Ben and Liam bury Daddy in the sand.

Nicholas relaxes in his car seat as the boys play with Daddy in the sand.

A beautiful sunset as viewed from our balcony.
Every night had sunsets just like this one.

We had a great family vacation. This may have been our first trip to Hilton Head, but it definitely won't be our last. The sacrifices we make on expenses the rest of the year are totally worth it to be able to spend the time and money that we do on our summer vacations.