After last week's spring break and a holiday weekend, our family has spent this week trying to get back in the swing of things. We've made a point to get outside as much as possible — despite it being surprisingly cold for April — and one of the highlights has been the number of alligators we've spotted. A friend who recently moved here asked me this week how long it took to get used to living somewhere with so many alligators, and honestly, I'm still not quite used to it even after living here for years. Between our time at Middleton Place last week and a trip to Ashley River Park this week, I think I saw more gators than in all my previous years here combined. They're actually pretty fascinating to watch — it just adds a little extra stress to a walk around the pond when you have a toddler in tow.

Hoping you all enjoy this week and the warm, sunny weather on the way!

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We've mentioned Pine Trace Park before as one of the best new parks in Summerville, but there's one specific feature we haven't talked about yet: the TRACK Trail, and why it's worth going back for if you've already been.

The TRACK Trail is a half-mile easy loop that circles the park's six-acre fishing pond. It's flat, manageable for little legs, and genuinely beautiful — the kind of trail where you're walking through mature Lowcountry forest with water on one side and the sounds of geese, frogs, and whatever else is moving through the trees. The park's wildlife list includes white-tailed deer, turtles, wild turkeys, and geese, so there's a real chance someone spots something worth stopping for. When we were there last week we did not see alligators (which in my book is a good thing) although some could definitely be there.

What makes the TRACK Trail different from just walking around the pond is the Kids in Parks program behind it. Pine Trace is an official TRACK Trail location, which means your kids can download free nature activity brochures at kidsinparks.com before you go or you can pick them up at the stand right outside the enclosed playground (picture above). Guided adventures like "Pond Life," "Tracks & Traces," and "Nature's Hide & Seek" that give them something to look for and think about while they walk. After the hike, kids can log their adventure on the website and earn real prizes in the mail. It turns a half-mile walk into something with a little more shape to it, especially for kids who need a mission.

Stop at the park office when you arrive to pick up a trail map. If you want to extend the day, disc golf equipment and kayak rentals are both available on-site. Admission is $2 per person for ages 3 and up. An annual pass runs $42 for Dorchester County residents and covers both Pine Trace and Ashley River Park for the full year, which is a genuine bargain if you're planning to make this a regular stop, especially with the splash pad at Ashley River Park back in full swing!

Finding a photographer who can actually wrangle young kids and still come away with beautiful photos is harder than it sounds. We found ours in Kayla Vaughters, a local mom and experienced photographer, and we genuinely couldn't believe how our photos turned out. 

Kayla came prepared. Before our session, she scouted downtown Summerville to find backdrops that would showcase both our family and the character of our town. She even had us fill out a short questionnaire beforehand so she could get to know us, and it showed. She walked up to our kids knowing their names, which immediately set the tone for the whole afternoon. With a three-year-old doing his thing and an 18-month-old firmly attached to a hip, that kind of preparation made all the difference. She was patient, calm, and genuinely fun to be around.

The whole experience was as smooth as the photos suggest. Pricing and deliverables were laid out clearly from the start, she was quick to respond to every question we had, and our fully edited gallery was in our inbox in under a week. No chasing, no confusion, just beautiful photos of our family that we'll actually hang on the wall.

Kayla offers maternity, lifestyle newborn, family, and heirloom sessions. If you've been putting off booking a family session, this is your nudge.

Visit vaughtersphotography.com to learn more and book your session.

If your child is a fan of reptiles, this Saturday morning’s Kids Club at the Summerville Museum is the perfect outing for them! This week’s presentation is geared towards children 6 and up, as the program will be full of great information and run for 1.5-2 hours. Kids will have the opportunity to meet non-venomous snakes and do a craft, if time allows! RSVP with the information above to reserve your spot, as space is limited.

After a late afternoon at Ashley River Park, we were in that very specific early-evening parenting situation where you know that attempting to cook at home would be a mistake for everyone involved. Bellacino's was right on the way home. We decided to just go for it.

Honestly, we had driven past Bellacino's more times than I can count without ever stopping. We're regulars at Wild Ginger next door, so we've always known it was there, I just always assumed it would have major chain pizza restaurant energy and not much else. You know the vibe. We have nothing against it, but it's not usually where we end up.

The moment we walked in, I was immediately hit with nostalgia. Growing up in Chicago, we had a local pizza parlor that felt exactly like this — old wood booths, warm lighting, colored chandeliers that might generously be described as dated but somehow make the whole place feel like it belongs to someone. It smelled exactly the way you want a pizza place to smell. The warm fuzzies were immediate and completely unexpected.

Bellacino's is technically a chain with over 50 locations, but it doesn't feel like one. The concept started with a family recipe. Their bread dough has been made the same way since 1959, baked from scratch every day in each location. Everything is made to order, which is why there's a little wait, but it's the kind of wait that tells you the food is real. The menu is genuinely wide: pizza in three sizes (8", 12", and 16"), grinders in quarter, half, and whole sizes, calzones, pasta, salads, wings, and a full kids' menu.

Daniel and I both ordered grinders, and they were excellent. They were big, filling, made on that fresh-baked bread that earns the reputation. The wings were great too. For the boys, the kids' menu delivered: 8" pizzas, baked chicken bites, and mini grinders with fries, all at prices that don't require any mental math about whether you're overordering. The kids kept commenting on how good the food was, which in our house is the highest possible endorsement.

It is not a fast-food experience — everything is made when you order it, so plan for a relaxed meal rather than a quick one. But that felt right for the space. We left full and happy and already talking about when we'd come back. For a restaurant that's been sitting two miles from our house all this time, we have some catching up to do.

We had the most wonderful spring break. Monster Jam, grandparent sleepovers, birthday parties, Easter egg hunts… the kind of week that your kids will bring up for months. I would not trade a single part of it.

And then it ended, and my kids fell apart. Not dramatically, not all at once. More like a slow-motion unraveling. The meltdowns came a little easier. The patience ran a little shorter. My youngest also picked up a cold somewhere in the chaos, which, if you have a toddler, you know does not improve anyone's disposition.

I've been thinking about why the re-entry after something good is sometimes harder than the re-entry after something hard. Part of it, I think, is that we expect the kids to just slide back in, when really their nervous systems need the same gentle landing that a difficult week would require. Research backs this up: studies consistently show that inconsistent sleep schedules and disrupted daily routines make it harder for young children to regulate their emotions not because they're misbehaving, but because the predictable structure that helps them feel safe and in control has temporarily disappeared. The adjustment after a great week of late nights and new experiences is real, even when the cause was joy.

A few things that actually helped us this week: getting outside every day, even when the weather was questionable. Time outdoors has been shown to lower cortisol, the body's stress hormone, in children, and I believe it. There's something about being outside that loosens whatever is wound tight. We also tried to let go of the plans that weren't working and just follow the kids' lead, which is harder for me than I'd like to admit. And we prioritized real food (as much as you can with little kids who have opinions) because tired, depleted kids on empty calories are simply harder than tired kids who've had something good to eat.

None of it was a quick fix. But by the end of the week, we were starting to feel like ourselves again. Routines have a way of doing that, quietly stitching things back together, one normal day at a time.

Love,

Courtney, Daniel, and the Berk Boys

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