Last weekend we spent time at the beach at Hilton Head, South Carolina. I was really looking forward to getting away and spending the weekend with Mike and the girls. We haven't been able to take many weekend trips over the last year and half since Mike was in school and I only have a couple more weeks where I can travel prior to the baby's arrival. With me being in the third trimester, we decided to stay at a resort versus trying to rent a house.
Evie was also looking forward to the beach and had been planning all the activities she wanted to do some of which included:
fly a kite, make a sandcastle (with sand, water, buckets, and flags), collect seashells, jump in the water/waves.....
...I just adored her enthusiasm!
The day before we were to leave Tropical Storm Andrea was forming and expected to travel up the east coast. Mike and I watched the weather closely, called the hotel, and tried to make a decision on whether we should still leave on thursday afternoon or wait until Friday. Late Thursday morning after much contemplating we decided to go ahead and drive hoping to beat most of the rain in South Carolina. (And we ended up making the right decision as most of the rain and the eye of the storm traveled across Hilton Head in the middle of the night/early morning while we were there sleeping!)
After arriving to the hotel on Thursday evening we went to eat some dinner at one of the restaurants. Evie noticed this little store beside the restaurant and asked if she could go inside. My response, "Ask your daddy." (This became a theme of mine during this vacation....lol!) Needless to say he said yes...and they talked him into buying each of them a seashell necklace!
The next morning, Evie couldn't wait to see the ocean and get her feet wet! So we took a quick walk on the beach after breakfast.
Layla was a little more cautious and not too sure about the water, waves, and sand.
.....but my little collector of "all things small" was pretty content finding seashells on the beach!
Fun with my girls!
The girls tried practicing their putting too! I mean this is Hilton Head, right? Golf should be a part of the vacation at some point. (too bad the putters were all as tall as they were:)
Once we finally got all our beach gear on, Evie was ready to start her checklist of beach activities. First up.....flying a kite!
Layla still wasn't too sure about the beach, sand, and especially the wind. She also had gotten to bed late and woken up early so she was a little out of sorts. Unfortunately this also meant a lot of whining and "mommy." She got distracted by seashells again for a while, but starting crying again once the wind started blowing.
So daddy and Evie headed over to the pool to swim for a little while, and I tried to get Layla settled down. This is my diva with a little snack trying to "hide" from the wind.
She eventually fell asleep and got a little beach nap....and mommy got some quiet time too:)
After swimming and nap, the girls thought it was pretty cool I let them share a "special drink" on the beach!
And by early afternoon the tide had really gone out and left this wonderful sand bar in front of us with several areas of water for the girls to run and play!
She had so much and was really excited to make a new friend :) I overheard her telling her new friend, "My name is Evie. And my mommy has a baby in her belly and the doctor will take the baby out after my birthday :)"
Layla required a little more convincing as to how fun it was to play in the water :)
....but slowly she started warming up to the idea!
....especially with a little help from Mike building a mini wall of sand to block the wind!
That afternoon when we got back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner, Evie took the hotel pen and pad of paper and wrote out her "checklist" of beach activities. Then put a check beside the ones we had done that day! I loved it! An organized girl after her own momma's heart:)
Just a few sweet pics of my girls all cleaned up after the beach!
After we ate dinner the girls noticed these hammocks and wanted to give them a try.
But they thought it was more of a pirate ship they needed to steer versus a place to relax!
Sweet sisters worn out from a busy day!
On Saturday we woke up ready for another fun day in the sun. And Layla quickly informed us, "I not go to the ocean water!" Thank goodness her protest was short lived and once she warmed up to the idea of playing in the swimming pool, then moving to the beach she seemed to have a really great day! We ALL had a really fun day!
Daddy is always good at helping the girls get in the water and have fun!
After playing in the pool for a little while we headed to the beach. Layla became interested in building sand castles and putting the flags in the castle :)
And after a while of watching several other kids splashing in the water she looked at me and said, "I want to go to the ocean water!" I was so happy she thought it looked like fun and ended up really enjoying herself!
We even saw a starfish moving around in the water!
That night the hotel had a "s'mores family night" We got to roast some marshmallows and make some s'mores. The girls thought this was great!
After our S'mores we took one last walk on the beach :)
Me and my sweet girls :)
The next morning Evie wanted to go for one last swim.....this time she though we should try out the indoor pool!
Initially Layla decided she didn't want to put on her swimsuit. Fortunately daddy suggested we bring it along. Once she saw how much fun daddy and Evie were having she decided to put on her swim suit and she and I joined them in the pool!
On our way home we made a quick stop in Savannah to have lunch with one of Mike's colleagues from his EMBA program at Emory. We had a wonderful visit and lunch with Rachel and her husband. While eating at the restaurant the girls saw several horse carriage rides going past and begged daddy to let them ride one.
We took a short walk to where the carriage rides start but quickly realized they are associated with a 50 minute tour of Savannah. One of the ladies was so kind and offered to just give us a short ride around the block, which was perfect as that is all the girls wanted!
The lady driving the carriage told the girls they had to practice their princess waves to everyone. Layla was so cute and took it to heart. She kept waving to all the people on the side of the street. I wasn't able to capture the best video, but below is a short clip of her :)
Layla wanted to pet the horse (and even tried to give it a kiss).
We had a wonderful family vacation and it was a perfect getaway following Mike's graduation and pre- arrival of princess #3. While vacations are so fun it's always nice to sleep in your own bed again.....(no matter how old you are). On Sunday night, the girls were lying in the bed finishing their nightly prayers with daddy. Like every other night he asked the girls if they had any special prayers they wanted to add and Layla wanted to pray for her bed :) Love, love, love my sweet girls and family!
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