Beach Trip 2014

It really is a wonderful thing to have family that lives on the beach. My in-laws live in Myrtle Beach and their home is a five minute drive to sandy bliss. At some point this year when we were discussing summer plans, my sister-in-law and I decided that it would be fun to take the kids to visit Poppy and Gigi while our men were working. We would go for the week and then our husbands could join us for the weekend. I think when it came down to the wire, Shell and I were a little wary about how the trip would go... a) the car ride is five hours normally, but that's without three kids under two in the backseat, two of whom need to be nursed every three hours; b) we have great husbands who help out a LOT with the kids; and c) would it really be relaxing when we had to have our eyeballs on three kids the whole time?

I'm so glad we did it! The car ride took seven hours instead of five. There was poop leakage and crying and passie patrol and all the things we expected/feared, but it was actually a very peaceful ride. Gigi has the summer off work, and she stood in the gap for the men... grandmothers are just plain awesome. Life really is meant to be lived together... so much easier to parent with the proverbial village beside you. There was relaxation and fun and girl time and it was a wonderful trip.

Wanted to record some highlights so that I can look back on them...

- hammocks under the pier

- Aidan sitting in the surf, hands raised above his head like he's riding a roller coaster, squealing with delight as the waves splash him

- the sunlight making beautiful shapes in the water as I swim through the pool

- my feet in the sand and the hot sun on my skin with the ocean providing the soundtrack in the background

- lovely thunderstorms and waking to the rain

- Aidan discovering how much fun it is to play with the garden hose, and watching him help Gigi water her plants

- snuggling with Maddie in bed while Poppy feeds Aidan breakfast

- Aidan playing with his buckets at the beach and wearing them on his head

- kissing my hubby after almost a week apart

- lounging on Poppy and Gigi's deck chairs on the back patio with Shell, drinking Smirnoff Ice

- sitting in those same deck chairs to let the sun dry me off after swimming

- Poppy's grilled food and Gigi's country cooking

- finding a hole-in-the-wall gem called "The Movie Shack" to rent movies for our chick-flick marathon

- walking on the beach with Shell while the wind blows at 60mph

- giggles of delight when Daddy took Aidan deeper out into the waves

- selfies with Aidan in the hammock

- watching Maddie fall asleep in Gigi's arms

- basking in the love of a family who truly enjoys being together

So many blessings! So many.